Waxing after Painting - Base/Clear

[paul67]

OK the dust and smudges and ouch! stone chips will come soon after the new paint. That is inevitable when you drive these cars. But being a neat-freak I would like to sustain the new look. How long do I have to wait to put a coat of wax (Carnuba) on a new base/clear paint job? I have used Zaino in the past but was thinking of the three-step Mother's or Meguiar's products. Any thoughts? Or alternatively is a wax necessary on clear coat? Will a good car wash product do?

 

[BarryK]

paul, others will probably disagree, and i was a bit surprised, but when i asked my painter about waxing the new paint job he told me not to. he knows i only drive it in nice weather maybe a few days a week and than it's in the garage and never in rain unless i get caught in something unexpected.
he said to just use my quick detail spray once or twice a month and it will be fine.
i'm thinking of doing that but at least also putting a coat of good wax on before storing her away in winter.

 

[vintagecorvette]

My 1957 was wet sanded and polished. I drove it the summer after it was finished and then parked it over the winter. Just before I sold it I had the car waxed. The paint looked perfect. The wet sand made it look nice for the first year, but after driving it as much as I possibly could over the summer, it needed to be polished. I recommend a good wet sand polish job on your car first. My 911 is the same I have owned it 12 years and waxed it once. I had it painted and then wet sanded polished and it really made the car look like glass. oWEN

 

[IH2LOSE]

Beside wax making a car look shiney,


I thought its purpose was to protect the paint by putting a coating on it.

I have the same question what and when to put it on

Is wax not meant to protect the paint?

 

[67HEAVEN]

http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68249&highlight=wax

 

[IH2LOSE]

Bob

thanks for the info

But what did you hear on waxing a new paint job and when was it safe to do.

Also does this wax leave a resadue near the emblems or under chrome moldings

 

[67HEAVEN]

Larry,

The painter personally waxed my car with this stuff on the day he sprayed the clear coat. :eek

Very little white residue as you only need a very small amount to do the car.

 

[vintagecorvette]

The only problem with waxing right away is if something comes out in the paint or you have a little touch up then you have to make sure you have all the wax stripped. If you simply wet sand and polish then wait a bit flaws are easier to fix. oWEN

 

[paul67]

Thanks everyone. I am going to wait at least a month. That NXT product looks very promising.

BTW I do not know what wet sanding is. Do you actually take a fine grit water paper to the new paint?

 

[BarryK]

paul
wetsanding is as it says. you use fine grit sandpaper while making sure the paper and the body surface is very wet. it gives a very smooth finish. my painter typically sands with one hand while holding a squeeze bottle of water in the other so he can easily apply more water to the surface often. it must be kept very wet as he sands.

on my car, my painter has already wetsanded the primer and it feels like a baby's butt it's so smooth. he said this also helps the paint to flow out over the body better when spraying the color coats. he than wetsands the first couple coats of color before spraying the final color coats. he also wetsands after spraying the clear coats and before final buffing. i'm told if it's a metallic paint such as mine is that you are not suppose to sand the final color coats before spraying the clear coats as the metallic tends to rise to the top level of the paint and by sanding the final coats of color will mess up the proper look of the paint and metallic.

the wetsanding gets rid of any orange peel in the paint and clear plus any possble little nibs or bumps if specks of dust got caught in the paint so everything ends up very smooth and with the best finish. without wetsanding it won't look nearly as good as it should.

hope this helps.
btw, typing with only one finger sure takes a long time.............

 

[firstgear]

if you want a mirror like finish...absolutely smooth, it all starts with the substrate being absolutely smooth and then each coat of paint regardless of what it is being sanded.....when you do that.....you have a mirror ( and a ton of time in it or in some cases a lot of money spent ) finish.....

 

[paul67]

After $thousands of work I am going to pass on sanding on new clear. Too scary for me. When I did this after one month when I had my 1979 painted in the year 2000, I did the Zaino thing. It has worked to this day. That is my preference.

 

[vintagecorvette]

Wet sanding and polishing is not something you do unless you are experienced. It is too easy to sand through, or burn through with the polisher. Leave it to the professional unless you know what to do. Here is a decent article about it.

 

[1KULC7]

If your painter did a decent job, you should have no orange peel at all. I was told to wait for about a month, letting the car sit in the sun. After a month I could Zanio the car, and I did, and I am very happy with the results. I agree wet sanding is for somebody who knows what they are doing. I have wet sanded my own car under the watchful eye of the person who painted it, as he was we sanding with me. Unless you have the experience it so easy to take the paint of an edge or rounded area...

And there is a difference between polish and wax...I am sure this topic has been discussed more then once here...

