[rlawson4]

I must really love my FFH because I am asking about the best wax to use. The manual recommends (as I would expect) Motorcraft liquid wax. Of course that is their product. What do people recommend. Also, do you wax the chrome grill? As to the love of the car, in 20 years I have never waxed a car I owned. Thanks.

[smr2112]

You'll get a slew of opinions, but I highly recommend Klasse. I have been using this for
5 years and my old car still looks great. Everybody I get to try it is amazed.

It's is the EASIEST stuff to use and I can't wait to put in on my new FFH!
I will drive the car right home from the dealership and apply it.

It's actually acrylic based and protects the car as a sealant. Similar to what
a dealer might apply and charge $500 or more.

It's impossible to put on wrong (but you can put too much and make more work for
yourself). Water beads up in balls....I laugh when I look at other cars. Bird droppings,
road tar, tree sap, come off really easily without penetrating the clearcoat.

http://www.autopia.o...er-s-guide.html
http://classic-motor.../inwiklusa.html

Lots of places sell it and you can apply it an 100x if you want without build up.
Amazon even has it if you want to shop for price.

[bbf2530]

rlawson4, on Jul 10 2009, 01:21 PM, said:

I must really love my FFH because I am asking about the best wax to use. The manual recommends (as I would expect) Motorcraft liquid wax. Of course that is their product. What do people recommend. Also, do you wax the chrome grill? As to the love of the car, in 20 years I have never waxed a car I owned. Thanks.

Hi rlawson. As smr stated above, you will get a slew of opinions. Essentially, if you go with the major brands such as Meguiar's, Mother's, Zaino and Klasse (in no particular order), you can't go wrong.

Myself, I use Meguiar's Gold Class Liquid.

Additionally, just as important as what you use is when and how you use it (technique). So, since you are new to this I would recommend that you check the "FAQ" and "How-to" sections of these sites:

LINK: Meguiar's

LINK: Mother's

LINK: Autopia

The above links are a place to start, as they contain very good information concerning proper car care.

Good luck.

[rlawson4]

Thanks for the replies.

Richard

[jeff_h]

rlawson4, on Jul 10 2009, 01:21 PM, said:

Also, do you wax the chrome grill?

I changed my oil a couple days ago and when the hood was up I briefly looked at the "chrome" grill and at initial glance it looks like shiny plastic. Whether it is or not, I did not look very closely, but check it out for yourself.

[bbf2530]

rlawson4, on Jul 10 2009, 02:17 PM, said:

Thanks for the replies.

Richard

Hi Richard. Oooops. Forgot to answer the "do you wax the wax the chrome grill" part of your question. Yes, you do wax it. It is a "chromed plastic" material. Waxing it will keep it looking good and protect it from the elements and environmental contamination, just like the paint finish.

Sorry for the oversight.

Good luck.

[rfruth]

what about the wash 'n wax all-in ones ? not for the first (or yearly) wax but for in between (not for a showroom look but better than hot wax @ car wash)

one size fits all ?

[rlawson4]

bbf2530, on Jul 10 2009, 05:55 PM, said:

Hi Richard. Oooops. Forgot to answer the "do you wax the wax the chrome grill" part of your question. Yes, you do wax it. It is a "chromed plastic" material. Waxing it will keep it looking good and protect it from the elements and environmental contamination, just like the paint finish.

Sorry for the oversight.

Good luck.

Thanks again. I went to Target tonight and bought some supplies. I am still shocked that I am actually taking such care of a car. I literally have never waxed a car, and I have owned 5 other new cars.

[rfruth]

Can get car wash soap (not all-in-one) for less than $ 3.00 should I use that then once or twice a year then use GOOD wax (not all-in-one) after wash ?

signed not a auto car wash guy


car wash soap

[akirby]

rfruth, on Jul 10 2009, 10:25 PM, said:

Can get car wash soap (not all-in-one) for less than $ 3.00 should I use that then once or twice a year then use GOOD wax (not all-in-one) after wash ?

Always use car wash soap, NOT dish detergent. It will strip the wax right off.
You can use a clay bar to remove contaminants after you wash.
Use a good quality wax every 6 months or so.

[robcy]

How often do you wash your cars? I live in FL, and everytime I wash my car it removes the wax, and with the rain the sides always get the white watermarks. Since I have a black Fusion its really noticeable. So I wash the car almost every weekend, and sometime also during the week. I also wax at least once a month, and sometime more. I use Turtle or RainX carwashes, and the Turtle Wax Color shield wax.

[cuehara]

rlawson4, on Jul 10 2009, 01:21 PM, said:

Also, do you wax the chrome grill? As to the love of the car, in 20 years I have never waxed a car I owned. Thanks.

