Depending on where you live, you should have your vehicle washed and waxed at least every three months. Regardless if your salesman sold you the paint protection plan or not. Road grime, fall out, and brake dust still stick to the exterior of your vehicle. There are so many different products out there that claim they are the greatest. For the most part maybe they are pretty much all the same. I prefer Vesco products. The best buffing compounds, paint protections, and waxes are the ones that are silicone free. They tend to leave greasy, cloudy, messes. Not to mention only shine for a short time. If you choose to use a spray on wax the first time dew comes in contact with the exterior of your vehicle, your protection is gone. A liquid wax will last anywhere from one week to one month. A paste wax can last up to six months depending on how many times you wash with hot water, or what region you live in. The heat does break down your waxes. Before you consider putting wax on your vehicle you should hand wash your vehicle and assess your exterior by feel and appearance. Is it cloudy? Can you feel grit? Do you see little yellow and orange specks? Is there tar along the bottom? If you have these problems you may want to try and remove them before waxing. You can remove the grime without buffing by using clay bar that you can buy at most automotive stores. Or even WalMart and Meijer. Clay bar is offered by different companies, usually with some sort of cleaner along with it. You can just purchase the clay bar and use window cleaner with ammonia in it, or diluted ammonia. Ammonia is great for removing bug splatters. It is much cheaper to use your own water! Your shine will be wonderful, and waxing the vehicle will make it look almost new again. It is recommended to buff the vehicle after wards if it is an older vehicle, new vehicles you can get away with waxing. Remember if you are wet-sanding or buffing, each time you do so you are breaking down the clear coat. There are glazes and compounds that you apply by hand and work well. Depending on how many scratches are on the exterior if you can get away with hand application or not. If you plan on paying for someone to buff the exterior of your vehicle get references and look at their work. There are a lot of people that claim they know what they are doing. Look at their work in different lighting. Fluorescent lights bring out more flaws in the paint than the sun. Sunlight can hide mess ups from the buffer (unless they are really bad). Dusk brings out all the wheel marks and such. In closing, just remember that a clean car is a happy car! No matter what type of vehicle you have, or what the price of the vehicle is, a clean car brings $200 to $500 more to a sale. Category:Home › Autos • Will the trend toward economy-size car models lead Americans back to buying smaller-sized cars? — part 2 • You should never use after-market auto parts when maintaining or fixing your car • Should a new car be rust-proofed? • Will the trend toward economy-size car models lead Americans back to buying smaller-sized cars? — part 1 • Five safest cars in North America • How to ensure your teen drives safely after getting a license • Pros and cons of using an hydrogen generator for your car • DIY automotive maintenance: How to change the oil