Traditional Waxing...is It Even Necessary?

[cghbuilder86]

I've been doing a lot of thinking and wondering if traditional waxing is best for todays modern clear coat finishes. It all started churning in my mind a couple years ago when a friend was telling me that a clear coat finish doesn't need wax and it actually is damaging because the clear coat is so thin you will actually go through it after a number of years. I read on the internet that clear coat has a life span of 4-8 years. That actually sounds kinda short to me. If thats true I really wouldn't want to do anything to wear it down quicker. I am a pretty strong believer that polishes and paste waxes are harmful to a clear coat finish. I'm mainly wondering about a good liquid wax? I've been using a spray on wax for the last couple years. I think it's pretty much just something to gloss it up and make it slick. As far as actually having a true wax coat, it's probably nothing like a liquid wax. I've also read somewhere that using carnauba can be counterproductive on a clear coat finish because it is actually milky in color and not crystal clear like a synthetic would be. I'm mainly concerned about all the rubbing involved and the light abrasiveness in traditional waxing.

I've be thinking about going with this synthetic sealer/shine. It's something you can just wipe on and walk away. It adds sealer and protection without any kind of abrasive or rubbing/buffing. It sounds like it makes since to me.

Ultima Paint Guard Plus Sealer/Shine

What do ya'll think?

I know this is a lot of useless rambling. I can't help it, I obsess over stuff like this until I put my mind at ease. I'm also a fanatic about a clean show car shine on my truck. I have been religiously detailing my truck at least once a week since I got it 5 months ago.

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I've been doing a lot of thinking and wondering if traditional waxing is best for todays modern clear coat finishes. It all started churning in my mind a couple years ago when a friend was telling me that a clear coat finish doesn't need wax and it actually is damaging because the clear coat is so thin you will actually go through it after a number of years. I read on the internet that clear coat has a life span of 4-8 years. That actually sounds kinda short to me. If thats true I really wouldn't want to do anything to wear it down quicker. I am a pretty strong believer that polishes and paste waxes are harmful to a clear coat finish. I'm mainly wondering about a good liquid wax? I've been using a spray on wax for the last couple years. I think it's pretty much just something to gloss it up and make it slick. As far as actually having a true wax coat, it's probably nothing like a liquid wax. I've also read somewhere that using carnauba can be counterproductive on a clear coat finish because it is actually milky in color and not crystal clear like a synthetic would be. I'm mainly concerned about all the rubbing involved and the light abrasiveness in traditional waxing.

I've be thinking about going with this synthetic sealer/shine. It's something you can just wipe on and walk away. It adds sealer and protection without any kind of abrasive or rubbing/buffing. It sounds like it makes since to me.

Ultima Paint Guard Plus Sealer/Shine

What do ya'll think?

I know this is a lot of useless rambling. I can't help it, I obsess over stuff like this until I put my mind at ease. I'm also a fanatic about a clean show car shine on my truck. I have been religiously detailing my truck at least once a week since I got it 5 months ago.

 

I've never waxed my pickup, and when I clean it, it still shines like factory. Now, on my 83 third gen, I wax it every so often or will get dull and powdery feeling.

[mxdirtrider56]

HAND waxing it with a good paste style wax will be fine. What you don't want to do is start going at it with a high speed buffer. I spent a lot of time working in the detail bay when I worked for GM and this is not something that we would ever do. We would HAND wax plenty of brand new very nice cars. Hand waxing and buffing is gentle enough not to strip any finish. Go ahead without worries.

[sic lsx]

i had my own detailing business b4 i moved. Our 2010 black silverago has been waxed 3 times in 3 months! hand wax, mothers

[Doug_Scott]

You may also be confusing waxing with polishing. Two different operations. Polishes contains abrasives, waxes do not. Any "wax" that is sold that also says it removes scratches is actually a polishing agent.

[ColoradoSkiCountry]

Claybar then Polish then Wax. Just did it this past Saturday and she looks better than she did when I got her. SURE AS HELL you need to wax your vehicle no matter how new or old it is! Generally speaking if you do a good enough job, and you are not in harsh conditions/climates once a year will do just fine. Oh, and the wax they supposedly use at the car washes? yeah right. That ain't wax. it's just stuff that smells good.

[cghbuilder86]

I ended up getting the Ultima paint guard plus. So far I really like it. You just wipe it on a walk away. At first it looks a little smudgy, like and oily film on the paint but after a few hours and it cures it looks amazing. crystal clear and shiny. The water beads like crazy. And it supposed to last a full year but it's so easy I'll be doing it fairly regular.

