Top-of-the-Line Waxes Suggested

Question: How much difference is there between car waxes? I have a hunch that they are almost all alike and all I am paying for is packaging.--R.O.

Answer: I understand your sentiment, because there is so little consumer information provided by the wax manufacturers. Some of the major brands, such as Simoniz, offer several waxes, and almost nothing in the packages distinguishes one from another.

Most waxes today are a combination of petroleum wax, natural wax, silicones and cleaners. Carnuba, a natural wax, is one of the hardest waxes known, and it is contained in many car waxes, but as a single ingredient it has a tendency to yellow as it ages. The silicones help durability. And the cleaners remove old wax and embedded dirt.

Despite the confusion, I think there are real differences between waxes, and to a certain extent you get what you pay for. I judge a wax by how long it holds up, which you can gauge by how well water continues to bead up on the car when it is wet. But judging durability isn’t easy.

Even if you regularly wax your car every three months, you probably will not go through a can more than once a year. In the meantime, your car’s finish is aging and that makes it even more difficult to judge the durability of the wax. Of course, a wax job doesn’t hold up as long on older paint.

You might want to stick with the top-of-the-line waxes that have been around for a lot of years. There isn’t really that much difference in price between the cheaper waxes and the best, especially considering the amount of labor you invest in using the products.

New products are introduced often, but I tend to be somewhat skeptical about many of them. Armor All introduced a new line of waxes about a year and a half ago; I tested that wax for some time before concluding that it really doesn’t hold up very well. The most notable feature of the product is that it comes in a fancy pressurized can that squirts the wax out.

“Consumer tests prior to product availability have shown women and young people find this new can especially appealing,” an Armor All official was quoted as saying in promotional literature. Frankly, I give women motorists and younger people more credit than that. If people are going to roll up their sleeves and hand-wax their car, is it really that much more effort to remove the wax from the can by hand?

Q: I have recently read about a new product that pre-lubricates an engine. The idea is that before the engine starts, a pump begins to circulate oil through the engine. The manufacturer claims that 60% to 80% of engine wear occurs in the first few seconds during a cold start. This device, called a pre-luber, eliminates that. Is it worth the $350?--P.B.

A: It certainly is true that most engine wear occurs in the first few seconds of starting, but you have to ask yourself if extending the life of the engine is going to extend the life of the car itself. Most engines, if well cared for, can operate for more than 100,000 miles without needing to be rebuilt. By then, the paint is shot, the upholstery has holes in it, the radio is gone, and you’re lucky if the front end is holding up.

So, unless you are a driver out of the movie “Road Warrior,” I can’t really see the point of having an engine that goes 300,000 miles when the rest of the car will be junk by then. And don’t forget that the engine isn’t necessarily the most expensive item on your car. A good paint job is usually more expensive than a rebuilt engine, and a transmission is close behind.