How to Choose Car Wax
View PDF | Print View
by: rickashman
Total views: 102
Word Count: 515
Car wax adds longevity and shine to your cars finish, but only if you choose the right wax. Some car waxes can scratch and haze your cars finish; others can make your finish gleam, but coat the plastic parts in a visible residue. 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? Natural car waxes, such as Carnauba wax, give a cars finish depth, but slightly less shine. Artificial waxes, which include most spray on and liquid waxes, shine beautifully but give a less rich color, and can emphasize minor flaws. Artificial waxes are particularly bad with dark colors. For the best possible color on darker cars, experts suggest waxing them only with natural waxes. Lighter cars can take either kind of wax, depending on whether you value color or gleam more highly.
Does the exterior of your car include much plastic? Some car waxes react poorly to matte plastic, especially the porous, dark kind so popular on recent models, and deposit a residue that may need extra attention with a special cleaner to remove. If your car is detailed with a lot of plastic, find a wax that is rated as working well 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? Liquid waxes performed the best in durability and cleaning tests during a Consumer Reports comparison test of waxes. They also took the longest to apply, mainly because of all the extra buffing needed to spread the wax evenly and reduce streaking. Spray on waxes were the least durable and did the worst job at cleaning, but they were also the quickest and easiest to apply. 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 similar to liquid waxes in durability and ease of application. 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.
When you choose a car wax, consider what visual qualities are most important to you, whether you need to take the plastic detailing on your car into account, how long you are willing to take to apply wax, and how often you are willing to apply wax. Be honest with yourself, and do not feel pressured to buy a wax that takes a lot of effort and upkeep simply because the experts say you should. 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.
About the Author
More references about car wax, browse to this link.
Rating: Not yet rated