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Store Bought Waxes Part II (No Zaino Posts)
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Clean the interior regularly and it's a lot easier to keep looking nice than a once a year vacuuming.
Car waxes and polymers have come a long way since the "Elbow grease" days. Some products are so easy to apply that it will surprise you. I'd tell you to check out www.thewaxtest.com, but it looks like they are "between tests" right now. You can find out about all kinds of stuff for your car by scrolling thru this and other topics. I'll refrain from discussing the product I use, but I'll let the others tell you about their preferences. Finally - don't assume that just because a wax costs a lot of money that it will perform any better than a lower priced wax...One of the favorite waxs mentioned here are Meguires products, and they are not as costly as some others, but provide what many feel to be a better overall value. Hope this helps - and congratulations on your new car.
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/accgtd.html
Anyway, have fun, and if you have any questions I'm sure bretfraz, mrdetailer, and others on this forum would be happy to help!
Meguiars gold class seems to have pretty good durability in my experience.
I have tried the synthetics, but i haven't really seen a significant advantage to them or really any difference between eachother. But some people swear by them. Maybe different paints? I can't say.
dave
Thanks-
Truckdude1
However, sometimes it's necessary to wash in an automatic for undercarrage cleaning, salt cleanup, cold weather, and sometimes just because it's more convenient. If you do then always pay the extra to have another wax coat put on. Frankly, it's not made to last real long, but it will at least help restore some of the wax that might have been removed.
thanks agian
Here are the problems I've known with carwashes.
Harsh detergents that undo a wax job. More prevalent with Carnuba waxes, less with polymers like 3M Perfect-It show car Paste, Class, and Meguiar's Medallion.
Salt in recycled water -- shouldn't be your problem.
High pressure taking small chips out of the paint.
Damp trunks when the seals can't keep out the flood of water being blasted at it.
Inability to clean stains like bird doo doo. It leaves a residue that still needs hand cleaning. to say nothing of bug tar, or road tar.
Poor wax coats. I have a hard time believing that something that is squirted on and immediately rinsed off can give a durable shine under the circumstances.
But it is convenient in emergencies.
mp5freak - Glad you like the detailing guide. I found it to be very well written and quite 'detailed' in it's information. I especially like the product recommendations that you click on during a specific topic discussion. Makes the difficult combo of reading and info-seeking very simple.
The guide itself is not free. As I had mentioned there are a couple chapters available as samples (like "wheels and tires") but everything else costs the $15.
FWIW, not only do I follow most all the techniques described in the guide but I use a vast majority of the products recommended.
Thanks!
Thanks-
Truckdude1
(Happy NewYear!)
I think I have too many products
After washing the car today I started going thru all the products and tools I have in my garage that are specifically for car detailing. I knew I had lots of stuff, many products that I wasn't using regularly, but even I was suprised at the variety and number of different products.
Even after a little purging I still have 49 products made by 16 vendors. Now some of this are multiple products, like the 5 bottles of Eagle One Wipe & Shine. Turns out that of the 49 products I have, 20 are made by Eagle One (Disclosure: Much of what I have from E1 I received as samples at No Charge).
I was suprised that I have only one Meguiar's product - #34 Final Inspection. And that's almost gone.
Product brands on my shelves:
Eagle One
Meguiars
3M
P21S
Liquitech (aka Finish First)
Sprayway
Stoners
NAPA
Blackfire
Griots Garage
Autoglym
Hi Temp
Pinnacle
Sonus
Summit Ind (Black Again & Vinylex)
Unelko (Rain X)
Everything from 2 oz. sample size to one gallon jugs.
Do any of you have a huge number of varying products, or do most of you find a couple brands and stick to them?
LOL....My garage shelves USED to look like that too until I found my current products. Now my shelves have room again. ;-))
fastdriver
d
ave
My Dad's favorite father's day and Christmas presents is a good cleanup on his vehicles. He has a 1995 Emerald Green Taurus. By the time I started on his car I had some experience. I have never applied a glaze without using the clay bar first on this car. It definitely shines better than new.
The truth is that a glaze keeps the paint smooth. This stops pollutants from penetrating, and ruining the finish.
I honestly would recommend a machine because it's so much faster.
2. If the product is good, but not my major preference, use it up before buying the preferred products.
3. Reduce car care products to no more than 2 shelves. I have an unbelievable amount of products that are half to 75%used.
