Yeah, there's over 300+ pages on V5 of this thread alone, so you can imagine the amount of material and reading you need to go through, but based on what I read, it mainly boils down to your budget and convenience (ie do you have access to water hose)

There's also alot of youtube video, you can start by watching this (this is abit over the top)



But as a minimum/beginner, you need to source for the following

1) Car shampoo (self explanatory - to wash your car, but different shampoo has different feature, some has added convenient of wax + wash in a single solution, but you will not achieve the full gloss performance as opposed to a proper wax, but still better than just shampoo)

2) Clay bar + Clay lubricant (after washing, you need to use claybar to scrub away the small particles that shampoo can't remove, after this stage you will end up with a super smooth surface)(only clay when you feel your car surface is no longer that smooth, most people here seems to clay once or twice a year)

3) Polish (this is to remove away all the fine scratches or what people here call "swirls". For new cars, use those less abrasive polish (example Meguiars Ultimate Polish), for older cars with deeper scratches, use more abrasive polish such as (Meguiars Ultimate Compound / ScratchX)(Only polish when there's scratches/swirls, don't do unnecessarily)

4) Wax (Now that you have polished away the scratches in step 3 and you have a very shiny surface, protect that surface with wax and to enhance the gloss)(You can wax anytime but general rule is wax only when you no longer see water beads on your surface)

5) Accessories (plush microfiber cloth (to wash your car without introducing new scratches) , grit guard (you will need two pails of water to wash, use grit guard in the 'dirty water pail' to trap the grit), foam applicator pad(to apply polish/wax product))

Cheers!

Yeah, there's over 300+ pages on V5 of this thread alone, so you can imagine the amount of material and reading you need to go through, but based on what I read, it mainly boils down to your budget and convenience (ie do you have access to water hose)

There's also alot of youtube video, you can start by watching this (this is abit over the top)



But as a minimum/beginner, you need to source for the following

1) Car shampoo (self explanatory - to wash your car, but different shampoo has different feature, some has added convenient of wax + wash in a single solution, but you will not achieve the full gloss performance as opposed to a proper wax, but still better than just shampoo)

2) Clay bar + Clay lubricant (after washing, you need to use claybar to scrub away the small particles that shampoo can't remove, after this stage you will end up with a super smooth surface)(only clay when you feel your car surface is no longer that smooth, most people here seems to clay once or twice a year)

3) Polish (this is to remove away all the fine scratches or what people here call "swirls". For new cars, use those less abrasive polish (example Meguiars Ultimate Polish), for older cars with deeper scratches, use more abrasive polish such as (Meguiars Ultimate Compound / ScratchX)(Only polish when there's scratches/swirls, don't do unnecessarily)

4) Wax (Now that you have polished away the scratches in step 3 and you have a very shiny surface, protect that surface with wax and to enhance the gloss)(You can wax anytime but general rule is wax only when you no longer see water beads on your surface)

5) Accessories (plush microfiber cloth (to wash your car without introducing new scratches) , grit guard (you will need two pails of water to wash, use grit guard in the 'dirty water pail' to trap the grit), foam applicator pad(to apply polish/wax product))

Cheers!

Was is there when you first applied HCW?

Good question.

For those type of cars, without the beads basically the paint may look rather 'flat and dull', as the water basically sticks onto the paint like sheet or oil film. I know some here has shared that they prefer sheeting capabilities vs outright water beading just that nowadays a lot of products are geared towards the water beading properties.

I recall someone sharing before that having a coated car doesn't mean little maintenance needed, cos those beads if left to dry will definitely be quite difficult to remove. One good thing about beading is that if you blow it off or drive it quick enough, those beads will just 'bead off' the surface.

That's why most times after downpour and if I don't drive my car out, I quickly need to wipe the car before the beads dry up and I'm left with unsightly water marks... 

Can post a closer photo?

Looks like road film, is it dark color?

Yes, heat will wear down them faster. It is still majority wax rather than SiO2 ya. So it is not as durable to heat. Another point to ponder is, does your car partially shade and got water will drip on the hood? If yes that will also accelerate the wear of the HCW.

Example 😅

recent downpour wears the black2 faster leh. I top it off with my remaining Tupps tyre shine. black2 quite rxpensive to apply regularly 😂

Osren Nano Wash or Bubble and Wax, very economical and works well.

Hyper wash is very economical to use due to high dilution ratio.
https://www.meguiars.com/professional/produ...1-gallon-liquid

I'm using shampoo plus, economical than wash and wax, it had dilution ratio of 128:1
https://www.meguiars.com/search?search_api_...xt=Shampoo+plus