Show cars are NOT waxed???

[KCPreki11]

I think a freshly glazed car will look better than a glazed and waxed car. I forget where I saw it on here, but there was something about a wax taking away some of the cosmetic abilities of the glaze. So therefore a lot of show cars are just glazed.

[BlueMenace]

One guy at a show said he didn't wax because "wax contains acids"

To each their own.

[JimS]

Who Cares?! I drive mine daily and I show it. It needs wax/sealant to protect the paint.....period. So why should I care at all what some trailer queen owners do ? It doesn't matter at all what they do. What matters is what will enhance the looks of my truck and help protect the paint.

[Cleanmaxx Brian]

Whoa JimS... As the starter of this thread, I was just suprised that I heard that somebody with a show vehicle didn't put some kind of wax on it. Thats all.

Now I think the real question is:
A car out of the paint booth that has had time for the paint to dry/cure....will it look better with SOMETHING on it, be it a sealer/glaxe or a carnuba product??? Or sould it just be left alone???

(I always thought adding a quality wax would add depth to the color...looks like I was wrong!)

[Spilchy]

Originally posted by Lynn
Garage queens. I show my car and I Zaino it. I drive it almost every day, and frequently drive it several hundred miles to Concours events. Also managed to win the Jag national championship in my class last year. I have this crazy notion that cars are for driving.

Not flaming anybody here. But I run across competitors who keep their car in a garage, trailer it to a show, and they almost cringe at having to drive it out of the trailer and onto the field. I just don't understand that mentality.

That IS a crazy notion Lynn! Who ever heard of driving a car? What are you thinking?

My neighbor has a 78 Benz 450SEL that has 24,000 miles on it. HE DOESNT DRIVE IT! I detailed it for him and every other week he calls me over and pays me to wipe this down, wipe that down, wash this etc... I ask him why he doesn't drive it and I can't get an answer out of him. He won't let me back the car 10 feet after I wash it so I can wax on a dry patch of ground. He has to walk to my house and move it. (He has no shade so he drives it to my house - 15 yards away).

Unless you have a rare car, IMHO, CARS ARE MEANT TO BE DRIVEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! at least a little bit.

[KCPreki11]

Different cars mean different things to different people. Of course a brand new Enzo might be the definition of "garage queen" to us. But some guy who's dad handed him down an old Porsche with 11K miles on it may consider that a "garage queen" and therefore he has his reasons. I try to stay in the garage as much as possible...go with friends, drive another car, that mentality. I don't know why everyone is getting so up set about garage queens. I think there's something to be said about opening up a garage and seeing a beautiful car you've never seen on the road before.

[JB in Irvine]

Well thought I would add my $0.02 to this topic.

Firstly I have run across folks in the Porsche concours community that do not wax their cars.

I think in some cases the cars just don't need it. Sure wax adds some depth of color, but judging does not take that into account. Sure wax adds protection, but for the guy who drives the car only 1000 miles a year (to and from shows), is wax protection really needed?

Now don't flame me on this one...just think about it....is the quality of paint so bad, that it will not withstand 1-2 hours driving a month. Add to the issue that some folks don't like waxing because of the risk of wax residue getting in some crack or on some other part of trim. Finally some folks don't like how wax changes the pure look fo the paint.

For me, regardless, I would wax the car. But for sure I will not wax my car any time close to an event. I want to wash the car at least once or twice after waxing to make sure all residue is cleaned up and I have had a chance to look at every inch of the car at least a few times.

The thing that amazes me more than people who don't wax their show cars, are those that wax them the day before an event or even at the event.

[Brett K]

I can appreciate that some folks won't drive their car to preserve them if they are important historical or museum pieces that are factory correct. I could never do that with one of my own though. I buy my cars to drive them and I could never just let it sit there. Even the Corvette I am resotoring will be used as well as showed. Saturdays are for racing it at the drag strip and Sundays are for showing it. I will be the guychecking underneath to make sure all the tire rubber is gone from my burnouts before the judges come over

[vindaloo]

You may be interested to learn that in the UK, several minor concours events will not accept entries from cars that have not been driven to the event.

[Richt]

I wax my car on the day off an event!