The chrome plated plastic is fairly durable, but you shouldn't polish it. That's why waxing it is doubly important; it maintains the grill's appearance while making it easier to clean. Keep it waxed and nice from the get go, and you can avoid problems down the line.

Meguiar's NXT, Turtle Wax ICE, Zymol, Zaino...the list of waxes and their fans is pretty long. NXT and ICE are pretty easy to get, easy to use, and seem to give good results. I'd give them a go before trying something a little more involved like Zaino. You should probably stick with the polymer "waxes" since these days they perform well and require less effort than a conventional wax.

robcy, on Jul 12 2009, 02:55 AM, said:

How often do you wash your cars? I live in FL, and everytime I wash my car it removes the wax, and with the rain the sides always get the white watermarks.

Optimum No-Rinse (ONR) is a really good product, especially for a weekly wash. Put a cap full in two gallons of water, and that's more than enough for a wash (you can store the remainder in the bucket and use it later if you keep it clean).

It's not soapy, but it removes grime like a champ. Soak a microfiber towel in ONR+water and clean a section of your car. Then instead of rinsing, you just wipe it dry with another microfiber towel. Cleans streak- and residue-free.

You can buy ONR and a stack of microfiber towels (Zwipes are $18 for 36) off of Amazon. It's great to have a stack of microfiber towels since you can keep grabbing a clean and dry one when you're working on the car; they are great for cleaning windows and the dash, waxing, etc. Plus, just toss them in the washing machine and they're almost as good as new.

Anyway, ONR is great stuff on its own merits, but it's especially awesome if you live in an apartment or somewhere where washing your car in the winter is a no-go.

[rlawson4]

I noticed a few specs of rail dust (I presume) on my trunk. I used a clay bar today and took most of it off. I then waxed over it. Is this sufficient or should I be concerned and take it to the dealer? I plan on using the clay bar again in a few days and try to get the rest of of it off. I Any other suggestions are appreciated.

[rlawson4]

rlawson4, on Jul 13 2009, 12:16 AM, said:

I noticed a few specs of rail dust (I presume) on my trunk. I used a clay bar today and took most of it off. I then waxed over it. Is this sufficient or should I be concerned and take it to the dealer? I plan on using the clay bar again in a few days and try to get the rest of of it off. I Any other suggestions are appreciated.

I stopped by the dealer and it looks like I may have waxed in some water spots. The areas came off easy with a little elbow grease. I will keep an eye on it but I think I am okay.

[rickkel]

Let me preface my remarks with the fact that I am not a professional car detailer, but it is a hobby of mine and I have acquired all the equipment that a professional has and have picked up a lot of good tips to make detailing easier over the years.

I don't know what "rail dust" is, but anything that gets on your car should easily be removed using a clay bar which, in my opinion, is the best thing that has happened to car detailing ever. Why you would have to be using the clay bar again to "get the rest of it off" is a mystery since it should remove it all in the first try unless you didn't do it correctly or long enough.

A couple of years ago my car was inundated with paint spray from a neighbor doing a school project - it felt like the finish turned to sandpaper it was so bad. I got out the clay bar and spray detailer and with some patience, removed the spray paint and the finish was smooth as silk with absolutely no damage whatsover to the original finish.

It is extremely important that you use a lot of the spray detailer and knead the clay bar smooth before you use it. Don't press down hard, just spray the area with the detail spray and rub the clay lightly until what you want to remove comes off. Normally this would be about two or three passes over the paint unless you are trying to remove something like spray paint or water spots which could take about ten. It is really easy nevertheless.

Remember that using a clay bar is completely removing any wax that was in this area along with any of the bad stuff that got on your car, so you must wax it when you are done.

I also noted that in some of the posts above people were referring to "polishing" and "waxing" without defining the difference. They were using the references correctly, but some people might think these are the same thing and they are not. "Polishing" uses an abrasive product which actually removes a microscopic top layer of paint while a true "wax" will not. You should only use polish if the condition of your paint dictates it (bad scratches or really bad paint abrasion). A brand new car should not be polished and will proably never need it if you follow the following protocol:

I try and fully detail my car every six months. First I wash it with car wash soap (not Dawn from your kitchen), then treat the entire car with a clay bar/spray detailer, with special attention to the horizontal surfaces (hood, roof and trunk) which get the worst environmental impact. Then I apply a good wax with a orbital electic applicator and remove it by hand with clean terry or microfibre towels. I follow this up by applying Rain-X to all windows, mirrors, sunroof and plastic lenses, clear or colored.

Everyone thinks the wax that they use is "better than anything else" and I don't want to start a war about that because it is personal preference really. I recommend that you use one of the highly rated professional ones like Mequiar's, Mothers, etc. You don't need the $50.00 bottles you are wasting your money. I tried out Consumer Reports' top rated wax "Black Magic Liquid Wax" which you can pick up at Target for next to nothing. This stuff is fantastic in that it applies a finish that is almost oily to the touch it is so smooth. My only beef is it is somewhat difficult to wipe off, but it is worth it to me.

