Hey, Radd...
If you like Turtle Wax, keep using it. Their lineup has been steadily improving in the quality department as of late, so for off-the-shelf stuff, it's not bad. However...
1) The cheap Zymol stuff you get at Wally World is actually manufactured by Turtle Wax. The real Zymol wax will cost you in the three and four figures, depending on which one you buy, and is applied with your bare hands. Also, if you are having trouble removing the product, you are applying it too thick! You should barely be able to see it on the paint after it hazes and is ready to be wiped off.
2) If you need to get the old wax off your black trim, try using a firm toothbrush with some quick detail spray or a mild dilution of Simple Green or Castrol All Purpose Cleaner (these last two will strip wax, so use a little discretion, or be prepared to rewax nearby painted areas).
3) The products you use are largely determined by your expectations for your paint. Despite the literary license many manufacturers take with their product labeling, a polish is used to remove oxidation, repair defects like fine scratches, and produce gloss. Waxes and sealants are used to protect a well-prepped, polished surface. Typically, as long as you have polished the surface properly, your final last-step product, be it a wax or a sealant, cheap or expensive, will not make a huge difference to the majority of onlookers. Even NuFinish will look good on a properly-prepped surface.
4) My process:
- Wash with car wash detergent (the ones which have wax in them are just a gimmick, just like the waxes-with-Teflon-added crap). Car wash detergents with added wax will leave a negligible amount of protection on the car (like the weak stuff that gets sprayed on your car in the tunnel wash), and may interfere with the bonding of your last step product to the paint surface, unless you polish first. But if you're gonna polish, why wax during the wash? I use a 100% sheepskin mitt from Wally World; cheaper synthetic mitts can leave more visible marring on dark paint. I always wash from top to bottom, with a separate synthetic mitt used for really dirty areas like rockers, bumpers, and wheels. Good readily-available car washes include (but are not limited to) the Meg's Gold Class and Meg's NXT.
- After washing, clay the painted surfaces of the car using a medium-grade clay bar (I happen to use Clay Magic Blue) and a lubricating spray (I happen to use Poorboy's Quikshine). The Mother's clay kit is a good starting point for off-the-shelf stuff. Claying pulls all kinds of nasty bonded contaminants off your paint (and at the end of winter, there's apt to be lots of fine grit stuck to your finish), preparing your paint for either your polishing step or your wax, if polishing is deemed unnecessary. You do not want to wax or polish your car with bonded contaminants stuck to your paint, because the waxing process will loosen the grit, which will then be ground into your paint by your left-hand-circle/right-hand-circle motions, resulting in swirl marks.
- This is where you can use a decent cleaner wax to fill in the fine scratches and leave a coat of protection on the car, and call it a day. I cringe at the thought of this, but most people will find this perfectly acceptable.
- Instead, I polish my car using my trusty Porter Cable 7424 dual-action polisher along with some of Clearkote's Vanilla Moose, for minor finish correction, and to produce a surface ready for my wax of choice. For tips on using the Porter Cable, you might try hanging out on the Autopia forums. It's pretty easy, once you get the hang of it, and will not introduce marring or swirl marks using the Vanilla Moose and a polishing pad. And boy is it an arm-saver!
- My wax of choice at the moment is a carnauba-based wax called Collinite #845 Insulator Wax. It has no cleaning properties (no polishing abrasives), and actually can be removed by an aggressiver cleaner wax or polish. The reasons I like it: 1) it's inexpensive, 2) it's EXTREMELY detergent resistant (beads like crazy after multiple washes), 3) it is clear and does not mute the metallic flakes like some waxes do, 4) it lasts a long time; some people get 4+ months of scary-solid beading out of it, 5) It's super-easy to apply and remove, provided you apply it very thinly. And when I say thinly, again, I mean so that you can barely see it on the paint. It's negatives are that it is not easy to wash out of your foam applicator pads (naturally), and some don't like its odor (although it has kind of a nostalgic smell to me, like a garage from the 70's, a chemical smell). I have a number of enthusiast grade waxes and sealants, which I'll use from time to time dependng on the color of the car (sealants on the lighter colored cars, and my $60 jar of Pinnacle Souveran paste wax on blacks). I like carnauba waxes on dark cars, because it tends to "wet" the paint and make it look darker. Ultimately, I want the paint to look so wet that you could dip your finger into it, but it all comes back to the surface prep.
- I apply my waxes and sealants with a cheap yellow circular foam applicator pad, available from most detailing websites for something like 6 pads for $4. I remove my waxes and sealants (as well as polishes) with a high-quality microfiber towel, though I've been known to use the cheap yellow ones from Costco in moments of weakness or poverty. Good microfiber towels (the ones costing $4 each and up, not found at Wally World) will not lint or scratch your paint, but they do require a bit more care when it comes to washing them.
5) Rotary buffers: I do use one on my customers' cars from time to time when they need serious defect removal, or if I've wet-sanded the paint. I would highly advise against using such a machine to apply waxes, as they generate considerable heat at the paint surface. Buffer swirls are caused by 1) using too aggressive a pad, 2) using too aggressive a polish/compound, 3) using too high a rotary speed, 4) not using a finishing polish after defect removal, and 5) severe lack of experience and practice (and yes I was guilty of this at one time). My suggestion would be to get the Porter Cable 7424, or preferably the 7336, and a few foam pads of different grades, and start with that. You will not damage the paint (unless you throw the PC at the car), and the PC can be used to apply polishes, glazes, sealants and waxes. They go for a bit over $100 at Lowe's, BUT ARE WORTH EVERY PENNY. Do NOT settle for the cheap Sears Craftsman orbital buffer; it is a pale shadow of the PC, and cannot even come close to matching it in terms of its corrective ability, ease of use, adjustable speed range, etc etc, blah blah blah.
6) Spray waxes and quick detail sprays have their uses. Once you have polished and waxed your car, and your paint is looking showroom (or better
), you can maintain that just detailed look and feel by washing your car weekly to get rid of the dirt (the dirt won't adhere to a fresh coat of wax), drying it gently, then taking 10 minutes to do the spray wax thing. Do this once a week and people will think that you constantly spend hours on your car instead of minutes.
If you use a clean foam or microfiber applicator, you don't have to worry about whether it's wet or not before you wax. I almost never wet my applicator before waxing because I don't want to dilute the effectiveness of the product I am using. If I wet it, I will use a product that is compatible with the wax or sealant I am using on that car.
Sorry, too much info, I know, but I'd rather start you on the right path. If you turn into a really sick detailing fanatic, you may want to hang out on the forums at
http://www.autopia.org/. Some of those guys make me look like a lightweight, and their cars are proof of that. Have fun!
Regards,
Craig
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Originally Posted by Raddman
Thinking of getting ready for my spring car waxing/polishing...I used lots of different polishes over the years and found the easiest one to put on and take off was still plain old turtle wax and the hardest to use was Zymol, Damn stuff is hard to get off I still have some on my black trim from a year ago...Just wondering what everyones preferences were in a wax/polish and any tips you might have on waxing your cars and what do you use when washing it, car-wash with wax in it good?.....Also to use a rotor buffer or not, does it leave swirl marks on the clearcoat? And do those "in between waxes spray shines" really work? Some say use a wet applicator others say no... Should it have carbula wax in it?......Looking for a good wax that will stay shiny long but is fairly easy to apply and buff off......Radd
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Wax on Wax Off!
I have three questions, how often do you wax like this, do you fish and why don't I live in Hawaii.
...Radd
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