WHAT IS THE BEST WAX AND HOW DO YOU GET IT OFF YOUR TRIM?

Welcome to the Club, TOCAN!

As far as which wax to use, I would suggest that you use the search feature above and search for "wax" in the Appearance forum only. I'm pretty sure that there have been many discussions on this very topic that you might be interested in.

Personally, I use a wash and wax mixture every week made by Turtle Wax called ZipWax Extreme Wash and it works to my satisfaction (and I kill two birds with one stone with wash and wax together).

Once again, welcome and have fun here...

I use Meguires products. Home Page
Good stuff, Gold Class is an excellent wax. I use a toothbrush to remove wax from trim parts. I also wipe all exterior plastic trim pieces with Natural Shine Vinyl & Rubber Protectant same company and to the tires with endurance, same company again. I'm happy with the stuff.

About two years ago Consumer Reports did a report on car waxes. They rated several waxes on several qualities (long lasting, shine, hazing scratching, etc.). There were several best waxes, depending on your priorities. I use Armor All Wax, it and Prestone were rated high in longivity, but the Prestone is hard to find. If you have access to back issues of Consumer Reports you could read and decide which properties suit your needs best.

Rain-X Ultra "wax" (not quickwax). Easy on, easy off, lasts a long time, very slick and shiney. It's hard to find.

I use meguires purple Endurance tire goo to get the wax off of the trim. I think you can also use WD-40.

seamonkey,
Do you use the paste or the liquid form of Rain-X?

I use the liquid. These are the waxes ive tried and choosen it over.

Zymol- (unremarkable, smells like banana's)
Meguires- (shiney, gone in 2 weeks.)
turtle wax extreme- (lasts a long time, not shiney)
Autofom- (very weird, sticky)
Eagle Wet- (gone in 2 weeks)

Thanks seamonkey,
The local Kmart is closing down and they had both types still in stock. I'm heading there today to pick some up!

I ordered th Rain X Ultra Wax some time ago at Pep Boys and it never came in !!!!!! Dammit!!!!! I have used Meguires and like it. I would like to get my hands on Rain X but can't seem to complete the mission. Damn you, KHAN!!!!!!!!!

I will jump in here, as I had similar questions recently about waxing and or buffing my X!

I ended up, on suggestions by folks here, using the Mequiar's 3 step products. AWESOME look! It takes a good couple of hours between washing and the three seperate steps, but looks great!

Then to take the wax off any body molding, I used the Mothers Back to Black. It works on all colors, not just black. Used it Friday for the first time to take excess wax off and it makes the molding look like new! It cleans the molding and leaves a very slight shine.

Don
King Of Striper Fishing

Meguiar's Brand '4LIFE'.... Ironically, I just did the 3-step + an extra coat of
wax for good measure... "Big Bertha" is getting ready for that SoCal
summer sun... But to each there own... Like Mineral said, do a quick
search in this forum for further reviews and such... Again welcome to
XOC, Tucan... Lates!!!

- Air B

I'm still searching for the RainX wax, :rolleyes: but I did discover a soap/wax combo made by RainX. Pretty cool looking, bright "mineral" blue with little yellow "wax" beads floating around in it. Anyone used this stuff? I saw it at Wal-Mart. Also, where are you all getting Mother's Back to Black? I've looked in several stores including an auto-parts store and haven't found it. Any help would be appreciated, did a bit of mudding this past weekend and my lovely yellow X needs some work!

Symantha

Mother's Back to Black could be purchased at Pep Boys for sure (that's where I bought mine).
But I'm sure you can find them at the more 'well known' automotive stores like Kragen Auto
Parts or Autozone... Heck, maybe Target or Walmart may have it... Good luck, Symantha...

- Air B

Not at Autozone, NAPA, CarQuest, Reillys, Target, or Walmart... I already checked...

Check the Mothers web site for a retailer in your area.

http://www.mothers.com/retailers/retailers.html

If the store does not carry the full product line, ask them to order some.

dave and xtoy - back to dirt

The Prestone "Bullet Wax" that CR rated so well is all but impossible to find. I hunted high and low for it a long time ago and finally stumbled across one on the shelf at a Nissan dealer of all places. Not sure if it is even on the market anymore. It's not on their website.

As for Back to Black, here's the best way to use it:
Wash the vehicle.
Wipe down all the plastic with B2B, leaving a good "coat" in place.
Wax.
Wipe off the excess B2B, taking the stray wax with it.

Brent

Thanks Mineral for checking... PEACE!!! WORD!!!

- Air B

I just picked up 4 bottles at Kmart (going out of business). If you really want, I could pick you guys up a bottle and mail it to you for $10 (shipping included).

The Meguiar's three-step system is by far the best out there, IMO... Sure, it's a pain in the ass to apply (and de-apply!) three coats, but when you're done - it really, really looks hot.

If you're changing brands or have scratches and want to really clean up the paint - wash the truck down in dishwashing soap, which will remove all the wax. Start fresh, start clean.

Remember - whatever wax you use, apply front-to-back only, never in circles. Remove only with a clean cotton terry cloth (freshly washed, no softener, rip label off). Don't do it in the sun. Always wash the truck before waxing!

Got mine Mother's BtoB at True Value...
And I heard Nationl Liquidators got them cheap too!

3M - what the professionals use, and can be found locally (here) at Pep Boys...

By far the best I have used (over 25 tested).

I use it on all 5 of my vehicles, with excellent results - one being a 38 year old paint job that most would not believe is original to the car.

FWIW.

Check out the shine! I used Meguiars 3 step..... My X

I think that about says it all, no?

And it only took 2 1/2 hrs!??? Sorry about the driveway pic but since we are talking about wax.....

Damn Rick... That's sh!t's the bomb... Nice wax job man...
Now that's SHOWROOM SHINE!!!

- Air B