Meguiar's Cleaner Wax or Tech-Wax?

I'm detailing my car this weekend and bought Meguiar's smooth surface clay kit to try for the first time. I didn't realize that it came with their cleaner wax, so I bought some Meguiar's Tech-Wax seperately. I'm confused about whether or not I have to use the cleaner wax afterwards in order to finish the cleaning process properly, or if I can just use the Tech-Wax instead. From what I've read, it sounds like the Tech-Wax offers better protection, but I'm wondering if the cleaning properties of the cleaner wax are a necessary ingredient to getting the proper results from the clay kit. I'm also not sure whether or not I SHOULD use the cleaner wax since it apparently has abrasives, and some say to only use that for older neglected cars, while others say to use it as general maintanence. My car is 3 years old and has previously been waxed approximately once a year, if that helps (I know it needs it more often, that's what I'm trying to do here).

Anonymous2009-05-29T17:34:49Z

Favorite Answer

congrats on actually taking care of your car, since most people dont

but, on which wax to use, that totally depends

cleaner wax is a paint cleaner/polish/wax all in one
it has abrasives in it, but theyre very very light, and if anything, help your finish, it wont cause further damage to it.

tech wax, is basically just a paint sealant

your car most likely has swirl marks in it, pretty much every car does, even brand new ones from teh dealership, so the cleaner wax will help. You might even need a stronger paint cleaner, like SwirlX

a lot of people on their daily driver cars use the cleaner wax, then they top it off with the tech wax, so you can do that also

so
1. wash
2. clay
3. cleaner wax
4. tech wax

and with the clay, you can also do your windows with it, and rims, just do paint first.
and you really only need half a clay bar for a car

?2016-05-22T07:38:33Z

I would use the cleaner wax then use regular meguiars wax on top of it. Turtle wax is kind of a rip off to me because it's mostly water. Using it for my wheels now. I do use turtle wax's car wash over meguiar's car wash tho...

ken k2009-05-29T17:35:30Z

omigod--where are you going with this wax???? so use a cleaner and then a wax if you want or just a cleaner wax//all the new car finishes has a clear coat on them and you cant get crazy// you are turning this into a project//stop--stop--stop-- agood wax is enough