 

[paul67]

There is no orange peel. None at all. This paint is as smooth as a baby's bum. I will wait a month. On further internet searching I see Meguiar's NXT is silicon-based. Sorry Bob, but not for me. I am looking for a real Carnuba wax.

 

[IH2LOSE]

So you know I am always trying to learn,

What is the difference between wax and polish?

Why is carnuba still considered a good option with all the new silacone based polish/waxes

 

[paul67]

I will leave this one to the experts but express an opinion based on readings. Silicone-based exterior products are very difficult to remove in the case of a re-paint for example, short of a full chemical strip. They are the bane of body refinishing people. Very little will stick to it in case of touch-up. I prefer a natural wax with a carnuba base.

On interiors (Armor-All and the like) they dry out vinyl and cause cracking. I go with Lemon Pledge or Mother's vinyl conditioner. I use that on my tires as well. Natural and lasting moisturing rather than instant gloss.

Ready now for a flame!

 

[BarryK]

What is the difference between wax and polish?

my understanding of the difference between a polish and a wax is that a polish POLISHES the car - it's a very minor abrasive almost like a very, very fine rubbing compound and it cleans the surface totally including any wax and other contaimanents on it.
A wax is just wax and is used only as a layer of protection for the paint but it has no "cleaning" ability.
you should polish if the surface of the really needs the cleaning action of the polish but than should wax afterwards to reapply that protection layer that the polish just removed.
on a brand new paint job such as Paul's he should have no need of a polish at this point, just a high qaulity wax to protect it

 

[1KULC7]

OK here we go...I happened to write an article about this subject years ago for my former Corvette Club....

First, this is not a commercial for ZANIO, I just happened to like this product much better then all the others. In reality, once you read this you can substitute Zanio for any product that has more then one step.



If you want pure car Carnauba Wax, the best I have seen is offered by GRIOTS Garage.



OK the difference between Polish and WAX…be ready to get confused….



In a nutshell, polish is a harsh cleaner for your car's paint, while wax is smooth substance applied as a coating of protectant. Polish is often used if the car has imperfections, embedded dirt, oxidation or even certain pollutants. Polish is actually a very very mild abrasive (you got to watch out because some polish is much more “cutting” then others) that removes foreign substances from the paint or clear coat, and helps reduce visually the small scratches by removing these small foreign particles out of the paint/clear coat. This is why Zanio recommends you use dish washing liquid (like Dawn) to remove older coats of wax. Dishwashing liquid is a hard soap that actually can cut through some types of grease and waxes, removing it to the bear paint. Over the past years claybaring has become popular. For some reason the ingredients in the clay bar actually picks up pollution, overspray, and other foreign substances on the surface, but its always best to claybar AFTER you have washed the car with dishwashing detergent. And ALWAYS use a soapy lubicant when you claybar, doing only small areas at one time. After you POLISH your car you should wax to protect the shine. Again, even though Zanio is a Polishing system, it uses the principal of polish to wax, but with artificial or chemically produced compounds rather then natural waxes. Natural waxes only last a few weeks before they wear off. Zanio uses polymers that act as artifical (man-made) waxes that provide the high wet gloss look, this is the Z3.



UV Rays are not friendly to the finish of our cars, and just rain contains acid contaminants that make the newly waxed finish dull in a short time. Most POLISHES, like Zanio, contain protect and put a shield on the paint/clear coat that protects against UV and pollution. WAX is that protective coat. WAX is a physical barrier against all foreign particles that want to attach themselves to the paint/clear coat. That is why after you Zanio with Z3 or Z6 your polishing rag slides across with not friction. It has applied a slick protective finish. However, UNLIKE the standard WAX that is used JUST TO PROTECT PAINT. Zanio also has reflective properties that shines and protests….that is why Zanio is so different then natural waxes like carnuba. Remember Carnuba Wax will wear off in just a matter of a few weeks.


Today’s waxes are catergorized into two areas: Natural (Carnauba, Bees, etc.) and the newer man-made or Sythetics (polymers, arcrylic, silicone etc.). Again just remember what I have said above about Zanio, although it is marketed as a POLISH, it has NO cleaning abilities, it’s a Synthetic WAX period. I know its confusing, but just remember this. WAX give SHINE, POLISH provides protection.



One last area are the Rubbing Compounds, they are VERY abrasive and used to remove fine scratches, overspray, and other minor problems and should ONLY BE USE BY EXPERIENCE people, otherwise you can remove the paint.



For the best results, using a 2 or 3 step methods provides you the best protection and shine. The single methods of just putting it on and rubbing it off is simply for everyday protection. Hope this helps…

 

[paul67]

Collin,

That is very informative. Thank you. I have used Zaino with good results in the past. I may use it again. There is a Canadian distributor so I can avoid the d**n brokerage fees.