Wash and Wax

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stan Wilson @ Mar 1 2004, 04:22 PM) [snapback]5599[/snapback]</div>

Stan, I'll join you in your inquiry. I too have a Super White o6 Prius and I'm trying to decide which is easiest to apply and looks the best. I'm thinking on white the brilliance will show regardless of what I use. From what I've heard so far Cabona (not sure of the spelling) offers a deep warm color and protects for up to 3 months. Other waxes about same give or take. I'm looking into instead using a paint sealant such as offerred on the net with a Goodgle search for "paint sealant".

I'm hoping some kind knowing person with experience can tell us how difficult it is to apply Carbona wax, Zaino as I know a paint sealant is a slice of heaven...Wipe on wipe off and your good for 6 months.

Wish us luck Stan

 

Carnuba wax? There are a lot of brands.

Many hear swear by Zaino.

I like Meguiar's.

Find something you like and use it often.

 

I've already posted my opinion of NuFinish, but you'll have to search in the Main Forum because the original poster posted in the wrong forum. In a nutshell, it's ok if you've already made the decision that you're going to neglect your Prius, and need the best product for a once-per-year application. It contains strong chemical cleaners and abrasives that are needed to remove a year's worth of oxidation, contamination, and stains. If you are regularly maintaining your car's finish, you want something much milder, or with no cleaners at all, to maintain the highest gloss and swirl-free finish.

Most people are best off with a sealant rather than a wax, since sealants last around twice as long as wax. Waxes are completely gone in 60-90 days while a sealant may last up to six months. Enthusiasts reapply their wax or sealant long before the product is completely gone though. Reapplying wax every 30 days and reapplying sealant every 60 days isn't unusual for the detailing enthusiast. Zaino and Klasse are probably the best known sealants. Zaino in particular is extremely long lasting. Other companies producing high quality sealants are Blackfire, Wolfgang, Poorboys, Finish-Kare, and Four Star/Perfection.

If you have a black, red, or other dark color, you may find that sealants give a cheap, plasticky look. This is Zaino on red:



Yuck. I can't believe anybody likes pink reflections. Well, maybe if they match your purse.

Many enthusiasts prefer to use carnauba wax on black, red, and dark colors specifically to avoid this problem. If you want to stick with a sealant, try Blackfire "Wet Diamond" All Finish Paint Protector or Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant. Both of these sealants avoid the plasticky look and mimic the depth and richness of carnauba wax, while having the longevity of a sealant (not as long as Zaino though).

A few addition words on Zaino - it has a very enthusiastic, even rabid following on many car web forums. Most of the people who tout it's superiority are actually pretty clueless or at least inexperienced when it comes to paint care. This actually explains how Zaino has been so successful, IMHO. Zaino publishes easy to follow, step-by-step instructions on how to properly prepare your paint for a final application of sealant. Since preparation is really the key to a good finish (just as when painting), and since most of these newbie Zaino zealots had never known how to properly prepare a car for applying sealant, Zaino is really the first product to enable them to get a good finish on their car.

You can tell the clueless Zaino zealots because they refer to the process of washing, claying, and polishing before applying sealant as the "Zaino process", because they don't realize it's exactly the same for every other sealant and wax, and has been for years. And for black, red, and dark colors, there are far, far better products out there than Zaino, IMHO.

 

Meguiar's #26 is my all time favorite wax. Liquid, goes on easy, comes off easy (apply to small areas at a time ~3x3 sq. ft.). You can apply-remove by hand, I use a moo-moo pad on a sander to apply and then a clean moo-moo to remove-polish. And it lasts at least 2 months. Don't do on hot surfaces!

I always hand wash at least 2 times with in a week before waxing. After I wash with no "grime" left on car (or sponge) then I know it's OK to wax.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy @ Apr 27 2006, 09:19 PM) [snapback]246421[/snapback]</div>

 

I can't claim to have tried many different products, but I use Zaino and like it on my Silver Prius. It's the easiest wax/sealant I've used to apply and the easiest to buff off, and leaves a great surface that lasts.