Granted, I'm taking care of 7 cars. My own, my Dad's, and my son's, but I spend over $550 just for waxes, cleaners and interior care last year. Set the budget for next year to $360.00
When I took it in for a repaint estimate they quoted 2,000 bucks. But also said that it didn't need it at this time. He advised not using serious abrasives. So I don't use anything stronger than glazes and clay bars. Looks great 3 years later. No need to repaint at all. Any my cars are also outside most of the time.
Using glazes adds nourishing oils to the paint, and keeps a smooth slick surface that resists pollutants. Meguiar's #7, 3M Machine Glaze are excellent, but the finest grit I've seen is 3M Perfect-It Foam Polishing Pad Glaze Swirl Mark Remover for Dark Cars.
A buffer will produce the smoothest shine by far. I like my 9 inch, but many like the 6 inch for better control and lighter weight.
Use a wax that is not a cleaner wax for greater durability, and for putting on multiple coats. I wait at least a week between wax coats to allow complete hardening. With each coat, the depth of the shine gets better.
If you are worried about preserving thin paint, glazing and waxing are a must.
1. Winter washing - I live in southern Ontario, and we get some cold winters. I need to get the salt and other grime off of my car, but I'm not sure the best way to do it when the temperature is freezing or worse. I tried to wash the car on a nice sunny but cold day last weekend, but the damn hose froze shortly after I started! I see two other options:
- First, I can go to a regular, soft cloth car wash. I know, I know - the cloth can scratch the car, so I want to avoid this option. However, these washes do advertise "Fresh Water Rinse", and they do get almost all of the salt and other grime off the car.
- Secondly I could use a touchfree car wash. This is my wash of choice during spring-fall when I don't have time to hand wash. However, none of these washes near me advertise "Fresh Water", and the minimum wage clerks have no idea whether the water is fresh, filtered, etc. Also, the touchless car washes leave a lot of salt and hard water stains on the car.
Any other thoughts or advice?
2. My second question is about orbital buffers for polishing/waxing my car. I've never used one before, and I'm deathly afraid of ruining the finish of my car if I do it wrong! Is this a reality using todays modern buffers? What type of buffer would minimize this risk while still being able to produce a high gloss finish is less time than by hand? Thanks again for any thoughts!
Just thought I'd start the board off with a long one on this fine Thursday morning
As for the orbital buffers, mine is a 9" Chamberlain Waxmaster, and it works great. I bought it at Wal-Mart for a good price, but look into the Simoniz buffer kit that's available at Canadian Tire. It comes packaged in a tough plastic case and it looks like it has a good buffer. The only problems you could run into are dirty buffer pads that you didn't wash, and it could scratch your paint if you're not careful. Also, try not to stay too long on the same spot on your car, as the buffer will overheat your paint finish. This is not a good thing. The Waxmaster I have is an orbital buffer, but also "moves around" in circles, so it never actually stays on the same spot. I think most buffers nowadays do this. Small buffers are more convenient if you have a lot of ridges and body cladding on the car (all Pontiacs), because the smaller diameter allows to get in all the cracks. You'd probably be better off with a 8" or 9" for your Mazda, since it doesn't have that many ridges, and the large diameter would allow you to cover more in the same time.
A Rotary buffer should only be used by a trained professions.
As for the buffers - I guess I was wondering how likely it would be to damage the paint using a Random Orbital Buffer. I wouldn't dream of using at Rotary Buffer. I mean, I'm content doing everything by hand - it takes a bit long, but I'm content. But, if the risk of damage is very low, then maybe I'll pickup a buffer in the spring. I'm not an idiot when it comes to using hand tools
I am going to try the following (even though I know my wife will give me the what an idiot look):
Go to Home Depot/Lowes/True Value and buy a few empty 5 gallon buckets and lids (drywall buckets).
Fill 4 of those up with warm water and mix 1 up with your favorite auto wash at home.
Got to the U Do It autowash at night when there won't be a line.
Use their hose to soak up the car - keep the real pressure off and just get the car wet and spray the underbody if you want. This will limit the amount of recycled watet.
Use your soap mix to wash as quickly as possible and then gently/sparingly use your 4 warm water buckets to rinse.
Get back in car and stick hands under heater. Then go out on the highway and blow dry the car.
This eliminates much of the recycled water issue and keeps your driveway from icing up. It won't be a perfect job but it's better than nothing.
But I'm interested in what everyone does for rubber trim. Especially after getting wax smears on it.
Also, I'm a fan of glossy tires. What do you prefer to use for that? My favorite so far has been the Maguires Endurance, which I think has pretty good longevity.
