Waxing your FRS/BRZ?

[billyk]

Originally Posted by notout86

Hi billyk. I have just treated with Turtle Wax Ice liquid wax T-468R. We shall see how it is holding up as time goes by.

I am dubious about the consistency of the milky product and before I follow up with the makers, I would appreciate if you, and anyone else on this thread, noticed very small lumps in it. I suspect they may be the carnauba wax improperly dispersed. If that is the case the wax would not be evenly spread on the paint unless you rubbed hard and it is about the hardest wax you can get.

I am coming from the position of a person experienced in compounding pharmaceutical creams/emulsions and ointments. These are made with "optimal dispersion" whereby you preferably disperse solids at a molecular level so for the wax you would have it dissolved in some solvent and disperse that solution as droplets in an emulsion. On the paint the droplets would be spread and break down , freeing the wax molecules and they are spread at a molecular level. TW Ice is certainly an emulsion as it will mix with water.

Often, separation occurs, so you shake before use. The TW Ice does not say that, but I did.

Would you shake first and pour a little out and feel for lumps with your finger. I would describe mine as almost feeling gritty. If yours is smooth then I will return my unused portion.

Will do. Busy day. Will get back to you later.
-bk

[billyk]

Checked.

No lumps, no drips, no errors. After shaking.

Not sure it'll matter though if yours is different in some way. This is amazing stuff IMO. You can expect it to last for at least 3 months looking like you just applied it.

Good luck!

[MonoRaven]

Some waxes will get thick when they sit. I've never used TW Ice but i have some Collinite 845 that when it sits it gets so thick you can't pour it, also gets real lumpy. I shake it like hell for 5 minutes and it gets as thin as milk and all the lumps go away. I also have some polishes and compounds that do the same thing just not as bad.
I shake everything before I use it (except beer).

[notout86]

Originally Posted by billyk

Checked.

No lumps, no drips, no errors. After shaking.

Not sure it'll matter though if yours is different in some way. This is amazing stuff IMO. You can expect it to last for at least 3 months looking like you just applied it.

Good luck!

Thx billyk. There is no evidence of the lumps on the paint after application but knowing they were present I rubbed vigorously with the pad and they seem to have been crushed and spread ok. I actually had the product in a sprayer as suggested by some user comments I read as they found it too runny. I rubbed my hand all over to spread thus ensuring the maximum thickness over the paint before it got soaked into the pad. I could make out around 6 tiny lumps per hand-sized area after hand spreading. I will follow up with the makers and depending on what they say I may keep it.

The shine looks really excellent and glassy and running a hand over it is o-so-smooth. The bottle placed on the bonnet/hood slips off. Next-door's cat can jump up now and I bet it never tries again. As for the glass, it takes a bit of effort to get the residue off but I have never seen glass look so sparkly/clear. Surely there cannot be any carnauba wax left on the glass ... maybe just the polymer which must be optically neutral. I've done a mirror in the bathroom and it will be interesting to see if it stops steam from the shower fogging it.

[notout86]

I have had a really good look at a sample of my Turtle Wax Ice liquid wax T-468R. I shook the bottle and spread a drop out on a mirror and looked thru a magnifying glass. There are LOTS of little yellowish lumps with a few larger 1mm. They feel almost gritty but squash out under your finger. I think they consist of carnauba wax softened with something. (Carnauba wax itself is too hard to squash).
Therefore, to squash out the c/w and ensure it is in a continuous film over the paint (when the softener has dried out) I believe you MUST rub it on hard if your product has the lumps. If it feels smooth then there's no need to rub hard.

My final fussy application method:
Put the awkwardly runny product in a spray bottle .. then you don't need to keep putting the cap down all the time in case you knock it over.
Pick a cool day preferably after rain i.e. airborne particles settled,and windless i.e. no fresh dust, indoors if possible .... you CAN use in sunlight and on a hot surface but it stands to reason that the longer the solvents stay in it the more chance it has to penetrate/dissolve any old wax or film and bond to the paint.
Squirt off grit with a strong jet.
Ideally you want to get right back to the clear coat, so if you are keen, spray a little kerosene or WD40 on to dissolve and liquify existing previous wax and oily road film. The next step will remove.
Wash with double strength car-detergent. Do not use a "Wash & Wax" type as you do not want to leave any residue that the Turtle Wax Ice liquid wax T-468R has to penetrate. Paint on all over with soft broom, let it soak in a bit then go over the loosened dirt with the broom again, not pressing and letting the tips of the bristles do the work flicking off the dirt, squirt off with strong jet and dry the car. Run the bristles of a soft brush through panel & other grooves to get excess water out. The product mixes with water so you do not need to be too fussy but water will dilute.
Spray a few patches over say a couple of square feet.
Quickly, while still liquid, rub it all over with your hand. You will have a thicker layer of liquid for longer to penetrate/dissolve your old wax and bond to the paint this way. It will not be very even with your hand alone. Therefore you should do the next step.
Before it dries, smooth evenly with the pad. If your sample has lumps, rub hard to squash and spread whatever they are so they join up.
Use one side of the microfibre cloth to quickly rub over and remove the oily-look. It will now look a bit dull.
Use another side of the cloth to buff to a glossy shine.

