Wax In Northeast Winter: How Long Will It Last?

[TomBrooklyn]

How long will a regular (cleaner) wax last in the Northeast US in the winter, on a vehicle that is parked on city streets?

Will it usually get though a whole winter?

Does it matter how much the vehicle is driven (as opposed to just staying parked?)

I got a coat of cleaner wax on my vehicle at the end of December, just before the temps dropped below freezing in NYC, where they are likely to mostly stay until March. That means the vehicle is unlikely to get washed for a couple of months, even if I could find a parking spot in front of my house. I might only put 200-300 miles on the vehicle per month.

[EVOlved]

Hey Tom, I am living in the same scenario as you. And my car sees slightly more mileage. Which cleaner wax did you use?

[damaged442]

Hard to say how long it will last. There are a few variables. What you are beating the paint up with.

I'm up in Central NY and they use salt and sand on the roads up here. I drive 350-400 miles per week. Regardless of what I use, it won't last on my paint as long as it will yours.

During the winter, I use Collinite 476. Seems to last the longest of what I have used, based on the conditions in which is use them. If I get a day above freezing, I'm washing and reapplying when I can. Gets me through. Is it spring YET?!

[KMdef9]

What cleaner wax is it?

Cleaner waxes aren't meant to be a strong long lasting LSP, assuming all cleaner waxes are a kind of AIO, but even then I don't think (maybe others can chime in) AIO's last as long as dedicated sealant or stout wax.

I'd recommend trying a sealant (Sonax PNS or WGDG) or long lasting wax like Collinite.

[Supergus1]

I'm in Maine and am dealing with a similar situation. So far I haven't found a regimen that lasts all winter. My truck has a coat of Meg's Cleaner Paste Wax that I applied back in the first part of October, and it's still beading pretty well but I imagine that the road salt will degrade the wax pretty quickly. It's been about 6 weeks since I last washed it and with the temps below freezing it'll likely be several more weeks before it gets washed again. When I do get it washed, I'll apply Meg's Paint Protect 365, hopefully before winter is over. That way I can gauge how well it holds up with the Road salt and winter neglect. All you can do is rinse using the high power wand at the coin-op as often as you can.

[EVOlved]

What cleaner wax is it?

Cleaner waxes aren't meant to be a strong long lasting LSP, assuming all cleaner waxes are a kind of AIO, but even then I don't think (maybe others can chime in) AIO's last as long as dedicated sealant or stout wax.

I'd recommend trying a sealant (Sonax PNS or WGDG) or long lasting wax like Collinite.

Exactly I was trying to find out what he was using but o well. I have been using PNS the last few seasons and it holds up to it well. 845 would be my next choice probably although this spring I'm putting on gloss coat.

[conman1395]

Meguiars Ultimate Paste Wax is supposedly very durable. Search for reviews around here.

[TomBrooklyn]

Which cleaner wax did you use?

I used Turtle Wax Cleaner Wax.

It seems to get a lot of ground in dirt out that washing alone doesn't get; but it doesn't seem to last a real long time.

I just recently got a 2006 Ford Econoline Cargo Van and it's got a lot of ground in dirt. I've waxed it twice since I got it, but I'm not sure if I got all the ground in dirt out that the wax can get. Now that it's freezing, and I can't wash the car, it's hard to tell.

I noticed the paint still feels rough all over; and I found out mainly from reading here that I need to clay it; so I will do that in the spring.

In the meantime, I'm wondering if there's some type of long lasting polish which I can put on top of this wax? If we catch a warm spell I might be able to do it before the winter is done.

I'm also going to get a rotary polisher. This van has lots of swirls and worse. It has some deep scratches. Those will need paint; and for now I plan to just use touch up paint. It also has dings that will require body work, but that's beyond the purview of polishing I realize; and I'll decide later if I want to invest any time or money into doing minor bodywork and paint on this vehicle. Either way, I would still like to get the paint looking up to snuff, even if it has dings.

And I'm going to be getting some other and likely used, but newer vehicles in the near future, and I'll be wanting to take care of the paint on them too.

[conman1395]

I used Turtle Wax Cleaner Wax.

It seems to get a lot of ground in dirt out that washing alone doesn't get; but it doesn't seem to last a real long time.

I just recently got a 2006 Ford Econoline Cargo Van and it's got a lot of ground in dirt. I've waxed it twice since I got it, but I'm not sure if I got all the ground in dirt out that the wax can get. Now that it's freezing, and I can't wash the car, it's hard to tell.

I noticed the paint still feels rough all over; and I found out mainly from reading here that I need to clay it; so I will do that in the spring.

In the meantime, I'm wondering if there's some type of long lasting polish which I can put on top of this wax? If we catch a warm spell I might be able to do it before the winter is done.

I'm also going to get a rotary polisher. This van has lots of swirls and worse. It has some deep scratches. Those will need paint; and for now I plan to just use touch up paint. It also has dings that will require body work, but that's beyond the purview of polishing I realize; and I'll decide later if I want to invest any time or money into doing minor bodywork and paint on this vehicle. Either way, I would still like to get the paint looking up to snuff, even if it has dings.

And I'm going to be getting some other and likely used, but newer vehicles in the near future, and I'll be wanting to take care of the paint on them too.

Don't get a rotary, get a DA to start. And for something that lasts, Duragloss 105 or 501 (if you want something with good cleaners)

[FUNX650]

And for something that lasts, Duragloss 105 or 501 (if you want something with good cleaners)

Can you tell me:
What are the "good cleaners", that are in DG 105/501...vs:
the cleaners that are in the OP's Turtle Wax Cleaner Wax (it sounds like you must think they're "not good").

TIA.


Bob