...And do you just give the car a good wash before you wax? I mean, how else do you get the paint as clean as possible?

For stuff available every where you can use Meguiers. Personally my fav is 3M. Yes you have to give the car a good wash before hand. Other wise youll be pushing the dirt into your clear coat with the buffer and leaving scatches.

for wax I use Mothers or Collinite Fleet wax, wax is the final step

and actually the car doesnt look any different after wax, it just protects

the finish.



You have to achieve a perfect finish before waxing with different

compounds and glazes applied by machine and by hand.



Of course you wash the car before doing anything. If the car is really

soiled you can throw some degreaser in the wash bucket.

i used a cleaner wax after winter, or when the car has set for a while



then use the caranuba wax from that point forward. GREAT STUFF



my wax jobs last weeks and weeks even in florida where it's 100 degrees and downpours everyday.



ps... and i wash the car every time before i wax it, mainly so i know there are no small rocks that will scratch the hell out of my paint when i'm waxing

Your missing the polish. If your car has been sitting over winter you first give it the cleaner, you then need to bring the shine/luster out. That is where the polish comes in. After you polish then add the wax to protect that shine. I see your first bottle inc the polish in one step, but for a proper job it should be in 3 seperate steps.

Thanks guys, I will be waxing ASAP!

He's got a glaze though. Glazes and polishes are almost the same thing.



First i wash my car with a good car wash solution, most of them are the same but some just suck, basically dont use the sucky ones.



Then about once a year i use Meguars stage 1 cleaner wax.



Twice a year i use the stage 2 polish also by meguair, the thing is though that you really shouldnt and dont need to use polish more than twice a year as its a minor abrasive.



Finally i use Meguairs gold class carnuaba wax. Life doesnt get much better than that, it works wonders and i'm done.



http://www.twinturbo.net/ttnetfaq/FAQpages.../detailing.html



Here is an excellent writeup for car detailing as well.

I just realized it was just called mirror glaze and not actually a glaze... silly me lol



Anyways Meguairs gold class wax has to be some of the best out there.

That's what I picked up, the Gold wax!

i have the meguirs (sp?) 4 step wax system. It works pretty well, made my OK paint job look a lot better.

http://www.mothers.com/products/prod...5701-05500.jpg



this is my fav



i haven' tried the one in the tin can yet... i will next time... i've been buying the bottle stuff..



10 bucks canadian... i'm happy....

personally my paint is not good enough to justify spending 30 bucks for wax

dont worry, im sure if they came out with a wax and made it $45 everyone would think its the best, that ZYMOL stuff is crap, but they

charge alot of money for it and put it in a fancy bottle so people think

its the best.



I had a detail shop, and I took care of several limo companies

cars, one company was next door to me and I would have to wash those

cars everyday, sometimes in the winter with the salt twice a day.

I tried all kinds of waxes and found Mothers to be the best overall.



I used Meguirs and found it to be streaky and blotchy, maybe you wouldnt notice on a white or silver car, but wax some black cars

and you learn to use the best. I have had black cars my whole life

and they all looked like the day they came off the showroom floor, usually even better



Collinite Fleetwax was really good as well, but its very hard to use, you have to rub it on and rub it off all at once, versus waxing the entire car and then taking the wax off. You must make sure your wipe is totally free of dirt so it doesnt scratch because you are rubbing so much.



Another good thing about Mothers is you can use it in the sunlight.

Slightly wet a wax applicator, apply the wax to the whole car, then use a good micro-fiber towel to remove the wax after it has dried. Usually after you have applied the wax to the whole car its ready to come off.



Dont apply too much wax, your only making your life hard for yourself.

Apply multiple coats if it makes you fell better, but dont put the **** on really heavy.



The Micro Fiber towels are the ****, they are worth every penny, they do not scratch, they feel funky on the hands, but trust me they dont scratch, they cut waxing time in half.



I prefer any wax in a bottle because there is less chance of getting dirt in it, although the fleetwax only comes in a can.

Zaino Brothers

Really Nice shine!

