washing and waxing

[eddy]

I have been using armour -all car wash and mothers paste wax/cleaner and the yaris looks new well I have only had the yaris since july 18 but have washed it AND waxed it a lot. have used these products on all my cars

[Kaotic Lazagna]

That's cool. I'd recommend Meguiar's Gold Class wash. You also don't need to wax your car every time you wash it tho.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Here are some tips for washing your car (this is what I do).

When washing your car, wash from the top down, meaning start with the roof, rear and front windows, trunk, and hood. Then work on the sides, rear bumper, and finish with the front bumper. At the same time, wash panel by panel, not everything at once. In between each panel, clean off the wash mitt, which should be long hair/strands, not short. Long hair/strand wash mitt because it disperses the dirt so you're not wiping it across your paint, scratching the finish. Panel by panel to let yourself wash off the mitt, and to prevent the soap from drying. Also, in between each panel, I rinse the entire car (from the washed areas to the dirty areas) to prevent water spots.

Now, washing technique. Most people use circular/swirl motions when soaping their cars. Bad move. This will create that "web effect" as seen with the circular fine scratches. Instead, use linear strokes. This will prevent those "webs". I've been asked if I repainted my car since the person did not see the webs. hahaha.

For drying, do not use a rag or something similar. I use the Absorber. Any detailer approved chamois should suffice tho. I also dry in a linear stroke. If you notice any black marks on your chamois, try not to use that area anymore since it is dirt. You wouldn't want to scrape that across your paint.

Other tips:

1. Wash your car early in the morning before the sun is up in full. Over here in the States, 6-7 am is a good time.
2. When waxing, wax in a cool, shaded area. I wax sections at a time, i.e. roof, trunk, hood, half of the side, the next half, etc. That means, applying the wax to the section, wait until it dries up, then buff off.
3. Use quality, name brand products. I recommend Meguiar's and Mother's products. For the car wash soap, I recommend Meguiar's Gold Class Wash. It provides a really nice clean, and a very shiny reflection while bringing out the vibrance of the paint color. I have not seen any polish at my local stores, but once I see Meguiar's Deep Crystal Polish, I'll be getting it. Again, polish is for more vibrance/shine/gloss look. For wax, I recommend, liquid Mother's California Gold carnauba wax. I like the finish it produces, and is pretty easy to use. I do not like spray on or paste wax. The finish when I used them on my friends' cars (that's what they had), I didn't like the finish nor its ease of use (the lack of). For clay bars, go with either Mother's or Meguiar's and use their detailer spray, respectively. Do not use plain water when clay barring your car. When you do clay bar, make sure you also wax after.

[eddy]

I maybe nuts but not crazy!!! no I do not wax it every time. only once a month and not the whole car every time

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Oh, hahaha. My bad.

[counterfiend]

Its completely alright to wax in direct sunlight. Its the temperature of the paint that effects how fast it drys or how hard it is to take off. Often in the cooler months you want to put the car out in some sunlight to warm the paint up, so that the wax dries completely and a bit faster.
And wax wise, all the OTC stuff is good for short periods of times. In Texas none of them last more then a month, have to hunt down some stuff that lasts longer in the Texas heat. Megs #16 or Colanite both last amazingly long, even in Texas about 5-6 months depending on how you wash the car and if you garage it or sits in the elements all day.

If your not worried about it being a show car, then just use what your comfortable with. Just make sure you always use clean towels, and sponges or whatever you decide to use.

If your more worried about paint swirls and what not then you could go even farther. You can do whats called the 2 bucket method. Or the 2 bucket method with Grit Guard
Bucket #1 Soapy water
Bucket #2 Clean water w/ grit guard in the bottom.
You get the soapy water from bucket #1, wash the area you want to wash, then you scrub the sponge or whatever against the grit guard in the bottom of bucket #2, ringing it out to get the clean water out, then back to bucket #1.
This will greatly reduce the amount of contaminants that you carry over on the sponge.
And for soap, a good rule to go by, 1oz of soap per gallon of water at least.
The soap is there as a lubricant and a cleaner.

