Any type of wax, whether natural or synthetic, is simply a shield between your car’s paint and the environment. It is designed to take the abuse of weather, grime, birds, etc., so that the underlying paint is protected. Until recently the best kind was natural Carnauba wax, made from Brazilian palm trees. It comes in several grades, but the best is #1 Yellow Carnauba wax. Ivory Carnauba is also available, but it is simply Yellow Carnauba that has had the natural yellow color chemically removed and is probably not worth the added cost.
The newer polymer waxes are synthetic versions of Carnauba wax. On the whole, they protect much longer than the natural products but there are wide variations in quality within the polymer family. Cost is not necessarily a strong indicator of quality- in a recent Consumer Reports test products like Black Magic and Turtle Wax (a Carnauba wax) were the winners, beating products that cost almost five times as much.
Whether you use natural or synthetic, plan to reapply frequently. While many companies advertise products that last 3 or even 5 years, Consumer Reports found that most products they tested were showing wear in around 5 weeks.
