Best procedures and products for a wash and wax?
Detailing is like playing music. The more you practice the better you get at it. In detailing, there is always a new product to try and quicken the process and save you time. What it boils down to is you can only save so much time before you have more products than you need and you are putting in less time into fully utilizing the products that you truly need.
You will always be improving your technique. The saying that a majority of it is in the preparation is true. Like a great paint job, the best results are achieved by the time (along with blood, sweat, and tears) you invest prior to using finishing products and by using each product as intended.
I have a lot of products in my trunk and stored in a walk in closet. I will include the full product list at the end of the post.
I will discuss over the course of this FAQ three types of washes. A ?back to basics? or ?First Blood? wash, a regular maintenance wash to maintain the finish, and a quick detailing. In between steps, I will describe each product and its recommended application.
** Primary rule #1. You must remember this at all times. If it touches the ground and is used on paint, mirrors, or windows, it is useless. Especially microfiber products and clay products. Exceptions to this are wheel brushes and items designed to spread tire dressing. Fabrics and clay products that touch the ground pick up glass, gravel, dirt, quartz, and other kinds of sediment. This is in turn rubbed into your paint and with gentle pressure, can create scratch the paint or worse. Items most likely to be dropped are wash mitts, applicators, and drying/buffing microfiber cloths. What these items are is covered below. **
** Primary rule #2. Never use moderate or heavy pressure. If you need moderate or heavy pressure, you?re doing something wrong. Use a quick detailing spray, a spritz of water, or other chemically neutral lubricant to remove the product and reapply with a thinner coat. Or, allow the liquid to penetrate the product for a few seconds to ease product removal. **
** Primary rule #3. Have a bottle of water, Gatorade, a cold beer, or something else to drink handy. Depending on the condition of your paint, interior, and trim, the detailing process can take several hours or a full day?s work, take a moment to top up your own personal fluids when you take a break. **
Show cars, "First Blood" wash where you just received the car from someone else?s care, after a completely grimy cross country drive, or a car that has been sitting and exposed to rain/heavy sun, etc.
- Place the stick or bar of automotive clay in its plastic or a plastic bag and into your pocket to warm it up and make it more pliable.
Automotive clay is designed to "pull" contaminants from the paint that are invisible to the naked eye which adhere to the surface of the clay. A cars finish is much like your teeth, they may look and feel smooth, however under magnification, the surface is porous which traps contaminants. Scratches therefore also trap contaminants. After a very through wash (twice with moderate to heavy soap), contaminants will still be chemically bonded to the paint. A clay bar helps remove fallout/pollution, sap, and embedded road grime. A clay bar operates on the same principle as a lint roller when pulling off loose particles only these are bonded into the paints finish and they adhere to the clay or are loosened up so they are washed away with the next wash.
- Rinse the car with a high pressure garden nozzle, rinse the wheels using a dense stream.
This will remove loose dirt and remove the first few layers of brake dust from the rims. The only reason to use an inline water filter is if you have a large area to work with and you won?t be able to dry the entire car or truck in time due to weather conditions. The spotting left behind will be removed in the stages of applying products before the final wax product, so don?t worry if you can still ?see? the spot while its drying after wiping it away.
- Fill a bucket with a heavy concentration of Dawn and fill with water. A heavy concentration in my opinion would be 1 fluid ounce per gallon of water. Soak a microfiber cloth or microfiber wash mitt and wash a small panel or a section of a larger panel (like a hood or flat surface) using a liberal amount of suds and soapy water. Mentally divide up a panel or parts of a car in sections. Stay away from the lower 1/3 around the entire car. This area tends to really get grimy, especially along wheel wells and bumpers and will be washed in the next step.
Dawn has a high alkali content, which is very effective for removing stubborn debris, and helps break down old layers of wax with each wash. Car washing products are specifically designed to be safe to use without removing wax. If they are gentle enough to not remove wax then they are not as potent at removing embedded or heavy dirt and grime. If the car has been heavily waxed prior, you will need to use a special wax remover product. The process of stripping wax and chemical residues can take anywhere from 2-3 hours for a mid size sedan. The benefit is you have a surface devoid from wax and polish, like a painter taking a canvas and restoring it to new before using it again.
