If you own a classic car, chances are you’ll keep the paint protected. Or, in this case, a classic car wax, to keep its paint lustrous and fight off harmful UV rays and dirt from embedding itself in the paintwork. While there’s nothing wrong with using quality car wax, there are specialised classic car waxes out there. They are filled with additives and designed for older paint types to ensure that a classic looks its best and stays protected.
With classic car paint, the general rule of thumb is to opt for wax with carnauba in it. This is because carnauba soaks in well with single-stage paint. This is what a lot of 1980s and older vehicles had from the factory. So, if the paintwork on your classic is fully or mostly original, that’s your best bet.
If the car has been repainted in recent years. Chances are, the paint used was the more modern water-based stuff that’s a little tougher than single-stage and kinder to the environment. You can, therefore, be more flexible in your car wax choices if this applies to your car.
The best classic car waxes at a glance:
Editor’s pick: Simoniz Original Carnauba Wax – buy from Amazon
Best for all paint types: Meguiar’s Gold Class Carnauba Plus Premium Car Wax – buy from Amazon
Best premium wax: Auto Finesse Passion Car Wax – buy from Amazon
But because many classics out there have been fastidiously maintained and are still wearing their original paint, this article will focus on carnauba waxes, which are kind to a preserved piece of history. For protecting the underside of your cherished vehicle, have a look at our piece on the best underseal for rust protection.
The best classic car waxes
Editor's pick
To apply, you simply need to make sure the car is in a cool area with no direct sunlight, it's dry and apply one panel at a time. Simoniz also recommends that you dampen the microfibre cloth slightly so you can extend the buffing time.
Pros
- Long-lasting protection
- Brings up a great shine
Cons
- Take the 12-month claim with a pinch of salt
The best premium classic car wax
What's so impressive about this wax is that it offers so much more than hydrophobic protection. It promises to offer a shield against UV rays, acid rain and even bird poo. With a passion fruit scent, it's an incredibly pleasant wax to use too and it represents a fantastic natural way to keep a classic car shiny and protected against the elements.
Pros
- Top-quality ingredients
- Designed to prevent UV damage
Cons
- Expensive
The best classic car wax for gloss
While there is nothing included to explicitly help a classic, it will help polish away small scratches to get the possible finish. It also uses both synthetic and natural waxes in its formula to deliver a nice warm glow.
Pros
- Good value for money
- Designed for maximum gloss
Cons
- Not explicitly designed for classic car paint
Tried and tested by experts
The best classic car wax for oxidization
Durability isn’t the longest at one month, but one tin should offer 20 coatings which makes this a good value option for a regularly cleaned classic and the wax is pre-softened for really easy application. We tried it ourselves and found it to be pretty effective.
The conditions for testing aren't realistic for everyone. I keep my car under a cover and never use it in the rain, so how long the water beading effect lasts isn't something I can confidently answer on. But when I did point a hosepipe at it, the water was beading off where I waxed it - so it should have no trouble dealing with a spot of rain.
After following the instructions of applying the wax panel-by-panel and waiting for around 7 minutes each time for it to cure, it helped bring up a nice shine to the bodywork. It was harder than I thought to tell whether the silver paintwork was enriched, but it certainly was and the applicator was a useful, very soft item to apply the wax with. I just wish it had lasted a bit longer because you need to wait for a dry day to re-apply it. And that has only been an occasion in the UK lately.
Pros
- Tried and tested formula
- Designed to remove oxidisation
Cons
- Doesn't last as long as others
The best for all paint types
You get a 311g tin, which is comparably large when next to the others. And the process is exactly the same as the others, albeit you have to wait 10-15 minutes for the wax to cure before buffing with the microfibre towel. This may be time consuming to some, especially as the Simoniz wax requires you to buff the wax pretty much immediately.
Pros
- Versatile on different kinds of paint
- Good value
Cons
- Not as pure as higher-concentrate carnauba wax
Things to remember about classic car wax
Perhaps the most pressing thing is, of course, getting the right wax for your vehicle. Some waxes aren’t suitable for black cars and we’ve created a guide for the best waxes for black paintwork. Furthermore, no MGB GT is the same as the other. One could’ve been restored whereas the other is still wearing its fully original single-stage coat of paint. Although as both will be at least over 40 years old, underseal will be needed for those chassis rails.
With that in mind, carnauba-based wax is best suited for classics in their original (or mostly) state. For those that have been repainted with more modern water-based systems and aren’t looking to break the bank, our guide on the best budget car waxes will be better suited.
The next thing to read the small print on is curing time. When applying the wax, you may have to wait for the wax to cure before buffing with a clean microfibre towel. Curing time will differ from product to product, so it’s a case of how you prefer to use your time. There are different types to consider as well, depending on whether you prefer paste or spray-based car wax. But generally speaking, you want the tin of paste for classics.
How we choose
All of these classic car waxes have been hand-selected by our team of experts who have spent hours investigating and researching classic car waxes to make it easier for you to find the very best, and we’d never recommend a product we don’t believe in.
Where possible, we also test and share the latest and best products you should know about.
Aaron Hussain is a commercial content writer at Bauer Media writing for Parkers and CAR. He is obsessed with classic cars and anything with a fascinating story to tell.
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