Hi folks, what cleaning and waxing products would you recommend for the best finish and lasting results? I won’t use jet washes etc and prefer to do it myself, but would really like a decent finisher to get a longer lasting shine. I’ve read polishes are abrasive and understand silicon products should be avoided. Any brands that you personally use which get tip-top results? 
This will depend on the current condition of your paintwork. If you wish to remove swirls and imperfections you’d ordinarily need to use a machine polisher with appropriate compounds and polishes to achieve the desired level of paintwork correction.
With this, it’s helpful to understand the difference between a polish and a wax, as these are often misunderstood and confused and the terms are used interchangeably.
Most car waxes are a combination of natural waxes and other solvents used to smoothen the appearance of the paint on your car by filling in any small imperfections in the paintwork that may exist.
Car polish in contrast, is an abrasive polish that is designed to remove the very fine layers of the top layer of your protective paintwork layer (clearcoat) – leaving a smoother, even surface which catches the light and gives off a very shiny, highly-polished effect. Many car polishes also include certain types of gloss-enhancing oils which help to create a shiny effect on your paintwork.
As far as wax recommendations go, with durability in mind as you’ve mentioned a ‘longer lasting shine’ :
Collinite 476: https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/collinite-476s-super-doublecoat-auto-wax
Soft99 Fusso Coat: https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/fusso-coat-dark-200g
Bilt Hamber Double Speed Wax: Double Speed-Wax - Bilt Hamber
I have all of these and would recommend them all. I’ve seen best durability with Collinite, with 12-18 months of protection (the paint still repelling water and producing noticeable beading) from a vehicle left outside all-year round. The others you would see upto 12 months’ protection, depending on environmental factors. If you’re near the sea or manufacturing plants/rail lines etc this can diminish depending on the level of airborne contaminants and ‘attacks’ on the car’s paintwork.
Polishes and compounds I’m also happy to recommend, but this would be based on the equipment available and what you want to achieve.
Hope that helps.
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Thanks for the really comprehensive reply Wardy. My paintwork is in really good condition already, apart from a couple of stone chips, so I’m really after a good wax finisher to add some shine and protection.
I will definitely be taking a look at the recommendations above and making some purchases. Roll on some nice dry weather so I can get cracking!
What sort of cleaning detergents do you prefer? Is anything particularly more effective or are they all pretty similar?
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Ello, if you have a look at my build thread there’s a chunk in it somewhere from when I machined the life out of it post 68 I think shows the condition it was
I’ve been doing detailing for years and did it professionally for a spell
I recommend autobrite direct products. They’re excellent and well priced, the magifoam is by far the best snowfoam I’ve ever used (I’ve used lots) and the correct it range polishes are brilliant aswell
The only other brand item I regularly use is auto finesse’s tyre creme because it’s excellent and doesn’t sling
In November autobrite always do a huge sale and I normally stock up then
I feel the majority of popular brands are purely paying for the name - not to say they’re not good, but I don’t think many of them justify the prices they charge when half of it’s rebranded anyway.
Wax wise I do use a selection between auto finesse show wax illusion and a more sturdy wax like essence then I’ve got a few others but I tend to just stick to the 1 base wax and if needed a show wax on top but not often
Koch chemie p1.01 is an excellent finishing polish (probably my favourite) and is great for a quick pass with a machine for upkeep
Realistically you’re gunna get different answers whoever you ask as everyone’s got different favourites, but the brands I like to stick to -
Autobrite direct (mostly)
Auto finesse
Koch chemie
Gtechniq - excellent products and the only ceramic coating I would entertain (I’ve used it loads it’s brilliant)
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I really like AMD, There based in elgin but super fast delivery and his products work really well. But detailing is always personal choice - Bilt hamber is also A*****!!!
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This is just what I do, not advice. I don’t do detailing. But I do make some effort to avoid damaging what’s there.
Mine has light swirls on the bonnet (it was a dealer car for 6 months) but I haven’t been near it with polish, let alone a machine polisher which in the hands of an amateur like me can do more harm than good.
A clay bar early on removed a surprising amount of surface contamination. It has not been needed in the following 5 years, probably because the car is a fair weather / summer one, garaged and kept clean.
Washing is simply the 2 bucket method, using Autoglym shampoo and noodle mitts rather than sponges (I use sponges on the wheels). I have a separate mitt for the sills, arches and valances just in case I pick up grit. I rinse first with a hose, then a watering can full of rainwater or softened water, I’d rather wash it on a cloudy day but if any of it dries the softened water doesn’t leave spots. I then dry it with a clean (usually new) microfibre cloth. We use them for all sorts so the used ones after washing get demoted to household jobs, underbonnet wiping, cleaning door shuts etc.
Now and again it gets waxed. First a cleaning wax (Snapseal) then Naviwax, which somebody recommended to me a few years ago and I bought from Nubawax at one of the national rallies. They have a website.
The Naviwax does an excellent filling and/or disguising job. All I know is the swirls are hard to spot when I’ve done it. I suppose I could give it a fine polish, but TBH I’d rather not remove any material.
The car is 6 years old and I think it looks good, It has a few stone chips, but whilst Mazda paint chips easily it doesn’t usually come off in big lumps and the chips are tiny. I ignore them, it’s patina as far as I’m concerned and I only see them while cleaning/waxing.
I cleaned and proofed the black hood with Renovo a couple of times, but I have found it comes up well if I just wipe it over with the damp drying cloth after I have done the bodywork. I don’t even shampoo it - if the car is left outside I put the half cover on.
