Re-Waxing/Maintenance

[Monk]

Before re-waxing, do I need to clean the old was off (for ex. use #80) or can I just put more wax on after washing? Would that lead to an uneven was build-up over time? Assume that I would be waxing monthly )or is that too much waxing?)

And, if I have a swirl free finish, and the answers to the above are "Yes, you need to (i.e. should) remove the old wax before rewaxing iif you want a good looking finish" is it necessary to use #80 as the cleaner, or is something else recommended, perhaps just the Fine Cut Cleaner (M02).

FWIW, I have the time to use #81 as a pure polish. and I think I have read here that your final result will be better if you get the "polish" part of your shine from a pure polish rather than as a side benefit contained in a dual action cleaner-polish.

Using the DA. Black vehicle.

So I guess my questions are:

1. Can you just add wax or should you clean.

2. If the answer to #1 is "you should clean", and the paint is essentially defect free, what cleaner would you use to "just" clean" if you are going to use a pure polish as a separate application afterwards?

3. Most of what I have is from the "Professional Line", so I would like any additional product acquisitions to be from that line as well, which I why I referenced the Fine Cut M02 as opposed to Deep Crystal A21.

[TH0001]

1)What do you mean by clean? Do you need to use an abrasive to scub the paint? No. Do you need to wash and remove the defects that have landed on the paint, with soap and water.

You only need to deep clean the surface when YOU feel necessary. After you wash it, look for imperfections, and if you see any then tackle them at that time. Rub your hand over the surface to feel for contaminates, if you feel some then you need to clay bar.

2) If your paint is defect free, and you are satisfied with the condition of the paint, then there is no reason to clean off the old wax. Just wax on top of it. Meg's recommends two coats of wax anyways. Mike had a good article explaining the benefits of multiple coats of waxes and topper coats, but I'm too lazy to look. Basically, you can't over wax a car but there is a point of diminishing returns. Waxing once a month may be overkill, but who cares? I will not do anyharm and if you enjoy doing it, then go for it. I personally park in a garage so I feel very comfortable with #21 lasting atleast 2 months, so thats how often I wax.

3) There are much more qualifed people to answer your question and I don't honestly know what you are asking? Are looking for polishes, cleaners, waxes? ECT?

[Pete-FWA]

Monk, if after washing the vehicle you are satisfied with how the paint looks and feels, but just want to freshen the protection level, simply apply your wax and call it done.

By no means is this overkill in the wax department. This is ensuring your paint is protected and looking good. I see overkill being more than 2 coats in one detailing session. This is where the diminishing returns that TH0001 quoted would apply.

If you have any bonded contaminants, then working some clay over the finish will help that. Depending on what surface you're left with, you may choose to go directly to wax after clay. For added depth, use a pure polish, THEN the wax.

For light swirl removal, I suggest using either M82 Swirl Free Polish or M09 Swirl Remover before applying your wax. Since each of these does mild cleaning and adds polish, you may skip a pure polish step and go to wax.

For added gloss, use one of the pure polishes (ones without cleaners or abrasives) such as M81, M07, M03, or M05 from the Mirror Glaze Professional Line. M05 is an overlooked product that does very well in humid conditions.

[Accumulator]

1) I like to do a light cleaning with clay to make sure I don't seal in any unnoticed contamination, but I've been just adding more LSP to most of my vehicles for a long, long time. I'd worried about something indicating I really oughta do a thorough/proper paint cleaning, but no, it's turned out just fine.

I do sometimes find more contamination on the clay than I expect, so IMO a nice gentle claying would be a good idea, at least in the areas that tend to attract a lot of dirt.

2) In the absence of marring I'd clean it with Deep Crystal Step #1. No need for the (admittedly mild) abrasives in #80 and #2 is a lot more aggressive than you need for this (more so than the #80).

3) Note that the Deep Crystal line is completely nonabrasive and many products in the Pro line contain diminishing abrasives (some of which are rather aggressive). So you can't directly compare the products in the Deep Crystal line with the Pro series other than through broad generalizations (e.g., "LSPs", "pure polishes", etc). Gotta consider each product in the Pro series individually, based on its unique characteristics.

[Monk]

Originally posted by Accumulator
2) In the absence of marring I'd clean it with Deep Crystal Step #1. No need for the (admittedly mild) abrasives in #80 and #2 is a lot more aggressive than you need for this (more so than the #80).
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Yikes, this would have been a serious boo-boo. Thanks for straightening me out here--I see now by looking on the product, that the M02 has a pretty high abrasiveness. I have not seen this product discussed here much. How and when is this product used? I bought it when I picked up some M04 Heavy Cut to do windshields with.

[Accumulator]

Originally posted by Monk
Yikes, this would have been a serious boo-boo. Thanks for straightening me out here--I see now by looking on the product, that the M02 has a pretty high abrasiveness. I have not seen this product discussed here much. How and when is this product used? I bought it when I picked up some M04 Heavy Cut to do windshields with.

I haven't used #2 since it got reformulated to work by hand/G-100. I'd say it's an alternative to something like #83, a "medium cut" cleaner-polish. I'd use it for marring that something like #80 was a little too mild for and I'd probably plan to follow up with the #80.

I'm sorta surprised/disappointed that it hasn't received any real attention. I used to use #2 on single stage *way* back in the day and I sorta liked the idea of it being reformulated for today's applications.

[Monk]

Accumulator--

Do you work with 81, and if so how do you work it in--similar to a wax?

[Accumulator]

I have only limited experience with #81 as I like some of the other pure polishes better (#5 for ease-of-use, #7 for looks, #3 for a trade-off between ease and looks). But anyhow, no you don't use it quite like a wax as you don't let #81 dry to a haze. Apply it, work it a little so it gets into the pores/micro-fissues/etc. of the paint, and then buff it off while it's still wet.