[billyk]

Nice! Good tips.
Glad you like the ICE stuff.
I love 'em.

[IBill4You]

Turtle wax commercial in 5,4,3,2...

[notout86]

Originally Posted by billyk

Checked.

No lumps, no drips, no errors. After shaking.

Not sure it'll matter though if yours is different in some way. This is amazing stuff IMO. You can expect it to last for at least 3 months looking like you just applied it.

Good luck!

I contacted the makers and they sent me a new bottle. TRULY excellent of them as it came within 10 days from the USA to Australia. The old cost me the equivalent of US$30 and that was on special, so it is not cheap. They offered no explanation despite my asking.

Although the product number is the same there are differences so I do not think the formulation is identical. It is completely smooth.
My old lumpy lot states "Dirt repellent Formula" in several places. There's no mention of carnauba wax in the new. The new states Shake Well and before shaking I can see it separates into a clear phase and a milky phase through the plastic.

So far(3 weeks later), the beading has reduced very noticeably and in a couple of areas there's was virtually no beading at all on the first wash. They were definitely treated so I can't explain, so I re-applied to those places. The dirt certainly washes off very easily now and it comes up a treat. Dirt accumulation down the sides from wet roads is markedly reduced.

Next time I will strip back to the clear coat with kerosene again and try the new to compare.

[Jfheisenberg]

I spray wax every two weeks (turtle wax spray) and use turle quick detailer in between weeks to remove dirt.

Im not sure about polish, clay, and all the other detailer stuff..

[notout86]

It is 6 months since applying Turtle Wax Ice liquid wax T-468R.

That has been through our Winter and the car mostly under a carport roof with direct sun 5 hours per day mostly on the hood. The car was washed maybe six times during that period using a neutral detergent with final thorough washing off of the detergent.

I am very pleased. Beading after 3 weeks was reduced but seemed to improve over the next week so now it looks the same as it was a month after application, the area that gets sun is no different to the rest, after the wash when I run a dry towel over the blobs and beads of water seems to leap off the paint into the towel leaving ZERO water film behind i.e. no need to do anything more like buffing. All I do is flop the dry towel on the roof for instance, then pull it over and down the glass and that's it.
Turtle Wax claim on my pack (the one that had lumps.... see my previous posts) that it "repels dirt" and indeed it does. It is possible to lightly brush off dry dirty spots and there is nothing left. The replacement pack does not claim dirt repel so I just hope that does. Splattered bugs come off fairly easily but I have seen better.
While the glass looked brilliantly polished originally it does seem to actually gather dust out of the air but I don't notice that on the paint.

All in all, cleaning is much easier and faster than untreated clearcoat. All I do is lightly "paint" all over the dirty car with a soft broom with strong car detergent, squirt off hard until there is no frothing, flow water on smoothly and "sheet off". This leaves some beading and blobs of water. Then I do the dry towel thing above and mop up a few bits in grooves and I am done. Only the glass needs a bit of a rub.

[BRZHarley]

For the ones who suggested TW Ice spray & liquid....

Got it, tried it and I like it! ��

Thanks,

Ed

[Tekno Virus]

I've been using Chemical Guys 3X carnauba wax. Stuff's pretty good. Next time I will use their 50/50 Concour Wax.

[Packofcrows]

[KalbiCool88]

Originally Posted by Jeong

every two to three weeks... LOL im not sure if thats the right way to do it but ive gotten in the habit of doing it and it keeps my car clean and it feels nice too :P

I think there is such a thing as excessively waxing your car and I think every 2-3 weeks is still a bit much albeit that'll probably depend on your driving/parking conditions (whether it's parked outside or enclosed indoors). General rule of thumb is you kind of want to avoid touching the vehicle as much as possible as majority of the causes of scratches and swirls are caused by you or somebody touching the vehicle - either by improperly drying the vehicle with a dirty microfiber or drying towel or contamination of the wash sponge/mitt during the actual washing process.

As long as you know what you are doing and is doing it properly and diligently, there shouldn't be any worry. But I try to wash and detail only as I see necessary.