I don’t use acid wheel cleaner. The surfactant sprays work well enough, occasionally need tar remover (also need tar remover occasionally for the lower bodywork).
Appreciate it’s a bit harder if the car has to live outside, is driven year round, etc.
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I found this useful and educational, so thanks to all.
I’ve had my MX-5 ND a year now and she’s an outdoor (2017) kind of gal. What intrigues me though is how prone she is to stone chips at the front end and especially the bonnet. I travel 90 miles daily with 2/3 being motorway but I’m not a speed freak. Do you think that the paint on Mazdas is particularly thin? I use to drive a Seat and that had lots of stone chips after 3 years but the dealer said it was because they use water based, ecological safe paint rather than acrylic that may have been harder. I cannot justify a full paint job sadly but it’s such a shame when I polish her and see all the stone chips.
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With 60 motorway miles a day, I imagine the only thing that could have helped chip-wise would have been paint protection film.
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I challenge you to try damage your paint with a dual action polisher, you’ll be surprised how hard it is, rotaries are what cause damage due to the way they rotate instead of orbit - they build up far more heat and end up causing damage that way
I’d always recommend a polish after a clay barring as that tends to leave marring marks
Before clay barring always full decon iron and tar aswell, you want to be taking as little as possible off with clay bar as that can be quite aggressive and cause damage by taking big bits of tar etc off too harshly and leaving tiny points of damaged paint.
With a finishing polish like p101 you won’t be removing any noticable material, I’d be surprised if a micrometer would even show much of a difference so I would worry about that too much
I’d always vote for products without fillers as the marks will always show again, I’d recommend a finishing polish on a finishing pad or by hand to get rid of your slight bonnet swirls
Other than that you seem to have it nailed
2bm with multiple mits and non acidic wheel cleaner is ideal, in your case I’d maybe give it a very light machining say once a year if it does loads of miles but it’s all down to how the road conditions are and one thing I have noticed is that the majority of damage is usually self inflicted with improper wash methods but you seem to have that down
After a good machining and coating I can usually go about 6 months to a year with only having to snowfoam the car and not needing to touch it by hand (and wheels, invest in a long wheel cleaning brush to do the barrels - what a difference it makes)
But I like polishing and waxing and experimenting so I normally just end up trying out new things - being disappointed then going back to autobrite 
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Japanese paints are notoriously thin and soft
For that I’d recommend a chipex kit, the correct way is to fill them in steps but leave the touch up proud of the paint and sand it afterwards n machine it back but I get that not everyone wants to take sandpaper to their car
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And ppf but ppf is extortionate (well it was, I’ve not priced it up in a while)
Noted, thank you. I shall have nothing to say to rotaries!
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This is the one I use, I also have the v1 but I won the v2 at a raffle so it’s been put to good use!
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I’ve done quite a bit of detailing now, I own DA polisher etc. As others have said, to damage even soft paint with a DA you really have to be going some with quite abrasive pads and product!
Waxes and spray ceramics are predominantly a protective layer (LSP) and will only modestly improve the finish/shine. If you’re going the wax route, Collinite has already been mentioned although I’d go for 845 instead of 476S as it’s easier to apply (albeit less durable, it’s still hardy). The more modern approach is a spray ceramic such as TAC Moonlight, Gtechniq C2v3, Gyeon Wet Coat or Kamikaze Overcoat (note that waxes and glazes don’t adhere well to these, so make ceramic your top and last layer).
To improve shine and pop, without actually abrasively polishing, look at “filler heavy” products. Autoglym’s Super Resin Polish (SRP) is a classic, it will fill finer defects to improve the finish but it’s only going to last 3 months outside unless it’s topped with something like the aforementioned Collinite or other sealant, and ultimately it will still wash out. For better results but even less durability you can look at glazes such as Autobrite Cherry Glaze. Both are temporary correction.
If you want permanent correction then a good hand polish will do a surprising amount IF the paint is already very good and you have the right product but it’s a LOT of effort without using a machine. I used GTechniq Nano P1 by hand but it’s now discontinued.
Whether it’s true polish or filler heavy, apply with a foam applicator using some pressure. And provide a top layer afterwards to seal in the finish. As regards the claying some have mentioned, this IS an abrasive process and whilst removing bonded contaminants it will put tiny scratches in your paint so you should polish it afterwards.
I notice OP subsequently mentioned shampoo, a nice wash’n’wax is Dodo Juice’s SourPower it will top up whatever wax is on the car. Always use something with a deep pile and regularly rinse it (2BM) during washing.
I do have a big idiots guide I wrote for myself over many years because I am forgetful, I am happy to share if anyone wants it, let me know
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Great info, thanks for posting - I’d love a gander at your big idiot’s guide 
Following this thread with interest - very tempted to try a DA polisher. Might have to find a spare panel to practice on before being let loose on the family cars. Wonder if @southcentral would be interested in holding a beginner’s session?
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I’ve DM’d it across as it’s really long, but unfortunately it has lost a bit of the formatting along the way (it’s not quite as neat as it is in my e-mail drafts but I’m sure it’ll still make sense)
Got it, many thanks 
+1 For The Big Idiots Guide please ( Arrgh, wrong reply button.)
I am overwhelmed at the quality and quantity of responses here, thanks everyone! I’m gonna need a small loan to buy all the stuff I now want 
And, I would absolutely love a read of this ‘big idiot’s guide’ if @ckyliu (Chris) you would be so kind.