How often do you wax your car?

[chris jd]

I have a red hot Camaro and I love the color. How often can you/should you wash/wax your car in a commercial car wash to maintain the paint/prevent rust. I was thinking about waxing once a month. Is that excessive, not enough, or just right?

[benji276289]

I wash and wax (I use Liquid Glass Auto Polish) as needed. I usually check the forecast first and if there are two or more clear days forecasted then I will do whatever the situation calls for. It's a waste of time and effort if it is going to either rain or snow within two days. You can put as many coats of Liquid Glass on as you like. I bought my car in March and have about seven coats on.

[roorback]

Depends on a few things. Is your car an inside or outside car? What products do you use? You can wax it whenever you want but remember the more you wash/wax the more chance you have to damage the paint unless you do it properly. There are plenty of good threads in the detail section of the forum. Wash with quality materials (many rec 2 bucket system) and I suggest using longer lasting quality polishes like Zaino or Adams if you can swing it. It's expensive stuff but they work well and provide amazing shine/protection.

[01pewterz28]

I wax mine every other weekend or if I am going to a car show/cruise-in's. I wash mine only if it gets rained on. My car is a weekend only car.

[Camaro_Corvette]

Once a year...

[chris jd]

I have an outdoor car in NY. So it gets exposed to rain, snow, salt and other conditions which may arise. For now, I can only do commercial washes and waxes which use turtle wax and armor all I believe. For commercial washes and waxes, what is ideal?

[Scalded Dog]

I give it new Turtle Wax (flame on, elitists!) every two months or so. Had somebody tell me that car wax has abrasives in it, and that "over- waxing" can damage a car's finish. However, I've never been able to verify that from any legitimate source... seems to be urban legendish, probably started by that lazy dude down the street who explained to his wife why he never does it, by telling her that it's a bad idea to wax the car.

[11TexaSS]

Hand polish and wax about every 6 months. Sometimes longer, my car is always in the garage and only driven on clear days so that may be too much. Usually use a duster and spray detailer in between.

[lbls1]

Once a month is fine. At some point you should polish clean the paint and apply new wax. I polish clean once a year, and start off with new wax which carries me to the next year. You can go longer without starting over, especially if your car is stored; The look of a fresh polish detail and wax to me is one of the best things with maintaining the appearance of a car.

[Norm Peterson]

Couple times a year for my car and my wife's Subie, maybe once/year for the other two. Speaking of . . . I should go put a coat on mine before it gets too hot out and I really won't want to.

Spray detailer - all of our cars are "outdoor cars" . . . and I doubt that there's anything quicker or easier for quickly removing the odd bird poop than that stuff.


Norm

[DylanVK]

Almost constantly, but thats only b/c I'm always testing something.

[JTruck]

So much wrong in this thread I don't know where to start. So I will keep it simple.

If you care about your cars paint, don't use a commercial car wash, it will be destroyed with swirls after a few uses. Turtle wax and armor all are crap products.

There is no time frame on when you should and should not wax. If water begins to not bead as it once did, then it is time for a wax.

[Gillis]

Never. I use a polymer sealant twice a year so I don't need to wax. Wash and dry with detail spray once a week.

[motorhead]

Once a year for me. Anything else would be a waste of time and money. Not a daily driver though. I would probably do it twice a year if it was..although I never wax my daily road warriors. Lol