[tomato]

I like the 2 buckets idea! What's Grit Guard?

[counterfiend]

http://www.gritgaurd.com/

it basically goes in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket (like from home depot)
it has slats that go to the bottom (about 2" tall total) and it lets the dirt fall through to the bottom, and the slats that go all the way down keep it from recirculating back up onto the mit.

[tomato]

I'll check it out, thanks!

:thumbsup:

[RevoluScion]

have you tried smartwax products?

[tomato]

Oh, I just got it...

RevoluScion, are you advertising? Beware that this forum doesn't like unauthorized advertising. You're new, so I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt, but now you know, so, careful, there!

[RevoluScion]

^not advertising just asking....my club uses it so i want to see if you've used it before cuz i use the wash and honestly it doesn't leave like the dry spots you know.... o well i guess i wont comment.

[tomato]

^ I understand. It's just that you posted 6 or 7 posts about "smartwax" so I was wondering :)

No problem, Enjoy the forum :smile:

[severous01]

strip wax and stuff off with dawn or other detergent

clean thoroughly, with detergent....clean again to make sure

dry with chami or 'sham-wow' lol....any way

wax with eagle one nano-wax.







2 weeks later wash with nano-wax wash, and if it's still a little off i spray nano-wax instant wax....and it's clear that it's clean. putting anything on the hood or roof and it'll slide right off.

[YarisSedan]

Just so you know most waxes contain a mild cleaner abrasive unless it is a pure carnuaba wax. So it is possible to overwax your car.

[counterfiend]

It is possible to over wax a car yes. But depending on how you clean your car regularly, and the environment you keep your car in, it could be necessary to wax a car every few weeks or every month.
Example: You give your car one good wash every month, but take your car through a touchless car wash once a week. Touchless car wash's use harsh chemicals to get the grime off, since they dont touch your car, stripping more wax off then a normal wash would.
Example: Harsh road conditions, Winter weather, salty roads. Break down wax quicker then not as harsh winters and roads that dont need to be salted.
Example: Super hot summers. Living in Texas, most over the counter wax's last anywhere from 3 weeks - 2 months. thats WITH proper washing and care.

All this stuff changes if the car is garaged, how you wash the car, so on so forth.
If you take care of your car, use the right products and dont use harsh chemicals on the paint unless you choose to, yes, you can over wax your car by doing it that way. But for most people its ok to use the Spray wax between wax's. That spray wax lasts about a week anyway.


BTW, Tomato, get the grit guard yet? Will save your life.

[carmine]

yall should use ICE by turtle wax its pretty much amazing

[DandiDani]

i do use it and i love it:clap:. we have to buy the spray about every four weeks bcuz my husband uses it so much.:laugh:

[Lafiro]

SO I washed my car for the second time in two days, but today is because its my first time ever waxing the car. My 07 Yaris was just painted over maybe a month and a half ago? Maybe two? So I thought its time to keep it fresh and clean unlike before( three years + of not a single wax!!)

Well, my god what a difference when I waxed it. I used Meguiar's Deep Crystal Carnauba Wax, and applied it to sections of the car with a soft applicator, and let it sit for maybe 10-15minutes and started to take it off with a nice cloth.

I was like WOW to how SMOOTH the surface is now. I mean I can touch anything and my hands just slides on the car. I use a cloth on the car and it seems to slide like nothing!

Anyway... so its nice, its not really shinny like some people have stated with their products, but this did the job, and it did it well.

Maybe someone can tell me a wax that will bring out the color more, or just make it more shinny? I was at the store, and I was holding this $20 box of wax, dont know what it had inside other then a bottle, and it was something NX ice I dont know, then I saw the $8.49 bottle of Meguiar's carnauba wax and I was sold. Maybe this was the wrong decision? Or was I good on my part this time?

maybe someone could also tell me if its bad to wax the car about 2-5 times before it snows, maybe once a week, just to make sure the salt from this pot hole and bump ridden city doesn't damage this car anymore.

