Hey guys,

Is waxing the car every two weeks okay?

Also, wax helps restores the colour and life of the colour of the car am I correct? Helps remove scratches/swirls?

I don't get it, I have Meguiar's Scratch X, and the scratches are like so fine that they are very light and your finger nail wouldn't even get caught in it.. but scratchx didn't take it out. I am new to waxing etc, so any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

 

I only wax once or twice a year (spring and late summer/early fall). Every 2 weeks is kind of over-doing it.

Superficial scratches like you describe are deep enough in the clear coat that normal hand waxing cannot get out. You need to take it to someone who has a high speed buffer (who knows how to use it) to get most of those out.
You will never be able to get the paint absolutely perfect like it just came out of the paint booth, so don't waste your effort.
Look at the car from about 5-10 feet away....if it looks good, then you have done your job.

 

I am a HUGE fan of almost all of the Meguires line of waxes and polishes... However, I recently discovered a product called Collinite No. 845 insulator wax... Its used on airplanes, power lines, etc and is far superior to any other wax I have used... As a tip, use a cleaner wax first, then a topcoat wax...

http://www.nealsharbor.com/Merchant2...&source=google

Just don't get the paste that they have, its really tacky and you'll have to polish about 2-3" at a time... The liquid wax is what our detailer at work uses on his personal car... It has 125K on it and looks like new... He drives everyday to work about an hour... Ive never seen a car that high of mileage look as good as showroom, but his does....

 

Turtle wax makes a product that does a descent job at filling in small scratches. It's colored wax to match you car and comes with this thing that looks like lipstick which you rub into the scratches.

As for swirl marks, the best wax I've used so far is Zymol. Just be gentle when removing it and it covers the majority of the swirls.

 

that's sound like it might be better than the stuff I suggested. I might try that next time.

 

I wash/wax every 3 weeks, mainly cause i drive in really bad areas such as near the sea, dusty construction roads and everything else on a daily basis. But when i wash/wax i also use a clay bar which removes majority of the old wax and all the scum stuck in the paint. What i would do is wash it down lightly once, then do a heavier wash after that, followed by a full clay bar run over. Then i'd finish that off with some wax from meguiars, buff, polish then depending on the weather over the next couple of weeks i'll put another layer on. I normally do 2 layers of wax right before and after winter, and just wash it down a lot over the winter with no clay and just detailer spray...

Also i don't use a buffer/rotary polisher or nothing because i can't afford one. I still manage to keep my car pretty damned clean regardless.

Those scratches are tough to get out unless you sit there and hand polish/buff your life away i'm happy with minor swirls, plus i have a completely spattered front end from rocks and ish so i'm slightly used to it. All my previous cars have been maintained the same way i maintain my car. Also during the winter i go to a touchless car wash and get my undercarriage sprayed.
hope that helped
-Lee
(i think there's a detailing site called autopia or something)

 

O yea i forgot to add, the meguiars wax and everything they sell at autozone/VIP/etc doesn't last as long as the wax some detailers use. One good brand is poorboys wax, they have a full line of different cleaning/detailing goods too, i've used them and fully suggest them if you can't keep up with your waxing.

If you want a good buffer you can try to pickup the porter cable or something like that, its affordable (120$ base) and it works really well.

If you're sick of waxing you can always try car polish and paint sealant method, which well i've never tried it but apparently its amazing... here's a link to read up about it:
http://www.team-integra.net/forum/di...PagePosition=1

enjoy
-Lee

 

Sounds sweet guys, thanks for the input.

I thought waxing it once every wash was a good thing. I only wash my car once every two weeks. I don't like the dirt build up etc...

I came to the conclusion of waxing every now and then because on the bottle it advises to always like rinse, wash, wax... "Use Meguiar's wax after wash for absolutely great results" etc....

Says it keeps protects from dirt etc... blah blah... so yeah...

 

i think its o.k to wax your car once a week, if your going to wax once a week after you wash, i would recomend using a spray on wax, does the trick and takes way less time and energy, and twice a year using a good wax by hand, thats what i do, and i get no wax build up, and a nice wet look shine that lasts all week,,,

 

If you're going to wax every wash, I would recommend using dish soap, instead of car wash liquid, every wash so it removes the old layer of wax. I would also get into the habit of going over your car with a clay bar before every wax to make sure you have all the grit out of your paint and don't rub all that crap in making swirls.

Or wax your car less often with a longer lasting wax, and use a spray on detailer between waxings.

 

Thanks otter.

I'll probably go get a clay bar tomorrow. Anything you recommened? Meguiars? Turtle?

Does waxing the car often ruin the layer? coat? paint... say once every 3 weeks on average?

Edit:
Black Car

 

well, u got a black car. Just be really careful not to marr u paint. Waxing doesnt ruin a layer (fill in scratches and adds a layer of protection), polishing does take a layer off.

wash ur car, dry it and put a plastic bag over ur hand. If the bag grips to the paint u to clay ur paint. Just be really careful with the clay, black paint shows everything. Use lots of lub, so u wont damage ur paint
U might even need to polish after the clay.

 

waxing every 2 weeks is a bit OD. Once a month is good enough

 

Oh okay sounds sweet.

Btw its just liquid wax, no like compound..

 

Hey,

Is the reason why they say to "keep using a clean side of a terry towel when waxing" is because when you dry up the wax on one side of the towel and if you keep using the same side, it will eventually scratch the paint as the wax hardens?