How Do You Wax / Polish Your Car?

[scorpking]

Wool Buffing Polishing PAD Buffer PAD FOR CAR Wool Buffing Polishing | eBay

I have a portable variable speed drill. Can I install this on it? If so, how? Also what is the technique for wax application in terms of speed

Ameyam

Hi Ameyam,

Sure you can use the variable speed power drill as a polisher, but not with the pad that you mentioned above. You should try to get a attachment like the one below. It will suit your need.


Polishing pad with drill adapter

You can buy it from here ebay

But it may not provide you desired results and comfort like a polisher. Give it a try!

 

[ameyam]

At this point I have a couple of dents in the bumper (which I promptly made after 2nd service by reversing into a bike), a couple of scratches on the rear body work (I am not sure where I got those from but I feel a bike parked tightly behind me may be to blame) and my car has lost its overall shine which it had when I got it tefloned.

For the dents, I will ask my local mechanic to put in some filler and patch over with paint at a later date when I get fed up with them or whatever. For the scratches on the back bodywork and some minor scratches in the door handle etc, I have ordered some rubbing compound. A light rub followed by waxing should do the trick.
For the overall shine, I already have 3m cream wax. I did try it on the driver side mirror cover first and then on the bonet which I didnt give enough time to dry. It helps a bit but I need to be more meticulous with it. It difficult to do that because my car is usually parked on the road. To use wax properly, I need to give the car a thorough wash (which I do every Sunday) which I need to follow by a prewax polish and a final waxing. Thats just too much effort for now and its still raining, meaning waxing will be meaningless till the rains stop.

I did order the Coido machine using a good deal I got on Ebay and it may help with the scratches but I see it wont help with the wax. So be it. I feel there is no point spending more money and time than so much, especially if I am going to drive around in Mumbai anyway

Ameyam

 

[ameyam]

Ok, I spent yesterday morning and today morning polishing the car. Well, atleast working till my mom shouted to take a bath anyway

Few things learnt- The polishing machine is only good for the rubbing compound. There were a lot of scratches, some deeper, and getting them cleared was tough. But the polisher did it. Then I used the foam pad to apply wax and realised it was pointless. So I just patted the wax down by hand and spread it evenly with the foam pad on the machine. After letting it sit for a few minutes, I used the woolen buffer on it. Did help with the shine a bit but the woolen buffer leaves a lot of lint, so I finally resorted to 3M microfiber cloth to rub down and that worked nicely. I also realised that you cant apply wax in the sun- it just turns to chalky powder (well Dud.. it says so on the box but I have llimited choices with parking on the road in a market area)

Later, while washing the foam pad I realized that most of the wax was in the pad. So next time I am going to hand polish and use the machine for interior polish application where I did note it works well for even application over hand application.

A small question- I have 3 Nos 2M microfiber cloths and they are good but expensive. I would rather have my washer guy use these to wash the car daily, meaning I will need atleast 4 cloths dedicated for this. 3M microfiber is quite good but expensive and using local microfibers leaves lint or the cloth just doesnt absorb water. Is there a cheaper alternative?

Ameyam

 

[ameyam]

Com-Paint Paint Pen Kit for Maruti Cars (Glistening Grey): Amazon.in: Car & Motorbike

Anyone tried this? Was wondering it it will help touchup a few scratches

Ameyam

 

[GreyCruze]

The title of this thread itself is bit confusing. Polishing is the process of finishing up the paint surface either after a compounding or as fresh using a mild finishing polish. Waxing is applying wax to protect the finish. Even waxes are different types, made out of carnauba which is a natural content (Eg: Angelwax Dark Angel, Angelwax AG, Swiss Wax etc) or synthetic wax (eg: Blackfire wet diamond) or even hybrid waxes (eg: Collinite 845, Kamikaze Infinity Wax etc).
Normally, every one use machine/hand for polishing and use hand for waxing.

 

[ameyam]

A small query- how to clean the car underside? I mean, when the car comes new, you can see the metal in the wheel arches. But after a few days and driving in the rains, dirt clings to the underside. Even when i pressure clean those areas or the ASC does this, that dirt doesnt come off. I am concerned, though my car does have underbody coating, this dirt will cause the underbody to rust in due course. Is there any way to clean this?

Ameyam

 

[GreyCruze]

Wheel arches can be cleaned using Mothers fender well brush: Mothers Fender Well Brush – Car Care Products | Car Detailing Products - GreenZ Car Care

 

[ameyam]

Hi Grey,

I am sure I can scrub down the arches with just about any brush. question is, is there a better way?

Ameyam

 

[GreyCruze]

Hi Grey,

I am sure I can scrub down the arches with just about any brush. question is, is there a better way?

Ameyam

This is the better way, which even professional detailers follow :-)

 

[ameyam]

Meguiar’s Ultimate Quik Wax

This stuff works but not in the way that you expect. On first application, I didnt feel I seemed to be doing anything. But I did the work for the whole body and left it overnight. Next day the car was shining with a sort of oleo-phobic coating. Even my driver asked me whether I had polished the previous day

Ameyam

 

[puneet848]

Tested my 3M shampoo , waxpol wax and 3m micrifibre today on my old 2007 esteem.

First pic after 3 m shampoo. works well and cleans off grime.
http://i.imgur.com/Na6TS4W.jpg

After wax and buff

Im satisfied but not amazed. maybe cos car paint itself is so old. next week will try my turtle wax box.

http://i.imgur.com/HMSm3UH.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/SXs2pS4.jpg

 

[kuwaronline]

When I rub wax I use two microfiber towel. One is to buff and second is to simply polish to make it more shine. If you use same towel for all the panels then towel will have more wax stick to it so it will reduce your buffing effect. So I keep two towels to make it better. When you polish with little pressure with the second towel then you can quickly see the shine on the body. I also agree that multiple thin layers are good over single thick layer. I have recently tried doing that. First I use collinite 845 and then after 24 hours I use turtle wax. I am not sure whether it is the right way to do it or not. But as per my observation collinite is very strong and it can stick to the body of the car very long time while turtle wax is good at the glossy shine so I do it over collinite. I am open for the opinions from the expert.

I do waxing myself every time like in month or two. Earlier I use to do with f1 wax but it was quite painful for hands. So now I moved to F1 premium liquid wax. Earlier I use to spend like 3-4hr on my car now I spend like 30 min and results are almost same plus no residue in panel gaps/tricky areas. About method I
just clean car with car shampoo and clean using micro fiber cloth. Like you I do use two cloths. Well I m no expert in detailing

 

[puneet848]

Waxed my car with waxpol and turtlewax this weekend. However the wax application foam pad is now coated with wax and dries up. How to clean the spinge again,? Soap does not help removing it

 

[GreyCruze]

Waxed my car with waxpol and turtlewax this weekend. However the wax application foam pad is now coated with wax and dries up. How to clean the spinge again,? Soap does not help removing it

You can wash it with an APC (All Purpose Cleaner)

 

[Vj Xcent]

Can I apply wax on plastic bumper of my car? I have hyundai xcent.