Question on waxing

[babydriver]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I second this! I use the actual Ice wax every couple of months and the spray in between. The nice part is that since it is a polymer not an actual "wax" it doesn't leave all that white dust in every crack and crevasse.

Your car has crevasses?


Those Canadian winters are harder than I thought.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by babydriver

Your car has crevasses?
Attachment 107617

Those Canadian winters are harder than I thought.

Well ... yes it does!

Dust gets in the crevices as well though. (I place too much trust in spell check sometimes)

[tennisfreak]

Polishing is removing the clear coat because its abrasive.

Only polish if the car has blemishes that need to come out. You should not polish on a regular basis.

Clay, polish (if needed), wax, then detailer/spray wax.

If you use the detailer/spray wax every single wash and wash on a regular basis then you should be fine waxing every 4-5 months (varies depending on road and weather conditions).

I personally love this spray/detailer wax more than any other:


For liquid wax I normally use Meguires Gold Class carnuba wax. But I recently tried this polymer wax of theirs. Undecided on how much I like it. It seems to offer great protection but for some reason it just does not have the same feel as the carnuba based wax.

[MonoRaven]

My favorite wax.

[keithr]

Originally Posted by tennisfreak

It seems to offer great protection but for some reason it just does not have the same feel as the carnuba based wax.

That reason would be that one is based on carnauba, a natural wax from a type of palm tree, and the other is a synthetic polymer.

While they serve similar functions, the two are vastly different chemical makeups and are going to look, feel, and smell different (and taste, I would assume.)

Before the chemists and product specialists jump all over me for this, I know this isn't entirely scientifically accurate, it's my layman's distillation: I tend to think of carnaubas as a "softer" wax coating and the polymers as a hard shell.

The polymers typically are going to give better protection (all that space-age stuff, ya know...) and carnaubas are still tops when it comes to that deep down mirror gloss. Some people layer them. Old school guys swear by carnauba paste and won't touch the polymers.

It's all good. A high quality carnauba applied every 2-3 months is probably pretty close in effective protection to a good polymer sealant every 4-6 months. Only talking protection here. Gloss is another story.

[Atticus808]

Originally Posted by vividracing

If you use a spray wax, it won't last anywhere near as long as a liquid wax. Spray waxes are good for extending the life of an already waxed car, but it's not good in the long run because the base layer of wax breaks down, and the spray wax won't be as effective. You could spray wax it once a week or every other week after it's washed but you'll have to re-apply it.

Or you can use a liquid wax and not have to re-apply it for 2-3 months, depending on which you use. The benefit is more significant because liquid waxes have better ingredients because some of those ingredients aren't able to be put into a solution to be sprayed.

I generally follow this time table for detailing:
CLAY - every 6 months
POLISH - every 3 months, especially after clay
SEALANT - every 1-2 months, especially after clay/polish
PURE CARNAUBA - whenever, especially after clay/polish/sealant, and before car shows.

If you use a clay bar, you have to use a sealant. You don't have to use a polish or carnauba, they're more optional but finishes the look.

Polishes use abrasives to fix micro scratches and swirl marks and are mostly used for that purpose, and aren't exactly best for regular use compared to sealant/carnauba.

If you're lazy and just want the basic wax...
Sealants last longer but don't look as bright.
Carnauba doesn't last as long but looks really good.

A car wash offering wax generally uses a sealant/carnauba mix but don't have the same full properties of either type.

-RyanG

polishing every 3 months is a bit excessive. I would say Polish maybe once a year or less. preferably just polish if the paint is starting to look like crap. touch the car as little as possible

[vividracing]

Originally Posted by Atticus808

polishing every 3 months is a bit excessive. I would say Polish maybe once a year or less. preferably just polish if the paint is starting to look like crap. touch the car as little as possible

Well the reason I polish in that time is in 3 months I'd have a good 12-16 car washes done, and countless dust wiping (with duster) and inevitably there will be swirl marks and such. Polishing gets rid of them (well not entirely, I don't have a machine for it, just elbow grease).

I'm also somewhat obsessive about it too

[Annahra]

A careful wash will be less likely to instill swirls than a quick detailer. I only use a quick detailer for emergency fixes like bird poo. I do a rinseless wash on my car once or twice a week and my finish is flawless. If you really want long-lasting protection, look into getting your car coated. Coatings add an extra layer over the top of your existing clear coat and are more resistant to marring. They last a couple of years or so depending on the coating and how you care for your car. With any last stage protection like a wax or sealant, you should reapply when water no longer beads on the surface of the vehicle.