 

I used Nu Finish for 3 years before recently switching to Zaino. Nu Finish is very long-lasting (for me, about 6 months, but I keep my cars garaged). However, on darker colors, I had a consistent problem with "blotchiness" after I had hand-wiped it down. Some small areas appeared slightly darker than others. It appeared to be either from inconsistencies in the hand pressure I exerted---or it might have been from differences in how dry it was before I wiped it "off".

I would think this problem is much less so with a white car. One of the cars I used it on was white, another light blue, and they looked good.

I have Zaino on my silver '04 now, and the paint looks "liquidy" and deep. I'll be doing my red '06 soon.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tmorrowus @ May 6 2006, 01:32 PM) [snapback]250815[/snapback]</div>

Last weekend I used Zaino Z2-Pro, Four Star UPP, and Blackfire on three different cars in a span of 24 hours and I can tell you that Four Star and Blackfire go on and off easier than Zaino Z2-Pro. That's not to say that Zaino Z-2 is hard to apply; it isn't, but there are easier to apply products out there.

 

You'll be fine with any sealant on white - it'll look fine, and last longer. And you never, ever, put sealant on top of wax. It won't work, the sealant won't bond over wax. The only way it works is to put the wax on top of the sealant - and even then, it isn't always an improvement. The last product you apply is the one that's going to determine the appearance, so if you're trying to protect your car with a sealant, but want the deep rich shine of a wax rather than the bright shine of a sealant, you put the wax on last. Putting sealant over a wax makes no sense, even if it would bond, because you'd have the apparance of sealant. Might as well only use sealant with no wax.

I bought another car a couple months ago which is a dark gray, and I've found that I'm becoming a real anti-Zaino snob because of it. I've noticed a lot more dark colored cars on the road with the trademark bright, silvery Zaino reflections, and they look really cheap and tacky, IMHO (it could have been Klasse SG or any one of a number of other sealants that look crappy on dark colors like Zaino). I've been using Blackfire on my dark gray Acura. I was parked next to a Lexus RX330 which was a similar color and the rich, deep shine on my car looked a thousand times better than the plasticky Zaino shine on the Lexus.

Most people probably would not have noticed the difference, or preferred the bright shine of Zaino. Then again, most people think Bose speakers sound fine.

 

I hate to admit it but I've never been one to take great care of cars. They were just functional items to get me places. But at 57, I'm an old dog trying to learn new tricks with my new Prius.

I know this thread is mostly about wax and sealers but I just spent about two hours washing/cleaning the Prius and I still have the tires to do. I took a ride right before lunch ostensibly to take some cheesecake shots of the Prius. After shooting a few I suddenly realized that behind the driver side front wheel and all along the bottom of the driver side was some kind of oil/grease that I kicked up somewhere along the line in the past week. So it was back home to give baby a bath. It took a lot of elbow grease to get all that road oil/grease off. Is there an easier way? Will the sealer help? Or shall I be scheduling regular 2 hours periods for washing the car?

 

Once you've got your car clean once, weekly washes should be very quick. Just hose it down, go over it with carwash soap and a mitt, then bead the water off. I usually stop there, I don't bother drying it with towels; I go for a drive which gets rid of most of the spotting. It takes me a little less time than bringing it to a full service carwash.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(paflyfisher @ May 7 2006, 11:09 AM) [snapback]251108[/snapback]</div>

Do you have splashguards? If not, I recommend you install some ASAP. They will prevent a lot of gunk from splashing up the side of your Prius.

Sealant will make your finish more slippery and make it much harder for foreign material to stick to it. With a fresh coat of sealant, bird droppings are easily removed with just a stream of water, and bugs and tar can be removed with a non-scratching nylon mesh scrubber (I like having it on the back side of my wash mitt)



Once you've got sealant on your finish, you should be able to wash your car quickly since you will spend very little time trying to scrub the dirt off. One quick pass of the wash mitt should be all it takes. If I'm in a hurry, I can wash, dry, quick detail, and dress the tires of my Prius in just over 30 minutes. I recommend quick detailing every time you wash your car since it greatly extends the life of the sealant, and is a way to avoid water spots if they're a problem in your area (I use quick detail spray on the glass too).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy @ May 7 2006, 03:00 PM) [snapback]251162[/snapback]</div>

