Well, I'm not a car professional, but I do have some...technical training...let's put it that way.

I keep reading posts on car care forums about how waxing a car is necessary. Necessary. Necessary. New car, old car, whatever. Necessary. My training leads me to disagree.

I know that crystalline waxes like Carnauba are basically abrasives. Forget everything they say about protecting against oxidation, dust, dirt, chemicals, blah blah blah.

When you apply a Carnauba wax to your car's clearcoat, and you rub it with anything - your fingers, sponge, pads, ANYTHING, it is basically REMOVING your clearcoat a little bit at a time. This is how scratches are removed by waxing.

So the basic problem is that clearcoat finishes are basically ruined by carnauba waxes!! Ever wonder where swirl marks come from?

My conclusion is that Carnauba Wax polishes were made for lacquer paint finishes, but will absolutely ruin clearcoat. Does anyone here have some evidence to the contrary? I believe that what is necessary is some kind of fine polish, such as a clear-plastic polish, the kind one would use on headlights to remove scratches.