Waxing your car - How To?

[joshwa]

Can someone explain to me how to wax my car?

I'm fine with cleaning it - that all goes swimmingly...

But stupid though it may seem - I just can't get the hang of waxing the car.

It never seems to work properly and I follow the instructions on the bottle to the T...

Can someone explain - do I do a small 1 foot by 1 foot square at a time? Do I wait for the wax to dry before wiping off, or do I wipe off just after putting it on? Should I do the whole bonnet, wait for it to dry, then wipe it off? And if I do wait a while before wiping it off, how long? Should the car be completely dry before starting?

[Zak33]

jolly good question

Firstly...always make sure the car is DRY, and that means the things that hold water, like aound the screen nozzles, and the boot handle etc, dont have any water stuck. If need be, wash one day, wax the next!
In all cases, put polish onto a CLOTH, not onto the car.
In all cases, keep moving the cloth to a clean part, and when it gets dirty, which it will, as you'll pick up dirt you didn't think was there, change the cloth, move it around, refold it...whatever.
If it's a creamy wet polish, that squeezes out, you put it onto the cloth and start on one corner of which ever panel and make sure that you polish the panel ajoining it, in the same session ie DONT do one panel at a time. Do one panel, plus a bit of the panels around it. This helps keep scratching (which most polishes do a little) even.

Use as LITTLE as possible

Let it DRY.....by all means do the whole car BEFORE buffing. But dont do it in hot sunlight.

When buffing if off, change the cloth a LOT...the dust that comes off is a litte adhesive and will stick to the next panel. Keep that buffing cloth CLEAN and NEW

Don't skimp on the mutton cloth.

And lastly.....the first time you polish a car...DO IT TWICE...the second time is when it goes better AND use less again...it'll go on smoother and come off better.

Then....once you're done...get ANOTHER clean cloth and buff the whole car...I BET yu get more residue/dust polish

[listy]

watch karate kid it show you now to polish a car

lol no idea other than that but once your done with yours you can come and polish the wifes car

[Butcher]

I've always done it much like zak said (usually apply wax to the lot then buff it all off). Seems to work.

[Zak33]

the thing is, osh is proly being quite picky, cos he likes stuff done "just so"

Like when he poured Coke into his running hard drive, and hosted it for the world to see

[Lowe]

Hmm, a few things I disagree with and think needs clearing up a touch here, without wanting to step on any toes...

Firstly - polishing is a different process from waxing. Polishing is preparing the paint for waxing (sealing). When polishing the idea is to remove surface contaminants from the paint, giving as clean a surface as possible to allow the wax sealant to do its job properly. As such, the two processes require different products, though you'll find most stuff on the market is actually a combination of the pair.

So - a basic session should look something like this:

Prewash (soak car/blast with hose to get lose dirt off etc)
Wash (clean car)
Dry (or not depending on wax, see later points)
Polish (Tcut/Clay bar)
Seal (Wax)
Admire (take photos!)


I don't like the idea of wash one day and wax the next. Why? Well, you might as well just wax the car without washing it, because overnight the car will get covered in dirt unless it's in a vacuum packed dry garage, heh! Same goes for waxing the whole car, then buffing the car off after. Do it a panel at a time and you reduce the risk of rubbing dirt into the paint causing scuff marks and swirl.

Oh and another thing, depending upon the wax, the car doesn't have to be dry - wax with a high content of Carnuba actually works better when the car is very slightly damp. In fact you'll find that you get a better shine by misting water onto the waxed panel, then buffing again!

As Zak mentioned, the products you use can have a huge difference on the end result, especially the cloths that you use for the process. Personally I use a lambs wool mitt for cleaning, foam applicators for applying polish/wax, and then special polishing cloths for the final buffing.

Oh, and for reference:





This was with:

RainDance (carwash - about 7 quid
Meguires Claybar (first time I tried it, wasn't that impressed tbh, about 15 quid)
Zymol Cleaner wax (about £20 for a big bottle, superb stuff for the money highly recommended)
Vaseline (super secret Lowe "back to black" product!)