Microfiber is an artificial nylon/polyester weave that has under a microscope split fibers that look like split hairs or little hooks. The density of these hooks or hairs ranges from 100,000 to 250,000 per square INCH. This is what helps trap dirt inside the fabric of the cloth and why good quality Microfiber cloths feel prickly under your fingertips. This will result in the least amount of scratches. Why Microfiber is preferred by detailers to leave the least amount of scratches when drying, applying, and removing products is that under magnification, Microfiber makes human hair look like a piece of rebar when comparing Microfiber to cotton fibers. Cotton fabrics are more course, are more likely to trap dirt on the surface of them and is a ?more aggressive? fabric. Cotton fabrics are very useful when using a wax removal product or an aggressive scratch removal product. Under magnification, clean fingertips will actually leave behind scratches. Microfiber is the best product readily available and in bulk to apply and remove products; like your fingertips, it will leave behind the least amount of scratches and ones that the naked eye can?t see. The days of shop rags, cotton terry cloths, old t-shirts, and diapers is over.
- Rinse the car again. Use a garden hose without the nozzle and use a steady gush of water. This will promote ?sheeting? of the water and will leave less water behind, helpful when drying. Don?t dry the car at this point, however, that comes later.
- Change the soap out and wash the car again. Only this time wash the lower 1/3 and save that lower 1/3 of the car for last. Rinse the soap off using a garden hose without the nozzle and a steady gush of water. Leave the paint wet for now.
The goal of washing the car twice is to be able to wash it without discoloring or soiling a clean Microfiber cloth or wash mitt.
- Spray the rims with a gentle cleaner or use the bucket of soap that should still be clean, use a soft wheel brush and soak it in the soap, lightly scrub the rims, and rinse the rims. Do all four rims this way. Then, take a disposable sponge and apply tire dressing directly to the sponge or applicator and then apply to the sidewalls only.
I have an artifical horsehairs brush that?s very soft for scrubbing painted and chrome rims. When your done cleaning the rims, use the garden hose and hose the concrete while scrubbing the brush in it. This will break up the fibers and make the brush more and more gentle the next time you use it.
Tire dressing is a very oily and a friction inhibitor. Don't soak the tread and avoid it if at all possible. Show cars do this because they are obviously GARAGE QUEENS or mounted on a spare set of pristine wheels if not being driven. Cars like this are trailored to and from shows. In other words, not only is it dangerous, but its not factory correct anyway. Rant over. If you accidentally smear some on the rims, use a soapy Microfiber and wipe the affected area and dry it with another. Tire dressing, like a true oil based product, will displace the water that remains on the tires and will dry to a shine.
- Dry the paint using a clean Microfiber cloth. There are special Microfiber cloths that are several feet square made for this purpose. No pressure required, spots will be removed when stripping the wax, applying scratch removers, or applying a pure polish.
- Take the clay bar that has been warming up in your pocket and remove from its plastic. Flatten it like a pancake so it takes up the area of your palm. Find a spray bottle with your lubricant and liberally spray an 8x8 inch section so it?s nice and wet. In a straight motion up and down or side to side, rub the clay on the paint using only fingertip pressure, and plenty of lubricant, to prevent it from grabbing. Work the clay over the same section for 15-30 seconds making sure to use additional lubricant if required. The surface should feel slicker while your doing this. Do this to the entire car, the top 2/3 first. A single clay bar should be able to do 2 medium size cars or one bad off car.
Lubricants are a spray bottle mixed with part car washing liquid and water in a 1/20 or 1/25 mix, a quick detailing spray, or a spray that came with the clay bar.
- After claying the whole car, rinse the car and wash it once using a light concentration of Dawn or a formulated car washing liquid and a clean Microfiber cloth or wash mitt.
- Rinse and dry the car with a Microfiber drying towel. After drying the paint surface, ring out the Microfiber and dry the door jambs, the rubber seals, the area between the doors and around the hinges, the bumpers, underneath the trunk lid, and any spots you missed.
