Is THIS The Best Car Wax For White Cars? 😲 Wax List + Tips
Dirt, grime, and other contaminants are easier to spot on white cars than on darker-colored cars because the darker paint can camouflage the dirt and grime. Therefore, it’s harder to bring out that shine or clean, detailed look on a white car. That’s why your white car needs to be waxed from time to time.
Why Should You Wax? What’s Wrong With A Simple Wash?
That last review in the graphic above made use of our product, Ceramic Spray, which is a spray-on ceramic coating that lasts up to one year.
A simple wash will help to remove dirt, debris, and grime from your car’s surface, but nothing more. Just like you have to apply oil onto your skin after a bath to bring out that supple, moisturized look, your car also needs a product that can help to bring out the brilliance of its paint after a wash - and that product is wax.
Brings Out Shine
Wax does a great job of giving your vehicle a high-gloss finish. It polishes the clear coat and brings out the intricate beauty of your car’s paint.
Protects Your Paint Job
On its own, your car’s paint is vulnerable to the sun’s ultraviolet rays. When left exposed to the sun with no protection, it slowly succumbs to fading, discoloration, and oxidation. Wax helps to prevent that - it resists the penetration of ultraviolet rays, allowing your car’s paint to maintain its original consistency.
In the same way, the layers of wax on carnauba leaves help to protect those leaves from the harsh tropical sun. Natural carnauba wax is widely regarded as the best wax for car paint and is harvested from carnauba tree leaves.
Prevents Water Spots
When raindrops cling to the surface of your car, they can collect dirt and other contaminants blown around by the wind. Therefore, when the raindrops evaporate, they can leave spots of dirt on your car’s paint. Water spots can even etch into your car’s paint. Car wax has hydrophobic properties, so it helps to shed water from the surface of your car’s paint and prevent the formation of water spots.
What Are the Different Types of Car Waxes For White Cars?
Car waxes for white cars are available in two main types: natural car waxes, which contain naturally occurring ingredients, and hybrid waxes, which include synthetic components. Hybrid waxes may consist of both natural and synthetic compounds, while some are purely synthetic. Under both natural and hybrid car waxes, there are two subcategories, i.e. cleaner waxes and finishing waxes. Under these two subcategories are the different forms of car wax, i.e. paste wax, liquid wax, spray wax, and rubbing compound.
The Best Option: A Ceramic Coating?
★★★★★ "My car is slick as glass!! I put the Ceramic Spray on my Corvette Stingray and it is very slick and shiny. I should have purchased it sooner. It is a great product. It made my wheels look new. Keeps off dirt and dust." - Charlie F.
Okay, okay, a ceramic coating isn’t technically a ‘wax’. However, it’s definitely worth considering given the benefits it offers. A ceramic coating lasts longer than car wax, and it also offers a stronger layer of protection against the sun’s UV rays. Moreover, it’s highly resistant to heat and chemicals and is highly hydrophobic. There is a downside, however, to opting for a ceramic coating: its price tag. It can cost $2,000 or more to have a professional detailer apply a ceramic coating onto your vehicle.
The good news is that there are more affordable options for ceramic coatings that don’t require you to engage a professional detailer. One of them is Torque Detail’s Ceramic Spray. Ceramic Spray is a spray-on ceramic coating that’s easy to apply. It creates a glass-like high-gloss layer over the surface of your car that repels water, dirt, and other contaminants, and that lasts for up to a year.
Hybrid Wax / Sealant
Thanks to their synthetic ingredients, hybrid waxes/sealants last longer and are tougher than natural waxes, and so they’re recommended for car owners who prioritize protection and durability when choosing a car wax.
Torque Detail’s Mirror Shine is a fine example of a hybrid wax/sealant. This product has a polymer-based formula that bonds to a car’s paint coating, forming a layer of impenetrable protection against the sun’s rays, dirt, and other contaminants. In addition to car paint, Mirror Shine also works on windows, chrome, fiberglass, and even alloy wheels. It lasts up to 6 months.
Carnauba Wax
Carnauba wax is the most popular form of natural car wax. It’s harvested from the leaves of the Copernicia Cerifera (or carnauba) palm tree, which is mostly found in Brazil. It’s available in two forms: yellow carnauba wax (the purer and more expensive grade) and white carnauba wax. Besides being used to wax cars, carnauba wax is also used in the production of cosmetic products, confectioneries and sweets, and pharmaceutical-grade medicine.
Carnauba wax’s greatest strength (as pertains to car waxing) is its superior deep, high-gloss shine. For this reason, it’s recommended for car owners whose primary focus is enhancing the appearance of their cars, e.g. for car shows. Carnauba wax also has a high concentration of p-methoxycinnamic diesters, which are known for their lubricity, their ability to withstand high temperatures, and their high resistance to oxidation.
Carnauba wax is also highly hydrophobic and does a great job of protecting car paint from the harmful effects of UV rays. Better still, it’s non-toxic, hypoallergenic, and smells amazing.
