Questions about applying car wax

[StageLeft]

I have some of the standard Turtle Wax hard shell wax picked up at auto store. Came with a small yellow sponge. I already did a full coat on one vehicle. Questions:

1) is this stuff an abrasive kind of wax? It doesn't say either way
2) It says to "allow to dry to a haze". reading online I get an impression happens within a few min but I found that for it to fully dry through (even though I put the stuff on quite thinly) could take a while, so on a few panels (I did this over the period of a week) I let the stuff sit for a few hours. Looks great now but rubbing the entire car off required elbow grease
3) What actually happens if you apply it in the sun?

 

[StageLeft]

BTW for entering my thread you get to watch a video of a guy who charges $5k to clean a car. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkmZveqyU5E&feature=related

 

[soccerballtux]

I have some of the standard Turtle Wax hard shell wax picked up at auto store. Came with a small yellow sponge. I already did a full coat on one vehicle. Questions:

1) is this stuff an abrasive kind of wax? It doesn't say either way
2) It says to "allow to dry to a haze". reading online I get an impression happens within a few min but I found that for it to fully dry through (even though I put the stuff on quite thinly) could take a while, so on a few panels (I did this over the period of a week) I let the stuff sit for a few hours. Looks great now but rubbing the entire car off required elbow grease
3) What actually happens if you apply it in the sun?

troll skoorb is troll? Abrasive wax lol? "What happens in the sun?" Lol? It dries faster much?
haha...slow night...

 

[happyguy155]

find all this info on google. never wax in the sun.

 

[punjabiplaya]

autogeek ftw

 

[StageLeft]

troll skoorb is troll? Abrasive wax lol? "What happens in the sun?" Lol? It dries faster much?
haha...slow night...

No;

http://www.howdididoit.com/cars/how-to-wax-a-car/

Use a non-abrasive wax product; some abrasive car wax products can harm your car’s finish

http://www.turtlewax.com/main.taf?p=6,3,2,3

Do not apply car wax in direct sun (unless you are using ICE™ Synthetic Liquid Polish) on dark finishes, this makes polish and wax removal difficult.

 

[fr]

2. If you wipe your finger across and it comes clean off, it's dry enough. If it streaks, then it's not dry yet.

 

[paperfist]

Wax it in the sun and your elbows will blow out trying to remove it

 

[StageLeft]

Wax it in the sun and your elbows will blow out trying to remove it

Is that only because it dries it quicker or it dries it on harder; if the latter does it result in a better wax job? I did find that rubbing the wax off last time was hard but I had it dry for a long time.

 

[CRXican]

only needs to dry for 15 min max

as for abrasive wax I often use Meguiars Cleaner Wax, not sure how abrasive it really is though

 

[JulesMaximus]

only needs to dry for 15 min max

as for abrasive wax I often use Meguiars Cleaner Wax, not sure how abrasive it really is though

I don't like those all in one products. Paint cleaner will strip off old wax so how effective could this cleaner/wax be at doing either thing it claims?

 

[Fayd]

cleaner wax is good to have. you don't have to use it every time, but some times some shit just won't come off. in that case, use cleaner wax.

 

[paperfist]

Is that only because it dries it quicker or it dries it on harder; if the latter does it result in a better wax job? I did find that rubbing the wax off last time was hard but I had it dry for a long time.

I don't know the science behind it or if 'harder' is the correct word, but the sun essentially bakes it on producing a nice hard finish for you to remove. It's like auto body shops that bake the cars in the oven after spraying which produces a harder finish then your typical spray on and air dry finishes. Same paint, different results.

 

[Howard]

I don't know the science behind it or if 'harder' is the correct word, but the sun essentially bakes it on producing a nice hard finish for you to remove. It's like auto body shops that bake the cars in the oven after spraying which produces a harder finish then your typical spray on and air dry finishes. Same paint, different results.

Right, because paint is like wax.

The wax is ready to buff off as soon as it swipes off clean.

 

[angry hampster]

I don't like those all in one products. Paint cleaner will strip off old wax so how effective could this cleaner/wax be at doing either thing it claims?

Cleaner wax is part of meguiar's 3-step system IIRC. Step 1 is the cleaner wax, 2 is the polish, 3 is the wax/sealant. The cleaner wax is basically a gentle rubbing compound.

 

[Howard]

Which is useless because you'd be polishing anyway.

 

[thescreensavers]

1. idk google, meguiars Consumer line contains some polishes. They help make the finish look better. Some cheaper products are abrasive and make it look like crap and can harm your finish. Meguairs surely does now.

2. The wipe test or w/e its called. Get your finger and wipe on the first panel you started on, does it comepltly wipe away or is there residue still. If there is residue then wait a bit more to dry, if it wipes away clean buff it off.

3. It will get caked on and be extremely hard to take off.


How hard the wax is to take off once its hazed over varies brand to brand. Meguiars NXT techwax and Gold Class are easy to take off.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Unless your car is worth $75k or more, or you just did a $5k paint job, I wouldn't worry much about complex multi-step wax jobs. You can get a better looking, more protective wax layer with the multi-step jobs, but it'll take a LONG time and the results (IMO) aren't worth the extra effort (again, unless you have a really expensive car, or unless it's something that only gets driven on special occasions). Do it the cheap and simple way unless you're getting the paint corrected professionally - it's going to be dirty in a week anyway.

The last wax I used was Mothers (some basic liquid wax), applied / buffed by hand. It did a decent job, and the finish looked nice, but it didn't seem to have the longevity of paste waxes I've used in the past. It was MUCH easier to work with, however. The best wax I've ever used was some sort of liquid polish - I can't remember the company, but it came in a red bottle and was translucent white and pearly in color. It said you could apply it to a wet car, which we did, and the finish was absolutely gorgeous. I need to figure out what that stuff was...

 

[PricklyPete]

I don't like those all in one products. Paint cleaner will strip off old wax so how effective could this cleaner/wax be at doing either thing it claims?

I agree. I don't like products that are supposed to do two opposite things...but are mixed together. Like leather cleaner/treatment...give me two separate bottles.

 

[thomsbrain]

My Meguiar's Gold Class does have a small amount of polish (abrasive) in it. Very fine scratches will be buffed out in the wax process. Their Cleaner Wax has more polish in it and will buff out slightly deeper scratches and also performs a lot of the cleaning effect you would usually get from a clay bar. My sealant doesn't seem to have much polish in it, although the bottle does claim it has some polishing properties.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Unless your car is worth $75k or more, or you just did a $5k paint job, I wouldn't worry much about complex multi-step wax jobs. You can get a better looking, more protective wax layer with the multi-step jobs, but it'll take a LONG time and the results (IMO) aren't worth the extra effort (again, unless you have a really expensive car, or unless it's something that only gets driven on special occasions). Do it the cheap and simple way unless you're getting the paint corrected professionally - it's going to be dirty in a week anyway.

The last wax I used was Mothers (some basic liquid wax), applied / buffed by hand. It did a decent job, and the finish looked nice, but it didn't seem to have the longevity of paste waxes I've used in the past. It was MUCH easier to work with, however. The best wax I've ever used was some sort of liquid polish - I can't remember the company, but it came in a red bottle and was translucent white and pearly in color. It said you could apply it to a wet car, which we did, and the finish was absolutely gorgeous. I need to figure out what that stuff was...

Completely untrue, especially on dark colors, dark metallic paints, and black cars. They show swirl marks left by the car wash and the only way to get rid of them is to use multi-step products.

 

[PricklyPete]

Skoorb...you're not allowed to change your alias...you're causing a wrinkle in time.