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"Wax, Good for your car, Good for your hands"
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Polish....Wax, it's all the same isn't it?The Answer: NO! OK, this is the same basic beginning from the previous installment, but the point is important. Polishing and waxing are not the same. Polishing (as explained previously) is how your car gets a shine. Waxing is what protects that shine. If you are relying on wax to GIVE your car a shine, then you are short-changing your car's finish. Go back to the previous tip and start your polish/wax process over. Waxing: At this point in the detailing process, you have used a variety of products to give your car/truck a superb shine. Now you need to protect it, so what to use? I recommend you stay away from miracle products. At this point you don't want ANYTHING with the words "polish", "abrasive" or "one-step" on the label. You need a true wax. The best ones have a high concentration of quality carnauba wax. Carnauba is made from a plant and is very hard in its natural state. There are several good ones on the market, Zymol™, Meguiars™, and my favorite; Colinite 915 Marque d'Elegance Carnauba wax. Never heard of Collinite? I am not surprised. They have been around over 50 years, but they are a small specialty wax and polish maker, that have serviced the boat and airplane industries for a long time. They also have a full line of automotive products. If you are a lineman for an electric company, you might have used their No. 845 insulator wax. Originally developed for use by electric power companies for protection against high voltage power failure, fires and explosions! Check out our Collinite page for information on the products we carry from them. Big Mistake #1 Applying too much product. This is where you gobs of was fills all the cracks, keyholes and under/around the trim and emblems. I like to use either my bare hand or a thick sponge like the one we give away, to apply most polish and wax products. Just a little wax on the inner portions of a sponge and you can work it around and up to seams and emblems, without filling them. Using your hand with a Carnauba like Collinite can help keep your hands soft, but it's tiring work, the sponge is easier and faster. Those that might have read this page before will notice a change in attitude here. I used to recommend hand application above all, but recently tried it again this spring and decided my sponge is better, and it's free. I like paste wax products over their liquid counterparts, because it's harder to spill the contents and they go much farther. NEVER use a REAL sponge for cleaning or waxing. These can have bits of sand or shell in them and can damage a paint finish. Save those for putting a funky finish on your house's painted walls! Big Mistake #2 Waiting too long to wipe the wax off. Most wax products come off easier and with less streaking and work if you don't let them stand for more than a few minutes. I like to wax a small portion of my vehicles, and then wipe off the wax. Some products DO work better if you let them dry, so please read the instructions and try my way and then try their way, see what works best for you. Collinite recommends you wipe their 915 to a shine soon after application. This doesn't effect the protection one bit, and it also keeps any 'dust' to almost nothing. Super Tip: For years I used Sears Best diapers (the kind that you fold yourself, NOT the type that have the thick center section) as final polishing cloths. These still work good, but they have a polyester thread as binding around the edge. Some places would have you believe this will take the fenders off your car, but in reality, a tiny polyester thread will make very fine scratches in the wax. To avoid this entirely, buy a pure 100% cotton polishing cloth like the ones I sell. They are just $12.95 per dozen. These are exactly the same cloths sold for $2 more for TEN by another famous detail catalog. As always, I like to give a little better value. HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR POLISHING CLOTHS: Wash them separately from your wash rags. Never use a softener in the water or dryer, it can cause streaks, especially on dark cars. I prefer a good environmentally friendly detergent like All-Free, with no softener, bleach or perfume. BATH TOWELS OR TERRY CLOTH OR DIAPERS? Bath towels are OK but unless you use a softener in the washer or dryer (we already know this is a NO-NO for polishing cloths) they are rough on my skin. The coarse threads don't treat wax much better. Another major polish maker says the bath towels present lots of area for dirt to hide in instead of scratching your car, but we are talking about polishing a perfectly clean car. There should be NO dirt on it at this point, so I highly recommend a fine weave cloth like the previously mentioned diapers or my cotton cloths. The fine soft weave, stays soft better than towels. The small size is also easier to use. I have never liked terry cloth, it's just too coarse and not absorbent enough. Now with wax applied, and buffed off, your vehicle should be looking good. Now is the time to grab another clean polishing cloth and go over the car again. Most products will remain somewhat soft for an hour or so, and this final polish will put a super-high gloss on the paint. Rub along the lines of sight (usually the long axis from front to back) to minimize any streaks and fine lines. Walk around the car like a show judge would and take care of any left-over streaks or lines. I have never seen a wax product that would last a full year. Don't rely on any product that claims it will last a year or more. To maintain your wax, plan on a quality wash (as described earlier) every week or two, depending on conditions. Try to put a layer of wax on every third or fourth wash, using a fine polishing product like our Super Glaze when you see some haze or minor scratches. |
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