- Compound the surface to remove any scratches using a part polish and scratch remover with 3M, Meguiar's, or Mother's products. Or, use a paint cleaner to remove built up wax and residue.
Meguiars, 3M, and Mothers make some of the most widely used and proven compounds. A compound is considered a product used to remove scratches and paint imperfections. A paint cleaner is a product designed to remove wax, product residues, and most also remove very light swirls. The family of products designed to do this can loosely be called compounds since paint cleaners can remove light surface imperfections, however, it is important to understand the real difference between them. Compounds and paint cleaners usually come in a liquid paste form. Compounds aggressiveness can be equated to liquid sandpaper and can also remove oxidation, hazing, or fogginess in paint. When used carefully with a machine polisher, compounds can restore deeply swirled and lightly oxidized paint to good or pristine condition by leveling off the grove in the clear coat or in the top coat of paint that is reflecting light and ?catching? your eye. Compounds are best left to a professional unless you practice on junkyard panels. My favorites are those in the Meguiars line, they use what is called a diminishing abrasive, as you work the product in, it dissolves in its own chemicals and looses its abrasiveness so its paint and novice save. Using a paint cleaner is easy but time consuming. You want to work it into the section using up and down then back and forth motions, wipe clean, and move onto the next section. If you don?t need to remove imperfections, its time to glaze.
A glaze is a product that is very close to being a pure polish. It is designed to moisturize paint, provide the best reflection or optics, and when combined with a quality wax, provides the ?ooohh? to your finish. This is a very important product if you want to obtain the best look from your finish. Think of a glaze like the special sauce in a sandwich. Think of a wax like a slice of bread holding the special sauce (the glaze) and the other stuff (your clear coat and paint) together. A polish doesn?t contain any wax or if it does, it?s to provide consistency and durability. Some waxes are part polish but the higher the concentration of polish, the worse the durability of the product. Striking a balance is something that is specific to how often you will ?wash and wax? and how often your paint is exposed to contaminants. Most over the counter waxes provide owners with a one step procedure to do polish and protect. Meguiar?s Gold Class is a perfect example.
Synthetic ?waxes? or protectants are chemically different from traditional polishes and waxes. You want to use the formulated polish that comes with it. Never, ever, mix a polish or wax with a synthetic polish or protectant. Like cats and dogs, unless they grew up together (are chemically compatible), they don?t mix. For this FAQ, let us assume we?re using a traditional carnuba based wax and we want to glaze the surface prior. My favorite glaze is Meguiar's #7 or you could also use Omega One Glaze.
- Rub a quarter sized dab of glaze into an 8x8 section using a microfiber or foam applicator using light pressure and up, down, side to side motions. Spread it thinly and evenly in the section. If you?re using a machine polisher, apply the product directly to the polishing pad, and then apply evenly.
Applying products is a bit like cooking, it takes practice before you can tell the right amount by feel or by sight and how far that amount of product will go. A talented cook will no longer need measuring cups and as you gain more experience, if you squeeze out more product than you need, you know how much of an area you need to work it into.
I prefer straight up, down, and side to side motions if doing it by hand because it will minimize the chance for any scratches. A scratch is harder to remove using a swirl remover or compound if its circular. Essentially, you?re controlling the application and removal to minimize scratches and to curb a tendency to apply too much pressure. It also helps to apply the product evenly in the section.
You do not want to let a glaze "cure" or dry on the paint unless the directions specifically say to do so. Also, I strongly recommend applying a glaze in shade and not in direct sun even if the directions say you can. They are not designed with a longer curing time like a wax is and can be difficult to remove if you applied too much or the surface of the paint is hot, thus the thinner the layer the easier to remove. If you applied too much product, expand the section your working in so it?s more evenly applied. I recommend removing the polish with a dry or slightly damp cotton cloth or a course/low grade microfiber after the polish has sat for 10-20 seconds. If there is any slight swirling left behind, these will be hidden, these swirls will be hidden by the wax. Do this over the entire car.