THANKS!!
(edit, I remember my friend at a detailing shop used a "special formula" which he wouldnt share nor give me/anyone, and any time you passed your finger on his Porshe, it felt like it was repelling you, it was that smooth. I wonder how he accomplished this? Maybe mixing together different brands of wax? Letting it sit ont he car longer? Applying a ton of it?)

[vboy127]

I really like Meguiars wax. They're the better waxes that you can get off the shelf imo. I've heard good things about Zymol and mothers as well. I use Meguiars NXT as a sealant coat. Brings a good, reflective, "glass like" shine to the paint. However, If you want the "deeper" shine in your paint, I suggest sealing with something like the NXT, then apply a second coat with good carnauba wax (I use S100, love their products!) Oh, and if you have a black car, use Meguiars Gold Class instead of the NXT, I've had better results with it on my Nighthawk Black Pearl Civic. :smile:

[YarisSedan]

If you want something ot bring out the color try gold class or nxt depending. If you have a black or red car use gold class any other color use nxt.

[Lafiro]

I have the Pacific Blue Metallic. Alright, too bad the leaves are falling and the ran got to the car this morning, right after I did this. But I will take a picture.

So its a good idea then to wax the car with the NXT 2.0 stuff? And then use the Carnauba wax I got?

Thanks for the responses.

[db662]

I've usually had dark cars all my life and now the Yaris is pretty dark too (Carmine Red). I've used Malco, Tops All, Meguires, and Turtle Ice all with amazing results. Turtle Ice is good to use as the last step because it will remove any of the powedery residue from some of the other polishes/waxes.

[vboy127]

I have the Pacific Blue Metallic. Alright, too bad the leaves are falling and the ran got to the car this morning, right after I did this. But I will take a picture.

So its a good idea then to wax the car with the NXT 2.0 stuff? And then use the Carnauba wax I got?

Thanks for the responses.

Pacific Blue Metallic is a pretty light color. I would go with the NXT. Um, i don't know how much Carnauba is actually in the Megs deep crystal, but if it's a high percentage then it will look good over the NXT coat. The reason you apply the NXT first is because it is better at sealing the paint, plus it will last a good amount of time (over a month give or take) as a opposed to only a pure carnauba wax which looks good with a "deeper" shine, but lasts only about 3 weeks or less. Thats why you use both. You get the longer protection of a sealant with the deep shine of carnauba. :thumbsup: If theres any way you can attain it locally, I recommed S100 pure carnauba wax. Its originally made for motorcycles, but works just as well on cars... and goodness does it work well! :biggrin:

Oh and one more thing. When applying multiple coats of wax, it's good to let the first coat cure completely (in the case of Megs NXT, it's 24 hours) then apply your second coat.

[Lafiro]

Sounds good, thanks, I will get a bottle of the NXT, and I will look for the S100 carnauba wax. I will Apply the NXT then the carnauba wax a few times in a weeks span(assuming it isnt raining)

But I will assume that I will have to washthe car before each time, concidering I do drive it every day, I cant just let it sit in the garage for 24hours and reapply another coat, I wish I could do that.

[tomato]

^ definitely wash the car before you apply another coat of wax, otherwise, you'll scratch your new paint by rubbing stuff into the paint when you apply wax and buff it off, but use something very gentle to wash the car, like Meguiar's car shampoo.

[vboy127]

^ definitely wash the car before you apply another coat of wax, otherwise, you'll scratch your new paint by rubbing stuff into the paint when you apply wax and buff it off, but use something very gentle to wash the car, like Meguiar's car shampoo.

^^^^^^
What he said. Megs Gold Class car wash here. :smile: Using a proper car wash soap does wonders. It won't eat away at your previous waxes and it has lubricants that allow dirt and whatnot to be wiped off without scratching the clearcoat. May I add that the two bucket method with a microfiber or sheepskin wash mitt will even further prevent damage to your paint. :)

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/autogeek_2080_52630437

[Lafiro]

I use some car wash with carnauba wax in it, supposedly. It smells alright too LOL, and thats the exact wash mit I have, except a darker blue!

