Staff writer
For some car lovers, there is nothing like a good-looking shiny ride, but with use, luster can dull and colors fade.
Enter car wax — a time-honored treatment to restore a vehicle’s original shine.
Nathan “Nate” Funk, detail shop manager at Midway Motors in Hillsboro, said vehicles should be washed thoroughly prior to waxing and buffing.
“People should make sure they get their vehicle’s surface as clean as possible,” Funk said. “If you do a machine buff and a bug or something else gets in the wax it can leave some crazy designs on the paint.”
Funk and his team use a variety of cleaners to remove tar, grit, and different material from vehicles before they start detailing.
Despite even the most cautious efforts, many vehicles inevitably are scratched.
Depending on how deep scratches get, Funk’s team determines the strength of a compound they would use to buff scratches out and restore shine.
He recommended people wax their vehicles once a year or once every other year before winter, depending on vehicle use.
“It helps protect against the corrosive effects of salt,” Funk said.
He said many people just use wax that car washes provide. However, he said wax could get on car windows and windshields and leave spots when applied that way.
Mike Regnier, owner of Marion Auto Supply, said vehicles’ clear coats have become more durable in the last ten years.
“There are still some people who wax their own cars, but we sell way less wax than what we used to,” Regnier said. “Clear coats that protect cars from corrosion and oxidation changed things a lot. Cars stay nicer longer.”
Marion Auto has several brands of wax and wax with different cleaners added to it available.
For wax-it-yourselfers, Regnier said vehicles should be parked in a cool shady place because sunshine can make wax dry too fast.
“Honestly, nothing has really changed in the way you should wax your car since it started,” Regnier said. “Just rub it in and rub it off.”