However, carnauba wax also has its disadvantages. One is that it’s more expensive than hybrid wax. Another downside of using carnauba wax is the fact that it wears thin quickly - you may have to apply a fresh coat every 6-8 weeks.
Synthetic Wax
Another name for a synthetic wax is a ‘paint sealant’. As its name suggests, synthetic wax only contains synthetic compounds. Its compounds or ingredients bond with your car’s paint, forming a durable layer of protection that can last for up to six months. While its depth of shine can’t match that of carnauba wax, it still leaves a sufficiently glossy and shiny look. Synthetic wax is also highly hydrophobic, and it effectively shields your vehicle from the sun’s rays.
Most average car owners prefer to use synthetic wax because it’s affordable, easy to apply, and requires less time to apply. Synthetic wax also has a more immediate effect, so you won’t have to wait for long to use the car after applying the product.
Tips For Choosing The Best White Car Wax
Here are some things you ought to consider when trying to determine the best car wax to use on your white car.
Durability And Longevity
White cars expose dirt and grime much more than darker colors like blue or black, and so they require cleaning more often. Wax prevents dirt and debris from sticking to the surface of the car, so having car wax that lasts a long time will improve your car ownership experience, as it will make it easier for you to keep your car clean.
Results
When white paint really shines, it looks outstanding. You also need a car wax that can effectively bring out the brilliance of your car’s white paint, giving it a high-gloss shine. Natural waxes like carnauba wax offer the best value in this respect, but high-quality synthetic waxes likewise leave a sufficiently glossy look.
Application
It’s easy to apply most hybrid or synthetic waxes because they’re mostly available in liquid or spray form. Liquid is easy to spread over the surface of a car and is easy to wipe off. Paste waxes like carnauba wax are far more viscous, so they require more effort to apply and buff off.
Price
The pricing of car wax does not depend as much on the type of wax as it does on the brand, and so it’s possible to buy both natural and hybrid/synthetic car waxes at affordable prices. However, the prices of natural car waxes can stretch to notably high amounts. Synthetic waxes are therefore the way to go if you’re looking for the best-priced option.
Non-Toxic Ingredients
It’s also important to choose a product that won’t trigger any allergies or cause any negative reactions. The ingredients of natural car waxes are non-toxic and hypoallergenic, so you’re unlikely to ever have any negative reactions to them. The ingredients of hybrid/synthetic car waxes vary from manufacturer to manufacturer but are also mostly non-toxic. Just be sure to check the ingredients of a car wax before you purchase it.
Environmental Factors
Natural car waxes like carnauba wax are eco-friendly, but so are water-based synthetic car waxes. All Torque Detail products, for example, are water-based.
However, it’s worth noting that car waxes won’t affect your environment much regardless. This is because you’ll probably only wax your car once every few months, and given the nature of the product, you won’t use much of it when doing the waxing. Therefore, it won’t make much difference eco-wise if you choose synthetic car wax over natural car wax.
How to Wax Your White Car
Materials Needed
- Torque Detail Decon Soap w/ Wash Mitt (for your first wash of the year to fully decontaminate)
- Torque Detail Ceramic Wash Soap (for subsequent washes to enhance your wax or ceramic coating)
- Torque Detail Scratch and Swirl Remover - a great polisher
- Torque Detail Ceramic Spray
- Microfiber towels
Step 1.) The Basic Wash
Before applying wax onto your car, you must first clean it thoroughly. Besides removing dirt and grime, you must likewise remove embedded surface contaminants that may not be visible to the naked eye, e.g. iron deposits and brake dust. You’ll also need to remove prior coats of waxes or sealants to enable the fresh wax to bond with your car’s clear coat layer. A decontamination soap like Torque Detail’s Decon Soap can help you strip off prior coats of waxes and sealants, and it can also remove various surface contaminants.
When using Decon Soap to wash your car, you should first hose the vehicle down with plenty of water to soften and loosen bits of dirt and debris. This pre-rinse process will work better with a pressure washer, as the higher water pressure will do a better job of dislodging dirt and debris.
After hosing down the car, get two large buckets and fill each of them with five gallons of water. Pour 4 oz. of Decon Soap into one of the buckets and stir to mix the soap and water. Let the other bucket be your rinse bucket.
After that, wet the surface of your car with the Decon Soap mixture, then use a high-quality microfiber wash mitt to gently scrub your car’s surface using back-and-forth motions. Work from the top downward and go from section to section. After completing every section, rinse off the wash mitt in the rinse bucket to remove the dirt it will have collected, dip it again in the soap bucket, and continue on to the next section of the car.
After scrubbing all the surfaces of the car, hose it down using plenty of water. You can repeat the process to achieve an even cleaner finish.
Step 2.) How To Polish White Paint
After cleaning your car’s white paint, you need to polish it to remove any scratches and swirl marks from the paint. With the scratches and blemishes covered up, the wax will be able to fully bring out the rich white color of your car while giving it a super-smooth, high-gloss shine and finish.