I am pretty much convinced that a good quality smooth wax is not going to hurt your clear coat. But I am still not going to touch the polishes or clay bar. The clear coat is about as thick as a sheet of paper and I'm thinking a lot of years and a few abrasives = no clear coat.

[ColoradoSkiCountry]

Given GMs track record on paint quality and how thin the paint is, I'd strongly suggest you re-consider. The more protection you put on, the better. Just my humble opinion though.

 

 

I ended up getting the Ultima paint guard plus. So far I really like it. You just wipe it on a walk away. At first it looks a little smudgy, like and oily film on the paint but after a few hours and it cures it looks amazing. crystal clear and shiny. The water beads like crazy. And it supposed to last a full year but it's so easy I'll be doing it fairly regular.

I am pretty much convinced that a good quality smooth wax is not going to hurt your clear coat. But I am still not going to touch the polishes or clay bar. The clear coat is about as thick as a sheet of paper and I'm thinking a lot of years and a few abrasives = no clear coat.

[Matt_]

Ryan,

 

whats wrong with the ultima paint guard that he put on? isnt that stuff supposed to be just as good, or better than, any other wax in terms of protection?

[ColoradoSkiCountry]

I honestly don't know enough about that stuff to say.

[modena0]

Now feel free to call me biased considering I've been detailing peoples cars with a high speed rotary for ~6 years, but when used properly, a buffer with a mild abrasive polish is safe for use on clear coat finishes. Note the operative words "WHEN USED PROPERLY".

 

Before I bought my half ton, I had a 2000 S10, which was traded in when I bought the '10. I must've polished it twice a year with my high speed rotary and Meguiars machine glaze (occasionally heavier compounds if there were deep scratches) and never burned the clear. Everything had been repainted at least once except for the nose (Hood, fenders) and I never burned through the clear. It all depends on how much you have to remove to get a good smooth surface out of the clear. I would also always put a couple coats of Zaino on it after I polished it smooth too, so it wasnt like I was letting the elements damage the paint between buffings with no surface protection.

 

As for my '10, I've only had it since May, and I've already hit it with the buffer once to take out all the fine scratches left by the dealership staff when they brushed snow off of it during the winter. I used a light cut/polish foam pad with Meguiars m205 (4/12 on abrasive scale) with relatively light pressure, and worked my way up to machine glaze (1/12) on an ultra-fine finish pad, followed by a couple coats of zaino, and IMO it looked leaps and bounds better than when it came out of Recon at the dealership.

 

Didnt mean to hijack on an abrasives discussion, but to answer the OP, the great debate between sealers and wax is that wax gives the perception of a deeper gloss, whereas sealers give more of a plastic-y look (allegedly) where the gloss isnt as deep as that of carnauba. Personally I use Zaino, which is a sealer, and I think the gloss is just fine. Some even put sealer on for protection and add a layer of carnauba for the "Deep Gloss", which could be overkill, but to each their own!

 

 

Edit: Why not throw some pics in for an example of a sealer

 

 

 

[mxdirtrider56]

Agreed Modena, any tool used properly can help achieve positive results. I was simply cautioning the OP against using high speed rotary/buffers because of the possibility to do more harm than good. For all I know the OP might be skilled in using that particular tool, but if not I would just leave that alone and hand wax. I would hand wax anyways though!

[croberts]

I use Mothers three steps and have had great results. Living in the snow belt we get alot of salt and sand on the roads, and being that a clear coat is not perfect I beleive that the pre wax cleaner does alot to remove crap from the finish. I've skipped the second stage(sealer and glaze) a few times and just went staright to wax, I find that taking the time to use the sealer adds alot of depth to the clear. There are alot of trucks on the road up here and you can surely tell which ones see paint protection and which ones don't.

I bet if you put a clear coat finish under a micro scope it would look pretty rough, to me you need to clean the crap out, seal it up and smooth it out a little. I know it's not like water sanding and buffing or even show car detailing from a high speed machine, but for the average guy in his drive way you can make a big improvement with some good products and elbow grease.

[jdubub]

Claybar then Polish then Wax. Just did it this past Saturday and she looks better than she did when I got her. SURE AS HELL you need to wax your vehicle no matter how new or old it is! Generally speaking if you do a good enough job, and you are not in harsh conditions/climates once a year will do just fine. Oh, and the wax they supposedly use at the car washes? yeah right. That ain't wax. it's just stuff that smells good.

 

 

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