In ORDER of PREFERENCE:



Blackfire

KLASSE

Zaino



All applied over a properly cleaned and prepped surface. I use 3M products for the prep. For more information visit http://www.autopia.org/forums/index.php



Tell them BANZAITOYOTA sent you

be sure to use a clay bar after washing the car to get it really clean... and don't forget to apply a quick detail spray while using the clay bar to help it move over the surface of your paint. I think that is a big reason people shy away from clay bars... they don't know how to properly use them and try to do it dry which is impossible!!

save money and time and use a bucket of soapy water on a wet car

instead of that detail spray crap.



you can clay bar a whole car in about 15 minutes that way.

And when you wet the car again with the hose any parts you missed

show up right away by the way the water sheens.



A car that is always washed never needs a clay bar, I have yet to

clay bar a car of my own. Maybe for a car that doesnt get washed that often.

rob..... how do you keep the wax from gettin into the cracks or between the body panels......... cuz i hated having white stuff left behind

you try to contain it when you apply the wax for one thing, on a body line

apply the wax in the direction of the body line, dont run it back and forth

over the line.



If even after being carefull any wax gets in the cracks, use your detailing cloth to try to get it out or get a hoars hair brush, which looks like a toothbrush only its very fine soft hair and brush the wax out of the cracks.



And there is no need to put a **** load of wax on all at once, it only makes it

harder to get off and offers no more protection. Try multiple light coats of wax,

or just wax the car every couple of weeks.



I reccomend once a month and the car will always look in top shape.

I use Zaino on my 3rd gen. It gives me the best shin and seams to last the longest. Sal claims that it has no abrasives, so it would seam that it won't do **** for oxidized or scratched paint. For fine scratches I use 3M Fine Cut.

thanks for the detailing advice rob

speaking of waxes........ has anyone tried the 5 star one time wax?

Do you wax in a circular motion or straight back and forth. I can never do that. It takes me a really farkin long time going back and forth and i dont even get it applied everywhere consistantly and i cant get a perfectly straight line back and forth, its still kinda curved.

any opinions on that wax?

If it was so good it would put all waxes out of business, give it a try

and let us know!

yes sir.......





i guess it wont hurt to try it out





......... i mean it wont hurt the fresh paint....... right?.......

how new? some paints reccomend not waxing for 90 days, depends

on your paint though.

new as in.......... the body shop keeps saying its gunna be ready in 2 days new, for the past few weeks

bump

I don't polish my car because it can scratch the paint if it's got dust on it or if the cloths never going to be completely clean.

you dont know what your doing then, I have a black car and there

is not a scratch in it. No fine scratches, nothing.

Use a slightly dampened applicator for wax, not a ripped

t-shirt or any wacko thing like that.

And a microfiber towel to remove the wax. You dont have to

go nuts leaning on the car either.





Dramon- wax in a circular motion. Only wax in a line on a body line so you

dont end up with a build up in the crevices.



Fiske- ask the body shop what they would reccomend, some

may tell you its OK to wax right away, I would wax after 3 months,

get yourself some glaze that is silicone and wax free and use that

for the first 3 months if you want some extra shine now and then.

New paint's gotta cure.

i usually top off with s100

from havin done a wash..clay...wax..

Dish detergent, for the wash, before you polish/wax. The actual car washes aren't as strong so they don't take all the old wax off like dish detergent does.



3M Hand Glaze. Awesome stuff. Not really any protection. Pain in the ass to take off but well worth it. People I know that have body shops never, ever use wax on their cars and they look fabulous.

any suggestions on silicones i can use? brands?

3M hand glaze is old news, thier Finesse It III Finishing Glaze blows it

away. People with garages for cars they dont drive

dont have to wax thier cars. People who keep thier cars outside

and drive them everyday have to wax thier cars.



When you say silicones you mean for the tires and trim?

Tire dressing I would get something from a detail supply

place, Auto Magic Magic Dressing is excellent stuff. Use it

on your engine, wheel wells, tires, interior, door jambs, etc.



Even some WD-40 and sprays like that work good on rubber parts like

door jamb rubbers and what not.



I cannot justify using dish detergent over a high quality

car washing soap, why would you want to strip the wax off your

car? It doesnt hurt to apply multiple coats of wax, I had customers cars

I would wax every 4 weeks, and they always looked better then when they

came from the dealer even after a couple of years.

Whatever the case may be in 3M coming out with new products, their Hand Glaze is great.



