[tbird]

Living in South Florida, having a "clean car" is sometimes more important even than what you drive. So I have tried many products. Here are the basic categories of wax : Abrasive paste, Carnuaba, Silicone, Teflon, Polymer.

Turtle Wax gives that glossy feel because it is abrasive and you are literally sanding your car's paint. Smooth....of course. Will your paint last past 3 years? Hell no. Next is Carnuaba, we all know this one, it's great, but it is a heck of a lot of work to apply and buff.

Next is silicone...NEVER USE THIS!! If you ever use silicone and want to touch up any nicks/dings in your paint, you can't. The paint shop will refuse to do it and force you to sand/paint the entire panel. Silicone absorbs into any imperfection in your paint and then starts to lift the paint from your car. It can only be fully removed by sanding, and it can't be painted on top of.

Teflon is great, lasts a year or more, but it must be professionally applied to truly work, and it does remove a bit of your paint, so after 5 years or so, your paint is shot. Be careful on using this one.

Also, none of the first three types can be "stacked". If you think you are putting on "three coats of wax", you aren't. Each new application buffs off the last. The only way to stack your wax is to use polymer wax, which makes a hard shell, so once it is dry, you can apply more.

I have been using a polymer wax product called "Liquid Glass" for about 6 years now. A coworker who did cars for car shows put me onto it. Very expensive, $20 for a can of it, but once you put on a couple of coats, your car is LITERALLY slick as glass. If you get a "California Duster" and dust your car off each day as well, your car will stay spotlessly clean for about 3 to 4 weeks (not in the snowy north of course, different story there).

I have been trying the new NanoWax lately, I use it on my second car (my commuter car) since I don't worry about it as much as my 135cic, and the NanoWax is nice, and is not harming the paint. However, it is not as strong. It is more for basic "super quick" wax jobs when you run out of time and simply need to wax quickly.

Oh, and one last thing. I saw mention of the Clay Bar. Definite caution for that, it is only for paint that is in bad shape, and after you use it twice, you need to replace it, as all the dirt it picks up will then be used to scratch up your car when you prolong its use. Only use this if you have fading or bad wear/tear on your paint.

Good luck in finding Liquid Glass. Hard to find, but absolutely worth it.