first time wax job ? what to know, buy, do?

[NiceGuyEddie]

how long till the paint cures?

for the first time, do you need a cleaner wax? three-step wax treatment like from Mothers?

[mpowers]

Eddie I just help another forum detail his cobra for the first time. It was painted by NC Dave roughly six months ago and this seems to be the recommended time from Dave.

1.First wash your car with Dawn Ultra, this will take any oils, grease, dirt, hand prints etc off the paint.
2.Dry.
3.Then we went over the car with Mother's brand clay bar, but use who evers you like.
4.Wash again with Dawn Ultra.
5.Dry really well this time.
6.Then went over the car with a mild cleaning polish (step one from Mequires) to further clean the paint.
7.Now I like the Turtle wax Ice polish becuase it's a synthetic and won't disipate (sp?) with heat, easy to apply and the look is great! But any cleaning polish will work.
8.Then apply your wax, we used Mequires NXT and was very impressed with it. While it does not state it is a synthetic, I believe it is. Same reason as the Turtle wax Ice, it will hold up better to washing, heat, bugs, bird poo etc than any carnuba.

Repeat steps 7&8 for a even deeper shine. And expect a good 5 hours dedicated to this and is something you should do in one day. Also make sure you rinse you wash water out for every wash and clean your mitts. When applying wax and taking it off make sure to use a clean micro fiber and don't be afraid to grab a new one. Lastly after you have done all this don't wash the car in dawn ultra unless you want to start back over. Find any decent car wash soap for this.

Also Zaino is great stuff. Would have used it instead but you will have to order it in advance. We just did not think about it so we made do happily with what the local store carried.

I'll have to see if he can post a pic as it brought out the color of Dave's paint job to a fantastic shine that will last.

Hope this helps.
Mike

[DanB]

If you use a clay bar there is no reason to polish the paint. Unless you are trying to remove scratches or swirl marks a good wash and clay bar will remove everything. Then wax it and you are good to go.

Make sure to use quality products. Nothing will scratch your paint faster than bad brushes or bad towels. There are many different grades of microfiber. The cheap towels are just that. Cheap. A quality microfiber towel will last you a long time and be worth every penny.

I personally use Griots Garage products. Great products and great customer service.

[hind sight]

Eddie I also like the mequire products.
The NXT wax does an amazing job on dark colored metalic paints. feel it's the best wax out there for dark colored cars to make then pop in the sunlight.
Since my car has never rally been washed. Upkeep is done with micro fiber rags and Meg's Ultimate detailer spray.
It's great for removeing bugs and dirt from the paint finish while keeping it's shine.

[65' Cobra]

Call Da Bat before waxing.

[NiceGuyEddie]

DA BAT told me to get the Zaino kit, but he forgot to tell me how much time to wait.

that's okay, he told me when i picked up my car, and i fogot also. that's why i asked him.


this is the info from the moderator on www.waxforum.com

Welcome Eddie!

Nice ride... Nice smile, too.

As for the wax, you could do any of a number of things, and I'd probably lean towards one of the following:

FX SynWax.
Reflections Car Wax followed by Top Coat or Pure Carnauba Wax (paste is nice).
Sealer & Glaze followed by Pure Carnauba Wax (again, paste).
With any of them, I'd probably substitute Showtime once in a while for one of our Spray Wax products -- FX, Reflections or California Gold.

Use a microfiber or foam applicator, or PowerBall 4Paint and a quality microfiber polishing cloth to remove the product and you'll have a swirl-free shine.

See the Two Bucket Wash sticky post at the top of the Paint Care section here if you plan to wash.

.
Our FX SynWax has very light polishes and offers a little depth and gloss.

Our California Gold Pure Carnauba Wax has no polishes (and no applicator) -- just the pure wax. Consider starting with the Sealer & Glaze to offer some depth and clarity. The Pure Carnauba Wax will simply offer some gloss and protection.

Carnauba Cleaner Wax does have polishes -- it's an excellent product, but in your situation, I agree you'd be better off with one of the other options.

.

.

[Runninman92]

Well, I have been in the detail business for a long time and to be quite honest there are many answers to that question. I can tell you what I have been doing for 15+ years that has worked for me.
First and formost, try not to wash your car in the sun at any time. The sun heats up the surface and allows the contaminates (dirt!) to get a better bite into the paint as you are trying to wash them off. This really applies to any color, but especially the dark ones.
Second, invest in some good quality microfibre shammies. They can be much more forgiving than many of the alternatives. Plus, they grab the dirt that WILL be left after you wash th car and trap it in the cloth. Make sure you keep your towels clean! And remember to wring it out OFTEN. Once it reaches its maximum saturation you are just leaving water marks all over.
Then once the car has sat for a while to drip out of those places that you can never seem to get to, go over the car again with a CLEAN mf towel.
If it is a new paintjob check with your painter and make sure the paint is fully cured. Use a clay bar (make sure it is a real clay bar and not one of the synthetic pre-treated ones!) Apply the spray wax liberally to keep the surface well lubricated. Following the directions on the product box make sure not to rub too hard with the bar, just let it do it's job. Here is where I usually apply a good sealer wax to lock the paint surface.
You can use any QUALITY wax on your car but I tend to stick with Maguires, Mothers, Griot's Garage and 3m professional series. I also prefer to use the three step systems exclusively so that I can tailor how how abrasive I need to be at any one time.
Some of the new one-step polymer waxes are great but just be careful when you are picking the manufacturer.
Make sure you are useing CLEAN towels at every step. The biggest way to put fine scratches in a paint job is to rub the contaminates from other steps (or days) back into the paint.
Lastly I guess all I can say is the more you wax your car the more you can damage the finish, especially if you are using any type of abrasive (cleaner, polish, fine-cut cleaner, all in one) type of wax. I love the California dusters and all the new spray detailers on the market to keep the paint and shine fresh without truly waxing it every time. Hope that helps!