Since getting new cars regularly, I've been a bit off waxiing cars. My first new car, I wasn't sure if I should wax it right away; the next one, I didn't have time, then I got one that just wasn't pleasing to wax (too many plastic bits), then I got a black Beetle cabrio and it got paint fallout almost right away.

Then I got the RX8, with a determination to keep it shiny.

I've been using Meguiars Gold wax - the stuff in a metal tin - which I got with a clay bar for detailing the Beetle after hearing about the wax stuff. The gold is pretty nice, actually. However, I found a tin of the yellow Simoniz carnuaba wax - the same stuff sold in the US since 1910 - in a small garage.

In the sun a while back I'd had a half-assed attempt at polishing the Sera with it, but whilst it was initially pleasing, I forgot the effort and couldn't be bothered. I tried a bit on the RX, but the cloth was tired and the sun was hot, so it dried too soon.

This evening it was dry, warm and shady with a light breeze, so I tried the RX again; I want loads of coats on the bumper to minimise chipping. I remembered to apply swirly, remove straight, and the buffing wasn't a 'quick wipe over' - the sticky, patchy, messy, grabby phase is just that - not a messed up wax job, just an unfinished one. A little at a time, I built up the wax... then tried the bonnet (worrying due to the flexibility of the panel)... and then, the front arches.

The car looks fantastic now. I'd forgotten what a really good shine can look like, since modern cars seem so... bland. No chrome, you know?

So, now I need a regime; I think, three or more coats of Simoniz, non-destructive coats of Meguiars over that, and some sealer/high gloss stuff over that (I used to use Autoglym). The Simoniz seems to reduce or distract from Mazda's shamefully orange-peel finished paint.

 

One of my only true gripes about this car. Bugs me every time I wash/wax her.