Waxing your car

Arsenal2019

Hi,
Can anyone please explain how to wax your car? Vast majority of the stuff I’ve read online appears to be American, and/or I don’t really understand.
—-
So, after I clean the car to remove old dirt and grime, I then dry it. I apply the wax in a circular motion and then buff with a micro fibre cloth? Is this it?

Also, how long does it last for? And how long do I leave this wax on before I wax it again? Next time I come to wash my car, can I wash it as usual and will it wash/remove the wax I previously applied when I washed my car last time? Do I have to use a different product to remove the wax?

Can anyone recommend any products?(I don’t want to spend a great amount)

AdrianC

"Detailing" is a religion to some.
https://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/index.php

Ant555

If you have decent paintwork to start with then you have pretty much nailed the waxing bit - I try not to leave the wax on for too long and never apply it in direct sunlight.  Have a few micro fibre cloths to hand.  You might be surprised how little wax you need for a car panel.  However the results can be absolutely brilliant - I tend to wax once in spring, probably again in July and then at the end of the 'season' on a decent dry weekend on my MX5 (which has crap paintwork so needs a lot of attention) - my newer car, I will proper wax it once per year.

If your paintwork is iffy then set aside a decent chunk of time for all the prep as that is the important bit - I recently discovered 'clay bars' and although brilliant, you have easily lost a whole day once you head down that route!

At the moment, I am using this wax product
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00078XL2O
 - although I have a tub in the shed full of preparation cleaner and polish products!

facade

Arsenal2019 said:

Hi,
Can anyone please explain how to wax your car? Vast majority of the stuff I’ve read online appears to be American, and/or I don’t really understand.
—-
So, after I clean the car to remove old dirt and grime, I then dry it. I apply the wax in a circular motion and then buff with a micro fibre cloth? Is this it?

Also, how long does it last for? And how long do I leave this wax on before I wax it again? Next time I come to wash my car, can I wash it as usual and will it wash/remove the wax I previously applied when I washed my car last time? Do I have to use a different product to remove the wax?

Can anyone recommend any products?(I don’t want to spend a great amount)

Proper carnuba wax lasts about a month, but you are supposed to rewax it every week.

I have tried many, many, many magic sprays, liquids and pastes over the years, and I've had the best results with Autoglym super resin polish, followed by polymer sealant- Autoglym extra gloss protection. It lasts a few months, long enough for the novelty of having a new car to wear off and then it stays covered in grime for the rest of its life.

You can get both in expensive teenie weenie bottles at Halfords, or bigger better value bottles elsewhere.

Autoglym do a range of magic liquids that you can blast on with a pressure washer & snowfoam gun and supposedly achieve the same result, sounds interesting, but I've not tried them. Autoglym Polar is the name.

Arsenal2019

Ant555 said:

If you have decent paintwork to start with then you have pretty much nailed the waxing bit - I try not to leave the wax on for too long and never apply it in direct sunlight.  Have a few micro fibre cloths to hand.  You might be surprised how little wax you need for a car panel.  However the results can be absolutely brilliant - I tend to wax once in spring, probably again in July and then at the end of the 'season' on a decent dry weekend on my MX5 (which has crap paintwork so needs a lot of attention) - my newer car, I will proper wax it once per year.

If your paintwork is iffy then set aside a decent chunk of time for all the prep as that is the important bit - I recently discovered 'clay bars' and although brilliant, you have easily lost a whole day once you head down that route!

At the moment, I am using this wax product
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00078XL2O
 - although I have a tub in the shed full of preparation cleaner and polish products!

Thank you. Yeah my bodywork is in good condition as the car is still relatively new . So when I come to re-waxing the car? How do I remove the old wax? Does simply washing the car remove the wax?

Ant555

Arsenal2019 said:

Thank you. Yeah my bodywork is in good condition as the car is still relatively new . So when I come to re-waxing the car? How do I remove the old wax? Does simply washing the car remove the wax?

