Waxing/polishing vehicles.

Next time I wash my vans, I am going to wax/polish them, with an electric polishing thingy I will soon buy wherever.

Which wax/polish is the best? What do you use on your vehicle? cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin
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Depends on what you want to do. There are "cleaning" wax's and "wax" only.

Reply to
twisted

I find that for a vehicle given indifferent care and where your main concern is that it looks reasonably good and is protected for a long time with a minimum of effort, Nu-Finish is surprisingly good despite the cheezy name.

Someone had recommended a Teflon product but I haven't tried it.

nate

Reply to
N8N

For vehicles with a good finish already, I usually use Meguire's. I have had excellent results with this. For something that's been washed with Tide, I would probably recommend this:

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Reply to
Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B

Go lightly with the power. Keep the thing moving. Its easy to burn the finish. I use whatever container at Wal-Mart is the prettiest.

Reply to
Paul

That little bit of Ajax clenser I used yesterday didn't last long, next time I go to the store I will buy two or three cans of Ajax, I like the way it works.I will also buy some Nu-Finish and Meguire's and try them both out. Nu-Finish has been in business since 1929.They must be doing something right. cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

Those polishing units can cause more trouble than they are worth.

I use the newer Ice formulation, BUT it is because all my cars are new. It is very easy to apply, shines them up,and apparently protects them..

Doesnt turn the rubber white either.

Reply to
hls

snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net wrote in news:16598-4AB7DA6C-7@storefull-

3171.bay.webtv.net:

I recently used Meguiar's (note the spelling!) "Deep Crystal" 3-step process in conjunction with an orbital buffer.

Results were superb. /Very/ satisfactory.

But I found that the final carnauba wax step (Step 3) was best done by hand for maximum deposition.

My 18 year-old black paint came up like I haven't seen it in a long time. The only problem was that now you could easily see all the touchups and other flaws the paint had suffered over almost two decades.

I also did the wife's ten year-old Tercel, which is a bright red (3E5, for anyone interested) that was beginning to turn pink on the upper surfaces. The paint came up brilliantly red, almost like the day we bought it. You might say I unpinked her ride! :^D

Reply to
Tegger

I spent most of this Summer enclosing my old tandem axels trailer with

2'' by 4'' studs and pressure treated plywood and Ondura roofing.
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My 1914 Ford Model T Runabout Roadster is inside of my old trailer. Years ago, I polished my Ford Model T with Dupont Number 7 Polishing Compound.The black paint on my car looks just like looking into a mirror.I did all of that polishing the slow way, by hand. cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

Great Stuff.

They have a series of professional products, using numbers.

#1 is for old paint, IIRC, #3 is "New Car Glaze" I used on a new Honda back in 1988, and it still looked new when we traded it in '99. #26 is a pure wax, 'yellow' IIRC, but the Deep Crystal works just was well.

Funny thing was, I had never heard of it until 1987, when I went from Mass. to Toronto for the Molson CART Grand Prix, and I saw the display of PPG Pace Cars and asked them what they used.

Reply to
Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B

I haven't waxed my Scion since I bought it:

Contact Us at 1.800.227.5536 Simoniz System 5

Science, Security and Teflon® Technology Simoniz has been a leader in car care technology since 1911. Today we offer, through authorized automobile dealerships, an exclusive paint protection process that contains Teflon, called Simoniz System5. Simoniz System5 is the only paint protection system in the USA and Canada that is fortified with Teflon. This process is so effective that our warranty protects your vehicle's painted surfaceand resale value for 5 years unlimited mileage. Moreover, it is insured by one of the premier insurers in the United States.

I used to work for a Toyota dealer and we were charging $325 to wax a car with Simonize (the new owners upped it to $525, just because they could). Wash with a special wash that removes EVERYTHING and then wax with the Teflon.

Took about a half a bottle. We would dump the rest in a bigger bottle. I have something like 14 kits in my garage. I washed the car when I bought it, then go over it every year with another coat of Simonize. Definitely worth it for free!

The advantage is, NOTHING sticks to it! Really!

