Waxing the Yaris?

[DARK505]

On the other hand, if you were to use a rotary polisher and you are inexperienced, then you might damage the clearcoat if you are not vigilant with the amount of pressure applied to the surface and also the speed at which it is operating.

Well i guess i can see where i am mistaken. bigsky2, thank you for the well explained post and not insulting me for being mistaken (ive seen it happen many times on other forums).

It will be Meguiar's Gold Class Shampoo

Im not familiar with that one, but i will look into it. I still will most likely use Zanio tho, because of the great jobs ive seen after using it.
Here are a couple pics of my buddys MSP after being Zanio'd:

Now if I could only do something about the seagulls ..........................

Covered parking...?

[ricko]

Covered parking (a garage) means a huge jump in housing costs here in resort-land. I was thinking more along the lines of a pet owl.

[DARK505]

HAHA, owls would be a perfect addition to ward off the seagull prob... but what to do about the owl droppings... hmm maybe an ocelot would help with the owl prob

[bigsky2]

DARK505:

No problem! I once was also skeptical of polishers and the potential damage it could inflict on paint. I saw first hand what a rotary polisher and orbital polisher could do if used properly and the results were amazing.

I also saw the possible damage you can cause to the paint by using a rotary polisher without any experience.

It's best to stick within one "family" of detailing products because each brand has its own chemical formulas that tested across several applications. That's why you see a lot of detailers and detailing products suggesting that you use Product X, then Product Y, then Product Z from Manufacturer ABC.

Obviously it's not set in stone, because I mix different brands depending on the application.

For something mild like shampoo for the car, I think we can use any brand that's available to us at a good price.

[bigsky2]

Update

I applied the the wax (Meguiar's Gold Class Liquid Wax, consumer line) to my Yaris with a 10" random orbital polisher last weekend.

Results?
VERY BEAUTIFUL.

Meguiar's Gold Class wax applied very easily using the polisher and also by hand, and it dried in about 10 minutes. I changed bonnets and the removal/buffing of the wax was extremely easy (and pleasing). The wax came off very easily and left no streaks at all. It revealed a highly glossy and polished shine and it felt so smooth to the touch. I threw a clean towel on the car and it slipped off!

I didn't get a chance to take pictures of the process because I had my hands tied.

My recommendations for waxing, some based on common suggestions:

- Do it in an enclosed environment so as to prevent any dust and debris settling on the coat of wax as you are applying it (ie. Underground parking area, garage, somewhere covered)
- Do not apply wax in a hot or wet environment, avoid direct sunlight
- Make sure your car is washed, cleaned, and dried
---> Washed: All dirt and debris is removed via car wash/shampoo and water
---> Cleaned: All contaminants, oxidation, and other surface irritants removed (ie. use a clay bar or other detailer products to get rid of these things)
---> Dried: Dry it with a lint free towel or cloth (terry or microfibre)

- Give yourself plenty of time to do all of the above!
- Use an orbital or PC if you can, it will make your job a lot easier
- Hand apply/remove wax in areas the machine polisher cannot reach
- Allow the wax to dry to a haze, and perform a swipe test to determine if it's ready to remove
---> Swipe Test: Take a clean finger, and swipe it across the surface of the car. If your finger leaves residue or streaks, then the wax is not ready to be removed. If the surface is clean after you swiped it, then it's ready to be removed.

In terms of the types of bonnets to use, I used the following:

- Applying wax: Vinyl-lined wax applicator (the backside of the bonnet is vinyl lined so that the wax does not soak through the bonnet, thus allowing the bonnet to apply wax appropriately to the surface of the car)
- Removing wax/Buffing: Foam wax remove bonnet**

** You can also use a terry cloth or microfibre polishing bonnet to remove wax/buff, but a foam remover works just as well

For those spots you had to do by hand, remove the wax using a terry or microfibre cloth.

And finally.. How to test if your car needs to be waxed?

The Squeak Test!
---> On a clean and dry surface, take a clean towel and ball it up so that you can put your fist around the towel and rub it firmly along the surface of the car in a circular motion. If you hear the towel squeaking against the surface AND OR if there is any friction as you move the towel, then that means there is no wax on the surface. Since wax increases slip and decreases friction, the presence of friction indicates that there is little or no wax on the surface.

