hite337
Hite Performance
What!? Pektel is detailing cars at the national LS meet!? Yeeeesssss
what kind of wax is best
- Thread starter epikls
- Start date
JoshMcMadMac
Dedicated LVC Member
Absolutely, unfortunately most folks consider anyone with a detailing business to be a professional. Too many times those guys come from an auto-body background where there forté is knocking down fresh paint jobs with a rotary and cutting compound. They can finesse it out like no other, but it is still a lot of digging into the paint.
Of all of the folks I know that get their car "detailed" on a regular basis, I would not trust any of those detailers to do paint correction for me. The guy I got my LS from had it "detailed" once every few weeks. It was kept clean, but the windshield was ruined by some cleaner that they had allowed to etch into it, and the paint needed lots of correction.
2006LincolnLS
LVC Member
Yes, and it's a decent carnauba wax. My brother and father love when I put this on their trucks for the winter every year.
Is it good? Good is in the eye of the beholder... You'll have to specify what "Good" means to you so I can answer it more specifily. Most have a misconception about what a wax does which I'll cover in the post I'm going to make after this one.
It's a carnauba so it's stronger then a cleaner wax so it will last longer.
Practical use as a finish in my high opinion depends on the color. (Love it on blues and blacks, hate it on silvers and golds)
Doesn't have a crazy amount of polymers so it is more a true wax.
2006LincolnLS
LVC Member
Hey guys,
Finally a topic I know a LITTLE about so I can help.
First, if i repeat anything in this thread I apologize ahead of time. I want this to be a constructive resource point to go off of going forward.
I want to admit firstly that I am partial to some of Meguiar's older products and I'll get into that down the road. Yes, I am aware that there are products that could potentially work better as I am aware there are plenty that do not perform better. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, so be nice!
However, when I list off some of the products that I use, especially here for reference purposes, that is because I have used these same products and produced the same results time and time and time again.
First thing is first. I want to go over some of the basis products and what they do vs. what they claim to do vs. what they are supposed to do to maybe clear some things up.
Polish - polish is a product that cleans and smoothes the paint using abrasives or chemical cleaners.
Glaze - A shine enhancing product that goes on after a polish but before the wax. (What you really need to bring out that amazing showroom exotic shine)
Wax - Seals in shine, protects paint. Keeps contaminates off of the clear coat. Protects from industrial fallout, jet fuel, rail dust, acid rain etc. etc...
Waxes
Polymer wax - Synthetic, man-made, usually petroleum based chemical compounds
Teflon wax - No true Teflon wax is on the market. You would need to heat your car up to 300+ degrees just to apply/bind a true Teflon wax to your vehicle and as you know your paint would melt by then.
Carnauba wax - Stronger wax usually can last awhile. Great on deeper and darker colors. (3-6 months)
Synthetic wax - Add your own definition here. It's basically like synthetic oil in the sense of it can be manufactured and tailored in a laboratory. See polymer wax.
Products
Meguire's Gold Class Car Wash - Soap to wash your car with. My personal favorite.
Meguiar's Cleaner wax - This guy right here is most likely in every one of our garages. Voted #1 wax blah blah blah... Thing is, this is a more of a cleaner and a lot less of a wax. It has polymers and chemical cleansers in it, to forcibly remove oxidation from paint. This is not the wax you want to end with, this is what you want to start with, if your paint isn't completely destroyed. This is great at removing oxidation though it may take a few coats to do it with; it's not abrasive enough to cause permanent damage to your paint. Because it is meant to remove oxidation and it's cleaning up your paint, you'll notice a shine. I'm sure somewhere on the back of the bottle it will claim to lock in this shine as well. Though I can tell you, it doesn't lock anything in well as it's not comprised with the proper chemicals to do so.
Meguire's Show Car Glaze - My favorite goto shine enhancer. Does a wonderful job to enhance the shine on paint and gets it set for the wax. Don't be afraid of who's looking at you in the reflection after getting done with this product!
Meguire's Gold Class Clear Coat wax - Great clear coat wax. Also great for lighter colors (Silver loves this wax)
Meguire's #26 Yellow Carnauba wax - Stronger then the Gold Class Clear Coat Wax also better for darker/deeper colored vehicles. I use this on the trucks. Very good quality Carnauba Wax. (Black and Royal Blue colors love this wax)
Clay bar - Meant to remove contaminates that a cleaner wax cannot. Though, leaves a film and is often over used. Can be used by hand or with a DA polisher.