Would a 3M Scotch-Brite Blue scrubbing sponge classify as a "non-scratching" mesh scrubber? I have plenty of these around as I use them for non-stick pans and could use older ones for getting bugs off of the car.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mattleb @ May 11 2006, 08:17 PM) [snapback]253909[/snapback]</div>

I don't know whether a blue one is hard enough to scratch your clearcoat but I wouldn't chance it - but then again, I happen to not like scratches in my paint. Other people could care less. The mesh I'm talking about is mostly holes where you can see the sponge through the little holes.

 

Two questions:

1. What do you guys think of a product called "liquid glass"?
2. What prep work do you need to do on a new car to apply sealant (1 week old), never been waxed yet, just clearcoat from dealer?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(San Diego Steve @ May 11 2006, 11:45 PM) [snapback]253979[/snapback]</div>

There are better products out there, readily available, so why bother with the inferior ones?

It's unlikely to need anything other than a good washing if what you wrote is accurate. You're sure the dealer didn't apply anything to the paint? Do the baggie test to determine if the car requires claying - though it sounds like the car hasn't been out of its protective wrap long enough for enough contamination to warrant claying.

You could use an all-in-one product containing a very mild chemical cleaner before your final coat of sealant. I'm thinking something like Klasse AIO or Menzerna One Step. If you wanted your last step to be a wax rather than sealant, you could go with something like Poorboy's PwC (Polish with Canauba). But this is optional, your paint probably doesn't require any cleaning at all, and you can just go wash->sealant and be done.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy @ May 12 2006, 10:37 AM) [snapback]254223[/snapback]</div>

You seem to like the Four Star UPP and Blackfire products. Where do you get them and which one do you recommend better for Silver?? The car is garaged and only outside for perhaps 4-5 hours a day (sometimes not even that) so I don't think there's much in the line of paint damage to worry about. I use Maguire's gold-class car wash.

BTW, I also have a blue BMW which is going into semi-retirement with the purchase of the Prius. The paint is not in the greatest shape... I've never clayed a car -what's involved? I put a coat of glaze (maguires #7 I think) on it, but it still doesn't have the zest it should and it doesn't feel smooth. Was thinking of getting few coats of wax, but it sounds like the sealant is a better option for my visual tastes (looks like liquid).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(San Diego Steve @ May 12 2006, 07:37 PM) [snapback]254517[/snapback]</div>

Blackfire is a private brand of properautocare.com. Four Star products are hard to find now since many distributors are dropping the line - which suggest some changes coming from the manufacturer. You can still get it at premiumautocare.com if you really want to try it. A lot of people ended up trying Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant when their favorite e-tailer dropped Four Star, and ended up liking Wolfgang better.

I've settled on Blackfire for dark colors - the new version really has a deep, rich shine that looks much better than Zaino on dark colors. For light colors I think Zaino is fine, though I also experiment a lot with whatever the new flavor of the month is over at detailcity.com (seems to be Finish-Kare this month). If your Prius is silver, why not try Zaino?

Your BMW probably needs polishing, probably with a medium cut compound to start, and then a fine polish. Claying, while a necessary step in preparation, doesn't make a really visible difference in your paint's gloss. But you have to do it before you compound or polish.

Claying is simple. Just follow the directions on the package. Basically all you do is spray the painted surface with clay lubricant (or diluted car wash shampoo) and rub the flattened bar of clay lightly on the surface until it glides smoothly and doesn't grab. Using clay lubricant instead of car wash shampoo makes no difference to your car, but does help the clay last longer.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy @ May 13 2006, 03:04 AM) [snapback]254662[/snapback]</div>

Thanks! I think I'm going to try the Blackfire product for both cars so I only have to purchase one product (well, sort of I guess). The plan is right now:

BMW:
Clay
Menzerna Intensive Polish
Menzerna Final finish polish
Klasse all-in-one or Blackfire Diamond (maybe a coat of the klasse followed by the blackfire)

Prius:
Good cleaning and probably straight to the blackfire product

steve