I read online once a year is fine, you just need better wax. I mean come on Nu Finish ran a car through 52 consecutive car washes, even after all the harsh detergents and scrubbing, the water still beads.
Once a year is not enough for long-term paint protection, 'prettiness' aside.
A lot of this depends on where you live... Heat, salt, the environment can affect wax and paint quite a bit.
I really don't care to argue back and forth about it, but I have to point out:
1) I never said anything about super-duper-prettiness. Just that once a year was fine for protecting a modern finish. And the majority of cars get far less.
2) Carnauba wax sucks. Sorry, it has no place on a daily driver unless someone REALLY likes the masturbation of car cleaning...but they ARE easy to apply and make the car shiny, I guess.
So, what do you recommend?
...the alternative.
Synthetic waxes. Polymer sealant. Whatever you wanna call it- I had always just heard of it referred to as a type of wax, but 'paint sealant' seems to be becoming the more popular term.
Meguire's NXT is still a pretty good standard, it seems like. There's probably stuff that is equal or better, but since NXT is on the shelf anywhere you go, it's a good default. I won't claim to be a pro at detailer; much the opposite. I'm a lazyass. But my experience with that 'wax' versus actual carnauba is quite positive. It's hard to sort out the science-y bits because there are so many polar opposite claims out there.
Real wax gives a better shine. But being an actual wax, I would also have a strong suspicion that the people who say it is soft and sensitive to heat are probably right. Science gave us hardened clearcoat. I'm inclined to believe they've also been able to seriously improve on paint protectants over the years.
edit: also of note is how hard old car knowledge dies. I still think claims of wax, any type, needing to be applied 5-6 times or more a year, are bogus grandfathered information originating from the days of 'the paint on your new car will oxidize if you look at it funny.'
You need better wax. Do you use the 'detail shop special'? The stuff that wipes off super easy but does nothing except make the car shiny for a little while?
I can go hit my car with the hose and take pictures of the water beads, if you'd like. You can still feel the wax on it. And I think it's been OVER a year.
This is ignoring the fact that what is likely a majority of people never wax their cars. Ever. They don't even know they're supposed to. 'Yeah, it gets wax sprayed on it at the car wash!'
Obviously I don't advise people to not wax their cars. More saying that you seem to be stuck in the enamel paint days. Or the subsequent 'hey we discovered clearcoat, but holy crap are we terrible at it' period. But nowadays, newer cars withstand the abuse a hell of a lot better. And to add to that, there are modern products that are a hell of a lot more useful than carnuba wax.
It is highly likely that this was repainted after a collision. It is rare for factory paint to become like that in less than 10 years unless it is a pattern failure aka a known problem for certain model/year paint
It is highly likely that this was repainted after a collision. It is rare for factory paint to become like that in less than 10 years unless it is a pattern failure aka a known problem for certain model/year paint
that series of dodge trucks had a bad rep for paint already. pretty much every one of them i see has that clear coat issue. i think it was across the board for the 90s dodge vehicles, caravans, neons and a lot of other models had the same clear coat issues.
i have a 2001 ram that is painted paradise blue (no, that wasnt available that year. it should be two-tone red/ grey for a 01! nope, its got the dealer color code on the door. paradise blue.) and it rarely ever gets waxed. the clear coat is still nice, the paint color is still vibrant. when i had a fender repainted a couple years ago the painter told me he didnt have to do much alteration to the paint to match the original color, he was surprised it looked as good as it did. this truck rarely gets washed, ive had it since 06. its always been a work truck, it lives outside without even a driveway cover. i really should take better care of the paint, but its been scratched up so much from being a work truck, id likely repaint it and then start taking care of it. i do take care of my pristine subaru 96 legacy GT paint tho. not weekly wash/ wax, but at least once a month washes with wax every 6 months. the silver on that still looks great.
I dont keep cars for 10 years so I dont need to wax every other month. Once a year is good enough for me. Cars to me are disposable items and are treated as such. Sure I keep up the maintenance and what not but when it's reached it's expiration date I replace it.