Hope this helps anyone who hasn't waxed a car before, as this was my first time and I received lots of help from experienced friends and the detailing gurus at Meguiar's online.

[ricko]

I'd be careful about choosing any underground parking as a place to wax. Most of the ones I've experienced have had a higher dust content in the air, than outdoors. Unless of course, you live near a construction site.

[bigsky2]

Originally Posted by ricko

I'd be careful about choosing any underground parking as a place to wax. Most of the ones I've experienced have had a higher dust content in the air, than outdoors. Unless of course, you live near a construction site.

The underground parking lot I used to do all the work was very clean and I didnt notice a whole lot of dust; the building is 3 months old as it just finished completion.

It also depends on the human/auto traffic through the particular parking lot, as the one I used was a two floors down and there were not that many cars or people walking/passing by to kick up the dust that was there.

[505zoom]

Good info here fellas... figured I'd say howdy to you toyota folks and give a couple of my reccomendations on this one.

First, only polish a new car if there is good reason. If there are any swirls from the original dealership cleanup (mine had minor swirling on the roof and hood), I reccomend a VERY mild polish/compound like PoorBoy's SSR1. To prep the paint, Dawn dish soap is aggresive enough to strip most contaminates (and any crap that the dealer might have put on there), without harming the clear. A clay bar will take care of anything else that the dawn leaves behind, but with new paint you shouldn't even need to do much besides hit isolated areas.

Only use the dawn wash if you want to strip old waxes, polishes, or contaminates. DO NOT use dawn after you have your desired wax on the paint. Meguiars gold class was mentioned before and it is a good soap. Their NXT stuff is good too. Nothing makes the car SMELL better than Zaino wash though.

Always remember, polishing and waxing your car even with the best products is worthless if you don't prep the paint well. You want it to be as clean and spot free as possible before you seal it up.

Circular *rotary* (i.e. cheap pepboys or autozone machine) buffing is bad on fresh paint... most cars have ample curing time when they come from Japan, but it is a good rule of thumb to wait a month from the time the car was sprayed before using anything but hand power. Check the manufacture date on the sticker (drivers door frame) if you want to be sure.

Porter Cable is by far the best bang for the buck when it comes to GOOD machines at a reasonable cost. Lowes has the PC7424 for between 100-109 dollars, and you can find them online for about the same price after shipping. The key is to use high quality pads, and I highly suggest checking out http://www.exceldetail.com for the best pads and backing plates.

Zaino Bros is a synthetic, non traditional style formula, and it absolutely destroys every other product I have ever tried. Klasse All-In-One, FourStar Ultimate Paint Protection and Wolfgang Deep Gloss Sealant is highly reccomended by my detailing guru and is the only other combo I would try at this point.

Anyways, hope this helps some of you, and good luck keeping your new toys fresh and shiney. The folks over at www.autopia.org have more good info about the different products and techniques than anyone else on the web, so check them out if you are serious about taking care of your car.

[505zoom]

^

Beautiful color there.

[YotaYarisUSA]

I just got some the new turtle wax Ice stuff,it seems like pretty awesome stuff! The guys at Advanced Auto parts,say its been selling like crazy,and that ppl are raving about how great it works. Its suppose to,a quick and easier way to polish wax your car,no white junk and you can put on metal, plastic,etc and you can use it in the sun,when the car is hot and it works just as good,so says the bottle.Plus,it comes with a mircofiber towel and a polish applicator.

My dealer called and my car is here,and I pick her up tommorrow:) I looked on the turtle wax website,and it says that you should check the date of when the car was made,and if its 30 days past that,you are safe to wax and polish the car. I'm thinking that its been more than 30days, they made it in japan and sent over on the boat, I hope so want to keep this little ride looking sweet!


Later,guys I will post pictures just as soon as I ICE MY Yaris!

Anyone else, use ICE?




YotaYarisUSA

[mikeukrainetz]

I havent yet seen anyone mention Mothers. I have used most of Mothers products for years with incredible results but with incredible amounts of elbow grease. This is where everyone turns to the spray on, no touch, instant synthetic formulas to get out of doing some work. I wont lie, it'll take one long afternoon to polish up a ride but believe me it'll shine.

[505zoom]

Originally Posted by YotaYarisUSA

...I'm thinking that its been more than 30days, they made it in japan and sent over on the boat...

