Best Car Wax 2019 – Top 7 Best Car Wax Guide

Best Car Wax – MaintainYourRide Recommends: P21S Carnauba Wax

P21S Carnauba Wax

Introduction – Best Car Wax

Automotive detailing has grown into a huge business with companies charging as much as $150 for larger SUVs, Vans, and Trucks.  While there are some intricacies and methodologies that can make or break a quality detailing job, most of this information is readily available online.

As a Do-it-yourself’er, you are probably very familiar with doing research and experimenting to save a few bucks.  Buying your own detailing products is not cheap.  However, it will save you a ton of money in the long term.  That $150 that you would spend getting a single professional detailing can go a long way to buying many of the highest quality car and truck detailing products.  While the professional job will quickly disappear after a few days of driving, the products that you purchase will last for months.

Detailing your car is not just important for keeping it looking fresh.  Many of the products also help protect your car reducing the wear and tear on things such as the paint, interior, tires, windows, electronics.  In the long run, this will allow you to retain much more resale value when you’re ready to upgrade your ride.

Waxing your car or truck is one of the most important steps to any detailing job.  Not only does it provide an extra level of cleaning and shine, but it provides a protective layer that helps prevent Ultraviolet Light damage and keeps fine scratches and contaminants from ruining your paint.

Not all car waxes are equal.  There are many different tiers of automotive wax, each at their own relative price point.  While it is not completely necessary to highest tier, most expensive products, waxes are important enough to warrant spending a little extra to make sure you’re getting the best car wax to provide the deepest shine and enhanced protection.

Choosing the right Automotive Wax for your car or truck can be difficult. The MYR Experts have compared the top 7 best car wax options available today.  We always provide a value, overall, and performance recommendation in the conclusion of each article.

Top 7 Best Car Wax 2019 Comparison

Ranking	Product	MaintainYourRide Rating
1	P21S Carnauba Wax	Check Price
2	Chemical Guys Butter Wet Wax	Check Price
3	Collinite #845 Liquid Insulator Wax	Check Price
4	Adam's Buttery Wax	Check Price
5	Mequiar's Black Wax	Check Price
6	Mequiar's Gold Class Carnauba Plus Wax	Check Price
7	Mother's California Gold Carnauba	Check Price

7. Mother’s California Gold Carnauba

Mother’s California Gold is a product line designed exclusively for high-end paint care. These products were designed to work together symbiotically and provide a great starting kit for your detailing needs.

Mother’s California Gold wax is a non-abrasive, pure Carnauba wax designed to be the finishing step to a complete paint detailing job. It uses a Brazilian #1 Yellow Carnauba and is completely non-abrasive meaning you can apply multiple coats to really bring out the superior shine and protection.

With just over four and a half stars across hundreds of reviews, it is hard to deny the effectiveness of this product even at it’s low price point.

Buy Mother’s California Gold Carnauba

6. Mequiar’s Gold Class Carnauba Plus Wax

Meguiar’s is one of the most popular consumer brands in the automotive detailing industry. They have multiple product lines of complete multi-step detailing kits that work great as starter kits for those just learning how to properly care for your ride.

Meguiar’s Gold Class Carnauba Plus Paste Wax is a clear coat safe wax with special long-lasting polymers that make it much easier to apply and remove. It is non-abrasive meaning multiple coats can be applied without worrying about damaging the clear coat. It is also rated for application with tools such as a Dual-Action Polisher or Orbital Buffer.

With well over four and a half stars, this affordable option from Meguiar’s is definitely the favorite amongst beginner and intermediate DIY detailers that are looking to get the most value for their money.

Buy Mequiar’s Gold Class Carnauba Plus Wax

5. Mequiar’s Black Wax

Meguiar’s Black wax is the MYR Recommended Value – Best wax for black cars. It is specially designed to produce outstanding levels of depth and shine on dark-colored vehicles. It doesn’t make use of dyes or colorants, instead, it is full of polishing oils, specially blended polymers and micro-polishing agents that add gloss and get rid of those pesky swirl marks that show so prominently on darker cars.

Due to the fact that it includes polishes, it is not recommended to apply multiple coats at once. You should get plenty of shine out of just a single good coating. Application using tools is also discouraged. Hand-application is best for a blended wax like this.

With just below four and a half stars across over five hundred reviews, this is a great value option for those of you with darker cars looking for a great shine.

Buy Mequiar’s Black Wax

4. Adam’s Buttery Wax

Adam’s Premium Car Care signature product line includes car wax, sealants, dressings, cleaners, and polishes. Their products are not mass-produced and each is carefully formulated with special blends of high-quality polymers, acrylics, and waxes.

The Adam’s Buttery Wax comes highly recommended from many of the top Auto Detailing forums on the internet. It is a Carnauba wax fortified with advanced polymers that provide increased protection and significantly easier application and removal. One of the more interesting features is that it never stains trim or rubber with an ugly white residue. That’s because Adam’s Buttery Car Wax is a pure car wax without abrasive powders or talc. This also means it can be safely applied with tools such as an Orbital Buffer or Dual-Action Polisher.

Reviewers across the internet have rated this wax almost five stars proving that it is a quality product from a great company. Plus, its made in the great USA!

Buy Adam’s Buttery Wax

3. Collinite #845 Liquid Insulator Wax

Collinite has been synonymous with quality, value, and durability with formulations dating back to 1912. Although Collinite manufactures a complete line of surface care products for automotive applications, the No. 845 Liquid Insulator Wax is by far their most popular product.

