question about waxing
 

Should I wax the car every time I wash it? After a wash and dry, if I don't wax, the car does not look as shiny as waxed.

Did you polish before you waxed? What brand of wax?

No, I did not polish before I wax, I use the meguiars nxt 2.0 wax.

It helps, you do not have to polish every time you wax. Put it on section at a time, wipe it off before it drys!
Meguiar's Direct Deep Crystal® System Polish


Do you have a garage?

Depends entirely on what kind of products you're using, how often you're washing, and what kind of exposure the car is getting. Some waxes have a durability thats only good for a few weeks. Environmental factors such as rain, sun and heat cause waxes to break down. Then of course a garaged car will need less frequent waxing than one thats kept outside or sees a lot of driving.

If your car is looking 'less shiny' after washing it could be a few things... your wax layer has started to degrade due to the factors outlined above OR your choice of soap is stripping the wax. Many products marketed as "car soap" at the local pep boys are not all that gentle and will actually strip the wax right off of your finish... our soap on the other hand is perfectly pH balanced meaning it won't strip the wax.

Using a Detail Spray while drying can also help a ton to keep the shine up as well as make drying easier and safer for the finish.

Theres A TON of factors that go into keeping your paint looking good and shiny... hard to make a specific recommendation without knowing everything about your specific situation.

thanks guys. My car is garaged, and I use meguires gold class car wash.

Let the car sit over night in the garage-fully waxed. It comes out a little better looking, it has a more solid-evenly waxed look after you are done hand buffing.

Generally I wax every time after a wash. Or I use a spray wax... all depends but I keep it protected as best I can. for best results if you haven't done so yet, clay the car at least. If possible even polish as well.

yeah, I clayed the car couple months ago. Gonna do a swirl removal in the next couple weeks, and polish it after that.

It is NOT the wax that makes paint shine. POLISHING is what makes paint shine. I show this so many times when doing clinics in front of crowds. Wax protects the shine you get from polishing.

yes, polish alone does bring out the shine of the clearcoat, but the wax also has its own hue and character.

for instance polymers have a blue-ish hue and high reflectance in that spectrum.

for natural waxes they have a warmer red-ish hue and a different reflection.

But they don't make the paint any more shinier than it is from polishing. Carnuba's can add depth to a shine but it will not make the paint any more shinier.

Polishing is what makes paint shine.

Proof? My car with NO wax on it:

http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/washpics0.jpg

http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/washpics3.jpg

Nice car. For instance zaino has its signature super reflective cold mirror like shine, where as natural wax has a warmer shine. Yes wax and polymers add depth and a 3 dimensional type effect especially when LSP of a different wax is added.

Your not actually shining the paint, just the clear coat.... Semantics.

Okay, you can have that one. ;)