Finding the Best Car Wax for Your Car
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by: rickashman
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Word Count: 520
Car wax makes your cars finish glow and makes the shine last longer, but only if you use the right wax. Some car waxes will cover your cars plastic parts with residue; others will actually make your cars finish less smooth as the wax scratches the finish or forms a haze over it. Here are a few questions you need to ask as you pore over the vast selection of car waxes available at your local auto store.
Do you want shine, or depth of color? A natural car wax like Carnauba wax will shine slightly less brightly than artificial waxes, but will give the color depth. Artificial waxes, which include most spray on and liquid waxes, shine beautifully but give a less rich color, and can emphasize minor flaws. Dark colors in particular suffer with artificial waxes. Experts suggest that dark cars be waxed only with natural waxes. For lighter cars, either natural or artificial waxes are good, depending on whether you want your cars finish to be shinier or to have more richness of color.
Does the exterior of your car include much plastic? Porous, matte plastic, especially dark plastic, reacts badly with some car waxes and acquires a conspicuous residue that may take special cleaners to remove. If plastic is a prominent part of your cars exterior, choose a wax that is noted for being compatible with plastic.
How long do you want each application of car wax to last, and how much time are you willing to invest in waxing? In a Consumer Reports comparison test, liquid waxes lasted the longest and cleaned the best. However, because they took extra time to spread evenly and without streaking, they took the longest to apply. Spray on waxes were the fastest to apply, but they lasted the least amount of time and were the least effective at cleaning. Consumer Reports suggested that spray on waxes were best for owners who were willing to reapply them frequently, for interim treatments between full treatments with more durable waxes, or for new cars whose factory fresh finishes required little attention. Paste waxes were about as durable as liquid waxes, and their application time was comparable. Although paste waxes used to be notoriously time consuming to apply, Consumer Reports noted that now they are packaged with applicators that have cut their application time significantly, even and made them slightly easier to apply than liquid waxes.
Consider whether color or shine is more important to you, whether you will need a wax that works well with plastic, how much time you can spend on waxing, and how often you plan to reapply wax. Be frank with yourself about your goals, and do not feel that you should opt for a high effort, high upkeep wax just because the experts recommend it. Unless the experts are going to come and wax your car for you every month, choose the type of car wax that suits both your car and you. See these also Car -- Car wash --
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