[joshwa]

I'm using Zymol cleaner, and then Zymol wax. I found out last night, that if I put on too little, then it wont dry with a white powder, making it difficult to buff off, but if I use just the right amount, then it all works fine. The only thing I wish I had was a small car like your Clio, but instead I've got a huge estate, I managed to do the bonnet and roof last night... then it went dark...

[Lowe]

No point using Zymol Cleaner and then the Zymol Wax. One or the other mate - else you'll find the second layer won't go on very well, because the other product is already covering the surface.

Use the Zymol Cleaner wax when you can't be bothered polishing it properly, general waxing - and use the other one for when you've got a 'proper' session planned.

Oh, and yes - small cars rock for this

[Moby-Dick]

Lowe - your getting a bit close to calling it Detailing

http://www.sniffpetrol.com/2007/08/1...-dirty-dishes/

[Taz]

Preparation is 90%+ of the work it takes to produce a nicely waxed car. It can take several hours to clean the paintwork properly before you wax it. If the paintwork is not clean then you'll just coat the dirt with the wax and the wax won't go on easily.

Others have mentioned a similar procedure that I use on my car:

1. Clean the wheels/arches first.I use P21S Wheel Cleaner Gel.

2. Wash the car using a wash mitt and a good, mild shampoo. I use Race Glaze shampoo (it contains carnauba wax and is very mild). Use the two-bucker method: one bucket contains the shampoo, the other contains clean water. After washing a panel, rinse it in the clean-water bucket so that any dirt isn't introduced into the shampoo.

3. Dry the car using a microfibre cloth and a mist of a quick detailer spray (this will remove any watermarks and make it easier to dry). I use Meguiar's QD spray, diluted 1:1 to help with the drying.

4. Use a clay bar and a lubricant (eg. a quick detailer). Do a panel at a time and wipe to a gloss finish using a clean microfibre cloth. Meguair's do a couple of clay kits and these aren't too bad.

5. Use a paint cleanser (eg. P21S Paintwork Cleanser). Allow to haze and buff using an MF cloth.

6. Apply a thin coat of a decent wax (eg. P21S Concours Carnauba Wax) to a panel at a time. Don't allow it to haze over, wipe it to a shine with an MF cloth after a minute or so. Repeat for a second coat.

7. Apply a sealant/wax to the wheels as well. I use Swissvax Autobahn - this is a PTFE-enhanced carnauba wax for wheels. You could Autoglym Super Resin Polish followed by Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection.

That whole process takes me 5-7 hours. You only need to do that entire process 1-2 times a year though. On subsequent washes I just use a quick detailer after drying the car. Every 3-4 washes I rewax the car with a single coat of a carnauba wax.

As I mentioned at the beginning, preparation of the paintwork is 90%+ of the effort in producing a good waxed finish. I hope that helps!

[joshwa]

No point using Zymol Cleaner and then the Zymol Wax. One or the other mate - else you'll find the second layer won't go on very well, because the other product is already covering the surface.

Use the Zymol Cleaner wax when you can't be bothered polishing it properly, general waxing - and use the other one for when you've got a 'proper' session planned.

Oh, and yes - small cars rock for this

I don't think I've used the right words above. I use Zymol green stuff (looks like green fairy liquid - auto wash? this stuff), then use Zymol cleaner wax that looks like pastel green slop / gunge this stuff. Not proper wax.

[Lowe]

Ah right, I understand you now chap. That should be more than up to the job.

And Moby, how dare you lol!

[Behemoth]

I'm using Zymol cleaner, and then Zymol wax. I found out last night, that if I put on too little, then it wont dry with a white powder, making it difficult to buff off, but if I use just the right amount, then it all works fine. The only thing I wish I had was a small car like your Clio, but instead I've got a huge estate, I managed to do the bonnet and roof last night... then it went dark...

I've got the same trouble with my Vectra, there's just so much of it to polish/wax !! Haven't done it since I bought it though, it is starting to look many other Vectra's on the road, dirty and red