So I will wash the car, apply, NXT, wait 24 hours, wash the car again, and apply my Maguiar's wax, wait 24hours or a week, washe again, and apply the wax again.

Soung good? Or can I skip washing the car between the NXT and the first coating of wax assuming the car isnt taken out from the garage during those 24 hours?

[vboy127]

I use some car wash with carnauba wax in it, supposedly. It smells alright too LOL, and thats the exact wash mit I have, except a darker blue!

So I will wash the car, apply, NXT, wait 24 hours, wash the car again, and apply my Maguiar's wax, wait 24hours or a week, washe again, and apply the wax again.

Soung good? Or can I skip washing the car between the NXT and the first coating of wax assuming the car isnt taken out from the garage during those 24 hours?


Wait, you've got 3 coats of wax. The NXT counts as one of the coats.
So:
Wash car>Dry>Apply Megs NXT>Allow Nxt to cure for at least 24 hours>Depending how dirty your car got within those 24 hours you can either wash your car again OR just clean it up real quick with some quick detailing spray and a microfiber cloth. If the car was just sitting in the garage for the 24 hrs, just go to the next step or dust quickly with a microfiber cloth. > Apply Carnauba wax. And youre done. :smile:

[Lafiro]

Only washed and did the wax two days ago. Alright your idea sounds perfect. I will wait a few days because of all this rain from Ida, its on and off here very light, but by no means any condition to be making the car look nice. My goal isnt just to make it look good/feel silky smooth, but to protect it all I can from salt and crap during this upcoming winter. Of coarse I will be waxing it during the winter just not that often, atleast I do have a spot at my dads other place, indoor garage hooked up to hot and cold inside, so I can wash the car with warm water during the winter. It rocks! (big building so the water never ever runs out)

Oh, can I wax my rims? I notice the paint is slowly now fading/missing from rock hits. And stupid me left them on all winter last year, causing my to spin out a few times, once causing light damage to the undercarriage. Bad idea as the color never looked the same on them again (black)

[vboy127]

Only washed and did the wax two days ago. Alright your idea sounds perfect. I will wait a few days because of all this rain from Ida, its on and off here very light, but by no means any condition to be making the car look nice. My goal isnt just to make it look good/feel silky smooth, but to protect it all I can from salt and crap during this upcoming winter. Of coarse I will be waxing it during the winter just not that often, atleast I do have a spot at my dads other place, indoor garage hooked up to hot and cold inside, so I can wash the car with warm water during the winter. It rocks! (big building so the water never ever runs out)

Oh, can I wax my rims? I notice the paint is slowly now fading/missing from rock hits. And stupid me left them on all winter last year, causing my to spin out a few times, once causing light damage to the undercarriage. Bad idea as the color never looked the same on them again (black)

Thats a really good idea. Winter prep is crucial, especially in places with a decent amount of snow, meaning road salt! :thumbdown: The winters out here in Utah can get pretty crazy so it's good to keep the paint protected. :biggrin: Thats awesome with how you can wash your car at your dad's place. I don't really get too many chances to wash my car during the winter. lol, but when the sun does come out and the temps warm up a tad, I grasp the opportunity! :tongue: But, it's all good, cuz when Spring-time comes around I give my car a full basic detail. :thumbsup: Get her all spiffyed up for the warm season. :wub:

Huh, what kinda wheels are they? Normally a decent quality wheel shouldn't fade that easily through one winter. Nonetheless, yes, you can wax your wheels, it will provide some protection to an extent. OR, you could repaint those suckers. lol

[Lafiro]

lol, yeah, the wheels I got 3+years ago, are ADR Model Flite 4. 17"

I believe they are nice, but they are heavy :( I should weight them. I will when I take them off and compare them to the stock wheel. Then I will compare MPG.