Lime Away - Used to remove tree sap
Bug and Tar remover - Name says it all
Definitions
Oxidation - Oxidation occurs when a contaminate sits on top of the clear coat and starts basically eating into it. This can occur from several sources and to several degrees. Jet fuel (living near an airport, jets/planes flying over), industrial fallout (smoke stacks) and rail car dust are among the worst contributors. Then pair the fact that when these elements sit on the paint, the sun will cook them into the paint.
Industrial Fallout - That nasty stuff they pump the air full of. Usually comes out of smoke stacks. Jet fuel and rail dust (Think trains) often fall under this class. All these items come back down onto our clear coats via acid rain and dive in deep to ruin our paint.
MY PERSONAL Steps to paint correction/renewal:
My personal opinion and even steps may vary from yours. As stated above, this is MY PROVEN method. Keyword being "My". To each their own. Use this as a guide, not a bible. I am not liable for anything you do, nor you for I. =D
With the fun time disclaimer out of the way, let's get to business.
First, park the car in sunlight. You’ll want the car's paint to be as clean and contaminate free as possible. To achieve this we need to first assess the damage, identify what needs attending, and then attend to it.
Is there tar on the wheel wells?
Are there bugs on the front pumper?
Is there tree sap on the hood or trunk?
These bigger items should be taken care of prior to any polish or wax. If you polish these things into your paint, the contaminate will just eat away at your paint. Same goes for waxing, you're litterly waxing over them and sealing them in, to continue to do damage.
Now that you've assessed the damage park your car in a shaded area, well lit enough for you to still see the problematic areas and go ahead and wet your car. Use lime away where you need to. Use bug and tar on the front bumper and wheel wells, again, where needed. While doing this, keep the car wet. You NEVER want these products to dry on the vehicle nor allow sunlight to burn these products into the paint.
After you removed the bugs, tar and sap, wash the car with a mild soap washing detergent. Above I mentioned the gold class. Yes I know its generations old. But NXT sucked when it came out, both the wax and the wash were terrible. The wash left a nasty nasty film on my cars no matter how much water I threw at it.
Next, after the car has been washed, keep it parked in the shade. We're going to start with Meguire's cleaner wax. Some people wax cars section by section, some do it in halves, some do the whole car at once. The most effective method I have found to bring the best possible results is section by section so that you can really give it the detail it needs to bring about the best possible clean, shine and protection by focusing on that area and only that area until you are satisfied with the results. With that said, go ahead and start applying the cleaner wax, in the shade (notice I keep mentioning this "shade") and then remove it. Take note, after you've removed it. Is the paint clearer or does it still appear "cloudy" or "hazy" or "grey”? If it appears that any of the 3 mentioned still remain (especially on red cars) you may want to repeat this step.
Next step is the glaze. Above I mention the Show Car Glaze by Meguire's. Man does this stuff deliver. Without boring you any further with how amazingly this product is, apply it like the cleaner wax, in the shade and remove it. Since you already cleaned up your paint and removed oxidation, you'll only really need one coat of glaze. Boy look at that amazing shine. Holy cow! I don't even remember the car shining this good when I bought it!!! (Most likely, it didn't. ;P)
Last comes the wax. The actual wax. This one I am picky about. Am I waxing my plow truck or tow truck? Am I waxing my bright colored sports car? What I am waxing, depends on the type of wax I am going to use. If it's a heavy duty farm truck or justa little s-10, I most likely will always use #26 Yellow Carnauba. Reason being is #26 is going to be a strong strong wax. It's going to stick through the abuse and wear and tear much better than most other types of waxes (Naturally, being it’s a carnauba). It will also not need to be waxed as much considering the strong type being used.
Now if I'm waxing my silver metallic flaked Formula Firebird, or my Golden (tri champagne?) Lincoln LS which I want the brights to be brights and don't mind have to wax them a few additional times a year, I go with my Gold Class Clear Coat wax. It really brings it all home on every level on the brighter colors and doesn't take away from the shine at all.
That's it! Now in between washes or i guess in between waxes, folks often like to use a quick detail or spray wax to keep the shines going, which is fine. I personally use a product called Final Inspection. I rely on it as the final end point before I send a car off. In between washes/waxes it doubles as my spray wax and does a better job then many other solutions out there. However, these are not replacements for waxing a car in general, so don't forget to wax your car if it needs it!