But I recently did a little test on my car to remove wax from plastic trim. I used peanut butter to remove the wax. So far it appears to have worked. Apparently the vegetable oil in the PB reacts with the wax residue and lifts it out. This may not be 100% as it is possible the wax has actually stained the trim, which in that case the damage is done and more extreme measures are required.
A few other things to try are a wax and grease remover (I use 3M), Simple Green, or if you want to roll the dice a bit, turpentine or some kind of mineral spirit. Heck, even try Crisco or Mazola if you are up to it.
Next time tape off the trim areas with masking tape to prevent a repeat performance.
by rbrenton88
Surface prep is everything. I take a very small amount of grape jelly (about the size of a dime) and buff the (waxed stained) black trim. I then apply a liberal amount of Jiffy Extra Chunky peanut butter with a 100% whole wheat bread applicator. This regime works likes a charm on my car! BTW, this procedure also produces a real good sandwich.
:-)))
-Larry
In e46 fanatics DYI section it has instructions about de-badging.
Does anyone know if this would also work for the ugly sticker that the dealer stuck on the trunk with their name on it?
If so is there any gotch ya's I should be aware of?
CNorthrup
I guess my main concern is screwing up the paint.
I have the Goof Off stuff from when I took off the visor decals but it sounds like that is a little dangerous to use especially near the taillight.
I will use the WD40. I love the stuff and have used it for just about everything over the years.
I will probably wait until it gets warmer... or will that make it harder to get it off?
When I went to pick up my car at the dealer one of the first things a noticed was the dealer's logo stuck on my trunk and it wasn't even straight.
You would think with their logo on both marker plate holders would have been enough.
I will think about getting something different for them too.
CNorthrup
I have used the Turtle Wax "Bug & Tar and Tree Sap Remover" (white can) for years...and it works very well for me. I used it today with great results, as a matter-of-fact. The only other thing I've used which works better is...gasoline...which of course I don't usually recommend...due to its hazardous nature. I also have some 3M "Adhesive, Tar & Wax remover" which I found at Wal-Mart, but haven't tried it yet.
BTW, Bret & Mr Detailer, that was some great detailer advice ya'll gave earlier...and my list of car care products is bout as long as Brets...guess its time to clean house!
Also, here is another site which sells great products and gives some excellent detailer advice:
http://www.carcareonline.com/
Best regards, Vern
I removed all the emblems and badging from my parent's Jeep Cherokee right after they bought it. Not one single emblem is on it now. The lettering was actually die-cut pressure tape that peeled off using a thin piece of wood and finger pressure.
It did leave some glue residue so I used Goo Gone to take it off, follow immediately by a wash and wax. Stuff like Goo Gone is fine as long as you don't overdo it or leave the product on the paint too long.
Vern - I love that 3M stuff. I use it all the time for odd jobs that I need serious help with. A versatile product, IMO.
Simply washed the vehicles and noted the beading. It is reduced somewhat, but both the Meguiars and 3M are still beading fairly well. We are supposed to have some more snow in a few days so hopefully I can see the natural beading from precipitation.
Thanks for the trim tips everyone. I have a bottle of Quik Detailer that I never use, which I'll give a try.
I don't understand quick detail fluids. They seem to suggest that you spray it on any old time, but I wouldn't dream of doing that without a complete wash, else you'll murder the paint right?
Use it with a couple microfiber towels and you'll be fine. I know people who QD daily and never wash their car; it's always clean.
So, is there anything I should do other than this?
Thanks in advance for your help.
2) What soap (if any) should I use when washing the car between waxes?? I have seen posts that suggest blue Dawn for washing prior to a waxing to help put a groove in the wax, but how do I wash my car for the four months between waxes??
Your help is appreciated.
As far a car washing shampoo, most of the usual products available at retail work fine. Look for shampoos that state they do not remove wax. Meguiar's Gold Class shampoo is popular because it's readily available and decently priced. I use Eagle One Wet shampoo and it's great. 3M, Mothers, even the Zymol stuff you see in some stores all work well. I wouldn't bother with the shampoos that say they have wax in them. None of them perform well in my experience. Oh, and one more suggestion: Use a cotton chenille wash mitt or a super soft lambwool mitt for car washing. Many times its the mitt that creates swirls since the cheapies have polyester in them. Viking makes a great chenille mitt but can be hard to find. NAPA sells a nice chenille mitt; I use their large and small ones.