What Wax/polish products should I use?

I eventually want to do a full polish on my 01 pretty soon but I’m not familiar with all the products out there. I don’t need to be the glossiest 1st gen out there I mainly just want something that’ll protect for awhile while bringing back a little bit of that new look. I’ve heard of Chemical Guys and a few others but I’d like to know what you guys used and how you liked it.

 

Chemical Guys excel at marketing more so than any other detailing brand. Their products are just OK though, better than using nothing but likely far from best at any particular category. As for polishing I've never heard anything good of their various polishes. Beyond that there are more good product lines than you'd ever get to try. Carpro is probably my go to brand but there are plenty others.

For polishing I'd recommend the brand 3D and their hybrid compound/polish called ONE. Depending on the pad you pair it with it can be aggressive or light. With polishing you always try to go the least aggressive approach to achieve the results you'd like. You also ALWAYS perform a test spot on the vehicle, never assume a certain combination will always work. Looking at your thumbnail it appears you have a white Tacoma. White Toyota trucks are single stage paint (not a base color with clear coat on top) which can behave differently than other paints. Usually this single stage white just gets oxidized and has a chalky look to it. You may find that you can use a fairly mild approach to get rid of the oxidation and bring back some shine.

I'd recommend the Griot's new G9 for an entry level polisher. Their BOSS pads are really good too. The brand Lake Country also has many excellent pad lines. Their "thin" pads are also a good choice on the entry level powered polishers.

Check out Apex Detail on youtube for some of his polishing videos for tips.

 

This is great thank you!

 

X2. Carpro is becoming my go to brand. 3D is excellent.

 

I like Meguiars products. That Ultimate Wax is awesome.

 

The recommendations are going to vary depending on how in-depth of a job you want to do.

To me, it seems like you are aiming for a minor polish with fillers and wax in it. If so, you can consider an all-in-one product like 3D’s Speed or Meguiar’s 3-in-1 wax.

Or, if you're looking for some paint correction to remove swirls, scratches, and then applying a dedicated/separate wax. Then, consider something like Griots Garage Fast Correction Creme or Sonax Perfect finish. Follow the polish with a wax like

$21 Collinite 845 Insulator Wax-Easy to Use Carnauba+Polymer Wax Sealant-High Gloss Shine+Durable Hydrophobic Beading & Long Lasting Paint Protection for Cars/Boats/Trucks/RVs & Motorcycles (16 fl oz)

Collinite 845 or Finish Kare 1000p or Fusso Coat. It won’t be a a full on paint correction transformation since you’re missing a compound stage, but you’ll get some nice results with good protection.

Keep in mind, these products will only do as good as the prep work. Consider clay baring your truck first and then get into polishing/waxing.

Chemical Guys may have some decent products, but for the price, there are other brands that beat the results.

 

I also have a super white .
Griots garage has been a household name around these parts since 2010
They have a random orbital polisher ....I swear it takes an hour to do your complete truck . Well worth the cash .
As mentioned above , a clay bar kit to begin . After that Griots products are second to none .
https://www.griotsgarage.com/home.do

 

I’ve been using

$21 Collinite 845 Insulator Wax-Easy to Use Carnauba+Polymer Wax Sealant-High Gloss Shine+Durable Hydrophobic Beading & Long Lasting Paint Protection for Cars/Boats/Trucks/RVs & Motorcycles (16 fl oz)

Collinite 845 for years and like it. It doesn’t last long, but it is super easy to apply and buff off.

I usually clay once a year and wax every 3 or 4 months. My truck is silver, and IT’S A TRUCK, short of a major scratch, I don’t really mess with the swirls.

 

This info is great! I’m definitely gonna be looking into these brands once I get payed. It is starting to get that chalky look to it in a lot of areas and has already done a lot of chipping damage on the driver side bed. So hopefully with one of these brands it’ll prevent more chipping, at least for now. Guess we’ll see.

 

No wax is going to protect from Chips. Just offer some protection from the elements.

If the truck is already looking chalky, you will need to do some correction to bring the shine back. Wax won’t do much for that either. You need to get the oxidation taken care of. McGuires scratchx and swirlx should work, and I’ve done it by hand (your arm will be sore at the end of the day). Do a good correction now and spend the time. There is a good video on scratchx and swirlx on your tube and how to do it by hand, then just add wax in the end and keep up with it.

(I’m suggesting cheap products, BTW. Every thing I have suggested and clay will run you less than $100 total)

 

Try Turtle Wax Hybrid Ceramic Coating. It has great reviews on YouTube and the net. It is only $16 on Amazon. I used it on my 2020 and it was way easier than traditional wax and the finish is amazing. It is also expected to last 6-12 months.

 

I used this product last week on my truck so far am very impressed. So easy to apply I did a second application immediately after finishing the first. Washed it this afternoon and she looks great. It'll be interesting to see how it holds up.......

Maybe I'll hit it again in the next month or so.

 

What products you should use depends on several things. How much time do you want to spend on detailing? How often do you want to detail? And probably most importantly, what kind of equipment do you have or are willing to purchase? Let's look at each one separately.

If you're like some of us, you actually enjoy detailing your vehicle and spending the better part of a day messing with one vehicle doesn't bother you because you get a certain satisfaction in making something look better than new. (Of course some folks think we need a therapist too.) To truly make a vehicle look great takes time and effort. If you don't want to spend much time detailing, any number of All in One (AIO) products will probably be all you need. These products generally contain cleaners, fillers and some sort of wax / sealant all in one, hence the name. They're the ones who advertise a simple wipe on / wipe off of their product will turn even a junkyard vehicle into a show car. Many of these products are just snake oil though. The beauty of the better AIO products is that they're pretty easy to apply and remove, and do indeed make a vehicle look somewhat better. They also don't require any special equipment to apply.

As for how often you want to detail, there are numerous products out there that can make a vehicle look pretty darn good - some for a very short period of time. Many of these products are used by car dealership "detailers" to quickly make almost any vehicle look great. Most of them are what I call "putting lipstick on a pig" and wash off in the next rain storm.) Some - like one of my old favorites - Collonite 845 - look awesome, but only last a month or two before needing reapplication. And remember, something like Collonite 845 is just a wax with no cleaners or fillers. So unless the painted surface is in pretty good shape, this product is not going to work very well.

Finally we get to what kind of equipment you have or want to invest in. If you want to do everything by hand, you're automatically going to limit both what products you can use and what kind of real results you're going to be able to obtain. Quite simply, even a basic dual action polisher (like a Griot's) will significantly increase your ability to truly remove / correct defects in a painted surface. A basic machine will also allow you to start using specific polishes designed purely for correction. This does mean that you will need an additional step to apply a wax / sealant / coating to protect that beautiful finish you just created. There is really no need for a machine when using an AIO product, although you can use one.

Getting back to the OP, what are your answers to these questions? Then we can help you even more. Heck, we can probably assist you in your path down the rabbit hole of detailing. Lord knows I have enough products, machines, pads, towels, etc. littering my path.

 

I just tried the Turtle Wax hybrid ceramic wash and the spray on ceramic protection and couldn’t be happier. No water spots after a rain and very slick after the second coat a week later. I own a black truck and we all know how much fun they are to keep looking decent . Been a Meguiars fan for years but this stuff works and is affordable.