How often to wax?

Well, I gave up this year on detailing my cars myself and will probably just work out a deal with one of the Fester detailers to do some work on my cars. So I washed and waxed them. How often should I wax my cars? I'm not sure I have time each time I wash them to wax, but if it's prior to winter, I'm thinking it might be wise to throw an extra coat on before the winter to increase the likelihood that i got wax in all the pores in the paint. What's your thoughts?

Joel, the short answer to how often is... it depends. Type and quality of the wax, environmental conditions, and level of prep work all determine how long the protection will last. ASSuming that you washed with auto soap, clayed, and used a GOOD carnauba based paste wax, I would say that if left outside, you'd be good for about 2 - 3 months. Soap and wax in one bottle? 2 weeks at MOST. Paint sealants last longer, but lack depth and "warmth".

Is layering (AKA multiple coats in a short period of time) beneficial? Depends on who you ask. It's split down the middle at 50/50. Even the advocates of layering agree that 2-3 layers is the max. More than that and you are just wasting both time and product. The critics argue that once the pores are filled, that's it. My opinion? If one coat is good for 2 months, then I just wax once a month...... But remember that my name is on the side of my car too.

I haven't clayed yet. The wagon definitely needs it - even after the wax it was scratchy.

Good points though on the rest of it.

The biggest irony about waxing is that it protects the breadth of the panel, but it doesn't protect hard edges, and that's usually where the rust starts up here in the northeast. Oh well, that's what oil undercoating is for.