If you own a car and want to keep it looking clean and shiny through the duration of said ownership, then car wax can make this task a whole lot easier.
That’s provided of course you know how to use it properly and use a decent quality product. In this guide, we explain why motorists use car wax, how it differs to other car cleaning products and list some of the best wax for cars you can buy right now.
What is the purpose of car wax?
The main purpose of car wax is to protect your vehicle’s exterior and in addition enhance its shine.
Car wax can be useful in not only keeping your car’s body shiny, but also protect it from airborne contaminants. Car wax can also make washing your car an easier experience, prevent paint chips and fill in shallow scratches that may crop up, although it won’t remove scratches from a car.
Car wax can come in different forms including as a paste, as a liquid or in the form of the spray. While the latter two are considered ‘synthetic car waxes’, the paste types are known as ‘natural car waxes’.
Difference Between Car Wax and Car Polish
Both car wax and car polish are things you may apply to a car after it has been washed. If you plan to do both though, then the car polish is meant to be applied BEFORE the car wax is used.
Car polish can come in various forms including liquids, sprays or creams, but in all cases its main purpose is to prepare a car for waxing by removing dirt, grease, scratches or other imperfections on the bod with solvents.
It’s worth bearing in mind also that there are car shampoo products that exist which also combine a car wax within the product’s mixture.
Best wax for car
There are a wide range of car wax products available in the UK. But which is the best?
Listed below are five of our recommendations when picking the best car wax to use on your vehicle:
Bilt Hamber double speed-wax
Standard Price: £14.95 (250ml)
Hard to find in local stores but straightforward to get online, this car wax from Bilt Hamber is easy to apply and remove and comes with a decent quality cloth and applicator.
Not the cheapest product around but far from being the most expensive either, this particular car wax is a solid all-rounder.
Simoniz Original Wax
Standard Price: £6 (150g)
This particular car wax product has more of an old school feel to it and when you first open it up the scent is more industrial than most alternatives which smell more elegant.
Don’t let any of this fool you though, this is still a decent car wax product which takes some effort to apply but works very effectively. It’s so strong that you’ll probably only need to apply it to your car just once or twice every year.
Autoglym High Definition Wax
Standard Price: £47.15 (150g)
This is noticeably more expensive than the majority of other car wax products on the market, but if you’re willing to make the expenditure then this is a really good product to get.
Not only is the wax itself of high quality but you also get some other very useful items with the wax, including a microfibre cloth, two wax applicators and a resealable bag to keep this stuff in.
Meguiars Gold Class Carnauba Plus Paste Wax
Standard Price: £22.50 (311g)
This paste wax is softer than other similar products and comes with a good applicator.
Like the Autoglym car wax, this product from Meguiars is for those willing to spend a relatively large amount on car wax, but the quality really does show when using it. Put simply, it’s an easy product to apply and leaves a really nice shine on your car.
Turtle Wax Original Car Wax
Standard Price: £6 (250g)
An affordable and dependable product from a well-established brand, the Original Car Wax from Turtle Wax comes in all sorts of forms to suit difference preferences from motorists.