Waxing your car is something that you might have never done before, but that’s something that you should change. In fact, there are plenty of benefits to waxing your car. However, a question that many people have is how often a car should be waxed. It’s a fair question, one that may not be quite as simple to answer as one might think. Let’s discover how often a car should be waxed, and how you can determine how often your car should be waxed.
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What Tools Do You Need to Wax Your Car?
To wax your car, there are several tools that you will need. Of course, the most important tool is a car buffer polisher, such as this cordless car buffer polisher from the VEVOR brand.
It’s one of the best in the business and comes loaded with awesome features that make waxing and polishing your car a breeze.
However, there are also other tools that you will require, such as soft foam polishing pads, microfiber clothes, a hose and cleaning solution to first clean your car before waxing, as well as clean and dry towels for drying your vehicle off.
The Benefits of Waxing a Car
There are plenty of benefits to waxing a car that are worth mentioning, so let’s not waste any more time and do just that!
Appearance
One of the main reasons why people wax their cars is simply due to their appearance. A car that is waxed looks shiny, polished, and like it just came fresh from the lot. Not only does waxing your car help to improve its overall appearance in the moment, but also helps it look good for longer, by providing your car with protection from the elements.
A good layer of wax can help preserve the aesthetic appeal of your vehicle much better than simple polish alone.
Deep Cleaning
Another benefit that you’ll get from waxing your car on a regular basis is that it helps provide your car with a deep clean. Now, this isn’t necessarily due to the waxing itself, but rather the processes that precede the waxing. Mainly, you’ll need to thoroughly wash your car and then polish it before applying wax.
Thoroughly washing your car means removing any bird droppings, stuck on debris, or other contaminants that should in no way be on the surface of your vehicle.
Removes Small Scratches
The next big benefit of waxing your car is that it is able to remove small and moderate scratches from the surface of the paint. Scratches happen for all sorts of reasons, and unless they are major and require repainting, you should be able to buff them out with the right tools and some high-quality wax. Buffing scratches out of a car is not the easiest task in the world, and it does require some skill, although if you know what you are doing, it is totally possible.
Paint Protection
Although we will elaborate on this more further below, the simple fact is that waxing your car helps to protect the paint from many different forms of damage. A good layer of wax can even provide minor physical protection, particularly against flying objects, such as small rocks, dust, and insects. In other words, a good layer of wax can help protect your car from being scratched again.
Greater Hydrophobic Properties
Related to the above point, one of the forms of protection that a good layer of wax affords your car is hydrophobic protection. Being hydrophobic means that it repels water. Now, a little bit of water on the surface of your car might not be the biggest deal in the world, and likely won’t cause a lot of damage. That said, those water drops will eventually dry and create water spots that just don’t look very nice, and yes, this goes back to the appearance of your car. Whatever the case might be, wax helps keep water off of your car.
Protection from UV Rays
The other form of protection that a good layer of wax on your vehicle provides is UV protection. UV rays can quickly degrade your paint job, making your car more susceptible to damage and scratching. However, the biggest problem with sunlight is that it can cause paint to fade and become dull over time. The right kind of wax can provide your car with the UV protection it needs to stop it from fading.
How Often Should a Car Be Waxed? Determining Factors
There are quite a few factors that will determine just how often you should wax your car, so let’s take a look at what these are.
The Environment
One of the biggest determining factors here is the environment that you live in. The harsher the conditions that your car is exposed to, the more often it will need to be waxed. Salty sea air, bright sunlight, extreme temperatures, severe air pollution, and living in a wooded area or in the countryside may all cause damage to your car’s paint.
Frequency of Vehicle Usage
Although it might sound obvious to say, the frequency at which you use your car is a determining factor in terms of how often you’ll need to wax it. Simply put, the more you drive your car, the more often you’ll have to wax it. The more often you expose your car to weather, pollutants, and debris that flies up from the road, the more frequently you need to wax it. If you never use your car and it always sits in the garage, chances are you’ll only need to wax it once a year, if that.
Wax Type
Yet another determining factor here is the type of wax. Now, there are two main types of wax most often used for this purpose, which includes carnauba wax and synthetic wax. Carnauba wax is excellent for providing a shiny and lustrous surface, but it only lasts for 4 to 8 weeks, depending on various other factors. On the other hand, while synthetic waxes may not always offer the same luster and shine, they can last for up to 6 months, if properly applied.
Quality of the Wax
The next determining factor in terms of how often you’ll need to wax your car is what the quality of the wax is like. The unfortunate reality is that you often get what you pay for, and the more you’re willing to invest, the higher quality the wax is going to be. We certainly recommend investing in at least a middle of the line wax, if not in something much higher in quality, as this will help ensure maximum protection for a prolonged period of time.
Frequency of Car Washing
If you are someone who likes to take your car to the carwash on a regular basis, it might shock you to find out that this is not good for the paint of your vehicle. The more frequently you wash your car, the more of the protective coating, that polish and wax, you are washing off each time. The more you wash your car, the more you’ll need to wax it.
Color of the Paint
Although this is something that many people might not think about, the color of your paint job determines how often it needs to be waxed, at least in part. For instance, darker colors, such as deep blues, blacks, and other deep colors, tend to fade much more easily than lighter colors, and you can see scratches better in them as well. To prevent scratches from being visible, and to prevent fading of the paint, it’s recommended that owners of vehicles with darker colors wax their cars more frequently.
The Season
The season in question can also determine how often a car needs to be waxed. For instance, if you live in a place that has long and harsh winters, you’ll need to wax your car more often than if you lived in a temperate climate that doesn’t see much snow. All of that road salt and debris in the snow can take a serious toll on your vehicle. However, remember that those strong summertime rays of sun can also damage paint.
Amount of Protection Desired
The bottom line here is how often you wax your car really depends on the amount of protection that you want. If you want maximum protection from your car, waxing your car several times per year is recommended.
How Often Do I Wax My Car?
As you can probably tell, giving you a straightforward answer in terms of how often you should wax your car is not as easy as you thought at first. As you can tell from the above, there are many factors that determine how often a car needs to be waxed.
For instance, if you live in an area that sees long and harsh winters, you have a darker colored vehicle, you wash it frequently, and you don’t buy the best wax out there. You might have to wax your vehicle as often as every three months. However, if you live in a temperate climate, buy high quality wax, don’t use your car that often, and generally maintain it quite well, then you might only have to wax it once per year.
FAQs about Car Waxing
Here are some frequently asked questions about waxing your car.
Can Parking in a Closed Space Make a Difference in Terms of Waxing Frequency?
Yes, if you park your car in a closed garage, you can help protect the paint. This will keep water and snow off your car, as well as UV rays, harsh temperatures, insects, bird droppings, and more. This is one of the best measures you can take that will help reduce the frequency of waxing that is required.
Does Heavy Traffic and Highway Driving Influence How Often a Car Needs to be Waxed?
Yes, if you often drive on the highway and there is heavy traffic, chances are that your car is constantly bombarded with debris and pollution. This means that people who regularly drive in heavy traffic will likely need to wax their cars more often.
How Does Washing My Car Influence Waxing Frequency?
Simply put, the more you wash your car, the more frequently you’ll need to wax it. Washing your car is good for some purposes, but it also removes small amounts of wax and polish. Moreover, if you use harsh cleaning agents, this may also contribute to the need for more frequent waxing and polishing.
How Often Should You Wax a Car? Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, you may need to wax your car anywhere from 1 to 4 times per year, depending on the various factors that we have discussed here today. However, no matter the case, one of the most important things to keep in mind is that having the right tools for the job matters, and that’s where VEVOR has you covered!