Time to discuss wax in more detail. Wax is the layer of protectant between your paint, the world, and the shine underneath. Wax protects against acid rain, water spots, and road grime. It repels dust and protects against UV light. It?s the first line of defense. There are a few truly superior products out there that I will mention below, used in particular on black cars, my preferred color.
** Wax is like picking a girlfriend. A group of them might share a lot in common, but there will usually be one girl that EVERYONE goes after and for different reasons. Pick your wax the same way. **
These have been tested repeatedly against one another by detailers, by magazines, and finally in my own experience. I showed my car at least 6 times a year for two years and I never took less than 1st place except once. I came in 2nd only to a sand bagging garage queen that rarely saw use. These were all Jag shows so there was no other marque comparisons. Just me and mine against my brothers and sisters, all of them older, with more experience.
I've used these extensively, and in our So Cal climate which is pretty light except for sun and dust. Those products in no particular order are below.
P21S paste wax, Pinnacle Souveran paste wax, Meguiar's NXT, Meguiar?s Gold Class, Mother's Carnuba Cleaner, and Zaino.
The best looking are P21S, Pinnacle Souveran, and NXT.
The least expensive is the Meguiar's NXT, Meguiar?s Gold Class, and Mothers.
The most durable by far is the Zaino followed by Meguiar's NXT, Mother's Carnuba Cleaner, P21S, and Pinnacle.
The easiest to apply and remove are P21S and Pinnacle, followed by Meguiar's NXT, Meguiar?s Gold Class, Mother's Carnuba Cleaner, and Zaino.
If you want 'strong like bull' durability with good optics, Zaino is your product followed by Meguiar?s NXT.
If you want the best possible look with moderate water resistance, P21S is your wax followed by Pinnacle and Meguiar?s NXT.
Meguiar?s NXT and P21S are the pound for pound best of the list due to their overall qualities of price, ease of use, durability, and looks. Meguiar?s NXT is a synthetic, it contains absolutely no carnuba in it, but it goes on and off as easy as a quality wax and has twice the durability. P21S is such a breeze to use and so good looking, you can?t lose with either of these two.
Meguiar's and Mother's you can find anywhere at any decent auto store chain. The others you order online or through specialty dealers.
Pinnacle compared to P21S has lower water resistance than P21S but it is designed for red and black cars only. It has a slightly better look to it on dark colors and you can substitute Pinnacle for P21S at any point. All waxes can be layered, and layered, and layered, and layered again to increase the depth of the finish for that always wet look. P21S is excellent on all colors and formulated to be that way. Pinnacle gives you that edge for darker ones. Meguiar?s NXT can also be layered.
Choose one that best suits your driving style, climate conditions and frequency of washing and reapplying the product (once every 2 weeks, once a month, once every 6 weeks are the intervals I recommend.
- Now that is out of the way, how to apply and remove it.
P21S and Pinnacle are wipe on and then wipe off waxes. They are by FAR the easiest to apply and remove. I prefer to use a Microfiber applicator or a foam applicator, both very slightly damp, to apply paste waxes with. With practice, I'm able to wax my Jag in 35-45 minutes start to finish by hand after a rinse, wash, rinse, wash, do the tires, dry cycle. Meguiar's NXT has to ?cure? for 10 minutes, so by the time you?re done applying it to half the car, you can wipe it off and then do the other side. Meguiar?s Gold Class and Mother's Carnuba Cleaner take 30-45 seconds for a section to cure but once your in the cycle, 45-60 minutes to do the whole car by hand.
Use the waxes sparingly. Thicker doesn't do anything except take longer to cure and is harder to wipe off, especially if a wax that must cure. Use a consistant coat across each panel. Use a slightly damp microfiber applicator and remove with a microfiber cloth. Its applied in the same up and down and side to side motion as the glaze and is removed with a back and forth motion. Allowing it to cure after you removed the residue based on the instructions for each will provide the best results.
I personally apply Meguiar?s NXT and Zaino with a Porter Cable 7424 dual action random orbit polisher and a polishing pad. I remove it with a quality Microfiber followed by a gentle wipedown with another clean Microfiber to remove any bits I missed. Think of the second wipe down after you wiped the wax the extra ?blow? you give your eyeglasses after wiping them down.