Whichever cleaner, glaze and wax you use, I promise, if you follow these steps you will be VERY satisfied. I've done a great deal of cars and trucks both used and new, corporate and personal, both award winning show car and heavy duty industrial use.
Just make sure you guys bring your sunglasses.
Finally a topic I know a LITTLE about so I can help.
First, if i repeat anything in this thread I apologize ahead of time. I want this to be a constructive resource point to go off of going forward.
I want to admit firstly that I am partial to some of Meguiar's older products and I'll get into that down the road. Yes, I am aware that there are products that could potentially work better as I am aware there are plenty that do not perform better. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, so be nice!
However, when I list off some of the products that I use, especially here for reference purposes, that is because I have used these same products and produced the same results time and time and time again.
First thing is first. I want to go over some of the basis products and what they do vs. what they claim to do vs. what they are supposed to do to maybe clear some things up.
Polish - polish is a product that cleans and smoothes the paint using abrasives or chemical cleaners.
Glaze - A shine enhancing product that goes on after a polish but before the wax. (What you really need to bring out that amazing showroom exotic shine)
Wax - Seals in shine, protects paint. Keeps contaminates off of the clear coat. Protects from industrial fallout, jet fuel, rail dust, acid rain etc. etc...
Waxes
Polymer wax - Synthetic, man-made, usually petroleum based chemical compounds
Teflon wax - No true Teflon wax is on the market. You would need to heat your car up to 300+ degrees just to apply/bind a true Teflon wax to your vehicle and as you know your paint would melt by then.
Carnauba wax - Stronger wax usually can last awhile. Great on deeper and darker colors. (3-6 months)
Synthetic wax - Add your own definition here. It's basically like synthetic oil in the sense of it can be manufactured and tailored in a laboratory. See polymer wax.
Products
Meguire's Gold Class Car Wash - Soap to wash your car with. My personal favorite.
Meguiar's Cleaner wax - This guy right here is most likely in every one of our garages. Voted #1 wax blah blah blah... Thing is, this is a more of a cleaner and a lot less of a wax. It has polymers and chemical cleansers in it, to forcibly remove oxidation from paint. This is not the wax you want to end with, this is what you want to start with, if your paint isn't completely destroyed. This is great at removing oxidation though it may take a few coats to do it with; it's not abrasive enough to cause permanent damage to your paint. Because it is meant to remove oxidation and it's cleaning up your paint, you'll notice a shine. I'm sure somewhere on the back of the bottle it will claim to lock in this shine as well. Though I can tell you, it doesn't lock anything in well as it's not comprised with the proper chemicals to do so.
Meguire's Show Car Glaze - My favorite goto shine enhancer. Does a wonderful job to enhance the shine on paint and gets it set for the wax. Don't be afraid of who's looking at you in the reflection after getting done with this product!
Meguire's Gold Class Clear Coat wax - Great clear coat wax. Also great for lighter colors (Silver loves this wax)
Meguire's #26 Yellow Carnauba wax - Stronger then the Gold Class Clear Coat Wax also better for darker/deeper colored vehicles. I use this on the trucks. Very good quality Carnauba Wax. (Black and Royal Blue colors love this wax)
Clay bar - Meant to remove contaminates that a cleaner wax cannot. Though, leaves a film and is often over used. Can be used by hand or with a DA polisher.
Lime Away - Used to remove tree sap
Bug and Tar remover - Name says it all
Definitions
Oxidation - Oxidation occurs when a contaminate sits on top of the clear coat and starts basically eating into it. This can occur from several sources and to several degrees. Jet fuel (living near an airport, jets/planes flying over), industrial fallout (smoke stacks) and rail car dust are among the worst contributors. Then pair the fact that when these elements sit on the paint, the sun will cook them into the paint.
Industrial Fallout - That nasty stuff they pump the air full of. Usually comes out of smoke stacks. Jet fuel and rail dust (Think trains) often fall under this class. All these items come back down onto our clear coats via acid rain and dive in deep to ruin our paint.
MY PERSONAL Steps to paint correction/renewal:
My personal opinion and even steps may vary from yours. As stated above, this is MY PROVEN method. Keyword being "My". To each their own. Use this as a guide, not a bible. I am not liable for anything you do, nor you for I. =D
With the fun time disclaimer out of the way, let's get to business.