If you really want to become a detailing expert, check out the forums on Autogeekonline.net.

[Atticus808]

Originally Posted by vividracing

Well the reason I polish in that time is in 3 months I'd have a good 12-16 car washes done, and countless dust wiping (with duster) and inevitably there will be swirl marks and such. Polishing gets rid of them (well not entirely, I don't have a machine for it, just elbow grease).

I'm also somewhat obsessive about it too

damn that's a lot of car washes LOL

why not get PPF on your car and just wax it all the time? your car is gonna be naked with all that polishing lol

[vividracing]

Originally Posted by Atticus808

damn that's a lot of car washes LOL

why not get PPF on your car and just wax it all the time? your car is gonna be naked with all that polishing lol

Actually I do lol. I have PPF on my entire BRZ except the roof and trunk. Getting it washed is easier than spray detailer and I (and by extension, my car) feel cleaner by doing it. I wash it at least once a week, being in Arizona SUCKS for sticky, static dust and after a week it's pretty much caked on. If I could have one of those anti-static strips bolted to the bottom of my car I would get it immediately but I don't know if they're legit.

Soon I'll have film on those pieces too and I won't need to polish it again! Before the film goes on I'll get it detailed real good to get rid of the swirl marks.

[Atticus808]

Originally Posted by vividracing

Actually I do lol. I have PPF on my entire BRZ except the roof and trunk. Getting it washed is easier than spray detailer and I (and by extension, my car) feel cleaner by doing it. I wash it at least once a week, being in Arizona SUCKS for sticky, static dust and after a week it's pretty much caked on. If I could have one of those anti-static strips bolted to the bottom of my car I would get it immediately but I don't know if they're legit.

Soon I'll have film on those pieces too and I won't need to polish it again! Before the film goes on I'll get it detailed real good to get rid of the swirl marks.

oooooooh crap. we are both ocd

[housecat]

Originally Posted by Jfheisenberg

I'll be hand washing my car more frequently to maintain the paint and look neat. Anyways I'm thinking on hand washing my car every other Saturday or so... My question is should i add wax every time i wash my car?

Im using meguiars car shampoo and turtle wax ice spray wax and it works/looks great btw.

I would give the car a spray wax after every wash or two, and every couple months apply paste wax with a foam disk pad by hand. I would avoid polish whenever possible; the paint on these cars is extremely thin and I think the clear coat will not last long with frequent polishing. Also use a clay bar every few months. I've found that Mother's clay bar does not require a follow-up polish because no marring is visible (at least on white paint).

Another tip I want to mention is to reduce scratches, use [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Chemical-Guys-MIC50612-Professional-Microfiber/dp/B00A8MZ7IA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429670173&sr=8-1&keywords=chemical+guys+microfiber"]high quality 30% polyamide microfiber towels[/ame] when buffing off wax. I use these towels weekly with a waterless wash because I park outside at an apartment complex, and I have almost no scratches on my paint and no swirls.

[billyk]

I'll pile on here, since I have some recent threads/posts on this subject.

I'll always defer to the detailers here who have excellent insight into how to rejuvenate and protect finishes.

But, for more casual owners like me, I can't say enough about the Turtle Wax Ice Liquid Wax and Spray Wax. I've used these exclusively on my FR-S and I am amazed by the results and the sheer lack of time it takes to make and keep my FR-S looking great. Prices for Ice products are low as well.

The Ice Liquid Wax will last at least 3 months on it's own. I base this on the fact that my finish looked almost like the day I waxed it after about 2 months - Winter months. Spray wax stays perfect for more than a month, in my experience. So, there's plenty of overlap here. Use the liquid, then the spray once a month or so.

Both go on/come off easy, with the Spray being ridiculously easy and fast to use. I can spay wax my FR-S in 30 minutes - including all trim and windows - which makes it a no-brainer to do after a wash. The Ice products make it so that I actually wax my car on a regular basis now. It's just too easy and the results are awesome.

[tennisfreak]

Originally Posted by billyk

Both go on/come off easy, with the Spray being ridiculously easy and fast to use. I can spay wax my FR-S in 30 minutes - including all trim and windows - which makes it a no-brainer to do after a wash. The Ice products make it so that I actually wax my car on a regular basis now. It's just too easy and the results are awesome.

Yep this stuff is amazing. Did not believe how well it would work until I tried it. Now I wont wash a car and NOT use it after.