How do I start waxing my car?

You don't need a buffer or orbital to was a car. Some will wax with a orbital like the Porter Cable. A buffer would be for the steps before if the paint needs some correction.

As far as what to do. Obviously the car need to be clean. Even if it was washed two days ago, it should be washed again so your not rubbing fine dirt into the paint and causing small scratches.

Then you can wax as per the instructions for the wax you are using.

For most, the steps would be...

• Wash the car
• Dry
• Apply wax with a applicator or a micro fiber cloth
• Wipe off (some want you to wipe it off right away, others will ask you to let it dry to a haze) with a micro fiber cloth
• Stand back, and admire your work.
• Go for a cruise to show of your shine

If the paint has a lot of embedded contaminants on it then you will need an extra step. That extra step would be a chemical cleaning product Like Klasse All in One. The other option is a detail clay which will smooth out the paint by removing all the imbedded items that your soap will not remove. How do you know if you need it? One way is to wash the car first. Then take a sandwich bag or another smooth bag and put it over your hand. Wet a section of your paint and gently glide your bagged hand over it. If you feel bumps on the paint then you have contaminates embedded in your paint. That will have to be removed to make your paint cleaner and just that much better. One thing you can get in your paint is small specks of metal. On a light car you can see a tiny rust spot on top of your paint. Paint doesn't rust. So this is a piece of metal on your paint. It could be from train tracks, brakes and so on. The clay will take this out.

If your paint looks tired, has a lot of swirls or minor scratches then it should be buffed first. If you look at my Beat Jeep thread you will see that washing alone would not make it look "good". A wax might make it look a bit better but its not going to look very good. The paint has a lot of swirls, minor scratches and some heavy ones as well. This needed to be clayed, buffed in two to three stages and then waxed. I was very happy with the end results. You can be the judge for yourself.

Here is a thread on some reflection shots after buffing and waxing paint. Paint Reflections.

As far as products go. That all comes down to personal opinion. Some find one that works great but another might not like that product at all.

That being said, here are some that I like.

• I have used and love Klasse All In One and Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze
• Another product I like is S100 wax
• I'm a big fan of Meguiars. Gold Class is one that I have used and liked. I have used other products by them
• I know many that have used Mothers. I have Mothers detail spray and I like it so far

I hope this answered some of your questions. Feel free to ask if you have anymore.

James

 

Your welcome and no I don't mind.

James