Looking after my new car

Kemik

Kemik

Kemik

Soldato
Joined
7 Nov 2005
Posts
4,958
Location
Widnes
Hi all,

My new dark grey Fiesta arrives a week on Saturday and I want to make sure I'm fully stocked to keep the car in a decent nick. Other than keeping the inside clean and not driving it into a bush, I will probably give it a good wash a lot more often than my current Clio receives to keep the paint in good condition more than anything.

When washing my car in the past I've quick washed, shampooed, polished and then that's it. From looking at threads on this forum it looks like I need wax. The problem is I don't want to spend £25 on some Collinite when I might only use it once in 4 months and then forget where I put it or something. Surely there's cheaper stuff that does just a good a job and isn't for people with OCD?

Cheers guys.
 
In my very amateur opinion a decent wax is the most important part of keeping your paint in decent condition. It also represents a good investment, my Harley wax which IIRC cost about £20 is just coming to an end... after about 6 years!
 
also once in every 4 months is probably slightly often :p a good wax once applicated will last a good amount of time, i imagine most only apply once every 6 months?
 
rG-tom said:
also once in every 4 months is probably slightly often :p a good wax once applicated will last a good amount of time, i imagine most only apply once every 6 months?
Click to expand...

Don't you need to reapply it every time you wash it? Or does the dirt just accumulate over the top of the wax?

Don't Ford coat the paint on the new cars too so I won't need to wax it for a while? Or wax it as soon as I get it?
 
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Kemik said:
Don't you need to reapply it every time you wash it? Or does the dirt just accumulate over the top of the wax?

Don't Ford coat the paint on the new cars too so I won't need to wax it for a while? Or wax it as soon as I get it?
Click to expand...

just about all new car paint finishes have a clear coat over the top to protect it (apart from that classic vauxhall pink, erm i mean red)

In theory this would be enough to protect the paint.

But people wax it to

A) make it look nicer

and

B) to protect the clearcoat. Because the clearcoat can get damaged which spoils the reflection of the car.

How long a wax lasts depends on the wax. Some of the spray on liquid waxes can barely last a month. Some of the good paste waxes can last 6 months.

Waxing is normally a process done only when it needs topping up. How often that is depends upon what wax you choose.

Do you want a wax that gives maximum protection or one that gives maximum shine, or one thats a nice blend of the two ?
 
MrLOL said:
How long a wax lasts depends on the wax. Some of the spray on liquid waxes can barely last a month. Some of the good paste waxes can last 6 months.

Waxing is normally a process done only when it needs topping up. How often that is depends upon what wax you choose.

Do you want a wax that gives maximum protection or one that gives maximum shine, or one thats a nice blend of the two ?
Click to expand...

I don't want to overdo it really. Polish seems to shine it up enough so protection / keeping the car cleaner for longer would be preferred.
 
DW think its crap but I decided last year to use up a bottle of Meguiars NXT Tech Wax I'd had kicking around.

It's STILL beading perfectly almost a YEAR later :eek:
 
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