- How to apply and remove Zaino.
Once the surface is prepped, apply as thin as possible and let sit for 20-30 minutes. This is the quick curing Zaino if you purchased the $15 additive, otherwise it could take 2-4 hours. You can Zaino and remove in just over an hour providing your finished and the first area you began with is cured. Zaino is a liquid, a trick to applying this is to use a plastic syringe with a plastic tip, apply directly to a slightly damp microfiber applicator and spread across the paint. Kal from F-chat showed me this and it was a great trick for my bag of tricks.
Since you can Zaino the entire car, you remove it with either a large porous microfiber towel or a beach towel, yes, a beach towel. Microfiber is so 'smooth' and gentle that its slow to remove the synthetic polish without pressure, since its so 'slick' in nature. something you want to avoid applying at ALL times to your paint. You have to use a more porous, not course, material and a beach towel is what they recommend. A good porous microfiber can also work too and is a little more gentle than a soft beach towel. Don't grab just any one. Find a good one the spouse won't miss and use it exclusively for this. Remove in the same front to back motions. You applied it in up/down and side/side.
- Final wipe.
The most supreme of microfiber cloths are used for this purpose. It removes any remaining residue from wax or Zaino. It gives a uniform sheen to the wax or synthetic by removing the residue you can't see. Similar to what I said above, the blow of the dice or on your eyeglasses is what this is akin to.
- Windows.
The best way is to have a small clean shop rag, a lower grade Microfiber, or a cloth designed to clean only glass. Use glass cleaner sparingly and wipe. Or, a damp shop rag and a dry shop rag, both clean, will also give you a streak free window. I found that the Armor All Glass Wipes, like baby wipes, provide a streak free clean and they are easy to use without having to use a spray bottle and separate rag. Use and throw away.
- Trim.
Do you have chrome? Aluminum? A gentle chrome/aluminum formulated polish and a microfiber used gently and in small sections, removed with a slightly damp microfiber. Chrome polishes are a pain to remove, more than a glaze, because they cure fast, and even if gentle, they can cut with pressure and a course cloth.
- Interior.
Use a damp microfiber to wipe down seats, dash, instrument clusters, door panels, door pockets especially. Save the rear deck for last. If you remember how air flows especially if you like driving with the windows open, this is the dustiest part of the interior. Beat the rugs against an ugly tree or slap with your fist. Vaccuum if you can and use that in the footwells. Take a Microfiber applicator or a foam applicator and spray the product onto the cloth and then wipe. The only exception to this is the seats, soak them and allow the product to do its work and soak in before wiping it off. I prefer to use Meguiar?s NXT protectant, Mother's Leather/Vinyl/Trim protectant, or Leatherique. Use a light coat over the door panels, dash, and rear deck.
- Clean up your mess, put things away.
Wash the wash mitts together by themselves, the rags by themselves, and microfiber cloths together. Its a pain, but it keeps out the chemical interactions and the really grimy stuff from the wash mitts away from the 'cleaner' stuff. The applicators are next followed by the microfibers. The microfibers have to be washed separately from everything including socks, clothes, Victoria Secret whatever. The properties of the Microfiber will trap dirt, stray strands of other fabrics, inside the Microfiber weave. This stuff will get dirty the first time you do a through clensing, so what do is put them in on hot water and allow them to soak an hour or two before washing them. This lifts nearly all the stains out of them. If necessary, wash them twice if they aren?t perfectly clean. That way, the missus can?t complain her pretty whites were stained by something from the first wash load!
** Get the camera, snap some pictures, park that beauty in the sun, and light up a stogie. Pull up a chair and relax. Oh, and grab your favorite drink because you've graduated to Maintenance mode. What you just went through you want to do once a year. Its much simpler in Maintenance mode. **
- I did a through wash and its dirty a few weeks later, what do I do now?
