Wax? Clay Bar? Polish? Paint Sealant?

[Deleted member 5597]

As I mentioned in a different post, I'm "Old School" and am used to using paste wax. I rarely ever waxed any of the vehicles I've owned since 1978, as I usually kept them for a short time.
So, to my surprise, when I went to the store to buy wax, I was amazed by how many different products there are, and by how many different manufacturers too!
There are different types of waxes, both paste and liquid, and made out of different chemicals
Clay bars, polishes, paint sealants, and tons of other products for car care.
What is a paint sealant for? After a good waxing?
What is a polish used for?
Spray on, wipe off variants any good?
Which ones won't leave a residue on black plastic trim?
I've seen names I've never seen before, like:
Chemical Guys
Jay Leno's Garage
Cerakote
Meguire's
Turtle Wax
And many other names.

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[BeardedMarine]

A paint sealant is a synthetic polymers and oils used instead of carnuba wax. Synthetic polymers last much longer than carnuba. I'm sure you've seen ceramic wax also. It'll last much longer also.

I use Wolfgang paint sealant, it doesn't stain trim and last around 6-8 months. Very easy to apply and remove. You can also get it on Amazon.

https://www.autogeek.net/wolfgang-sio2-paint-sealant.html

I like paint sealant better than ceramic wax. Seems to last longer and looks better imo.

You'll see ceramic wax and a sealant. The sealant are normally done by a professional since the car should be washed, clay bared, polished, then the ceramic sealant applied.

 

[Deleted member 5597]

I just went to O’Reilley’s Auto Parts. This is what was recommended to me. The associate told me he uses it on his vehicles.

 

[Tim d]

As I mentioned in a different post, I'm "Old School" and am used to using paste wax. I rarely ever waxed any of the vehicles I've owned since 1978, as I usually kept them for a short time.
So, to my surprise, when I went to the store to buy wax, I was amazed by how many different products there are, and by how many different manufacturers too!
There are different types of waxes, both paste and liquid, and made out of different chemicals
Clay bars, polishes, paint sealants, and tons of other products for car care.
What is a paint sealant for? After a good waxing?
What is a polish used for?
Spray on, wipe off variants any good?
Which ones won't leave a residue on black plastic trim?
I've seen names I've never seen before, like:
Chemical Guys
Jay Leno's Garage
Cerakote
Meguire's
Turtle Wax
And many other names.

I use mequires paste wax once a year,every spring. Costs about a buck per application and the paint still looks new on my 15 year old ram. I'm doing the same with our maverick.

 

[710-oil-614]

I prefer to clay bar and then use a good ceramic coating. It is a tedious process but the results are well worth it.

I want my Maverick to withstand the test of time the best it can so I will be cerakoting all MIC plastics, clay bar and ceramic coat the paint, and then fluid film the entire underside.

 

[greycat]

So after I ceramic coat,
then wax over that,
and then put a weekly spray wax protector over that....
And so on...
and so on...
and so on....

 

[MDmaverick]

I went from being a serious detailing fanatic to just a weekend warrior. For me, ease of use rules the day. Twice a year I will use a clay mitt to decontaminate and a light polish to remove swirls. I’ve used spray on type of sealant with great success. Many OTC products have really stepped up their game. I’ve used Griots, Ethos and Turtle Wax (Seal N Shine) and ceramic spray wax for ease of use and durability.

I follow this up with frequent washes and a spray type sealant(TW Quik Wax) being my new favorite for this purpose.

Happy Hunting

 

[jorl]

clay bar and a polymer wax-lotta work but feels like silk

 

[Superg0]

Clay bar before you put your protectant on whether that's wax or ceramic. Clay bar is to prepare the surface by cleaning off residue that a sponge and towel wont wipe off. One your protectant (wax/ceramic) is applied then you use the clay bar periodically to remove the stuff that eventually builds up on your protectant.

 

[TheSEARCH]

Ceramic coatings Two what i call TYPES. The kind you buy at local auto parts store. Spray on wipe off. Last about 6 month to a year. The primary chemical component of a ceramic coating is silicon dioxide (SiO2). Pro version has higher amount . BUT is harder to put on.

Then the pro version of ceramic coatings. Done by a professional shop. They typically say last 5 years BUT I doubt it last that long.

Look at youtube reviews. The better reviews are year long and see how it last over real time. The other reviews use harsh chemicals to see how many times you can put harsh chemical on it before coating is gone. I don't care for those reviews.

As an example Cerakote brand ceramic coating only lasted a month. Poor results.

