Have owned this 63 Dart wagon for the last 14 years and never once had I polished or waxed it. Every time I would brush against it, paint would come off. It's a repaint, over the original light blue, and it's probably one of those Earl Scheib jobs. But since I pulled it out of long-term storage last August, I've fixed it up to the point where I can comfortably drive it again. And then, I started wishing it looked a little nicer. I realized I had me some Meguiar's 3-step process (Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner, Polish, & Carnauba Wax), so I tried in a small test area. The results left me so impressed, I decided to do the whole car. The paint was badly oxidized and it took over a couple weekends to do it (no power tools, this is all by hand). But I'm really happy with the results, even though the car still needs to be repainted! By the way, how long is a good coat of wax supposed to last?

That polished up real nice! I'm glad you got it out and on the road again. Very nice car!

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Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

the very definition of "that'll buff out"
car looks very nice. Lawrence

Nice job of working that finish, it’s a lot of rubbing by hand.

My 2 cents:

As for how long a coat of wax will last, that all depends on the brand & type, climate the car has to deal with, if it is garaged or not, and condition of paint.

For example, I found Liquid Glass will last through a New England winter it is five months of sand-blasting with salt water between -20f and 60f degrees… I have also found following all the steps from clay bar to finish coat of Mothers on a new car that it barely lasts more than three weeks any month of the year. Some guys swear by Turtle Wax Ice. --- It almost like beer, one man’s nectar of the god’s, is another’s poison…

My ‘82 LeBaron that I factory ordered has had Liquid Glass applied several times per year to it since 1984. When the car was about 24 years old I striped the old Liquid Glass, and reapplied a new coat, and now wax it about every two years. The factory paint still looks new.

I have ceased using Mothers products excepting their metal polish, clay bar, and show & shine for quick clean-up at a car show. All my vehicles now have Liquid Glass applied to their finish.

I also use some of the Meguiar’s buffing products for problem areas. You have to be carful not to polish down through the finish by selecting the least aggressive formula for the job at hand. I don’t like their spray & shine quick stuff, it is hard to buff off and streaks easly.

One word of caution when applying Liquid Glass, directions have to be closely followed for best results.

Start experimenting; with an old oxidized finish, results may not be optimal with any product. That dead paint has to be compounded off exposing a good live strata before any brand’s wax product will work.

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

I had a cheap paint job on my Duster and buffed the entire thing out and put a couple coats of wax on it. The car went from looking like a chalkboard to bright and shiny.

A couple weeks later it was a chalkboard again lol

Let us know how long it lasts.

Thanks guys! That's helpful. The paint on this thing is not great by any means. The original light blue was probably in bad shape, so they put on a cheap coat of this dark purple-blue which has lasted thus far, but is chipped, dinged and gouged, and in many places has worn through completely. The top of the wagon and the hood were in the worst shape with paint flaking off. Not wanting to paint it now, but wanting to protect and inhibit any further rusting of bare exposed metal, I washed, let dry completely, then polished, waxed and buffed it with a wax coat, also in part to protect it. Seems to be working so far. The car is unfortunately not garaged, but is here in Los Angeles with some pretty mild (in general) weather, so I'm hoping that will aid in the longevity of the current paint and wax job. But I will be keeping an eye on it.