Best Wash & Wax For Trophy

[Nik]

I dont go on advertising, in fact apart from meguairs i've never seen any of the products i use advertised anywhere. I'm just going on the results i've had.

I'm quite prepared to believe that some of the waxes available are the same thing packaged differently, and i'm sure you can get something from wilko's which is the same as a much more expensive product at halfords. There are lots of differences in the various products on the market though, and in my experience results vary quite a bit from one product to another.

But if you're happy with the results you get from the cheap wilko stuff then thats great.

I wouldn't pay £40 (it's normal RRP) for a pot of the wax i use, becuase i dont think any wax is worth that money, but at £13 its a bargain and the results are better than any of the products i've bought before that were half that price.

 

[Day]

We don't have a Wilkinsons down here - is it some pikey store, like worse than Woolworths?

What's the difference between Wilko's wax and my own stuff out of my earhole...

It's wax all the same at the end of the day right?

 

[Portland]

http://www.wilko.co.uk/index.htm

Consider it to be a sort of Netto/Lidl for hardware and household stuff and you're not far off the mark.

 

[Day]

Ahh now that you've said that I think I've been in one of those up in Huddersfield.

 

[matt the cat]

stromba - I can can see the basis of you're argument however i fail to see its point. You state about the core ingredients being the same in the products accross the spectrum of car care products. Unfortunatley the wealth of information you have and the lack of proof that autoglym have provided you with simply dosent form an answer to the original question posed at the satrt of the thread.

I am not a chemist and will not attempt to trade blows in an area that is not my speciality. I am a chartered Engineer currently working for a large manufacturing outfit. What i suspect from the lack of response from autoglym is that if they entered into a 'ours is better because.....' type of argument then they may be liable for prosecution from other companies. In order for the to do this soundly then then would have run controlled analysis of competitors ingredients and measure performance over a number of factors. This would cost time and money and a waste of both.

The best way for any individual is to try products first. Some peolple are impressed by the depth of shine and water beading, others want something that wont leave a white residue, others want something that goes on easy etc etc

And that my friend is as simple as that.

 

[mr StinKa gob]

This argument is like the tyres threads and the oil threads. Everyone claims theirs is the best. I found these tyres best, i found this oil best. Its bollox. People even prefere BP ultimate over optimax. It ludicrous. BP ultimate or optimax, they both clean your engine, doesnt matter which you choose. Oil, change it often and it doesnt matter which synthetic you go for, they are all the same. People fany aboput over tyres, talking about grip this, handling that, when most of them dont even own a tyre temperature probe or tyre pressure guage, so how the fuck would they know? Yeah i found this oil best, and you find out the guy has a 3 thousand mile car. WTF would he know about it? You could put tesco mineral value oil in a new car and it wouldnt have problems until some poor smuck buys it 10 years later. Buy an old car and tlak about oil and i shall listen.

And it makes me laugh how people with new cars make a fuss about how good they look. No shit, its a new car. Not exactly going to look bad is it? You could polish it with dog shit and it still would look too bad. Try autoglym on a 11 year old williams with more swirl marks than a rasberry ripple and youll see that it does FUCK ALL unless you know what you are doing. Its not the wax / polish you use, but how you apply it, the time you take and the cloths and application that get the results. Doesnt matter if its cheap shit or expensive stuff, its how you apply it that counts.

Tio prove my point about advertising comtemplate this:

Most people who clean their cars use a number of products. Say a polish, wax and a top coat sealent, and maybe a bumper restorer. Now let assume that the products differ in quality. The best product for each category (was, polish etc) isnt likly to be made by the same company. Its likely that maybe autoglym have the best technlogy for wax, but meguires have the best polish. So a real expert may have a mix of differnet polishes and waxes from different manufacturers, because he has tried them and found the best.

But this isnt the case. You get person a who just uses Mguires and person b just uses autoglym. That suggests that they are buying a 'label' and not the product to me. Ie the market is advertsing based and not product based. If it was product based we would all be using combinations of different manufacturers products.

 

[Brazo]

The job of a polish is to abrade the surface of the paint. Now your telling me that there is a distinction between the way an expensive polish abrades the surface, and how a cheap one does it? If a polish has abraded the surface, its done its job. What else can you do to it that justifies a 5 to 10 fold difference in price?

A wax is a wax. A solid hydrophobic fatty sterol like substance that clings to the cars paint work and repels water. If its clinging and repelling its doing its job.

A polish is not just a polish, some contain abrasive particles of differing grades, some are course some are fine, some very expensive products have finely milled abrasives that are all the same size so you get a better finish, paticularly on softer clearcoats where they can marr easily. Some 'polishes' contain filers to hide defects some contain cleaners.