Torque Detail’s Reverse makes an excellent white paint polishing product. Besides repairing scratches and swirls, Torque Detail’s Reverse also removes water spots, spider marks, and other paint blemishes. Plus, thanks to the fact that it’s a synthetic polish, it won’t leave any hazing or streaking.
Applying Torque Detail’s Reverse is easy. After you’ve dried off your car following the wash, spray a small amount of the detailing product onto a clean microfiber towel and rub it into your car’s white paint. You can use either back-and-forth or circular motions - the primary objective is to rub the detailing fluid onto every square inch of your car’s surface. When you’re done with one section, e.g. the hood, use a fresh microfiber towel to buff off any excess polish from the surface of the car, and then move on to the next section. Always remember to work your way down from the top. You can then repeat the process to achieve an even better finish.
Step 3.) White Car Waxing And Hand Buffing
The next step is applying the white car wax. Torque Detail’s Mirror Shine comes highly recommended as a wax for white cars. As stated above, Mirror Shine is a highly effective hybrid wax/sealant that bonds to the clear coat layer of a car’s paint and delivers a glass-like shine.
It’s just as easy to apply Torque Detail’s Mirror Shine. Before starting the application process, ensure that the surface of the car is cool and dry. Don’t apply the Mirror Shine in direct sunlight, as it may evaporate before it’s had the chance to bond well with your car’s paint. If you can’t do it in a garage, do it in a shaded area when it’s cool outside.
When applying the Mirror Shine, spray some of it onto a section of your car’s exterior and then use a microfiber towel to work it into the surface of your car. After that, use another microfiber towel to buff off any excess fluid. Continue buffing the surface until you achieve your desired shine. You can then move to another section of your car’s exterior and repeat the process. Where you’ll feel like the wax has not achieved the level of polish and shine you desire, you can reapply the Mirror Shine and buff the surface again.
An alternative to Torque Detail’s Mirror Shine is Torque Detail’s Ceramic Spray. Being a ceramic coating, Ceramic Spray is of a higher grade than Mirror Shine. It lasts longer and offers better protection from the sun. The process of applying Ceramic Spray is identical to that of applying Mirror Shine.
NB: For subsequent washes after waxing your white car, it’s important to use a product that can maintain the high-gloss, deep shine finish and the layer of protection that Mirror Shine or Ceramic Spray provides. One such product is Torque Detail’s Ceramic Car Wash. This special car shampoo has been infused with ceramic for the purpose of enriching and extending the protection that the vehicle got with the initial waxing. Ceramic Car Wash is a pH-balanced product that won’t harm your car’s paint or leave behind any residue.
Frequently Asked Questions [FAQs]
How often should you wax a white car?
Car waxing ought to be done at least twice a year: before summer to protect your car’s paint from the season’s high temperatures and abundant sunlight, and before winter to protect your car from road salt, rain, snow, and hail.
However, you must also consider the fact that the more you expose your white car to the elements and the different things in your environment that may test your car’s wax coating, the more its wax coating will wear off. Therefore, if you use your car a lot, you ought to wax it more often. Many detailers recommend that white cars be waxed every three months.
What wax is best for white cars?
The best wax for white cars is one that does the best job of bringing out the brilliance of the paint and while also doing the best job of protecting it from damage and contamination. White paint’s primary enemy is stains, e.g. from dirt, bird droppings, or tree sap, so the wax you choose for your car should be able to effectively protect its white paint from stains.
Torque Detail’s Mirror Shine fits the bill. It brings out a deep, glossy shine that lasts for months, and because it’s both a wax and a sealant, it provides an impenetrable layer of protection that sheds dirt, bird droppings, and other contaminants.
Should I visit the car wash?
It’s never wise to take your car to the car wash after applying car wax. The bristles of the brushes used in most car washes harden over time as bits of dirt and other contaminants cake up on them. Therefore, those bristles can scrape off much of the wax and leave your paint more vulnerable to damage.
It’s better to use a waterless detailer because it won’t require you to use an abrasive wash mitt or brush. Turbo Detail’s Turbo Waterless Detailer is a fine example of a highly effective waterless cleaning product. You simply spray it onto the paint, give it a few minutes to soften and lift the dirt, and then use a microfiber towel to wipe it off together with all the dirt.
★★★★★ "My car is slick as glass!! I put the Ceramic Spray on my Corvette Stingray and it is very slick and shiny. I should have purchased it sooner. It is a great product. It made my wheels look new. Keeps off dirt and dust." - Charlie F.
Summary
It's a given that natural waxes like carnauba wax do a better job of delivering a deep, high-gloss shine, but they cannot match the long-term protective properties of synthetic waxes. As mentioned above, white paint requires both shine and protection, but more so the protection to keep off contaminants that are easy to spot on white paint. Synthetic waxes like Torque Detail’s Mirror Shine and Torque Detail’s Ceramic Spray are therefore the kind of wax products you ought to get for your white car.