And yes, you want to wax all of the chrome - metal or plastic - like others have said. Modern car plastics are meant to be waxed the same as paint, you just don't want to use strong abrasives on them. Clay barring is okay as well.

If you don't wait too long between times doing this (or get into an accident) your car will always look brand spanking new. Anyone who sees my cars always ask me if I got a new car even when it many years old.

My FFH is the Atlantis Green which, as most of you know, is nearly close to black as you can get. When I waxed the car the weekend I got it the green part of the color really popped using the Black Magic. I've gotten a lot of positive comments about how it looks.

[Slip]

I use Mother's products on my cars. As for the wax I use the Syn wax. It is probably a matter of opinion of course.

[rlawson4]

rickkel, on Jul 20 2009, 05:44 PM, said:

Let me preface my remarks with the fact that I am not a professional car detailer, but it is a hobby of mine and I have acquired all the equipment that a professional has and have picked up a lot of good tips to make detailing easier over the years.

I don't know what "rail dust" is, but anything that gets on your car should easily be removed using a clay bar which, in my opinion, is the best thing that has happened to car detailing ever. Why you would have to be using the clay bar again to "get the rest of it off" is a mystery since it should remove it all in the first try unless you didn't do it correctly or long enough.

A couple of years ago my car was inundated with paint spray from a neighbor doing a school project - it felt like the finish turned to sandpaper it was so bad. I got out the clay bar and spray detailer and with some patience, removed the spray paint and the finish was smooth as silk with absolutely no damage whatsover to the original finish.

It is extremely important that you use a lot of the spray detailer and knead the clay bar smooth before you use it. Don't press down hard, just spray the area with the detail spray and rub the clay lightly until what you want to remove comes off. Normally this would be about two or three passes over the paint unless you are trying to remove something like spray paint or water spots which could take about ten. It is really easy nevertheless.

Remember that using a clay bar is completely removing any wax that was in this area along with any of the bad stuff that got on your car, so you must wax it when you are done.

I also noted that in some of the posts above people were referring to "polishing" and "waxing" without defining the difference. They were using the references correctly, but some people might think these are the same thing and they are not. "Polishing" uses an abrasive product which actually removes a microscopic top layer of paint while a true "wax" will not. You should only use polish if the condition of your paint dictates it (bad scratches or really bad paint abrasion). A brand new car should not be polished and will proably never need it if you follow the following protocol:

I try and fully detail my car every six months. First I wash it with car wash soap (not Dawn from your kitchen), then treat the entire car with a clay bar/spray detailer, with special attention to the horizontal surfaces (hood, roof and trunk) which get the worst environmental impact. Then I apply a good wax with a orbital electic applicator and remove it by hand with clean terry or microfibre towels. I follow this up by applying Rain-X to all windows, mirrors, sunroof and plastic lenses, clear or colored.

Everyone thinks the wax that they use is "better than anything else" and I don't want to start a war about that because it is personal preference really. I recommend that you use one of the highly rated professional ones like Mequiar's, Mothers, etc. You don't need the $50.00 bottles you are wasting your money. I tried out Consumer Reports' top rated wax "Black Magic Liquid Wax" which you can pick up at Target for next to nothing. This stuff is fantastic in that it applies a finish that is almost oily to the touch it is so smooth. My only beef is it is somewhat difficult to wipe off, but it is worth it to me.

And yes, you want to wax all of the chrome - metal or plastic - like others have said. Modern car plastics are meant to be waxed the same as paint, you just don't want to use strong abrasives on them. Clay barring is okay as well.

If you don't wait too long between times doing this (or get into an accident) your car will always look brand spanking new. Anyone who sees my cars always ask me if I got a new car even when it many years old.

My FFH is the Atlantis Green which, as most of you know, is nearly close to black as you can get. When I waxed the car the weekend I got it the green part of the color really popped using the Black Magic. I've gotten a lot of positive comments about how it looks.

I printed everything you said and appreciate it. BTW, I did use a clay bar and it was amazing. I did that last week and then waxed after.

[HurricaneGT]

I have an 86 Mustang GT and an 06 Mustang GT and would not use anything except Zaino! the shine you get is incredable. clay bar wax and when its dusty a little finishing spray. my 2 cents

[black70bird]

Check out Zaino at http://www.zainostore.com/ fpr complete info. I claybar the vehicle once a year and rewax.

rlawson4, on Jul 10 2009, 11:21 AM, said:

I must really love my FFH because I am asking about the best wax to use. The manual recommends (as I would expect) Motorcraft liquid wax. Of course that is their product. What do people recommend. Also, do you wax the chrome grill? As to the love of the car, in 20 years I have never waxed a car I owned. Thanks.