Get the car wash made for the wax/glaze products your using! Don't use Dawn, it will remove what you tried so hard to apply. Dawn's for "First Blood" and the car wash put out by the wax/glaze will not remove itself. Wash, rinse, rinse rims, wash, rinse, wash rims, rinse rims, apply tire dressing, dry the paint, apply and remove the wax, and do the mirrors. Clean up. Do the trim and interior as needed, usually every 2-3 washes depending on how dusty it gets.
- When to use a quick detailer.
A quick detailer is part liquid wax, part water, part alcohol, part gloss enhancer, and part anti-static chemical. It comes in a spray bottle right off the shelf. Its used for light dust only, say, after a quick run and your going right back into the garage. Or your at a show and darn it, something landed on the paint and its almost "rags down" for judging to begin. Some people use a quick detailer exclusively and only wash the rims when they need to. They never use water on the surface. This is ok but after a few months, you will want to use a car wash to make sure you?re removing more dirt that you can?t see and is darkening your microfibers. Combined with a car cover, you can stretch washes by using a quick detailer and regular waxing once a month for a long time before you need a through wash. Only use a quick detailer after its rained if there are no caked on dirt. Wash the car normally.
Spritz the quick detailer on the area, gently wipe in the same motions you used above, up/down or side/side and then front/back to finish and the alcohol base will evaporate and leave you with a clean scratch free waxed surface. There is a quick detailer made by each manufacturer, I strongly recommend using that. The wax ones can be interchanged usually, but the Zaino one you do NOT want to use with a wax quick detailer. Since Zaino is not a wax, you'll put wax in between your Zaino and the next coat of Zaino, haha!
- Dusters are evil.
A duster does one thing, remove dust and leave imperfections by scraping across the top layer of wax. Its like taking your fingers and rubbing a mirror, it leaves oils and stuff behind. Hurts the wax/glaze optics, collects more dirt by leaving oil from the duster behind. Dusters can leave very fine scratches behind if they are not used carefully. Once you have a quick detailer and a Microfiber, you will notice the difference on a dark car extremely fast and I guarantee you won?t go back to a duster ever again. Just give the duster away to someone who?s not as fussy!
- Use a car cover.
Knowing when is most important. After a quick run, yes, or stationary in the garage for long periods, double yes. For daily drivers, if the commute is quick, yes during the day in or out of a parking garage. Not after a long run, a city to city drive, etc. Sliding a car cover across your dusty paint, even if its a specialty cover which I recommend (compact, washable, protect against UV, waterproof but breathable). You UNFOLD a cover on your paint, you don't slide it around, so you want to apply and remove it using a method. Once applied, you can "peel" parts of the cover back until you keep folding it into an armful. Using and removing a cover literally takes 1-2 minutes to put on and 1-2 minutes to put away. After you went through hell above, I guarantee you, proper use of a cover will greatly stretch the time between washes, especially if not daily driver. The proper use of a car cover will prevent UV and orange peel, protect your finish from really harmful contaminants like sap and bird mess, and show that you take pride in what you drive.
- How do I keep my leather and vinyl in good shape.
Water or a spray cleaner for leather and vinyl followed by the conditioner made for leather or vinyl. Never use Armor All, it?s a oil base that will make the vinyl and other plastics brittle over a long time with sun exposure. I personally condition the leather once or twice a year, but I try to clean it once ever 3 months just using a wet Microfiber and another one to dry. A conditioner like Leatherique or Meguiar?s Leather cleaner/conditioner combo is what I prefer to use. Spray bottles are the most effective way to apply it and a gentle swipe of a microfiber applicator, allow to soak in the longer the better and the warmer the better, and remove with their cleaner with a microfiber cloth.
- I'm cranky, old, tired, sore, busy, the honey do list is long, I'm poor, I'm travelling, and I can't wash the car. But I can fit in a quick detail. If thats you, keep this in mind.
How often you want to wash is up to you. The more you use a quick detailer, the more careful you will have to be since your substituting a full wash cycle with nothing but a little liquid and a microfiber cloth. You can quickly reach the point of no return where you can't cover, its too dusty to microfiber quick detail it, so you need to wash it. Let it be dirty a couple days, then go through a Maintenance mode wash cycle.
- Is a chamois good?