[vboy127]

lol, yeah, the wheels I got 3+years ago, are ADR Model Flite 4. 17"

I believe they are nice, but they are heavy :( I should weight them. I will when I take them off and compare them to the stock wheel. Then I will compare MPG.

Go with some light weight 14s with some 175 tires, THEN compare the gas mileage with the 17s. lol :tongue:

[Lafiro]

Ok so today I did the NXT 2.0 on my dads car and mine. Both came out shinny, his a bit more then mine.

But neither came out smooth to the touch(silky that is).

Maybe its because this is only meant to be a protector/shinny product that reflects water good? And usualy those are never smooth to the touch?

Is that ok, or did they mess up and come out bad because it was a VERY humid day?

Please let me know before I do the Carnauba wax, if I have to wax is again with the NXT.

Thanks!

[vboy127]

Ok so today I did the NXT 2.0 on my dads car and mine. Both came out shinny, his a bit more then mine.

But neither came out smooth to the touch(silky that is).

Maybe its because this is only meant to be a protector/shinny product that reflects water good? And usualy those are never smooth to the touch?

Is that ok, or did they mess up and come out bad because it was a VERY humid day?

Please let me know before I do the Carnauba wax, if I have to wax is again with the NXT.

Thanks!


hmm, when was the last time you clay-barred your car?

[why?]

Man, y'all put way too much effort into this. I respect that, I just couldn't do it. My car is 3 year old, and the number of times I've washed it is in the single digits. And yet it still looks good. Just not my thing.

[Lafiro]

When I said smooth, I meant like a milky feeling, not only smooth. And I have never clay barred the car. I didnt see a reason to do so right now as the paint is fresh on both cars, about a month or two most.

I tried the NXT on my laptop, and it did not make the surface milky as I thought(meaning the fingers easily move on it and not stick) But it did come out VERY shinny lol.

I will look at the car in the sun shortly and I will determine how it looks/take a picture or two, and if all is good, Im wiping it down, and then using the meguiar's carnauba wax.

[Lafiro]

Ok, I did the Carnauba Wax today on top of the NXT, and it looks nice, and feels nice too. Not as slikly as just the carnauba I did the first time a week ago, but definitely great.

I really liked how the water just came right off the car when I took a hose with warm water to the car today before wiping it down.

Now with the other wax, it should stay good for a while. Maybe next week I will wash and wax my car again!, but for now, its too much work to keep doing this all back to back.

[vboy127]

Ok, I did the Carnauba Wax today on top of the NXT, and it looks nice, and feels nice too. Not as slikly as just the carnauba I did the first time a week ago, but definitely great.

I really liked how the water just came right off the car when I took a hose with warm water to the car today before wiping it down.

Now with the other wax, it should stay good for a while. Maybe next week I will wash and wax my car again!, but for now, its too much work to keep doing this all back to back.

:thumbup: hmm, i'm wondering why it isn't as smooth tho, nonetheless, the NXT will act as a good sealant for a long while. Water beading on the paint surface means you've got a good coat of wax on there. :biggrin: lol, a 3rd coat? thats just added protection, but a bit overkill imo. haha. Ahhh, i wanna wash and wax my car, but stinkin Utah weather... 30-40 degree weather FTL!

[Damo]

^ It could go the other way , though!

Here in Perth, Western Australia, its been hovering around 35 celsius for over 2 months now and we havent seen rain in over 75 days!

[Steve L.]

Ice is what I used. It is the best and easy wax polish I have ever used. You can use it in the sun or the shade. It is great!

[Reebirt]

I am the owner of a new black 2010 5 door HB Yaris. I am not sure what to use to keep it looking new. I've heard rumor of car polish specifically for black paint. I cannot seem to find anything of the sort.
I hope someone knows of some magic product that will repel dust, and rain drop markings.
Also, has anyone else thought the hood deflector was a brilliant idea until it came time for a wash and dry? Am I supposed to take it off every time?