Reply to
Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B

snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@storefull-3171.bay.webtv.net:

Keep away from edges with that and do them manually.

Barry's (Mcguires). If you've ever seen the guy you *know* he's not capable of deception at anything. So it's got to be good stuff. My dad used to swear by turtle wax before that.

Reply to
fred

Maybe I will try some Simoniz system 5 with teflon.I like the ide of nothing, including tree sap, sticking to it.What is the special wash? cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

Does this one turn chalk white on the car, rubber,etc? I have used some of those, and they are hard to polish off, but dont seem to last and to protect any better than anything else.

Both of our cars have the custom pearlescent paint. It is beautiful stuff, but I park a hundred yards across the parking lots so some fat heifer in a pickup truck wont bash dents into my doors. Paint repairs on this sort of paint are expensive.

Reply to
hls

It's $70 on eBay!!!! You can't buy it retail. It's sold as a package with a new car, and costs from $275 to $600. Obviously a bit of dealer profit there.

It is guaranteed for 5 years for a new car finish (that is, if you use it on a new car, you get 5 years 'insurance'.) If anything goes wrong with the paint that the Simonize should have stopped, they repaint the section damaged free.

For something you're describing, not good. Unless you have pristine paint or are going to repaint the thing.

You can get DuPont Teflon car wax for $3 at the "Odd Lot" stores. Need to apply it more ofetn, but works almost as well.

Reply to
Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B

So fqar, NOTHING has stuck to it.

I apply it to the car by hand and then (as recommended by Simoniz) remove it with a buffer. I think the heat helps it bond better. Since I have a pile of it I use it once a year. I even do the glass (except the w/s, of course) and since I have a Scion tC, the roof is all glass. When I buff the car, I do a large section, and then turn the buffer on two pieces of glass, transferring the materil to the glass. Works so far!

The Teflon waxes are good, too. I use that once in between applications.

What kind of paint/color are they? Did you have the cars painted, or Factory pearl?

Reply to
Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B

snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@storefull-3172.bay.webtv.net:

Just a suggestion to use a rag dipped in turpentine *only* if you *know* that it isn't simple oil based paint. Something I really can't see if it's original paint.

Reply to
fred

For our van, I use Turtle Wax (or whatever's been cheap lately) on the sides.

To get the roof, I squirt "wet or dry" instant wax, finishing via the repetitive whap method with a large, old bath towel -- which is pretty much how I washed it, actually, after a good blast with the hose. Out of sight (except maybe for basketball players and truckers), out of mind. No sense falling off a ladder and into the hospital by being obsessive compulsive about the appearance of a seldom seen part of the vehicle.

In another recent thread you mentioned that at least one of your vans seemed to have been stained by local plant life. That makes me think you need a deep cleaning wax with which to find out whether your worries about actually staining down into the paint have come true. If you're talking about your older van, and the paint is original, I'm betting that it's an acrylic enamel, and certainly is not a "two stage" or "clearcoat" paint job like your newer van has.

The two have relative advantages and disadvantages; and there was a span of years when some manufacturers seemed to forget how to make clearcoat (or sometimes even the base coat) stick to metal. A good clearcoat paint job is very durable against plant and bird products and so forth -- just be sure you don't introduce a lot of fine swirlies that really stand out in the sunshine by using too harsh a chemical.

When using an aggressive chemical or tool (or both), or doing much of anything on a problem paint job, start with an inconspicuous location and see how it goes.

Cheers,

--Joe

Reply to
Ad absurdum per aspera

I have some old metal trailer steps I stand on when I wash the tops of my van.I also have a Brevetatto Turbo Jet (made in Italy) plastic device which has a rotating brush that I use, the device attatches to my garden hose.Some places on my vans, I have to use a rag and a soft green scouring pad, the green pad does not scratch the paint.

I think I might as well wait untill all of the tree sap has stoppped falling and then wash my vans really good and wax them. cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

Not sure exactly which components are in the 3 step you used. I've had very good results with the Meguiar's Professional Glaze #7 followed by Wax #26. A bit more expensive than their other lines, but certainly seem to be worth the extra cost.

Reply to
Pete C.

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