waxing

You put the wax on the paint. It doesn't much matter what is under it, the wax is there to protect the top surface of the paint. I've got the salsa red, and waxed everything that was red.

I've never used Nu-finish. I think it's a polymer finish rahter than a wax. You may have to be more careful about not getting this on the black, glass, other surfaces. You may have to be esspecialy careful on the inside door handles, where the Smart Entry lock contacts are.

 

I plan on using Nu-Finish...and you make a good point about inside of door handles...does anyone have any experience?

Mike

 

I'm trying Eagle One's Wax as you dry spray (available at costco). I find it hard to find the time/patience to wash, dry, wax, polish, so I thought I'd try it out. A big plus is you can spray it on the black trim and it doesn't leave a white residue. So far it looks great, but with cars this new every product makes it look great. We'll see how it's doing a year down the road.
To cut my car care time further, I also use the Mr. Clean wash thing. It does work as advertised, some of the time. I've had some washes that still left spots after the dry. The spots were smaller and fewer however. What I do is wash, let it mostly dry, then hit it with the eagle one spray.

 

Chunky or smooth?

 

Gonna use Zymol, a German product I used on my Black Mercedes 300E. Same company used to make very spendy waxes for enameled carriages in the late 1800's, early 1900's.

Lovely stuff, has a little coconut oil it it; smells yummy. Come to think of it, Jeff might like that! No chunks...

Comes as a paste or liquid wax. Great, gentle way to beak in a new finish. I'm going to start with the liquid, then do a quick once over with the paste, from time to time.

I think Costco may still seel the liquid stuff.

I'm going to try REALLY HARD not to use ANY circular motion during application, removal or buffing out

Circular marks really accumulate over time and are nearly impossible to get out without using a professional buff, which tends to ablate the clear coat over time. This will be more of a big deal with Black, Blue, Salsa or the darker Driftwood colors.

I'll report back when my Driftwood Pearl is done - perhaps, who knows, maybe even this weekend. And if I'm not happy with Zymol for any reason, I'll tell you that, too.

Major rule I never break; NO silcone polishes. Ever.


Bob

 

I take my cars to one of those outdoor self wash and wax places once a week or so. Tom and Ray Magliozzi, the Car Talk guys, say that the wax coming out of those things is just as good as any other wax; as long as water beads up, you've got wax. I figure that the wax from the self serve might not be laid on as thick, so doing it once a week helps. It's cheap, and the car looks good.
Hand washing cars in the street is not good environmentally since the grease, dirt and soap end up in the drain and usually in some lake. At least this is what I'm told. Seattle has water reclamation, but there are still notices about pouring various toxins into city sewer drains. The auto car wash facilities (and boat yards) are required to have holding tanks (in Seattle, anyway) to keep their waste from going into storm sewer runoffs.
As someone pointed out, most anything you put on will look good on a new car. Anyone notice that cars drive better just after they've been washed and vacuumed?
HUMU (humunukunukuapu'aa)

 

You want to stay away from the liquid Zymol - it has polishing agents in it. Go with the paste wax and apply it directly with your hands...I use it on my MGB.

 

Did my Silver #7 with Blackfire polish and glaze and it came out looking great. Seems to have a richer shine than the Meguire's Gold Class I used before, and it's supposed to last longer. Time will tell, but it was very easy to use, did not leave residue on black plastic parts and was easy to apply ( 2 steps).

 

Thanks for the tip on using the Zymol liquid.

I'll use that on my '95T-100 pickup, use the paste on the Prius.


Bob