Great for absorbing water but horrible at picking up any bits of dirt. I would rather use an extra large Microfiber that will lift any dirt off the surface instead of using a chamois. Tie them up and let the dog bury it somewhere. Once you use a large Microfiber, you?ll never return to a flat piece of spongy piece of rubber to dry your car ever again!
- Claying is good for the soul.
If you have your maintenance mode down, once every year is plenty and you will barely pick up anything by doing it.
- Is there a show mode?
Yes, it involves a wash cycle, stripping the wax, applying the glaze, and rewaxing. No claying needed unless its been a year. Show cars are prepared using a certain combination of polishes and waxes that bring out metallic paint jobs, some create an extra deep finish. Preparing the paint on a show car assuming its mostly swirl free takes one to two days straight, and I mean, 12+ hour days to get it perfect. Cars that are driven will develop spider web like swirling over time that has to be removed by a polisher and a compound or cleaner polish. I won?t go into these, this is the realm of a professional and maybe you should think about a career change if you want to invest this kind of time! Just joking. I bought a polisher to apply compounds to remove imperfections on my cars and those very close to me, friends, relatives, and the like. Have I used it on my car? Not yet, its not needed. I have used it professionally to remove light to heavy swirling when detailing for compensation, its time consuming and very labor intensive. Using a high speed polisher will allow you to color sand and buff finishes and I haven?t the time to take my skills to that stage. I?m a maintainer, not a one man paint and body! These baby soft hands are meant for computer work. But I would happily help prepare a car for show. Its very hard but very rewarding emotionally.
- Nasty, dirty, rarely see the light of day nooks and crannys.
All cars have them, the areas that just get really grimy. Fender lips turned in to face the tire, extremely nasty, use a soapy shop rag to get these areas and wash them with the shop rags used for the mirrors. Follow with a damp Microfiber. Bumpers, some suck the dirt like a Corvette right into the tail lights. Ferrari's in particular are very dusty babies. These cars are designed to suck the rear end down at speed and thus, the air comes right up over the rear of the car instead of flowing straight out and get funky quick. High performance cars have to deal with melted rubber as well. This usually is removed using the car wash, but Dawn and if necessary, a fingernail and a soapy shop rag if necessary. Make sure to rewax the affected area.
- How long does wax last?
Which one did you pick? With the carnuba based waxes (all but Zaino and NXT from the lsit above), I've found 30 days in dusty So Cal with a wash once a week. Or 30 days after a rain storm and quick detailer maintenance.1 The carnubas can be stretched with quick detailing for up to 6 weeks before I think they need another coat. Meguiar?s NXT will easily go 2 months with a rain storm and a couple of washes thrown in. Its clearly one of the winners regarding looks and durability. Zaino? 3 months with a wash once a week and a rain storm once a month. Its durability king.
- I live in a snowy climate, what product do I 'wax' with?
Zaino. Several layers. Or several layers of Meguiar?s NXT. Snow, sun, and the crud that?s in the snow destroys carnuba based waxes. Zaino in particular, followed by Meguiar?s NXT can survive sleet, rain, and snow, for a month straight and after you wash the car, it feels like it was applied the day before. No kidding. Carnuba finishes would be finished after the first week or two of snow.
- I just got caught by a sprinkler or sprinklers or puddles, what do I do?
Microfiber that off with a quick detailer as necessary. If its at all dusty, wash the affected areas. Unpurified water will leave a film, the sun will bake that spot into the paint and ruin the wax and eventually stain the clearcoat. If the spot is already dry but didn't bake in there, a quick detailer will lubricate the surface first. If the spot remains and you can see it even after rewaxing, then that is where the Porter Cable 7424 comes into play, it makes quick work of light spots.
- I washed my windshield with washer fluid and it landed on the paint, is this ok?
Worse than water in my opinion. It stains without needing to bake in the sun. If you are towards the end of your wax?s durability, then its even easier. Use a quick detailer to lubricate the area and schedule in the next wash and wax if you need it. If you have a good coat or several coats of wax or Zaino, this isn?t an issue really. Spritz it with a quick detailer and wipe with a Microfiber.