Wax Question

polymer waxes

McGuire's NXT is quite slick. Every time I wax the hood of my ZJ the cat finds somewhere else to sleep since she slides off.

Run a clay bar across the paint before you bother waxing it. You will be amazed.

Cay bars and clay bar kits are available at most auto parts stores.

I foyu really want a slick shine then you need to follow the steps of the classic car folks. My dad spends the better part of a day waxing, polishing, buffing his old car just to go to a show the following day.

I think both Mothers and Maguires have a multi step process that starts with soap and carries all the way through to a clay bar, you might want to check one of them out. At last count it was about an 8 step process my dad follows.

Snow...

Mindy proclaimed:

Start with the body material. Then the paint, applied really thin for weight, non metallic. All of those buffed to glass smoothness. Then clay it, buff it, and the thinnest coat of wax. Reasonable for vehicles that get new fenders every thousand miles or so, not scalable for the street. Some folks have queried whether a micro dimpled surface would have less drag, but for nascar drag is generally a life saver.

Get a big bar and use detailing fluid or even window film soap for lube. Get a couple bars, if you drop one, toss it a neighbor, don't reuse it.

Jewelers tin oxide also works, but boy is it messy and lots more work.

billy ray proclaimed:

I clayed the WJ last summer. The difference is amazing..... and the procedure is not all that had...

Do you have to use the spray that comes with the bar? Can you use something else?

You use "detailing" spray to wet the surface. The stuff I used was Maguire's but every car wax brand has their own version. They are pretty much interchangeable and run about $5 per bottle.

Several companies make the clay bars themselves, mine is from Griots Garage... Good thing I got it as a present, that place is kinda pricy.

The kit is often a better buy, they run 15-20 dollars depending on the brand.

I always used heavy duty paste wax in the fall and buffed it lightly on vehicles that were worth waxing.

What is the advantage of the clay bar? And what is the theory behind using the clay bar?

Merrill

messagenews:de-dnUmtRoYzQWjYnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com...

The only thing I can figure, since I bought and tried one, is that it's sticky and it removes all the stuff in/on the paint. I was surprised what came off the paint. I was trying to remove scratches. It won't do that but lots of other stuff came off the clear coat. Now I need to find time to put a few coats of wax on it. Every time I do it, it's only good for a few weeks. Right now there is no beading going on, just flat water when it rains. What works GOOD? I want something that will let me hose the mud off. I don't want to wax once a month. It's a Jeep, dammit! :)

Scott in Baltimore proclaimed:

Get the biggest bar you can find, and then buy a spray bottle of lube. The combo packages tend to have either really small bars which are hard to use or really small bottles of lube. The soap used for window film also works. Detailing spray also works.

I've never heard of clay bars before this, but first hit on google says it works as an abrasive.

Basically you use some lubricant to protect the paint, and the abrasive gets rid of anything that sticks out.

I don't bother with wax. The way I usually clean my car involves vaporizing a large quantity of water, then condensing it (this gives me poor man's distilled water). After that it is accelerated towards the surface of my car. On impact it tends to break away most of the dirt and carry it off. :)

Ivan