I use Griots garage. NOT the best but it lasted on long term test about 10 months. Good enough and easy to apply. I do mine twice a year. My Mav is NOT inside a garage. Buffalo NY with salt in winter.

Wax is OLD School for sure. No wax last long at all. NONE. I tested that myself years ago. Wax sucks for long term protection BUT wax does look good. Almost all show cars will have wax on them. Just a deeper shine than ceramic.

There are sealers some are acrylic some are oils of some type. Not sure about those. Most now use a ceramic coating.

 

[Toddman45]

I prefer to clay bar and then use a good ceramic coating. It is a tedious process but the results are well worth it.

I want my Maverick to withstand the test of time the best it can so I will be cerakoting all MIC plastics, clay bar and ceramic coat the paint, and then fluid film the entire underside.

I agree I did and do the same thing.

One thing I don't miss about my F-150 SuperCrew, that thing took forever it seemed to clay bar. Whereas the Maverick took me about 45 minutes. Another 45 minutes to ceramic and I was done. Did both my 19 explorer and the Maverick in just under 3 hours.

 

[710-oil-614]

I agree I did and do the same thing.

One thing I don't miss about my F-150 SuperCrew, that thing took forever it seemed to clay bar. Whereas the Maverick took me about 45 minutes. Another 45 minutes to ceramic and I was done. Did both my 19 explorer and the Maverick in just under 3 hours.

I don't imagine I will have as much work to do with the clay bar on my eruption green Maverick but the Avalanche Gray (Contractor White) was speckled with black rail dust and transport crap.

 

[Toddman45]

I don't imagine I will have as much work to do with the clay bar on my eruption green Maverick but the Avalanche Gray (Contractor White) was speckled with black rail dust and transport crap.

Thankfully my Maverick had no rail dust, it must have been transported by a vehicle hauler. My 24 XLT had some of the cleanest paint I had ever seen on a new vehicle.

Now my white 2012 F-150 XLT Crew cab and 2016 XLT crew cabs both had plenty of rail dust that weren't much fun to remove.

 

[Deleted member 5597]

Ceramic coatings Two what i call TYPES. The kind you buy at local auto parts store. Spray on wipe off. Last about 6 month to a year. The primary chemical component of a ceramic coating is silicon dioxide (SiO2). Pro version has higher amount . BUT is harder to put on.

Then the pro version of ceramic coatings. Done by a professional shop. They typically say last 5 years BUT I doubt it last that long.

Look at youtube reviews. The better reviews are year long and see how it last over real time. The other reviews use harsh chemicals to see how many times you can put harsh chemical on it before coating is gone. I don't care for those reviews.

As an example Cerakote brand ceramic coating only lasted a month. Poor results.

I use Griots garage. NOT the best but it lasted on long term test about 10 months. Good enough and easy to apply. I do mine twice a year. My Mav is NOT inside a garage. Buffalo NY with salt in winter.

Wax is OLD School for sure. No wax last long at all. NONE. I tested that myself years ago. Wax sucks for long term protection BUT wax does look good. Almost all show cars will have wax on them. Just a deeper shine than ceramic.

There are sealers some are acrylic some are oils of some type. Not sure about those. Most now use a ceramic coating.

Thanks for the info. I understand completely about the Buffalo winters. I’m originally from Silver Creek, then moved to Dunkirk. I stayed in Fredonia from Sept ‘23-Sept ‘24 while visiting my mom and relatives whom still live up there. I took many trips to the Buffalo VA Medical Center on Bailey Ave. this past year. My mom ended up at Buffalo General in ICU for 1 1/2 months after suffering a heart attack and COPD. Miraculously, she pulled through. And on 10 May 24, I had neurosurgery at Sisters of Mercy Hospital on L3-L5 by Dr Castiglia with UB Neurosurgery. The roads up and down most of the roads in Buffalo are full of potholes. I know all about those lake effect snowstorms. I lived in Dunkirk during the “Blizzard of ‘77 and the ice storm as well. I drove my Mav up there and back. Glad last winter wasn’t bad!!

 

[710-oil-614]

Thankfully my Maverick had no rail dust, it must have been transported by a vehicle hauler. My 24 XLT had some of the cleanest paint I had ever seen on a new vehicle.

Now my white 2012 XLT Crew cab and 2016 XLT crew cabs both had plenty of rail dust that weren't much fun to remove.

Only a few spots were bad where I was concerned about getting it out. I found 1 rock chip on the front passenger side door frame above the window but otherwise for an extremely light gray it came out quite beautiful and even after 12k miles it only had 2 additional rock chips on the front bumper (plastic...boo) and one on the hood.

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