Some polishes contain diminishing abrasives which break down so you are not continually burnishing the surface, amonsgt this caterogory you get fast and slow i.e polishes that break down fast for when speed is required or polishes that break down slowly.

Some polishes are designed for rotary use only as they need the heat to break down, some are designed for hand or random orbital use.

You also get polishes that are chemical only and rely on pad choice for the cut effect

Shall I go on :wink:

I do alot of machine polishing and if there was just one 'wonder polish' I would use it.

A wax is not just a wax some contain glazes to aid beauty others merely protect much in the way that you say. However some waxes are far more durable than others, we're talking anything from a few weeks to 6 months plus. Then theres synthetic waxes or paint sealants which contain no wax or fat as you put it!

These synthetics are optically clear and can be very durable.

 

[Brazo]

I've been using Zaino for the past 2 years, fantastic stuf but fantasticly expensive. I think nik has a rotary polisher jooby which really gets out swirl marks

I love zaino too although damn cheap when compared to the other 'z'!!
Would love to see some pics

 

[Brazo]

I have just received my order of harleys no1 yellow carnauba wax. I used it this weekend and its without a doubt the most fantastic product i've ever used. It looks like its wet! it brings a really deep shine.

Any purist will tell you that carnauba is the worlds best. Some makes like zymol and meguires contain carnauba wax, but its only a small amount suspended in liquid, with polishes and abrasives. Harleys is 100% pure.

it aint cheap though but its well worth it.

FWIW carnuba is dirt cheap! Check ebay! Its a rock hard substance in its raw state and has to be softened with solvents to make a wax. Harleys may have a higher % of it but it can't be 100% otherwise it would be like stone

 

[matt the cat]

I have just received my order of harleys no1 yellow carnauba wax. I used it this weekend and its without a doubt the most fantastic product i've ever used. It looks like its wet! it brings a really deep shine.

Any purist will tell you that carnauba is the worlds best. Some makes like zymol and meguires contain carnauba wax, but its only a small amount suspended in liquid, with polishes and abrasives. Harleys is 100% pure.

it aint cheap though but its well worth it.

FWIW carnuba is dirt cheap! Check ebay! Its a rock hard substance in its raw state and has to be softened with solvents to make a wax. Harleys may have a higher % of it but it can't be 100% otherwise it would be like stone

Yeah its 20 quid delivered. Ive got it and used it and its fantastic. Its a wax so its no a liquid, that said it goes on really easy. No need for solvents at all. Maybee you had a poor batch because this stuff is amazing, and beleive me ive tried the best of the rest.

 

[Brazo]

Hi Matt I understand what your saying and yes its a great wax but caranuba wax has to be, has to be, has to be softened before it can be made into a paste wax. As I said caranuba in its raw form is rock hard - literally and is always softened even to make a hard paste wax.

 

[strike]

Cheers for the information/clarification Brazo.... finally someone who knows EXACTLY what they are talking about.

 

[matt the cat]

Thanks brazo!

Reading youre post properly i understand what you are saying. Apologies for the mis-interpetation.

Waxed it again today and it looks lovely.

 

[Brazo]

LOL. Yeah autoglym use 'more expensive' wax

Actually they use acrylic :wink:

 

[mr StinKa gob]

LOL. Yeah autoglym use 'more expensive' wax

Actually they use acrylic :wink:

If it is an ester of ethylene glycol and two fatty acids then its a wax. Do you know the chemical structure?

 

[mr StinKa gob]

Brazo, i bet i can get just as good a finish on a new car by washing it with a sponge and car shampoo then throwing a bucket of water with mur disolved in it, in ten minutes than you can fannying around for a whole day with your two bucket method, micro cloths, expensive wax and secret techniques.

 

[Nik]

Sounds like a challenge to me, sponges / wash mits at dawn?

 

[Brazo]

King Stromba I believe its an acylic resin which in turn I'm told is a polymer like most things! Call it a synthetic wax if you like! I was just being facious(sp) and if you are a biochemist I would be foolish to argue with you lol!

I note you have't commented on the different polish/wax thing :wink:

I've thought of some more btw! There are polishes especially made for ceramiclear clearcoats such from audi and lately top end porsche/ferrari.

As for the brand new car, you would be surprised! I understand what your saying though. I polished this brand new trophy out as the dealers had made a right mess of it, before and afters below - brand new I tell thee!

In the same time i took me to do this I could have had yours looking better than the day it left the showroom lol!

Before



After

 

[mr StinKa gob]

I never argued that there are different products for dufferent purposes. What i am saying is that a polish is a polish and a wax is a wax. How you apply them is more important than the 'brand' you use.

 

[matt the cat]

brazo

That looks amazing! what did you use and how did you apply it -manually or with one of those random orbital polishers?