to the serious detailers...

ChrisPearl95

Registered User
I am fairly new to the colder climate where I live, therefore I drove my SC in the winter this year. I am going to put a couple of coats of wax on this weekend. One light coat of turtle wax color match polish....then a good coat of Meguirs liquid gold.

The question is....can I put on the wax in the evening, leave it on overnight, and remove the next morning safely? Does it help to leave it on for a longer period of time like that?

Thanks,

Chris:confused:
 
You're just inviting dust, pollen etc to collect/stick to the dried wax. You'll get swirls like crazy when you remove and buff. Put it on, let it dry and take it off as soon as possible. A good wax will bond and be done, if it takes a long time to dry, you put too much on. Better to put on several paper thin coats that can dry fast. Or wait for warmer weather.

Check out www.autopia.com for all the detailing info you'll ever need.


HTH
 
Actually, that website will tell me all I ever wanted to know about Dental Practice Management software! ;) Do they have a new web address?
 
I would not use Turtle Wax but that is just me. Use a nice coat of Meguiars No. 2 polish and then the number 3 wax. Works very well. I do not recomend their Gold Class Paste Wax. If you want to use the Gold Class then use their Gold Class Liquid. It is much easier to use.
 
Re: Hi Chris

thundersc said:
Back when I had the '67 Camaro show car a Meguiars Product salesman came to a club meeting. He said use the following steps;
1) wash car
2) remove old wax may take 2-4 times


Use Dawn dishwashing soap when washing and the old wax will be removed in nothing flat.

Never use Dawn dishwashing soap if you don't intend to re-wax the car.
 
Dawn soap actually works very well for removing wax. It is even reccomended by Ziano Bros. (In my opinion, the best polish ever!)

Thomas
 
If you want an amazing finish, be prepared to spend some time. I did last year and WOW, I loved it.

I recommend using either Mothers or Meguiars 3 stage process.

First step is a paint cleaner. This removes all old wax, oxydized paint and really brings the colour back out. You can take step 1 a step further buy using a clay bar. Mothers has an excellent one, which you use with water, rub over your paints surface and it takes out even the smallest parts of debris in the paint, leaving it VERY smooth.

Second step is polish. Apply just like the paint cleaner and wax (put on, then buff off) and buff to a brilliant shine.

Third step is the wax. This will seal in your nice polished finish. I usually do two coats of wax.

This whole thing costs me about $75 CDN for the paint cleaner, clay bar, polish and wax. But very well worth it.
 
Oops, sorry about that link.
Like blue thunder said, don't forget the benefits of using a clay bar. I was really happy with the results of that (see my earlier post about that, took pic's). Planning to do one more coat of Blackfire all finish paint protectant and then topping with...well, I don't know yet, but something good. Pick up some good microfiber towels, I'm a recent convert. These things are awesome for removing wax and buffing. Autopia is a great site, but has almost too much info to soak up. You get a lot of perspectives and no one's just stuck on any one product.
 
Dan Holleran..

I'm curious to hear your comments on the replies so far..

Where are you at on this one?

You're still alive, right?

suprised you weren't the first to post on this one..

Always love looking at Dans pics!
 
thundersc said:
1) Wash car-use auto wash type soap, dawn is for dishes not cars plus will leave film (on top of old wax)

The problem with CarWash wash products is they are designed not to strip the wax or other durable polish off the car. So washing many times is required because you are wearing the wax off not washing it off.

Dawn hand soap is high in alkaline content which cuts through most waxes and silicone oils. If you use this for your wash before waxing you can be assured that there will be no old wax left.

If you search the board for user onequiksc you'll find all sorts of information on detailing your car. Here is a snipit I grabbed a few years ago from the old board:

Re: Dan (or anyone else) Polymer vs. Carnuba Wax Please
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carnauba; 4 types. melting(fracture) point is 165 degrees. Zymol Carbon is a pure Carnauba, Blitz (german ), Mother's makes one ,fewer and fewer true carnauba's left. Carnauba in it's natural state is harder than concrete! So they have to add ingredients that soften it and make it easy to remove. Some may have silicones in them because silicone provides shine . Has great depth, poor durability. Gloss goes downhill fast. durability goes away within a couple weeks. Non-abrasive if the carrier is also . Great for show cars that aren't in the sun , and that are waxed monthly or sooner.

Polymer blend; Most of the "waxes"/'polishes" you see on the shelf at Auto Zone etc. are blends of some acrylic polymer ,petroleum distillates,silicones and carnauba or yellow waxes with other chemicals thrown in. Melting point higher but because it contains some wax, is susceptible at varying temps. They are mostly abrasive to varying degrees,in an attempt to be a 'one step' product ,marketed this way so people think they can skip the hard work. For some folks with minor paint issues it's fine, not for the purist. Gloss and durability varies with brand, ingredients. Meguiar's Gold Class was recently tested and lasted 2 weeks. Generally falls behind a pure carnauba in depth and shine. Meguiar's cleaner-wax, Armor-all wax, couple examples...tons more out there.A lot of people use one of these and then apply a carnauba, giving them decent durability and the gloss of the carnauna on top.

Polymers ( contain no wax ); Most similar to the paint itself (urethane clearcoat is a form of plastic) Gloss varies from product to product , durability far superior to above . Melting point is 392 degrees. Zaino and Nu Finish, Liquid Glass are polymers. Some ( such as nu Finish ) contain abrasives. Zaino does not. You cannot layer with a product that contains abrasives, because subsequent applications remove the previous layer . This applies to most of the above products, except the pure carnauba , which probably wears away from sun and rain before you can apply a second coat anyway. This is why Zaino is popular; you can build layer upon layer without removing the previous. It gets even more technical Adam , but I hope this helped a bit.
1989 SC AOD 3.55's Black/Gray Chrome 17X9's
Only Sc powered by nuclear fission reactor...and you think gas is expensive?

