Now that you’ve got your brand new Model S, it’s only right that you want to take care of it and maintain it properly.
Waxing your Tesla will not only help it maintain the mirror-like finish, but also help to protect the paintwork.
I would also tell you that it will make your car turn heads, however, Teslas do that on their own. They’re unbelievable machines.
Can Using The Wrong Wax Destroy Your Tesla?
Thankfully, no!
Unless you’re doing something seriously wrong when applying wax, all wax products the top detailing brands are safe to use on your car.
Knowing how to wax a car properly is important though. This is what will prevent you from adding scratches or damaging paintwork while caring for your car.
Generally, as long as you wash the car thoroughly beforehand and apply wax with a clean application pad, you should be ok.
Meguiars On A Tesla
Meguiars is a company that’s been in the wax game for almost 120 years. It’s fair to say they know what they’re doing.
They have over 10 wax products to choose from, all of which are completely safe for your Tesla.
My 3 recommendations are:
Meguiars Gold Class Carnauba Plus Wax
The Gold Class product range is one that everybody recognises. It’s Meguiars bread and butter.
When buying gold class carnauba wax you’re guaranteed to get a long lasting protection that preserves your finish.
While i don’t believe in using different waxes on different colours of cars, this product works exceptionally well on black, blue and red teslas, creating a deep and darker gloss.
Gold class wax can be bought as a paste or liquid wax.
You can also get quik wax, which is cheaper and quicker, however, it may be a more temporary solution.
Regardless of which one you choose, they’re all easy to use and competitively priced.
You can’t go wrong when using meguiars on a tesla.
Buy Meguiars Gold Class Wax From Amazon
Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic Wax
As waxes have developed overtime, we’ve seen companies move from traditional pastes to liquid and spray waxes.
Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic Wax is available as a liquid wax & spray wax.
These products use SiO2 technologies that provide an extra layer of protection on your paint that repels water for longer.
As well as it’s hydrophobic qualities, it’s believed that SiO2 products leave behind a much slicker finish than traditional pastes.
Applying liquid wax is a little harder than your traditional paste, however, the spray wax is simply spray-on, rinse off & dry.
If you’re looking for a longer term option and dont mind paying that little extra, Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic Wax will treat your tesla well.
Buy Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic Wax From Amazon
Meguiars 3 In 1 Wax
While it’s called a 3-in-1 “Wax” I’d probably say it’s more of a polish.
Meguiars 3 in 1 wax is designed to clean, polish and protect the paintwork on a car.
It removes swirls, water spots and blemishes using micro-abrasives and increases the depth and clarity of your paint.
On top of this, you’ll also find that it adds a layer of caranauba wax and synthetic polymers that provide extra water resilience.
As with any “polishing” product, it’s best applied with a Dual Action Polisher, you can check out my recommendations here.
That said, you can still get amazing results using the foam applicator pad that’s included in the box.
This isn’t a product that I’d use every wash, I’d personally save it for times when your car has a decent amount of swirls and etchings.
For regular washes you should use either gold class or ceramic wax.
Buy Meguiars 3 In 1 Wax From Amazon
Protect Your Tesla For Longer
While Wax is an amazing product. A Tesla is something special and deserves to be treated so.
There are 2 other forms of last stage protection that tesla owners should know about. One is like wax on steroids and the other is closer to a vinyl wrap.
Ceramic Coatings
If you’re not already familiar with Ceramic Coatings, I’m going to tell you a little bit about them.
Ceramic coatings are regarded to be one of the best last stage protectants for a car. It’s the best protection you’re going to get without installing paint protection film.
The benefits of ceramic coating are very similar to wax, but are way stronger and last for much longer.
They’re produced using nanotechnology which forms a very thin and invisible layer on top of your paint that is water repllent, minimises scratches and protects your paint from harmful UV Rays.
You’ll also find that bird bombs, bug guts and other contaminants don’t actually etch onto your paint and will wash off much easier.
With more benefits than wax and much longer lasting protection (some claim up to 2 years), why isn’t everyone using it?
Well, ceramic coatings do have some downsides.
They’re much much more expensive and can be much harder to apply.
If you apply ceramic coating incorrectly, it can seem impossible to remove and will leave behind a horrible finish on your car.
This is why a lot of people pay for professional to apply it, however, that’ll cost you extra money no doubt.
Paint Protection Film
For the average car owner, paint protection film is considered to be overkill.
Most of the time, PPF is installed onto track cars that still want to look good once they’re finished racing.
The whole purpose of this film is to protect your car from stone chips, uv rays, contaminants and other general wear and tear. You could see why this is useful on track cars.
The biggest downside of this has to be the cost. I’ve seen quotes of over $1000 just to cover the front bumper, edges of the bonnet and wings.
Of course, If you want to cover more area, you’ll require more material and many more hours of labour, thus increasing the cost.
PPF is only really worth putting on high value cars, which Tesla certainly is.
That being said, despite it being invisible, you’ll still see a difference between the panels with and without film.
I don’t expect many of you that read this article to even be interested in this solution.