Check the sticker and make sure... better safe than sorry.

I have only heard good things about turtle wax ice, it seems kind of like zaino since it leaves no white residue on plastics and will make just about any material shine. I haven't tried ice yet though, so I don't know how it truely compares.

Originally Posted by mikeukrainetz

I havent yet seen anyone mention Mothers. I have used most of Mothers products for years with incredible results but with incredible amounts of elbow grease. This is where everyone turns to the spray on, no touch, instant synthetic formulas to get out of doing some work. I wont lie, it'll take one long afternoon to polish up a ride but believe me it'll shine.

I used Mother's and Meguiar's stuff for years on other cars, they never seemed to last very long, and adding more than a couple coats was a waste of time because the shine wouldn't get any better. You should really try a synthetic (not all are spray-on) just once if you still take the time to use a traditional wax properly. With the ZFX accelerator in the Zaino kits, you can layer up to 3 coats in one day and get crazy results. It still takes all day to do it right, but if you have good paint and proper setup, the difference compared to traditional is night and day. If you switch to any of the higher end synthetics you can keep making it shine more with every coat. Your arm and shoulder will thank you too, haha.

Here is my car with a bare clean (dawn+clay) surface:



And here is the same shot, same day, after only 2 coats:



3 coats:



Here is 12 coats on my engine cover:



Jetta with 20 coats... yes, 20:

[DARK505]

Damn rich you never showed me that jetta pic before... That thing looks like he chromed his car with black chrome or something...
I saw your MSP before you Zanio'd it and after you put the, what, 9 or 10 coats on? Woah that makes a world of difference!! You should get another 10 on her so your MSP can bling like that Jetta! lol

By the way, the paint on 505zoom's MSP is the exact same or at very minimum close to identical to the Black sand pearl for the yaris. He was with me when i went in to the dealership to put my down payment in and saw a black sand pearl yaris sedan in the lot.

[silverRS]

the ice is good I bought some, real nice shine

[wwwh355]

Originally Posted by DARK505

HAHA, owls would be a perfect addition to ward off the seagull prob... but what to do about the owl droppings... hmm maybe an ocelot would help with the owl prob

I guess, SAM will help.

[Yaris Dick]

Excuse me... but I have to laugh. I must. Sorry.

I'm laughing because I can remember the days when I was so anal about my cars that I used to set alarms to remind me to wash and wax them on the weekends. In the early 80's I used to wash my cars twice a week and wax them once a month... religiously.

Then the first kid was born. Then I washed them every other week and waxed them every 3 months.

Then the second kid was born. Then I washed them when I had enough energy. I paid some dude to wax them about once a year.

Then I turned 30. Then I laughed at my younger neighbors who didn't have kids and had too much time on their hands to be able to wash their cars once a week or more. I sort of envied them... well... not really.

Then I turned 40. My cars ocassionally see an automated brushless carwash about twice a year... if they're lucky. In between washes, I admire how clean they can become with a ride through a puddle or a drive through a seasonal downpour. The really funny thing is: I STILL get top dollar for my trades. I pay some dude to wash and wax them right before I sell them. Even after YEARS of neglect, the finish buffs out to perfection. It gives me a hard-on to think how much time and money I've saved by NOT being so anal about how my car looks.

Word.

[IsLNdbOi]

RainX on my windows (exterior only), TW ICE on the exterior metal parts, and Meguiar's Quick Interior Detailer for all the plastic / vinyl parts inside and out.

[tomjasz]

Originally Posted by Yaris Dick

Excuse me... but I have to laugh. I must. Sorry.



Then I turned 40. My cars ocassionally see an automated brushless carwash about twice a year... if they're lucky. In between washes, I admire how clean they can become with a ride through a puddle or a drive through a seasonal downpour. The really funny thing is: I STILL get top dollar for my trades. I pay some dude to wash and wax them right before I sell them. Even after YEARS of neglect, the finish buffs out to perfection. It gives me a hard-on to think how much time and money I've saved by NOT being so anal about how my car looks.

Word.

Very funny stuff! I'm chided at work and accused of selling my vehicles when it's time to wash and wax. I do give it 2 hours a month and am usually relieved once i've gotten the first ding.....it's just an f-ing car. (cheapest Toyota I could buy)