WAXING

sebrussellsmith · Jun 6, 2012

Dear All,
It seems everytime I wax the car I end up with different 'depths' of colour, i.e. some areas are darker than others with a 'cloudy' effect. This happens when waxing in cold or hot weather regardless and with liquid and hard waxes.
Does this make sense and any idea how to avoid it so the car has a uniform appearance post waxing? Colour is midnight blue.
Thanks
Seb

JB 3.2 · Jun 6, 2012

Do you do any paintwork preparation before waxing?

The normal process after washing is to clay the car first to remove contamination, followed by a polish to condition the paint. Then once everything is to a satisfactory standard wax is applied as a final protection to maintain the finish.

sebrussellsmith · Jun 6, 2012

ORIGINAL: JB 3.2

Do you do any paintwork preparation before waxing?

The normal process after washing is to clay the car first to remove contamination, followed by a polish to condition the paint. Then once everything is to a satisfactory standard wax is applied as a final protection to maintain the finish.

Hi yes I should have mentioned this. This is normally after cleaning, claying and polishing although I used to skip the claying and polishing and still achieve a uniform finish.

JB 3.2 · Jun 6, 2012

With a dark colour such as Midnight Blue, have you considered Poorboys Blackhole Glaze before wax.

gm997_1 · Jun 6, 2012

And again before waxing, Seb, do you make use of sprayed water?

What I mean is, you've washed it, you've clayed it, you've polished it, and then you can spray it with very fine mist of water. Not over much of that though - it's best using, say, a trigger-type spray bottle you'd use to water indoor plants. A feww squuezes should be ok. Not a hose with spray attachment as that's too much. Then buff it dry and that has the effect of deepening the colour as wellas 'regularising' the appearance across the surface. So you might want to spray some patches and not others, for instance. Certainly works well on deep blue such as yours and mine, i can tell you.

But it's dependent on the amount of cloudiness in the paintwork - too much of that and just spraying water on won't make sufficient difference.

Someitmes also, the lacquer can have become dulled over time and it it needs to be buffed by rotary polisher to get the gloss back - which buffs a micron or two off the top to get back to good lacquer.

Graeme

T911UK · Jun 6, 2012

"With a dark colour such as Midnight Blue, have you considered Poorboys Blackhole Glaze before wax. "

Another big YES for this stuff, great on dark cars

sebrussellsmith · Jun 6, 2012

ORIGINAL: graeme

And again before waxing, Seb, do you make use of sprayed water?

What I mean is, you've washed it, you've clayed it, you've polished it, and then you can spray it with very fine mist of water. Not over much of that though - it's best using, say, a trigger-type spray bottle you'd use to water indoor plants. A feww squuezes should be ok. Not a hose with spray attachment as that's too much. Then buff it dry and that has the effect of deepening the colour as wellas 'regularising' the appearance across the surface. So you might want to spray some patches and not others, for instance. Certainly works well on deep blue such as yours and mine, i can tell you.

But it's dependent on the amount of cloudiness in the paintwork - too much of that and just spraying water on won't make sufficient difference.

Someitmes also, the lacquer can have become dulled over time and it it needs to be buffed by rotary polisher to get the gloss back - which buffs a micron or two off the top to get back to good lacquer.

Graeme

no not normally - I have to say time is a premium so completing all these stages everytime I wax the car is not really an option. As said, though when I previously waxed without claying and polishing the finish was better.
Graeme, thank you for your comments though.

clyde · Jun 6, 2012

What's the paint look like after you clay it Seb, because that's effectively it in it's raw state? If it doesn't look "cloudy" then there's something wrong with your technique when applying or more likely removing either the polish or the wax, or possibly both. If it is cloudy then you will need to try a fine cutting compound to bring the surface back to an acceptable level of colour and shine before polishing and waxing.

Are the wax and polish from the same manufacturer because, although I wouldn't have thought it likely, they may be reacting to each other. Rather than claying you might want to try the Meguiars three stage process of paint cleaner (a non-abrasive compound which can clean up dull finishes), polish and wax. I've used this for a number of years and get a very good finish on my metalllic black.

If you don't have a lot of time you might want to consider an electrical polisher which takes a lot (but not all) of the time and effort out of the job.