Edited by: onequiksc at: 6/8/01 1:21:05 am
 
Last edited:
Thanks PonySC

I was trying to stay out of this one , mostly because the majority of advice is sound, and because I do it for a living doesn't mean everyone has to use the same things I do, or even believe what I say or know. Truth is, if you use the right approach, any decent products will yield great results. If 1 product was best, it would win at Concours De 'Elegance (Pebble Beach) every time, and that doesn't happen.

As far as Dawn (the seeming bone of contention here), it's not going to hurt urethane enamel if used 1x or 2x a year to strip wax etc. You should rinse , rinse, rinse afterwards to avoid an alkaline film, that could compromise the wax or sealant you use, that's all.
BTW, Sal Zaino HAS won trophys with his cars at such events, and they are advocating the Dawn routine to strip, so that argument goes out the window i'm afraid. They have chemists working for them that know what's happening on a molecular level. The same people that curse using Dawn on their paint once a year are likely the same folks that spray an acid wheel cleaning product on their wheels now and then, or apply white vinegar (mild acetic acid) to remove mineral deposits, or use a solvent to remove a sticker 's residue. Can't have it both ways folks, all those things can POTENTIALLY damage paint resins. You sometimes need a stronger approach to solve a problem, you have to use those products logically. Hey, one cigarrette now and then won't kill you, but do it every day...
We're talking about degree here, so keep it in perspective.


No one, that I know of, or have ever read about in all my years on the detail boards, has killed their paint by using Dawn now and then. Who here has?... so let's no blow this out of proportion so one person can "be right". There are other ways to strip wax, so if it makes you queasy, use the alternatives.

Most people would be surprised at what lands and often sits on their paint on a regular basis, that's much more dangerous to your paint than anything Dawn could ever do;

RAIN

I have a map of the U.S. that lists acidity of rainfall for every region, and it averages about 4.5 on the PH scale. That's on the acid scale, about like coffee or orange juice. Sitting on your paint. Still worried about Dawn that you rinse off? Not trying to be a smarta$$ here, just some technical information to quell the hyperbole.
Which is why we apply wax or sealants. Sacrificial, renewable layer of protection.

lastly, with summer coming on, remember; carnauba wax fractures at 165 degrees. Polymer sealants at ~400 degrees.
On a hot sunny day, a black or dark green metallic car can hit ~265 degrees surface temperature, and even light colors can exceed 200 degrees. Bye bye carnauba wax. If you like to rewax every few days, you're good to go and ok. Otherwise, use a sealant. Good sealants like Zaino contain UV40 also, most waxes do not. But something is always better than nothing, so just keep wax on and do it more often , or use a sealant every few months.

Keep it clean and mean. And remember, we're supposed to get along here. ( I think) :)
 
I thought you did. I archived some of your stuff but lost the second page from the old website. So while I was reading that I was like having deja-vu.

It was well written so It must have gotten around.
 
I'd imagine that something else to consider is car use. thundersc has a point about the cars being show cars with thousands of dollars in the paint alone. A car like that doesn't get tortured every day like ours. Guys with those cars probably don't have to strip and rewax, at least not at the frequency that we do. Those cars are usually on a trailer, covered or in hibernation in a garage. Mine's not a great paint job, getting old, and the cars driven through bugs and road dust daily, so the Dawn is the lesser of the evils, if it does prove to be harmful.

onequicksc, with summer coming on and being in a pretty hot region, what would be a good topper for blackfire? I just put on a 3rd coat of the AFPP and I think that's as far as this thing will go with any real improvement.
 
Some of the higher-qaulity carnaubas;
Pinnacle Souveran, Blitz, P21S ( or S100) or any carnauba that has no solvent cleaners or abrasives. They'll enhance the shine and their oils will help a bit with swirls, for a little while at least. I have used the Pinnacle (thanks Phil!)as a topper in the past since it was given to me, and it's a great product, though $$$. Nowadays I just layer the Zaino pretty much.

The Blitz or P21S also get rave reviews on the detailing boards. Cheers.

P.S. I wish that guy had found that post of mine after I redacted it and corrected the mis-typed words. After reading that initial writeup I see all my syntax mistakes!

SC-GS5jpg.jpg
 
thundersc said:
Hhhmmm funny I drove my camaro daily and after doing to steps that I posted I didn't need to keep rewaxing all summer long. After the steps posted I win a 1st place, 3 2nd places, 2 3rd places in local and national shows. Just think droven daily and same wax job over 5 months. There is pre-show steps needed to let your car out shine others but Thats a whole new post.

Did you know that if you treat your paint right you don't need wax. But hey I don't/want ever use dawn so I must not know anything :)

Chris asked us/me for info on how to wax his car. I posted the info that was handed down from pros. I feel very one just cares about the cheap way to add wax on top of wax for a 20% shine, so I deleted all my above post. I not mad at anyone or anything just feel that the info is not needed for this post...have a great one:cool:

Not saying your wrong, not saying other ways of doing it are wrong. The point is that there's no wrong way to do it and results vary from person to person and car to car. Anyone that's takes this kind of care in it, as well as thought and preparation is going to end up with a good finished product. Don't see why you deleted your information? Some may not do things the same way you do, but others may want the benefit of your experience to try new things to see what works best for them.
 
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