Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2006 15:20:54 EST
Reply-To: RobInfante@AOL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Rob Infante <RobInfante@AOL.COM>
Subject: Re: Polish or Wax?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Here is a write up a friend of mine did for the alfa list. I followed it
for my karmann ghia and it came out spiffy.
hth
rob infante
boonton nj
87 syncro westy
This is neither here nor there. Wax ! I'm goin' to tell you what you what
you want to do. Waxing a car right is an all day affair, but by the time you're
done you'll have a finish that you can keep around for a number of years
without having to do it again. For a good condition finish (which is what I
assume that you have) you'll need three products. First you need to get a purpose
made car wash for a cleaner. I used to use ivory
liquid, and I'll tell ya' that stuff tears hell out of your paint and it
strips wax. The purpose made car cleaners are designed to leave the wax in place
and just remove grit. I use Zymol car cleaner, but I have also used Armor
All car cleaner. Both were good, and I think that any of them will serve you
well. Then get Meguiar's car polish. Meguiar's is a liquid wax system that is
meant to be used in stages. The polish is the best thing since sliced bread.
The car cleaner I have found to be kind of useless. The wax is OK, but there
are better. Then buy "Mother's Own Carnuba Wax". This shit is tremendous.
Mother's puts the hardest
protective surface on a car that I know. There are two kinds of Mother's: a
Cleaner wax and just straight wax. If you are using the Meguiar's polish then
you shouldn't need to use Cleaner wax. A lot of guys will tell you that
Cleaner waxs are useless, but this is not so. It is a much cheesier way of waxing
your car in one step instead of two. The reason that you should use two
steps is that the car will have the "wet" look of
I pristinely new paint job. For more stubborn stains or paint damage then
there is Turtle wax polish and compound. These are found in a green and red
plastic drum respectively. Do NOT mess around with these unless you know a lot
about waxing cars. They can very quickly ruin a paint job leaving swirls that
will never come out or dull the finish right down. They do have there
place, but it's best not to play with them in the beginning. Do not use Turtle wax
polish to polish a car either as you will have to use Meguiar's to get all
of the swirls out anyway. All washing, waxing, and polishing should be done
out of direct sunlight. If
the wax bakes into the finish then the paint will be permanently glazed and
foggy, and there is no way to fix it short of repainting. All this said, this
is how I would wax your car for an unbeatable shine.
PREFACE - all waxing should be done between 68 and 82 degrees Fahrenheit out
of direct sun to avoid permanant damage to the finish.
FIRST - wash the wheels and tires to remove brake dust with "Simple Green"
wheel cleaner. The stuff works great on all wheels including alloys. Spray it
on; let sit for a minute; sponge off with fresh water;
then hose off clean.
SECOND - wash the car with the auto cleaner like Zymol or Armor all washing
the wheels again. Use a big sponge or something which is soft and won't
scratch the surface. I like big sponges.
THIRD - dry the car with a clean terry cloth towels that are soft. If they
aren't soft then they will scratch the paint surface. The average bath towel
is what I use, and it's a great excuse to get rid of worn or thread bare
towels since these work very nicely. If you don't dry the car then you will get
water spots that are very VERY hard to compound out. They wear off OK, but if
you're preparing for a show, you're screwed. You
don't have to get it totally dry. It's just to keep little pools of water
from drying onto the finish.
FOURTH - Let dry so no water is left at all. It's a good time for lunch or
to check on the laundry. This shouldn't take very long as you've dried it with
a towel. Also this is a good time to apply "STP Son of a Gun" to the tires
for that temporary wet look, and it makes the tires look truly black for some
time after instead of a grey colour.
FIFTH - If the car needs compounding then this is the time to do it (don't
do this unless you are familiar with waxing because permanent damage to a
finish can be very easily accomplished.)
SIXTH - Polish the car with "Meguiar's" polish. This should remove all
swirling from the finish as well as oxidation and other factors that can dull a
finish as well as the old wax which can trap dirt on to the paint.
You do this by applying a small ammount of product onto a soft wetted rag
(again I use old soft terry cloth towels cut into rags for this) and rub the
product onto the finish in lateral and semi-chaotic non-patterns.
Just rub the hell out of it, but don't apply too much pressure as again this
can lead to scratching. Then rub off with a clean dry towel. Do NOT let the
product dry to a dull haze as with wax. It isn't necessary to be
too anal about removing the polish, but it's a rub on rub right off kind of
thing. Work in small areas and work it until the paint looks good. I usually
take on a panel at a time, but depending on the temperature the
areas that you work will be larger or smaller. When it gets really hot out
you have to move fast and small.
SEVENTH - Wax the car. (this is all that you really wanted to do anyway
right?) Using another wetted terry cloth rag, rub firmly into the "Mother's Own
Carnuba Wax" without cleaner (this is a big red can with a yellow paste
inside. the pink paste has cleaner in it), and then rub that on to the car in
circular motion. Circular motion in the application makes the dried wax alot
easier to rub off laterally. Again working in
about a panel at a time depending on temperature, let the wax dry to a dull
haze, but don't let it sit too long or else irrevocable damage may result.
(this really means don't try to do too much at once or else the
paint will permanantly haze. If hazing starts to occur then try immediately
rewaxing and if that doesn't get it out then try polishing it out. This
usually will fix the problem if done quickly.) Wax in circles and then rub the wax
off when dried to a dull haze. Wax actually does nothing to clean, brighten
or polish a car. The polish does that. Wax is to protect the finish from rain
sun and oxidation which is why Mother's does such a great job because it is
a very hard finish. If you polish the car without waxing then the finish will
be damaged very quickly because there will be no wax to protect it at all.
Oh yeah - when waxing, ANY amount of wax that contacts rubber or plastic
will permanantly discolor
the rubber or plastic. If you get any on there it has to come right off.
Try to be careful when cutting in.
Now Drink alot of iced tea 'cause this usually knocks me right out.
The interior is a completely different day and bundle of wax. (so to speak)
This is probably more than you ever wanted to know about waxing cars, but
it does turn out nicely if you use this method. Hope all is good - H
