OK, now that I have your attention, my paint job is approx 30 days old and I want to wax it. Everything I have ever driven is gray primer, so this is new to me. The market place is full of products. Do I want a rubbing compound first? Do you wash the car with more of a degreasing agent first? Do you use a paste wax or a liquid? My truck is not a show piece, but I would really like to make this thing shine. I used Omni two stage paint on it. 1964 Chevrolet Honduras Maroon and Cotillion White w/ maroon pinstripe flames.
Any help would be appreciated.

Madd,

Never had a fresh repaint to deal with, but everything I've owned in the last 10-15 yrs has been regularly waxed with Nu-Finish liquid. Never had any problems. I worked at Wal-mart as Automotive Dept Manager (Inside sales, we didn't have service bays), and got free samples of all the new waxes as they came out. Never found anything that worked as good, as easy. Zymol was the only thing close, but at 4x the price,(then) wasn't good enough. Just my .02

Don

Funny, I use that stuff on the family minivan and it does fine. Thanx for the intell. I guess I'm really wondering about the compound first or was that just back in the days of lacquer?

[ July 12, 2002: Message edited by: Madd Syntst ]</p>

Depends on how fine you want the surface. You can go from just a wax job to spending $1000 for a professional detailer. If you want a real show car, those guys are worth the money. I have never been able to come close to the finish they put out. Assuming you are like me and want to do it all your self, you can get a very good job with a lot of elbow grease. I assume your car is finished with a catalyzed clear coat. If not, stick with the wax only approach. The paint won't polish if it isn't catalyzed.

I finished my car by wet sanding it with 600, 1500 and 2000 grit paper. Sand in small areas and keep sanding until the dried area is totally matte, all specs of shiny are gone. Then I polish the finish by hand with 3M 06011 Imperial Microfinishing Compound - Liquid (it is tan in color and comes in a plain plastic quart bottle with a flip up squrt nozzle). Again work in small areas and keep polishing until it glows shiny. Then get a bottle of 3M 05990 Imperial Hand Glaze and rub it into the surface. It is a clay based liquid that fills in all the microscopic scratches left by the polish and is the secret key to a very good finish. At last you are ready for a good coat of carnuba wax. Mothers, McGuires, or any good brand will do. Stay away from the whoopty doo super quickie waxes. NOTHING is better at protecting the finish than carnuba.

Sounds like a lot of work but it is worth it. Will take a couple of weekends but will last the life of the paint job.

Every spring I quickly do the hand polish, seal, and wax steps as described above and then wax it every 3 months or so to maintain.

[ July 12, 2002: Message edited by: willys36@aol.com ]</p>

Madd, listen to willys, I back up all that info three times over

Faust

Good Deal. Willys, I knew it would take some effort, but thats OK, I don't mind. I'll have to find some of that super fine grit you were talking about. So this is a multi step process.
a) Sand to fine
b)Micro finish compound
c)Hand Glaze
d)CarNUba wax
Hey, there ain't nothin' on TV worth watching and I can't spend ALL my time on this web site. Once I start, I'll let you know. Thanx for the intell!

McGuires has a product called New Car Glaze that won't hurt new paint. Past that never use a wax that has the word silicone in the contents. It will go through the paint all the way to metal and cause premature failure. Use any good wax such as Turtle wax or Raindance. I prefer paste. I've been in Autobody Repair for over 36 years.

The Ultimate Paint Sealant Program has a product called Rod & Custom Show Gloss Creme. That is what I use on all my cars.

If I have just repainted or painted a car, I wait the period of time specified by the manufacturer of the paint. Then I wipe on Rod & Custom and it protects my paint. I reapply it as often as I want but you only have to reapply it about every 18-24 months. Its even got 86% uv block in it and it has no abrasives.

Its similar to Nu-Finish but I like Rod & Custom better.

Ditto the "heads up" on silicone. That is the ingredient I look for in car waxes and if it's there, I put it back on the shelf. Silicone does not belong anywhere near a car finish.

Vince

A glaze is different than a wax in that it is designed around filling and giving the paint a wet look. However, it is temporary and will dwindle away quickly. Waxing really isn't as expensive as detailers make it out, there are just a lot of unscupulous ones out there. As a detailer I would advise against NuFinish, TurtleWax, and the like. If yoiu're looking for a good wax by Meguiar's here are what detailers seem to like the best:

NXT- Actually a sealant, meaning it gives longer durability and has mild (very much so) cleaning and filling properties.

#26 High Tech - I prefer liquid since I can apply it with my PC 7427 during details but it also comes as a paste.

#16 Professional Paste Wax- Heavy wax, meaning it comes as a very hard block. Use it sparingly as a little goes a long way. Great durability and price and its also carnauba, best of the sealant/wax worlds.

A final note on durability of your last step products. Sealants will last you several months depending on your environment (acid rain, garage kept, etc.) and the vehicle's use. A Carnauba wax will get you 6-8 weeks at best. I find that on my personal vehicles the best arrangement is to 'layer' with a sealant and follow up with a carnauba wax to maximize shine, depth, and durability. Hope that helps

Thanks for the info norcal, I use the #26 High Tech on the car in my avatar. The paint is 2 yr old base/clear, I always figured the reason the wax would wear off so quickly was because of the car cover rubbing on it, but now I know, and will layer like you do on your personal vehicles. Do you mind if I ask what sealant you use?

Yeah, carnauba wax breaks down naturally pretty quickly, especially during these summer months with the extreme heat around here. I've got the sickness when it comes to different sealants so I can't really recommend a single one because I rotate all the time. Right now I'm a huge fan of a company out of NY called Poorboy's World with their EX-P and EX sealants. Unfortunately, brick and mortar stores that carry a good supply of detailing products is rare, although my local body shop supply carries pretty much the full Meg line. I'd recommend a good combination would be NXT topped with 26 or 16 if you want to go local. You can even put multiple layers of carnauba on for extra shine, but you need to wait around 24 hrs before applying the next layer. Just remember to wash prior : D

I use a paint sealant program and it lasts 18-24 months. As I mentioned previously, I use Rod & Custom Show Gloss Creme which is part of The Ultimate Paint Sealant Program. It gives a great shine and lasts a long time.

I'm sure Rod and Custom Show Gloss is a great product and gives you excellent results but I have never heard in the detailing world of a product that can last that long yet, The most durable product line around is Zaino, which applied properly has given people protection for most of the year.

On the show car circuit, the most used product is Mequiars #7,
I have found that Mequiars Speed Glaze is a better product, and that is what most of the top cars use. They may have changed the name of ot since I bought my last gallon. This product is for paint that is in very good condition.

The way I found out about speed glaze was at the Astro dome at Houston one year. My paint was just a few days old, I had put several coats of #7 on before leaving home, then on move in day I put a coat on and hand rubbed it. I thought it looked really good, A friend of mine that has a detail shop in Houston, and sets up several of the circuit cars came by and said why not try what he used, I did a spot in the center of the trunk lid, there was so much difference that I did the whole car again with what he had. It was speed glaze. The judges told me that my paint was the kicker that put me over the rest of the competition, And let me win Best of Show. Have used it ever since.

Troy

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