Skip advert
Advertisement
Product group tests

Best car wash wax sprays 2024

Want to just wash and go but also need protection? Here’s the answer

While there are generally few shortcuts to keeping your car looking its best, new tech has brought us a few innovations that make it easier to maintain a shine. 

Among the most interesting are wash waxes. These can be applied after cleaning your pride and joy simply by spraying the car with the solution, usually via a snow foam bottle. After rinsing and drying, the paint will seem to bead water just as if it had been coated with wax, without the effort of rubbing and buffing that’s associated with a traditional coating. 

How we tested them

To test the products, we followed the manufacturer’s instructions, applied them to a scrap bonnet and left it outside for 10 weeks, washing it once a fortnight with a wax-free and pH-neutral detergent. We assessed the water-repelling ability, ease of use and value for money.

Reviews:

Dodo Juice Future Armour

Advertisement - Article continues below

Dodo Juice’s Future Armour can be applied in several ways, making it very versatile. The first is to spray it directly from the bottle onto wet or dry paint and wipe off with a microfibre cloth. But if you’re in a hurry, it can be diluted and fed through a snow foam bottle. 

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement - Article continues below

Whichever method you use, one bottle should be enough to treat a car at least 10 times. But Dodo Juice suggests you’ll need to leave the Future Armour to cure in the dry for 24 hours, which could be tricky in our unpredictable climate. 

Buy now from Amazon...

ValetPro Snow Seal

There was just one point between the Dodo Juice and ValetPro in our scores. Snow Seal is applied with a pressure- washer foam lance at a ratio of 1:4, so the 500ml should do 10 average-sized cars. You then dry the surface using a microfibre or drying cloth. Unlike the Dodo Juice, there’s no curing time. 

Ultimately we preferred the choice of application methods offered by Dodo Juice. There wasn’t much in it, but our winner’s protection lasted longer, too, with a better beading performance.

Buy now from Amazon...

Autoglym Polar Seal

Advertisement - Article continues below

Autoglym has a three-stage process that’s designed to clean and protect a car using products dispensed from a snow foam lance. Polar Seal is the final treatment, following Polar Blast snow foam and Polar Wash shampoo. 

To give a fair comparison to its rivals, we skipped these and applied Polar Seal to clean paint that had been stripped of other products. Its beading performance was initially impressive, but had faded by the end of our test. It would work well if you are willing to use it after every wash. 

​​​​​​​Buy now from Halfords...

Sonax Xtreme Spray+Seal

  • Price: Around £22  
  • Size: 750ml
  • Website: sonax.co.uk

Sonax has previously won this category, but a £5 price increase has hit its value score, and it doesn’t have the versatility of our winners. There is only one way to apply Xtreme, and that’s spraying it from the bottle directly onto wet paintwork. You then rinse it and dry the car. 

This is more effort and takes longer than pressure washer-applied methods, but limits overspray onto areas such as glass. The beading performance was strong at first, but was noticeably behind the leaders by the end of our test. 

Buy now from Amazon...

Now you can pick out the best paint protection, take a look at the best glass cleaners on sale...

Skip advert
Advertisement
Products editor

Kim has worked for Auto Express for more than three decades and all but a year of that time in the Products section. His current role as products editor involves managing the section’s content and team of testers plus doing some of the tests himself. 

Our latest car deals

Volkswagen Polo

Volkswagen Polo

RRP £21,210Avg. savings £1,862 off RRP*Compare Offers
Volkswagen Tiguan

Volkswagen Tiguan

RRP £35,080Avg. savings £3,600 off RRP*Compare Offers
Nissan Qashqai

Nissan Qashqai

RRP £29,735Avg. savings £5,267 off RRP*Compare Offers
Audi A3

Audi A3

RRP £28,085Avg. savings £1,458 off RRP*Compare Offers
* Average savings are calculated daily based on the best dealer prices on Auto Express vs manufacturer RRP
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Suicidally, Jaguar is opening the door for Tesla and BYD to pick off the best of its dealerships
Opinion - Jaguar

Suicidally, Jaguar is opening the door for Tesla and BYD to pick off the best of its dealerships

Mike Rutherford thinks it's been a difficult few months for the British car industry
Opinion
8 Dec 2024
Skoda Elroq review
Skoda Elroq - front

Skoda Elroq review

The Skoda Elroq is even more appealing than the bigger Skoda Enyaq, and just as brilliant
In-depth reviews
9 Dec 2024
Car Deal of the Day: Ford’s Capri coupe-SUV is a great fit for families at this price
Ford Capri - front action

Car Deal of the Day: Ford’s Capri coupe-SUV is a great fit for families at this price

Ford’s Capri has been revived, this time as a family-friendly coupe-SUV. It’s our Deal of the Day for 8 December
News
8 Dec 2024