First, park the car in sunlight. You’ll want the car's paint to be as clean and contaminate free as possible. To achieve this we need to first assess the damage, identify what needs attending, and then attend to it.
Is there tar on the wheel wells?
Are there bugs on the front pumper?
Is there tree sap on the hood or trunk?
These bigger items should be taken care of prior to any polish or wax. If you polish these things into your paint, the contaminate will just eat away at your paint. Same goes for waxing, you're litterly waxing over them and sealing them in, to continue to do damage.
Now that you've assessed the damage park your car in a shaded area, well lit enough for you to still see the problematic areas and go ahead and wet your car. Use lime away where you need to. Use bug and tar on the front bumper and wheel wells, again, where needed. While doing this, keep the car wet. You NEVER want these products to dry on the vehicle nor allow sunlight to burn these products into the paint.
After you removed the bugs, tar and sap, wash the car with a mild soap washing detergent. Above I mentioned the gold class. Yes I know its generations old. But NXT sucked when it came out, both the wax and the wash were terrible. The wash left a nasty nasty film on my cars no matter how much water I threw at it.
Next, after the car has been washed, keep it parked in the shade. We're going to start with Meguire's cleaner wax. Some people wax cars section by section, some do it in halves, some do the whole car at once. The most effective method I have found to bring the best possible results is section by section so that you can really give it the detail it needs to bring about the best possible clean, shine and protection by focusing on that area and only that area until you are satisfied with the results. With that said, go ahead and start applying the cleaner wax, in the shade (notice I keep mentioning this "shade") and then remove it. Take note, after you've removed it. Is the paint clearer or does it still appear "cloudy" or "hazy" or "grey”? If it appears that any of the 3 mentioned still remain (especially on red cars) you may want to repeat this step.
Next step is the glaze. Above I mention the Show Car Glaze by Meguire's. Man does this stuff deliver. Without boring you any further with how amazingly this product is, apply it like the cleaner wax, in the shade and remove it. Since you already cleaned up your paint and removed oxidation, you'll only really need one coat of glaze. Boy look at that amazing shine. Holy cow! I don't even remember the car shining this good when I bought it!!! (Most likely, it didn't. ;P)
Last comes the wax. The actual wax. This one I am picky about. Am I waxing my plow truck or tow truck? Am I waxing my bright colored sports car? What I am waxing, depends on the type of wax I am going to use. If it's a heavy duty farm truck or justa little s-10, I most likely will always use #26 Yellow Carnauba. Reason being is #26 is going to be a strong strong wax. It's going to stick through the abuse and wear and tear much better than most other types of waxes (Naturally, being it’s a carnauba). It will also not need to be waxed as much considering the strong type being used.
Now if I'm waxing my silver metallic flaked Formula Firebird, or my Golden (tri champagne?) Lincoln LS which I want the brights to be brights and don't mind have to wax them a few additional times a year, I go with my Gold Class Clear Coat wax. It really brings it all home on every level on the brighter colors and doesn't take away from the shine at all.
That's it! Now in between washes or i guess in between waxes, folks often like to use a quick detail or spray wax to keep the shines going, which is fine. I personally use a product called Final Inspection. I rely on it as the final end point before I send a car off. In between washes/waxes it doubles as my spray wax and does a better job then many other solutions out there. However, these are not replacements for waxing a car in general, so don't forget to wax your car if it needs it!
Whichever cleaner, glaze and wax you use, I promise, if you follow these steps you will be VERY satisfied. I've done a great deal of cars and trucks both used and new, corporate and personal, both award winning show car and heavy duty industrial use.
Just make sure you guys bring your sunglasses.
2006LincolnLS
LVC Member
Hehe, hopefully!
When I was younger, I used to get offended by that notion =)
Can you tell ?
Telco
Dedicated LVC Member
Question on the waxes. Many years ago I had an 89 Camaro RS, solid black that I kept immaculate and well waxed. I also had to park the car under a pollen generating tree. I know, all trees do pollen, but this one was a machine at it, as in every morning my black car was green. I was able to combat this by using Autofom wax, which was what they called a negative ion wax, and it worked really well as when I started using this stuff pollen would no longer stick to the car. If I found any pollen at all on the car it was never more than a few specks where before I used it the car would be coated. Cars parked next to mine were still coated.
