UKs Motoring

Top 3 wax brands for polishing your car

Before we spell out the top 3 wax brands for polishing your car we think that it is important that we draw your attention to some of the subtleties of the waxing and polishing process and particularly to emphasise the need to thoroughly clean your car before embarking on either. This is to remove any dust that could unsightly scratching of the paintwork. It is important that you use a proprietary car was rather than a household cleaner, as the latter can damage any existing wax layer on your paintwork.

Although polishing and waxing your car is important in terms of improving its shine, it is even more important in that it protects the car’s surface against damage caused by the environment. Car waxes and polishes are quite complicated formulations and usually they include gentle abrasives, chemical cleaners, lubricants and finally various organic waxes. The abrasives and chemical cleaners strip away the ingrained dirt and remove a tiny amount of the top surface of the paintwork whist producing an intensive shine whilst the wax adds an extra protective waterproof layer to the motors paintwork. You can find further tips and information on Motors site.

The top wax brands are:

o Turtlewax: This company has been in the business of developing and manufacturing car cleaning and waxing products for over 50 years and it has a large number of professional and consumer car cleaning products that are suitable for all kinds of car finishes.

o Simoniz: This has always been a leading brand of car waxes. The company was a spin off from Union Carbide and has been around since 1935. So synonymous is the brand name with its car wax products that the word “simonising” became a euphemism for car waxing just as the brand “Hoover” became synonymous with vacuum cleaning.

o Comma: This car wax brand was voted number one by Autoexpress. The company has been producing liquid products for motors in the UK since 1965 initially supplying oils before moving on to car cleaners and waxes. Many consider the finish that is produced by Comma car waxes to be the best available, though a little more elbow grease is said to be needed than with the other brands we have mentioned.

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Top 3 solutions to rusty tyres

OK, tyres don’t really go rusty, but we got you thinking didn’t we? It is wheels that get rusty, tyres just go flat. Sometimes tyres just go flat because of rusty wheels, or certainly because of corroded alloy ones.

If you find that one or more of the tyres on your allow wheels is continually deflating, then a very likely cause is that it is failing to correctly seal against the rim. If often happens that when we have a new tyre all is OK, but after just a few months we find that the tyre starts to lose pressure.

Some people find that a tyre sealant helps, but that is only a short term solution. The only way to fix the problems properly so that it won’t recur in the short term is to have the tyre removed and the rim cleaned. If it is badly pitted by corrosion then a wire brush can be used to remove the worst of it. Also ensure that the tyre rim is clean and use bead sealer on the wheel before inflating the tyre.

If you have steel wheels and you are suffering rust problems, then there is a fairly simple solution. Take off the wheel covers, carefully go over your wheels with a wire brush (if they are very rusty, then use a wire brush attached to an electric drill), carefully wash all the dust away and ensure that they are thoroughly dries, and spray then with black tyre paint. You will generally need several thing coats. Finally replace your wheel covers and admire your handiwork.

If the rust is not too bad, then you might be able to get away with a proprietary rust remover. These contain phosphoric acid (indecently, so does Coca Cola). Rust is really iron oxide, and the phosphoric acid reacts with this to form ferric phosphate. As the ferric phosphate is black and the rust is brown, you can see the reaction taking place. You can either leave the ferric phosphate in place where is will help protect against further rusting or it can be scrubbed off the reveal the underlying steel. Whichever you do, you will need to repaint your wheel with a spray paint.

Read more: Top 3 solutions to rusty tyres