I guess one might want to strip off the old stuff for the fact that it cleans better, it, as stated, gets rid of the old stuff and gives you a clean slate to start with. But what would I know.



...and multiple coats of wax might be fantastic if they are being applied right after one another. Personally, I wouldn't want to wax over top of some old dirty stuff.

dont take offense to it, im just telling you that stripping the old wax

off does nothing at all, its not like its coats of paint on there or something.



Sure 3M hand glaze is great, but the new stuff is that much better



How does wax get old and dirty?

If one is taking the time to wash and polish or wax a car, why would one want to use a surface that is not "optimal" when one can start with a clean slate, hence the dish detergent. Especially if one might be using glaze or polish. I definately don't want to waste my time trying to rub through a layer, or layers, of old wax. Or any wax at all, for that matter. How about a clay bar? Why would one want to attempt to use a clay bar on a waxed surface when the choice not to is there. And without any further effort whatsoever.



If dirt can sit in paint, dirt can surely sit in a layered wax.



This exert taken from the Zaino Bros. website, one of the most trusted names in the automotive show arena, about preperation in waxing a car:



" 3. I would definitely recommend you remove the wax buildup on your paint. Just use Liquid Dawn (hand dishwashing liquid) as a car wash. It has a high alkaline content which cuts right thru carnauba wax, paraffin, silicone oils, etc. This will get your paint finish squeeky clean and wax free.



I don't advise making a habit of washing your car with Dawn. But for this scenario it's fine. High alkaline products like Dawn are tough on polishes. It will never harm the paint finish though. A car wash is made specifically to clean without removing durable polishes. ALSO, Make sure you remove any water spots, before you apply my products. Because Zaino has no abrasives or harsh solvents it will not remove water spots or stains. Z-18 ClayBar is great for removing any paint surface contaminants. Re-wash the entire vehicle with Z-7 Car Wash immediately after the ClayBar Cleaning Process."



I've entered two judged shows and won them both and, surprisingly, have had several people ask me if my paint was original, which it is.



While the non-strip method may work fine, I have had great results with using dish detergent and then glazing. For some reason or another I don't have the option to attach files.

You cant attatch files in the FAQ section I guess. This reply might be long,and

again its meant for discussion purposes:



You can do and advise as you please, you are quoting a web site,

which is fine.



I am telling you real life expierence, I was in the detail business and

owned my own shop, that was actually pretty succesfull, I catered to a up

scale clientel, so the local car washes that were charging $99 for what I would

charge upwards of $150 got to be too much. I have waxed probably close to 10,000 cars at least, no kidding.



I felt I wanted to change careers

into something that wasnt as cut throat with low ballers. Only reason I dont detail anymore is because there is no money in it, I can spend the same time on a car as I do fixing a boat and make $100 a hour versus busting my ass on a car for most of the day for a lousy $150.



Annnnyhow, my point is you can quote web sites and follow thier advice, which

is a-ok with me, and you can follow my advice having waxed thousands of cars in

my lifetime. There is no wrong answer, but when you do wash a car with dawn I hope you are waxing every nook and cranny that you just stripped the wax

from by using Dawn.



That whole starting with a fresh surface is BS, there is nothing to be gained, but

I dont have a web site and sell my own wax so my opinion is just that, opinion.



DAWN will never take the place of a clay bar by the way, I have never ever had

to use a clay bar on one of my own vehicles, but I have used clay bars since they came out over 10 years ago, and trust me when I say that dawn dishwashing detergent isnt going to remove what a clay bar will remove. Try to take rail dust off a car with Dawn, rail dust is just that, tiny particles of rusted metal in the paint, I used to clay bar several cars weekly, Mitsuibishi used to send me new cars every week to remove the rail dust from transport. Not too mention people who park thier cars under train tressels, not sure if that applies to your neck of the woods, but it does here in NY.



Some cars have a tendency to get a build up along the flat surfaces of the trunk lid and the rear bumper from brake dust. Dawn will not remove that either. Try to remove overspray with dish detergent, wont happen.



A car that is at least washed every week or two will never have to see a clay bar.



I take pride in the appearance of my car, and the compliments I get for it make

it all worth while.



If I called myself something fancy and had a web site and sold over priced wax people would be quoting me I guess, lol