Waxing process recommendations

[zedzen]

Hi everyone.

Me again! I've followed various threads on here and the detailing website but am now struggling with info overload!

Simply put, can board members give me very basic advice what 1,2 or 3 stage process they would apply to my z3 which has only 7k on the clock and was, by all provenance, garaged at all other times.

Many thanks!

Rob

 

[heath]

Autoglym super resin polish to protect the paint work followed by autoglym high gloss polish will have it sparkling & protected from the elements


Heath on Tapatalk

 

[r37]

i recently spent 16 hours over 3 days sprucing up my Z for the summer. I'll give you a small breakdown:

Rinse off with a sharp stream of water
Clean the wheels with your selected product and a wheel brush and rinse off
Wash car with a wool mitt or microfibre mitt using your selected shampoo and rinse off with a soft stream of water
Dry with some microfibre towels
Apply your chosen wax and buff off with a clean microfibre.

Applying wax can be done loads of ways, either use a microfibre cloth or a foam applicator pad and give every panel a good going over either in lines or circles, whatever you find easy. My chosen method is by hand, as in using the back of your thumb nail to get a bit of wax, rubbing it onto your hands then rubbing over the panel. I find you can get a much thinner coat and can feel any imperfections in your paint and remove them as needed. When buffing the wax off your not actually trying to remove the wax. You want to go over very softly and just try and flatten the wax to give it a good shine and leave pleanty of wax on the paint to give it good protection. Takes a while but well worth it.

 

[z3cade]

1. Wash car with a good car shampoo.

2. Dry car with shamy leather

3. (This is a MUST for the ultimate finish)
Clay Bar all your body work. Use Meguires clay bar kit or the like..

4. 1 or 2 coats of AGlym super resin polish

5. Apply a coat of wax.. There are alot of different waxes out there, AGlym HD Wax is a good budget wax.. But you can spend £100s on a top quality wax..
Swissvax is a very good quality wax system

 

[Aceman]

As Liam has said to start give the car a really good wash I use the 2 bucket method whereby one bucket is filled with hot water and shampoo and the other is just hot water. After every time you apply the washmit to the car wash it in the plain water then dunk it in the shampoo water that way you don't reintroduce any grit back onto the car which creates the swirl marks in the paint.

Then dry off the car with a microfibre towel and claybar the entire car amking sure not to drop it as it is toast if you do and should be thrown away immediatly. Keep folding the clay over as it picks up the dirt from the paint surface. When finished you will noticably feel how smooth the paint is. Then give the car a polish using your preferred choice of polish, as suggested Autoglym SRP is good but remember this is only a polish and still leaves the paintwork unprotected. Then a few coats of a good quality wax will finish it off nicely.

One thing to remember is that once you have claybar'd the surface you must continue onto the waxing stage do not leave it overnight as contaminates in the atmosphere will settle on the paint and you will have to do it again. If you have a garage depending how dusty it is you may get away with leaving it but I still find dust settling on the car and certainly left outside tree sap in the air is a killer.

Once done though you will be able to sit back and admire your efforts with the satisfaction you won't have to do it again for a couple of months or so.

 

[Snoops]

I do exactly as Aceman has said
1. 2 bucket wash
2. Clay
3. Polish
4. Wax
5. Wax
6. Admire

Only thing I would suggest if you haven't already, invest in some good tools i.e. chamois or microfibre towel, good sheepskin wash mitt (don't go near it with a sponge :-o ) plenty of polishing cloths and a sheepskin polishing mitt to go over when it's all finished.

I know there are lots of places to buy your products from but don't forget at the moment Halfords have their 3 for 2 offers on (cheapest free) so if you want quite a few things it's worth going through tills a couple of times so you can group things together for the best savings :-bd


My daughter has just been home for a flying overnight visit and knew I wouldn't let her drive her car away the state it was in, this is before and after but she wanted to get away so I couldn't clay it and it needs it and it's only got 1 coat of wax.

 

[zedzen]

Many thanks everyone.

Do you buy the products online or are shops as cheap?

One last q, does claying affect the laquer already on a car or simply remove particles potentially embedded in it?

Rob

 

[Snoops]

I know some buy online and you can pick up some deals. I tend to use Halfords when the 3 for 2 is on, but I bought my Autoglym HD wax on ebay it was half the price of the shops. It also depends on what products you want to use, I've never seen Dodo products in the shops but I use AG or Meguirs which is readily available in the shops... (plus I have no patience to wait for delivery )

The clay just removes all the cr*p you can feel but can't necessarily see.... but you'll feel the difference after you've done it, the bodywork is butter smooth to touch and gives you a fantastic base to start putting your products on. You'll be amazed at the colour of your clay as you work around the car, just keep folding the clay over and re-moulding it... but as mentioned before if you drop it - throw it straight in the bin

 

[g8jka]

I take mine to the locals down the road, costs me £5 and they do everything. Firstly remove all the wax protection with their extra strong traffic film remover, blast all the paint off with a pressure washer, strip all the lacquer off the wheels with extra strong acidic wheel cleaner then wash it with the grit ridden sponge they have dropped on the floor and dunked into a bucket full of filthy water and finally dry it with a dirty old shammy. Best £5 ever spent :-bd

Seriously, the easiest thing you can do without going into major detailing is a wash, clay, polish and wax. You will get fantastic results with a meguiars / bilt hammer clay bar, autoglym super resin polish and top of with a couple of coats of autoglym extra gloss protection or collinite 476's. All of these products are perfectly suitable and relatively cheap.

Oh and don't forget the same procedure on the wheels or use a dedicated wheel sealant. All this makes cleaning the car easier for several months then repeat the process.

 

[Jonttt]

Wax on, wax off
Wax on, wax off
Wax on, wax off
Wax on, wax off
Wax on, wax off
Wax on, wax off

 

[Snoops]

Wax on, wax off
Wax on, wax off
Wax on, wax off
Wax on, wax off
Wax on, wax off
Wax on, wax off

You're such a slacker Jonttt - only 6 coats of wax

 

[Sorcerors Apprentice]

 

[Snoops]

There's not one single hair on that models legs, that's why she's lying there all relaxed!!