Stone-cut wax question??

[primouomo]

Hey I got a black '02 civic and use Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0 paste to wax it (I wipe it off about 30mins-hour after with 100cotton fabric)
I recently went into a paint-shop to buy some touch-up paint. The guy working there had a look at my car and said the wax I've used was (something like) a stone-cut wax, and said that my car's paint was in too good a condition for it - that I should buy a polish instead.. He said stone-cut wax (or whatever it's called) causes swirl-marks or some **** like that lol.. He also said that you shouldn't be waxing it like every month (more like once or twcie a year???)..
1. Can anybody confirm all this? Anybody have any recommendations?

2. Since my car's black it picks up dust quite easily. I've been told that just wiping it with a cotton cloth is scratching the paint, and to get it off you just have to get a car-wash.. But I don't want to be going to the car-wash every week. Does anybody know any alternatives? I've also been recommended Quick detailer, but i'm not sure how effective it'd be??

[akimel]

Re: Stone-cut wax question??

1. Interesting. I've never heard of a stone-cut wax. But there's nothing for you to worry about using NXT 2.0, once a week, once a month, or whenever. It's not going to damage your paint nor cause swirl marks, as long as you are using the proper tools. Apply with a foam applicator and remove with a high quality microfiber towel.

2. Replace your cotton cloth towels with high quality microfiber towels.

3. Frequency of washing and quick detailing is a matter of opinion. If your car is picking up a fair amount of dust and dirt, then you may want to wash once a week or every two weeks. Don't take it to the car wsh--wash it yourself, if you can manage it. You might also try using a quick detailer, but in that case you will want to quick detail on a daily basis. I too have a black car and eventually gave up doing quick details, as I found that all that touching was creating swirls in the paint.

Check out this article: Your Daily Driver: A Simple Wash & Wax Regimen.

[Murr1525]

Re: Stone-cut wax question??

1. Just go back and slap him, unless he's bigger than you....

2. This is correct. A Quick Detailer would be a good choice, but is for mild dust. So you would want to be Quick Detailing the car every day or two. You can buy other versions of QD in bulk for that much use.

Also, going to a car wash will use strong soaps, that strip the wax off anyway. So unless you feel like washing yourself, you are kind of stuck either way.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Stone-cut wax question??

Never heard of stone cut waxes.

Definitely, want to use a quik detailer in between washes. Light dust and fingerprint removal. This does not replace regular washing.

Get yourself a bunch of high quality microfibers. (you can never have enough).

Try to avoid automatic car washes.

[ajb39oh]

Re: Stone-cut wax question??

Never heard of stone cut waxes either.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Stone-cut wax question??

How can your paint be in too good of condition for any quality wax?

If you're getting swirls when waxing, it isn't the wax (provided you're using a quality product from a reputable company), it's the applicator and/or removal towel. And how delicate your paint is will play a huge role in this.

A polish alone won't protect the paint, it will only add gloss. Further, it won't last long at all when used as a top coat. Unless he was referring to "polish" in the sense of an abrasive product used to clean the paint surface, in which case his wax comments are even more puzzling.

Now, you mentioned that he looked at your car and then made these comments. Did you tell him what wax you used or did he somehow manage to determine this simply by looking at the car? And lastly, is he aware that NXT Tech Wax 2.0 is technically a synthetic sealant and that it contains no actual, natural wax?

[noobhax0r]

Re: Stone-cut wax question??

sounded like maybe he wanted to sell you some more products than you needed

[primouomo]

Re: Stone-cut wax question??

Did you tell him what wax you used or did he somehow manage to determine this simply by looking at the car?

Yeh I did! I had a feeling he was talking ****.. indeed, he probably just wanted to sell me more products..
So is using old t-shirts to get the wax off really discouraged? Also is it worth looking at getting a mechanical buffer??

[Murr1525]

Re: Stone-cut wax question??

Yeah, the t-shirts can go. A good microfiber works better, and is safer for the paint.

The buffer is up to you, it is certainly optional. The more defects you have to fix, the better it can be. Just to clean and wax a car in good shape can be easy and fun by hand.

[TimG]

Re: Stone-cut wax question??

1. Just go back and slap him, unless he's bigger than you....

lol

[primouomo]

Re: Stone-cut wax question??

Yeah, the t-shirts can go. A good microfiber works better, and is safer for the paint.
.

Ok, I asked a guy at an auto-supply shop what he thought about some $5-8 Meguiar's microfibre cloth and he said that I won't get many uses out of it.. that i'm better off getting a pack of terry-cotton cloth/towels or whatever they were. Again - beeing a noob - is that alright for a cheap option instead of buying a new micro-fibre cloth nearly every time i wax the car??

Also these scratches on my boot..


i've been told my numerous that they're too deep for anything but a respray to get-out/hide. Can I get some confirmation on that?

The buffer is up to you, it is certainly optional. The more defects you have to fix, the better it can be. Just to clean and wax a car in good shape can be easy and fun by hand.

Yeh I like waxing the car by hand!

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Stone-cut wax question??

Ok, I asked a guy at an auto-supply shop what he thought about some $5-8 Meguiar's microfibre cloth and he said that I won't get many uses out of it.. that i'm better off getting a pack of terry-cotton cloth/towels or whatever they were. Again - beeing a noob - is that alright for a cheap option instead of buying a new micro-fibre cloth nearly every time i wax the car??

To be completely honest, we'd rather see you use one of our competitors microfiber towels rather than a cheap terry towel you can pick up at the auto parts store. Microfiber is much more gentle on the paint and removes wax, polish and paint cleaners more effectively. We have towels in the garage here at work that have been used more times than we can remember, and that goes for my own towels at home too. You probably won't find too many MOL members who feel that their towels only last for a couple of uses, either.

i've been told my numerous that they're too deep for anything but a respray to get-out/hide. Can I get some confirmation on that?

It looks as though you can see primer in the scratches, which would indicate that they're too deep to remove. Of course, the paint is black and depending on what wax you've been using it could be that what we're seeing is actually a bit of dried wax in the scratches.

Here's how you can make a final determination on how to proceed with them: gently run your fingernail across them to determine if you can feel them at all. If they seriously catch your fingernail and that is indeed primer we're seeing, then the only way to fix them properly is to repaint the panel. If you can barely feel them and that is just dried wax, then you most likely can do no more than minimize their appearance. In that case you would want to apply some Ultimate Compound with a soft foam wax applicator (definitely stay away from terry cloth for this step as it will haze the paint). Apply the product fairly vigorously for a minute or so and wipe off the excess before it dries. You may need a couple of applications to get to where the scratch is no longer readily visible. But if after 3 applications they aren't totally gone, you're probably better off just stopping and living with the result - that would be an indication that they are still deep enough that trying to fully remove them would be risky at best. Apply a very thin coat of NXT Tech Wax 2.0 or M26 High Tech Yellow Wax and you should avoid leaving any white residue behind.