My question is, is there anything on the market now that is also a negative ion wax? I'd like to get back to a wax with the same dirt repelling qualities that Autofom has. The stuff I use now does the same as other waxes, allows dirt to quickly adhere to the car and build up. My cars looked cleaner after a storm or a ride down a dirt road unwaxed than they do waxed.
My question is, is there anything on the market now that is also a negative ion wax? I'd like to get back to a wax with the same dirt repelling qualities that Autofom has. The stuff I use now does the same as other waxes, allows dirt to quickly adhere to the car and build up. My cars looked cleaner after a storm or a ride down a dirt road unwaxed than they do waxed.
RigsLS
Dedicated LVC Member
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2012
- Messages
- 7,756
- Reaction score
- 532
@Pektel & 2006LincolnLS,
thank you so much for this detailed information, I've copied it to my notes and I'll be the first to admit that I've been doing it wrong all this time.
Looking forward to following these recommended steps to get my Silver FROSTY as clean and shiny as possible this upcoming summer.
I do wish to try the Collinite 845 product though.
Dude man!, your wheels, just can't get over them, love the look of them,
what's the brand and what is the offset on that ?
thank you so much for this detailed information, I've copied it to my notes and I'll be the first to admit that I've been doing it wrong all this time.
Looking forward to following these recommended steps to get my Silver FROSTY as clean and shiny as possible this upcoming summer.
I do wish to try the Collinite 845 product though.
Dude man!, your wheels, just can't get over them, love the look of them,
what's the brand and what is the offset on that ?
I bought a gallon of this cause the trees where i live constanly drip sap
Where I live so my car is constantly getting sticky so this stuff is great
No problem
2006LincolnLS
LVC Member
If water doesn't slide off after a wax, it's not wax you put on the car.
If dust gets stuck on your car, it's not wax you put on your car.
Now the short answer to your questions are:
No
and
Awesome.
If you get a chance, read my long post.
2006LincolnLS
LVC Member
Hey man, for all the help I've recieved and reading this forum for years before I bought my car, it's the least I could do =)
2006LincolnLS
LVC Member
This product was the one I was mentioning for in between waxes. I stand right by Epikls in this one. I love Final Inspection and so did my customers =)
JoshMcMadMac
Dedicated LVC Member
Not true. Some waxes and sealants do a much better job of repelling, or more accurately not attracting, dust.
2006LincolnLS
LVC Member
I should clarify this statement. I think we're talking about two different things.
You're talking about waxes repelling dust off which I do not dispute happening at all. Like the other gentlemen in the thread who mentioned the negative Ion waxes. That's what wax is supposed to do, protect paint and keep containments off of it.
What I'm talking about is if there is wax on the car, dust won't magically stick to a fresh wax job, without some sort of sticky/sticking agent (like water, humidity, sap, moisture etc etc...) to allow it to adhere itself to your wax. (Hence why anyone who's ever waxed a car can tell you, there's always wax dust on it as we're wiping it off. Notice how quick it glides off the paint? That's the wax doing it's job.)
At that point, it doesn't matter what wax you put on your car because the water, humidity, sap, and moisture will allow dust to stick and are flat our causing it to stick.
If there is wax, this will not happen with dust alone on a fresh wax job if it's real wax.
Now sand, pollen, sap and a slew of other containments are a WHOLE other story LOL and yes, they can all be contained in dust, as well as dust contained in them.
2006LincolnLS
LVC Member
Yeah I was a little stand-off-ish too at first, but you're so right!
Leaves the paint with a fresh waxed feeling
Some waxes attract more dust than others. When you remove wax, the buffing action creates a static charge. This is what attracts dust. Also, it's the reason why my final wipedown is with finish kare fk425 anti-static detail spray. Makes a world of difference.
Telco
Dedicated LVC Member
So what you're saying is I could apply this stuff to my vehicle and it would no longer attract dirt? I know it won't keep it from getting dirty in the normal course of things but as it is it's like Pigpen from Charlie Brown. You clean it, it sits in the driveway 20 miles from the nearest dirt road, and 5 minutes later it looks like you've been driving deep in the sticks all day.
RigsLS
Dedicated LVC Member
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2012
- Messages
- 7,756
- Reaction score
- 532
Many thanks to those that recommended the Collinite 845, I finally got some of this stuff and have done panel by panel with the exception of the lower ones, last couple of evenings and I am VERY impressed with this wax.
Very nice, goes on easy and leaves a nice deep shine.
+1