I always keep mine waxed. You will add years of life to your paint by properly maintaining it, and protecting it from the elements is vital in that process.
Meguiars really is not really the pinnacle of protection. I love their professional line polishes, cleaners, dressing, etc, but not their protection. For the sake of simplicity, I use collinite waxes, which are from a small business that has been around for almost 100 years. Their waxes are industrial strength and are favored for the protection of boats [protection from salt and corrosion] as well as protection on industrial machinery and tools. I find it to last longer than any other wax if it is maintained properly, as is true with most all waxes.
If you go to the detail and maintance section on this site you will find lots of information about waxing your truck and what people like to use. Generally people have one favorite and they believe it is the best out there. If you want to do a little research about waxes, sealants and polishes go to autopia.org and look at that site. It is an international detailers site with a wealth of information and it's free. If your wax is not lasting long enough you may want to look at a sealant instead of a wax. Sealants last a lot longer. If you want extra "pop" then you can always put a name brand wax(Collinite 915) over the sealant. Generally waxes only last a couple of months, depending on weather conditions and if you park in a garage. One of the "experts" on this site is leadfootluke, you might want to PM him with your questions.
Jay
Thank you very much Jay! There are numerous threads about this topic, but I still love to address repeat questions as I am constantly learning of new products and techniques as well.
I use collinite 845 due to the ease of use, and collinite 476 for the durability. If you want looks and durability and ease of use, then spend the extra money for the 915. What you have are 3 different looks and constancies. 845 is a liquid and applies super thin. It makes the paint shine and works especially well on light colors. 476 paste is much harder to work with, but it is the longest lasting. It leaves more of a glossy shine, versus a warm glow that a wax might offer. 915 is a paste wax, that looks more like a wax than a sealant which is what 476 looks more like (In my experience). For overall ease and quality, look into Collinite 845. It spread so thin you will get dozens of applications out of one 16oz bottle.
the harder it is to wipe off the longer it will last,so you have to ask yourself if you wanta spend longer wiping or wipe more often,i perfer to wipe more often
If this is true, I am doing everything wrong :thk:
The only time this applies is in terms of spray waxes and paste/liquid waxes and sealants. If you use a spray wax, you are getting 2-3 weeks of durability at best, whereas your paste/liquid waxes and sealants can reach up to 6 months of durability. A lot of sealants can be left on overnight, and then buffed off. They have no waxes and therefor there are polymeric bonds and crosslinking, which gives a different experience than that of a carnauba wax. Those sealants can be buffed off in just minutes [blackfire wet diamond, wolfgang deep gloss paint sealant, menzerna powerlock, etc]. Some waxes, like 476 only need to haze, which can be in as little as 2 minutes in the right conditions and then buffed off with ease. So you could spray on and wipe off, apply and buff off in minutes, or apply and buff off a day later. If you do it right, removal will be easy.
I do, however, use spray waxes. After my truck is waxed, and I wash it the next time, while my truck is still wet, I mist a quick wax on the paint. Doing this helps me dry the paint like normal, except add a little protection and a little additional slickness/gloss. I find Meguairs Ultimate Quik Wax or quik detailer to do the trick as a drying aid.
I normally use a buffer on mine . That hand waxing gets pretty tough after a while . If your afraid of getting wax on the black plastic , use some painters tape to protect it before starting .
Painters tape is a good idea. I use Collinite 845 which does not stain trim if you use it correctly. If you do use a wax that stains trim, be very careful.
i wax mine quite a bit during the summer and my wax of choice is the turtle wax ice!!!! i love it it really makes my truck shine like glass and thats how i want it lol
I'm glad you like it! Although it is one of the worst waxes in terms of protection and durability, it is easy to apply. If you want to wax less often, try another wax on the market and maybe use ICE as a quick wax over a basecoat of another wax.