im looking at bying some wax to do the car but not sure what to go for ideas please 

Several factors will influence what kind of wax you want to use.

 The three types on the market are traditional Carnuba wax, silicone based wax and the newest being Ceramic wax, which is really more like a sealant or a barrier coating that bonds to the surface. 
If you live near the ocean and have salt air I would suggest using the ceramic product for its longevity and protection against sun and salt. Or if your car is not protected by a garage or cover the ceramic is what you want. 
If you are the type who enjoys waxing and cleaning, but you don’t want to invest the time into that chore, the silicone wax is effective, quick and easy. The Carnuba wax is the old reliable and it has been improved since the old days when you had to use a buffer to apply it or you would rub and buff until your arms fell off. 
I avoid ceramic because it is not easy to remove and I do my own paint repairs and just don’t want the hassle of getting the paint cleaned off to make any repairs. Generally speaking you can expect the silicone wax to be the least expensive, then Carnuba in the middle and Ceramic wax is usually pretty expensive. I hope this helps you determine the best solution for you!

11 hours ago, Scottman said:

Several factors will influence what kind of wax you want to use.

 The three types on the market are traditional Carnuba wax, silicone based wax and the newest being Ceramic wax, which is really more like a sealant or a barrier coating that bonds to the surface. 
If you live near the ocean and have salt air I would suggest using the ceramic product for its longevity and protection against sun and salt. Or if your car is not protected by a garage or cover the ceramic is what you want. 
If you are the type who enjoys waxing and cleaning, but you don’t want to invest the time into that chore, the silicone wax is effective, quick and easy. The Carnuba wax is the old reliable and it has been improved since the old days when you had to use a buffer to apply it or you would rub and buff until your arms fell off. 
I avoid ceramic because it is not easy to remove and I do my own paint repairs and just don’t want the hassle of getting the paint cleaned off to make any repairs. Generally speaking you can expect the silicone wax to be the least expensive, then Carnuba in the middle and Ceramic wax is usually pretty expensive. I hope this helps you determine the best solution for you!

it does thank you. im not keen on cleaning my car no but my focus ended up with sun bleaching because of the sun always being on the drivers door in the afternoon so want to avoid it on this car

You can get silicone waxes that have a sunblock component to them. Not having seen your car, I would say that sun fade might require some extra work in the form of color sanding with a very fine grade of wet sandpaper like 1000 grit or even finer before you could reasonably see any improvement from waxing it. My two cents worth of opinion.

 I like clearcoat paints but I really like the ease of repainting or reworking the single stage paints of the 1960’s to the mid 1980’s. Good luck

For decades 40 plus years I've used Zymol and is excellent, it leaves no swirl marks after buffing, used to be not that dear but now it's become expensive.

10 hours ago, Scottman said:

You can get silicone waxes that have a sunblock component to them. Not having seen your car, I would say that sun fade might require some extra work in the form of color sanding with a very fine grade of wet sandpaper like 1000 grit or even finer before you could reasonably see any improvement from waxing it. My two cents worth of opinion.

 I like clearcoat paints but I really like the ease of repainting or reworking the single stage paints of the 1960’s to the mid 1980’s. Good luck

the sun fade was on the ol car i want to avoid it on new car

It's worth asking local detailers for a price on paint correction followed by a ceramic coating.  They should last 5-10 years which offsets the higher price initially.

If you just want a quick DIY sealant, you can buy SupaGard sponges online, same as the dealership salesmen try to upsell, and they do last a long time in my experience.

Just a note here about Ceramic Coatings......My Son had a nice Seat a few years ago, he had his car coated, made it look amazing and the water sheeted straight off for many many months, one day he came to his car only to see some git had hit his car and gone, he took it to a bodyshop for an estimate, agreeing to a price on the repair, he gets a ring from them asking if the car had been ceramic coated, son telling them 'yes'....bodyshop said ...thought so as it's causing serious issues in getting the paint to lay down, the bodyshop had used thinners all over the paint but didn't remove the coating, had to completely remove the lacquer from the repaired areas, even on the areas where the paint needed to be blended in, the lacquer just lifted off the wet flatted areas, eventually the whole side of the car had to be repainted all because of ceramic coating.

8 minutes ago, Ian Lanc said:

...eventually the whole side of the car had to be repainted all because of ceramic coating.

Surely because of some inobservant fool hitting it?  That's not really the coating's fault.

5 hours ago, Ian Lanc said:

For decades 40 plus years I've used Zymol

I've also used Zymol - Creame wax for lighter colours, Carbon for dark. Very expensive (about £60 + for a tub by the looks of it on EBay) but if applied as per instructions takes ages but only needs doing infrequently.

I've still got a tub I bought for one of my Audis over 20 years ago. Also used Meguiars Carnauba which is quicker and easier to apply.

 

29 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

I've also used Zymol - Creame wax for lighter colours, Carbon for dark. Very expensive (about £60 + for a tub by the looks of it on EBay) but if applied as per instructions takes ages but only needs doing infrequently.

I've still got a tub I bought for one of my Audis over 20 years ago. Also used Meguiars Carnauba which is quicker and easier to apply.