I dont remove the old wax as washing and weather seems to do that job for me.  Once waxed, any water/rain can be seen to 'bead' on the surface of the car and can look really impressive - once that beading ceases and water simply sits on the surface then i know its time to reapply although I know others will not wait until this happens.  (pic below of water beading on the bonnet of my Mazda)

BOWFER

I'm not a fan of Autoglym products, there's much better out there.
Good names are the likes of 'Dodo Juice' and 'poorboys'
For a good long-lasting wax, try Collonite 476, available online.
The tin will last for years of waxing, and it lasts a long time on the car.
Apply with a pad, buff off with microfibre cloth.
There's no set time for how long wax lasts, you'll know when it needs done again when you see water stops beading and rolling off the paint.
Every week is extremely excessive.
Another good product is Gtechniq C2V3, which is a sealant rather than a wax, so it doesn't add much shine (it does a bit) and relies more on the paint underneath already being shiny.
You literally spray this stuff all over your car, windows/plastics./the lot and watch the water bead off for weeks.

m0bov

Should get a few months in between, just apply very thinly and buff off. Anything AG, Poorboys, Collonite is good. Dodo Juice is good stuff. 

neilmcl

Arsenal2019 said:

Ant555 said:

If you have decent paintwork to start with then you have pretty much nailed the waxing bit - I try not to leave the wax on for too long and never apply it in direct sunlight.  Have a few micro fibre cloths to hand.  You might be surprised how little wax you need for a car panel.  However the results can be absolutely brilliant - I tend to wax once in spring, probably again in July and then at the end of the 'season' on a decent dry weekend on my MX5 (which has crap paintwork so needs a lot of attention) - my newer car, I will proper wax it once per year.

If your paintwork is iffy then set aside a decent chunk of time for all the prep as that is the important bit - I recently discovered 'clay bars' and although brilliant, you have easily lost a whole day once you head down that route!

At the moment, I am using this wax product
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00078XL2O
 - although I have a tub in the shed full of preparation cleaner and polish products!

Thank you. Yeah my bodywork is in good condition as the car is still relatively new . So when I come to re-waxing the car? How do I remove the old wax? Does simply washing the car remove the wax?

If you want to do it properly then you need to do what's known as a full decontamination. You'd wash, de-tar, de-iron, clay, then polish before applying the new coat of wax. You only need to do this twice a year though and simply top up the wax in between.

Arsenal2019

neilmcl said:

Arsenal2019 said:

Ant555 said:

If you have decent paintwork to start with then you have pretty much nailed the waxing bit - I try not to leave the wax on for too long and never apply it in direct sunlight.  Have a few micro fibre cloths to hand.  You might be surprised how little wax you need for a car panel.  However the results can be absolutely brilliant - I tend to wax once in spring, probably again in July and then at the end of the 'season' on a decent dry weekend on my MX5 (which has crap paintwork so needs a lot of attention) - my newer car, I will proper wax it once per year.

If your paintwork is iffy then set aside a decent chunk of time for all the prep as that is the important bit - I recently discovered 'clay bars' and although brilliant, you have easily lost a whole day once you head down that route!

At the moment, I am using this wax product
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00078XL2O
 - although I have a tub in the shed full of preparation cleaner and polish products!

Thank you. Yeah my bodywork is in good condition as the car is still relatively new . So when I come to re-waxing the car? How do I remove the old wax? Does simply washing the car remove the wax?

If you want to do it properly then you need to do what's known as a full decontamination. You'd wash, de-tar, de-iron, clay, then polish before applying the new coat of wax. You only need to do this twice a year though and simply top up the wax in between.

Okay: so From what I’ve read about polishing, apply polish to a cloth and rub it in. Leave for a while and then buff off with a new microfibre cloth? Then repeat that process but with wax right after? 

Can you recommend a polish? A cheap-ish one??

JustAnotherSaver

It all depends how anal you want to get about it.
If you want to get totally in depth then you're going to be polishing and using clay bars, 2 buckets, various wash mits and cloths and grit guards.

It is NOT cheap.

But if you want to just give it a basic polish and a wax to make it look nice from a few strides for a while...