The No. 845 Liquid Insulator Wax is a Carnauba wax that contains no abrasives or cleaners. It does, however, contain a special formulation that makes it incredibly easy to apply and remove.
It leaves behind carnauba shine and durable coating that preserves finish and shields against the elements; UV, rain, snow, salt, dust, dirt, grime, bugs, staining and more.

This hand-poured wax, made in the USA, is rated at over four and a half stars across hundreds of reviews from around the web. If you’re looking for a great middle-tier wax from a company with great history, check out Collinite #845.

Buy Collinite #845 Liquid Insulator Wax

2. Chemical Guys Butter Wet Wax

Chemical Guys is a worldwide provider of the highest quality car care chemicals, car wash accessories, buffing pads and machines. Chemical Guys Butter Wet Wax is formulated to deliver an unmatched surface shine and deep wet look. Butter Wet Wax goes on easier, shines brighter and lasts longer than many major competitors.

The Chemical Guys Butter Wet Wax is a 100% Carnauba-based wax that has been specially formulated for ease of application, improved UVA/UVB protection, and extraordinary depth of color. This formulation is non-abrasive meaning its perfectly acceptable for hand application and machine application.

With an average of almost five stars across thousands of reviews and a reasonable price, this is clearly the best choice for middle tier automotive waxes.

Buy Chemical Guys Butter Wet Wax

1. P21S Carnauba Wax

P21S is a North American detailing company that is a subsidiary of a large European company called BIS Smartparts. They have been providing a great selection of top-tier automotive detailing products since 1984.

P21S Carnauba Wax is different from the other waxes because it is 100% Carnauba. This means that it is extremely easy to apply and remove, provides even better protection than the competitors, and won’t leave any powder or white stains on your trim. This gives you all of the power of Carnauba without the additives and doesn’t sacrifice ease of application/removal.

With nearly five stars across thousands of reviews, this is our choice for the top-tier automotive wax and receives the MaintainYourRide recommendation for best car wax on the market. Being a top-tier wax, it will cost a bit more than the lower-end waxes on this list. However, you should notice a pretty large difference in the results if you know what you’re doing.

Buy P21S Carnauba Wax

How to Properly Wax Your Car

Introduction

Properly waxing your car is the real-world definition of elbow grease.  It’s pretty intense manual labor.  So why even do it?

With increasingly busy lives, many people elect to head to the local drive-through car wash and pay the extra $3 for the spray-on Wax/Sealant coating.  While this may give you a bit of shine and some beading of water, it rarely lasts beyond a few days.  A high-quality sealant used in combination with a high-quality Carnauba Paste Wax can provide months of shine and protection for your car’s paint.

Automotive paint can fade very quickly with cars parked outside in the elements during the day.  Harmful UV rays can penetrate the car’s clear coat and begin to cause peeling and fading.  A high quality sealant and wax can provide the UV protection necessary to help prevent paint fade and peeling.

Most people dread driving in the rain because it always leaves a thick layer of grime and road spray all over your car.  With a proper seal and wax, rain becomes your best friend.  Any dirt that has accumulated on the surface will just rinse right off.  The sealant and wax prevent dirt and other contaminants from sticking to the small abrasions in the car’s paint/clearcoat.  Your car will come out cleaner than before it started raining!

How to Wax a Car by Hand

Waxing by hand is typically the safer option for beginners.  The process is actually very simple though labor intensive:

Step 1:  Apply the wax in a circular motion using the sponge applicator pad.  If one wasn’t included with your wax, you can get some really high quality applicator pads here.  Apply wax one panel at a time and proceed to step 2 before starting the next panel.

Step 2:  After allowing the wax on the panel to dry, use a clean microfiber cloth to wipe the wax away, again using a circular motion.  Make sure all of the wax residue is removed.  Repeat these two steps until the entire vehicle has been waxed on and waxed off.

That’s it!  Super simple process that just requires a little bit of time and some elbow grease.

How to Wax a Car with a Buffer

Using a buffer should be reserved for the more experienced folks.  Due to the power of the device, it is very easy to overdo it and cause damage to the paint finishes if you’re not careful.  Be sure not to apply too much pressure when using a buffer.  Also try not to stay on the same spot for a prolonged period of time.

Check out our recommended Automotive Buffer Package – Chemical Guys TORQ Detailing Kit

Step 1:  Apply wax to a sponge applicator pad on the rotary buffer.  Applying gentle, uniform pressure, do a few passes of buffing across the whole panel.

Step 2:  Remove the applicator pad from the buffer and apply the the microfiber polish pad and go back over the same panel removing the wax residue.

Repeat those two steps until the entire car is covered.  You may also elect to do Step 2 by hand if the buffer seems like its a bit too much.

Conclusion

MYR Recommended Best Car Wax – Overall – P21S Carnauba Wax
MYR Recommended Best Car Wax – Value – Mequiar’s Gold Class Carnauba Plus Wax

Washing your car is the an important step that must be completed prior to waxing your car.  We have done the research and written up a Buyer’s Guide for the Best Car Wash Soap along with how to properly use it to wash your car before the wax step.  Check it out!

Detailing your car may be a good time to consider cleaning your headlight lenses as well.  If you notice any clouding, hazing, or yellowing of the lenses, its time to get yourself a quality Headlight Restoration Kit.  Our Buyer’s Guide should provide all the information you need to get them looking great again.

While you are detailing your car, take a look at our Best Windshield Wiper Blades Guide.  Many people don’t even realize that their Wiper blades need replacing and this guide will show you the tell-tale signs of a bad set of wipers.