Maybe Im old fashioned...but I wax

[Titan]

Got my '06 last week and couldnt wait to get it cleaned up. Like many car enthusiast's it bothers me to have a dirty car ( and I live in a snow belt ) so Im always cleaning a little here and there. Every car I purchase has either never been waxed, or not waxed for a long time. I typically buy 3-5 year old lower mileage cars that look good...then make them look great, and much of it is just plain old cleaning and waxing.

I waxed my newest ride today and what a nervous wreck I was ( not really ). I could feel all the contaminants on the surface of the paint gripping and pulling at my application pad...OH NO! Well in any case itll get waxed every spring and fall and hand washed often. A little TLC makes my rides look like new for many, many years.

I attached a few fresh waxed pics and my GTO I just sold. Drove it 4 winters and still looked like new thanks to the 3M Paint Protection Film I applied. 3M is going on the Insight next week, itll be a long day.

[02insight]

I also wax sometimes, but am discouraged because I can never get that dealership new shine and gloss. Do you know the secret to that? Maybe its just harder to make a silver car shine... I think Red or Blue would be easier to bring out a brilliant gloss.

your headlights also look new and sparkly. I think sparkling headlights help the whole car look new.

[Titan]

This is the first lighter color car I have had in over 15 years. I typically buy dark colored cars just for the specific reason you listed...deep shine. The silver is easier to care for because it hides dirty very well. I spent 2 hours washing and waxing the Silver Insight, it would have been 6-8 hours for the GTO because I could see more details and depth that I need to take care of.

Everyone has their favorite waxes, I use Meguiar's Soap and then apply their Paste Wax with Carnuba. Be sure the wax is very dry before buffing off by HAND. No need to push hard, waxing and washing is amongst the harshest things your cars paint will encounter regularly.I am not a pro detailer and am not confident enough to use any kind of powered device to remove the wax...I have seen some cars get terribly damaged from these.

I have received a lot of great comments about how my cars look...helps when I park them next to someone who doesnt clean theirs LOL.

[Cobb]

You need to clay it to get the stuff off the surface.

I saw an episode of trucks where they did a 1500 grit wet sand on a new truck to get rid of the orange peel and it buffed to a mirror finish. If you got a porche dealer in your area, chances are you got a detail shop of this extent that will do that for 300 bucks. I am not too confident in my abilitys to take sandpaper to a nearly new car, yet.

[Jayemtee]

I'm with Cobb on this. This simple answer is clay. I have tons of car show experience, mostly Corvettes, and if you want that deep shine and baby's butt smoothness, you have to start at the bottom and work up. There are a number of good clays. Meguiars makes some, Mothers makes it too. Personally I like Zaino.

Most used cars will have several layers of wax. Someone will wash and wax the car, then it will build up with road contaminants and they will wash some of it off and wax over that. Pretty soon there will be layers of impure wax scratching and swirling the paint. Paint that was never smoothed down in the first place. Here's the fix.

Wash your car and scrub it good using Dawn liquid dish soap. This will clean the car, but more importantly, it will help remove all the wax and other stuff that has been added over years. Rinse thoroughly and you should be able to run your finger over the paint and it will be squeaky clean. Squeaky, because unsmoothness of your finger against the unsmoothness of the clear coat or paint grab each other. You might want to wash it twice.

Then it's time to clay. Follow the instructions. You'll need a spray bottle with water and a detail spray. This will be a lubricant. Then work a clean piece of clay into an oval or circle about 2-3 inches in diameter and less than a 1/4 inch thick. Spray an area about 18 inches square and start rubbing the clay in circular motion the wet area. You cant use too much spray but if you use too little the clay will stick and grab the paint. You don't need to press hard but the longer you work it, the more it will reward you in the end. Flip the clay often and work it into a ball then back into a disc several times as you do the car. If you ever drop the clay on the ground, throw it away and get a fresh piece because the clay is working on a microscopic level. Even if you drop it and pick the big pieces of dirt off, you'll never pick off microscopic pieces of dirt that will scratch the paint and create swirl marks. After you clay the car, wash it again, and then you will have a nice smooth surface to start putting your shine onto.

In my years and years of Corvette car shows, I've tried Meguiars, 3M, Johnson, Mothers, and many other clean & shine systems. All are good. The last 15 years I have used nothing but Zaino and I'm tickled pink with the system. I find it durable and easy to maintain. There's a lot of simple steps to get it started and once you get a shine on, it lasts and lasts and is easy to maintain whether it's a show car or daily driver. They have a very knowledgeable and friendly support staff too which is helpful with newbies. Waxes like Meguiars require heavy grunt work a couple of times a year which I don't like to do.

[Titan]

Originally Posted by Cobb

You need to clay it to get the stuff off the surface.

I saw an episode of trucks where they did a 1500 grit wet sand on a new truck to get rid of the orange peel and it buffed to a mirror finish. I am not too confident in my ability's to take sandpaper to a nearly new car, yet.

Yes I do have a clay kit, thats next on my list. I did not know some detailers used sandpaper on finished paint jobs! I have done some painting and I sand between coats, up to 1000 grit, but never over the finished product. Ill leave that to the experts then.

[TRI]

I agree on the Zaino vote. If you want a very-very long-lasting shine and minimal maintainance afterwards Zaino is the thing to use.
I went through most brands of wax, even the high-end ones like the ultra-expensive Swizoil but Zaino impressed me the most, very easy to use. The deepness of the color of Swizoil and the like is slightly better but only until you've washed it the first time.
For good Zaino results polish the car first - or let it polish. The rest is just applying one coat of Zaino every half a year and your car shines. Don't buy all of their stuff, you only need a bottle of their wash-soap, Z5, Z2 and Z6. Last several years. One coat needs about half an hour at most. Last 6 months or more, no joke.

I'm not related to this company. But try it and you'll see that 95% of the other stuff is not worth it's money.