I'll admit it. I don't really enjoy washing and detailing cars. None the less, I like the look of a clean, shined vehicle.

My truck is due for a good cleaning now that pollen season is winding down.

I have the popping Ford red metallic paint, good quality car wash, and plenty of microfiber wash cloths.

What is an easy to apply, good looking car wax or shine product with some level of protection for the paint.

I am not going to be doing the clay bar, fuel injected laser, 70,000 grit buffer with Japanese lacquer buffing compound, followed by spray applied 2 part carbon ceramic micronutrient jelly cured with a welding torch. Ain't gonna happen.

Wash, rinse, wipe on, and wipe off if necessary. Keeping it simple.

Thanks.

I use Technicians Choice 582. It’s a spray on ceramic like finish. I cut it with water and it puts a decent, protective shine on.

I recently bought a new car with a good, factory paint job that wasn’t swirled at the dealership. So far, Tech582 has been simple to use and fast.

I use a foam canon and a pressure washer followed up with the 2 bucket method. It typically takes me less time to wash the exterior of my cars than it does to drag out the pw, hoses, buckets, etc.

Amazon sells it at like 40.00 a gallon. It lasts a long time as you spray a couple of sprays per panel, wipe off, and buff.

This is the kind of stuff I want to know. Thank you.

I was also going to ask about the pressure washer as a rinse, soap, rinse tool as I have one with the low pressure nozzle and a soap tube.

My car wax and shine routine is as follows

1. Drive up to touchless car wash
2. Pay $15 for the wash with the supposed polish and wax
3. Drive in and let it do its thing
4. Drive out
5. Then it rains an hour later

I do this. I call it the "pre-wash" as I don't do the shine part, and it gets the worst of the gunk off. Important, as just getting the pollen off a car in the Florida springtime is otherwise an hour's job, to say nothing of lovebugs.

I have used Zaino products for years, and if I were going to use only one thing, it would be their
Z-CS Clear seal.

After wash and drying, just spray a tiny amount on a panel and wipe it til the whole panel is covered and move on to the next area. Let it dry and you are done. No buffing, wiping off or any of that other crap.

If you want shinier, buy their Z-6 ultra clean, and or Z-8 Grand Finale. Both are spray, wipe and forget.

Their products are designed to go on one on top of the other, but I have used any of these three alone after a wash to get a more than adequate shine and protection.

https://www.zainostore.com/product/Z-CS.html

That's going to limit options for anything that meaningfully improve finish and have durability. Sort of like "I'm gonna cook this brisket Texas style, but don't want any fire, smoke or really even an oven, so how can I make this work in a pot of boiling water?"

Whatever you settle on to improve current state of finish, I'd recommend considering a product like this, use after every wash or three depending on how often you clean the car. Won't replace proper wax, but will give better look and extend wax some.

Chemical Guys WAC_114_16 P40 Detailer Quick Detailer and UV Protectant

Most all the liquid waxes on the market for clear coat finishes are good, easy to apply and remove.

Meguiars, Zanio, Sonax, Turtle Wax, Mothers, all will do a good job, I generally stick with Meguiars Ultimate products. Its going to go on easy and come right off, if you have a large buffer with pads it's even quicker.

You can get this stuff locally at parts stores like Advance or AutoZone or crack a beer and have Bezos delivery to your casa.

Link

My wife and I just bought a new car last December.
At one point I asked about what was a good wax to protect the paint from Love Bugs.
https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...280079605#1280079605

We plan on having the car ceramic coated however the person we want to do it live on the east coast of Florida and we would have him do it while we visit friends out there.

Every one gave great advice so we just went with basic good old fashion paste Turtle Wax for now.
Last Saturday we washed the car twice then put a good coat of wax on it, for now. We plan on doing a second coat of wax right before the Love Bug season starts next month.

The system we used was that, I put the wax on and my wife followed behind me to remove it as it hazed up.

I started using ONR(Optimum No Rinse) 3 years ago and it's the easiest car wash I have used. You can use it on everything on your car too! I use a pump sprayer to apply it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...n_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/Optimum...d_i=B078DPCYFV&psc=1

for bugs and your front bumper:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...n_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Turtle wax hybrid solutions ceramic polish and wax works well on old and new paint.

If the surface of your vehicle is already in decent shape and would like a single-product application / process, you may want to give. . .

Meguiar's Cleaner Wax

. . .a try.

It goes on easy and comes off nicely with a micro-fiber cloth.

I do not let it ‘set’ for too long after putting it on.

The shine and protection is ‘nice enough’ and durability is decent.

A lot of work will get you better results, but the ‘effort to results’ ratio is ok for me.

Good luck!

Meguiar’s Ultimate Quik Wax - G200924

Super easy to use; impossible to fuck up; and being a Floridian, you'll like that you can apply in full sun. Leaves a great shine that lasts about a month. It can be applied in 1/2 hr as it's just spray on wipe off, very minimal buffing needed. Apply/spread with one microfiber, wipe off/buff with second one. I usually go through 3-4 sets of microfibers just to keep the buffing portion to a minimum.

The car will feel noticably smoother, 7/10 on water beading, bugs will spray off easily if coating is maintained.

A great additional feature is that it's very inexpensive as well.

Jescar Ultra lock+ is what I use. Apply with a foam pad, wait a half hour, wipe off with a microfiber towel. One coat lasts about 4 months and two coats lasts about 6 months. Hand washing makes the surface slippery smooth afterwards. When it rains, the water blows off of the car while you are driving.

Griot’s 3 n 1 Ceramic.

https://www.griotsgarage.com/ceramic-3-in-1-wax/

I used to do a really good wash/wax strip, then apply a really good coat of wax twice a year.
Sadly, I don’t have time for that anymore.

I wash the car and then I use Griots 3 n 1 Ceramic and it works very well FOR WHAT IT IS.
Needs to be applied once a month but it is super quick and easy.
Literally spray on with a nice mist let it sit for just a little bit and then wipe it off.
Takes no more than 10 minutes, not including the wash itself.
For the wash I use Chemical Guys Honey Dew Snow Foam, Body Wash & Wax, or if the truck is super Muddy their Tough Mudder.