 

thats magic words to me quick and easy lol

I

11 hours ago, Ian Lanc said:

Just a note here about Ceramic Coatings......My Son had a nice Seat a few years ago, he had his car coated, made it look amazing and the water sheeted straight off for many many months, one day he came to his car only to see some git had hit his car and gone, he took it to a bodyshop for an estimate, agreeing to a price on the repair, he gets a ring from them asking if the car had been ceramic coated, son telling them 'yes'....bodyshop said ...thought so as it's causing serious issues in getting the paint to lay down, the bodyshop had used thinners all over the paint but didn't remove the coating, had to completely remove the lacquer from the repaired areas, even on the areas where the paint needed to be blended in, the lacquer just lifted off the wet flatted areas, eventually the whole side of the car had to be repainted all because of ceramic coating.

which is why I don’t use it for my cars. It’s a real problem to do paint repairs with the ceramic coating. You have to literally break down a molecular bond with the paint. I would love to have a super durable protective coating. But not if I have to use a flamethrower to remove it and make a repair.

8 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

I've also used Zymol - Creame wax for lighter colours, Carbon for dark. Very expensive (about £60 + for a tub by the looks of it on EBay) but if applied as per instructions takes ages but only needs doing infrequently.

I've still got a tub I bought for one of my Audis over 20 years ago. Also used Meguiars Carnauba which is quicker and easier to apply.

 

I have used Zymol in the past. It works best when applied and removed with a mechanical buffer. I’m sure it works better than ever, but the cost of it and the fact that I would have to dedicate four lamb’s wool buffing pads to the job because those pads would never be useable for any other purpose puts me off of using that product.

8 hours ago, Scottman said:

. It works best when applied and removed with a mechanical buffer. 

Yes, it's more of a "system" or "process" involving other of their products and takes quite some time to do fully. I got a "package deal" on a bundle of their stuff years ago which I'm still using now on occassion. Doubt I would start with it from scratch now, though.

Do what the lad at work does to every brand new car he has. He leaves the dirt on. Quite unrecognisable what the original colour should have been. Only washes it once before handing back to dealer( 2-3 year PCP) only the number plates get a monthly wash. 

4 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Yes, it's more of a "system" or "process" involving other of their products and takes quite some time to do fully. I got a "package deal" on a bundle of their stuff years ago which I'm still using now on occassion. Doubt I would start with it from scratch now, though.

Same here. I have been restoring a fairly low mileage 1987 Escort GT that needed the paint color sanded and polished. Seems straightforward enough. But it was a tortuous process on my 62 year old body. It looks great now. But the process, even with using an electric buffer, just exhausted me for a week after I got it done. 
it was a harsh reminder that I am not a young man anymore!

I didn't think you needed to polish the paintwork on modern cars other than to remove Tar marks and other minor swirls, it was different for old Cellhouse derived paints.

The last time I had to T-Cut  and heavily polish some minor scratch marks from part of my car the paintwork looked exactly the same colour as the adjacent untouched parts afterwards apart from Tar spots and other minor blemishes. The only other difference is that the water beaded off the polished part. 

17 minutes ago, Tizer said:

I didn't think you needed to polish the paintwork on modern cars other than to remove Tar marks and other minor swirls, it was different for old Cellhouse derived paints.

The last time I had to T-Cut  and heavily polish some minor scratch marks from part of my car the paintwork looked exactly the same colour as the adjacent untouched parts afterwards apart from Tar spots and other minor blemishes. The only other difference is that the water beaded off the polished part. 

Modern paints require some polish work throughout the life of the finish. Cellulose lacquer has been obsolete since the late 1980’s in the States. It was easy to use but sensitive to swelling and weather checking. The modern eurathane paints are so much better that I didn’t shed any tears when lacquer went away. Color sanding and polishing is the standard method for correcting surface imperfections. If you have a clearcoat finish that can work to your advantage by being able to color sand and then apply a new clearcoat to restore gloss and paint thickness. But that would be a rather extreme case scenario. 

1 hour ago, Scottman said:

But it was a tortuous process on my 62 year old body. It looks great now.

Is that your body or the cars?😀

31 minutes ago, Tizer said:

I didn't think you needed to polish the paintwork on modern cars other than to remove Tar marks and other minor swirls, it was different for old Cellhouse derived paints.

I (and my body which is even older than Scott's) am inclined to agree. I never gave my previous Fiesta an all over polish and wax, just on localised stains/scuffs etc. Still looked good after 5 years with just a wash and shampoo from time to time.

4 hours ago, iantt said:

Do what the lad at work does to every brand new car he has. He leaves the dirt on.

Tbh I was the same with my company lease cars. Kept safety/legal related things like glass, lights and plates scrupulously clean, but left the rest. I recall.one white car seeming pretty grey after 3 years when I gave it a good clean/valet. The guy who collected it and gave it a quick assessment remarked on its excellent condition!😀

5 hours ago, iantt said:

Do what the lad at work does to every brand new car he has. He leaves the dirt on. Quite unrecognisable what the original colour should have been. Only washes it once before handing back to dealer( 2-3 year PCP) only the number plates get a monthly wash. 

sounds like me lol

The dirt protects the paint from the sun and salt. 

On 4/25/2025 at 12:36 PM, TomsFocus said:

Surely because of some inobservant fool hitting it?  That's not really the coating's fault.

Some c*unt threw a building brick at his car one night, made a right mess.