Hammer911

Washed my car last evening...when drying I felt that awful resistance on the miocrofiber...the slow drag across the paint.

So much new asphalt going down around the Denver area in preparation for winter, seems every other street is being ground down and repaved. Feels like a fine coating of asphalt residue on the whole car, time to get the clay out!

Didn't sleep well last night, thinking of all that stuff all over the car. Clayed the roof panel this morning before work, using Griot's Speed Shine as lubricant, then a coat of Best in Show wax. The clay got dirty pretty quickly. Looks great, and I feel better. Car will have to sit in the garage until I can get to the rest of it this weekend.

Question: do you apply wax by hand with a foam pad or with a random orbital and foam pad? I used the orbital this morning and found it left too thick a coat of wax...made for extra work buffing it off by hand.

stealthboy

I always apply wax by hand. With a good carnauba it's not really difficult to apply. Wipe on each panel at a time with a foam applicator and let it sit for 15-20 minutes before buffing off.

I only use my random orbital for polishing work where you need the speed to build up heat.

kosmo

i apply wax both ways- hand and machine. The extra effort you needed for the removal is the product of your wax. The Best in Show wax by Griots requires a lot of effort and frankly not on my top 5 list. There are other waxes that are much easier to remove.

mtbscott

Plus one. I got some Best in Show and other Griots products as a Christmas gift last year and it's the hardest to buff off wax I've ever tried. Looks good afterwards, but so do lots of other products I've used both cheap and expensive, that were much easier to remove.

doubleurx

Same here. You need to put on the griots really thin, and do not let it sit long. I stopped using it. I mainly use Menzerna sealant now. Very easy to use and lasts.

chuckbdc

After a well done claying, if there are no surface scratches (in the clear coat on pigmented 991s), hand waxing should be as easy as using a machine. The less you put on the easier to wipe off.

Random orbital machies are useful for compounding (which a new car should never need) or polishing. Their action and, for civilians, clutch to prevent action with too much pressure, are amazing for removing marks. Using the least abrasive polishes needed, absolutely clean pads that are right for the material, and following the instructions goes a long way to getting the desired result. After polishing, and care in removing ALL of the polish, waxing is as easy as washing and the result is addictive. Just don't do it so much you remove the paint!

rglbegl

Hand wax, hand removal.

The only time our detailers use a machine is to do a full buff-out on an older car. In which case you are using a 4 step compound process, then the final is a hand wax and hand removal.

doubleurx

Agreed on the prep, but it still is very difficult to buff out griots best of show no matter how smooth you make the surface.

rpilot

After always having mixed results with different waxes over the years, I finally settled on Zaino (which is technically a polymer sealant of sorts). Goes on easy, wipes off easy, no orbital required nor recommended. I apply four coats of the stuff on a new car after claying it and thereafter a couple of coats every 3 months or so...

Use it if your goal is protection. Zaino will never give a concours shine, what it does do is leave a very nice smooth finish to touch and protects very well, much longer than waxes.

chuck911

Hammer, I've used Griot's Best of Show for years, and love it. I like to apply with the orange pad, and yes it is best to apply a thin coat to a small area. A fender, door, half of the hood or roof. There is a technique that will greatly speed removal. Start with a folded 100% cotton bath towel. Go over your area in circles, not really trying to get all the wax off. Turn the towel over to a clean side and repeat, this time with a little more pressure. The reason Best of Show looks so great, lasts so long and beads water so awesomely is because of its high carnauba wax content. But when you go to remove it this creates a problem because it quickly builds up on your towel, and in no time you're just pushing it around making more work for yourself instead of removing it. Once you realize what's happening then its easy to see the solution is not more effort but to keep turning the towel. Always use a folded towel as this will help to evenly spread pressure and makes it easier to keep only the clean area on the car.

I like to use a terry cloth bath towel to get most of the wax off first, then finish with either Griot's 100% cotton polishing cloth or a good microfiber cloth. Either material, same process. Keep folded, and keep turning to make sure the part you're using is clean and free of wax. Don't judge by appearance! If you've done a small area trust me, there's wax on there and you need to re-fold to a clean part of the towel.

Follow these steps and I think you will be surprised how much effort you'll save. It'll still probably take more work than some of the other stuff that's out there. The other guys are right about that. Where I disagree, or at least hold serious doubt, is saying there's easier products that are just as good. Easier, sure. Just as good? Never seen it. Might be out there. But I know for a fact you can achieve a perfect, and I mean flawless finish on your car using only what you already have. Also, I think you will find that with Best of Show you may not need to wax as often as you think. Especially if you're using Griot's Car Wash. Its not always necessary to wax (or polish) after claying. And I hope you are using Machine 4. Machine 3 is okay, but the way you care for your car 4 will do a better job while removing less paint.

chuck911

Sorry rpilot, but I had to laugh when I read this. Zaino goes on easy, wipes off easy.... but you apply FOUR COATS and then A COUPLE OF COATS EVERY 3 MONTHS or so... that's SIXTEEN COATS in a year, and guaranteed to NEVER give a concours shine?!?! That's some endorsement!

Now how long a finish lasts is open to all kinds of factors, everything from where you live, time of year, how you wash and how stringent your standards are. I live in Washington, drive daily year round, garage at night, hand wash weekly and have incredibly high, near concours level standards. ONE coat of Best of Show is good for FOUR to SIX MONTHS.

How do I know when to wax? When washing, I always rinse using a sheet of water. When the sheet flows cleanly off leaving NO drops behind the wax is good. When a few drops form it indicates contaminants. I clay. No wax, just clay. When the sheet flows slow with more than a few drops left behind its time to wax. Technically there is probably still wax there and I could just clay, and sometimes I will. Over the years I've discovered I can "get by" for a year with one polish, two waxes and claying 4 times. Again, this is on a daily driver. So I have to laugh when someone says their polymer whatever is easy and lasts much longer. You should try Best of Show. Sounds like it will save you money, time and effort while giving you that concours finish you're guaranteed not to get with Zaino!

rpilot

Laugh all you like... I don't really care that much for an overtly glossy finish. Zaino just leaves a sheen which is actually hard to see on silver cars which I have had for as long as I can remember. Also the two layers I put on every 3 mos or so is out of an abundance of caution.. it can go 6 months or more easy. The 2 layers also take significantly less time to put on and wipe off than a single layer of any wax I have used. Zaino is supposed to be applied in very thin layers , differently than waxes and very little is used for each layer. The 4 layers are an overkill IMO, but I always do it on a brand new car to make myself feel better.

Also, it requires little skill (ie.. hard to f**k up). I trained my son years ago to do it to my specs and most of the time I get him to do it (Teenagers always need more spending money ) I don't like spending the time detailing my car, but I do it because I trust others less. Now, yes I would trust the car to a high end detailer who may charge many hundreds or thousands to do this work, but I cannot see myself spending that kind of money for it, atleast on any regular basis. Having said that, I may for the first time, let a high end person locally do his thing every 2-3 years or so. It is mostly a DD, and it will probably see around 7-8K a year along with another car. The paint on a 7 year old car I traded in which saw 100K in its life was as good as could be and the paint on a 10 year old car with 70K or so on it, that is stored at the moment is as good as can be.

I never claimed it to be the best solution, just one of the easiest ones and it does protect the finish of the vehicle over many many years.. which is just about they only reason I care to wax. There is a shine, a sheen with the product that I like, just not a gloss. Water beads right off.

There are high end detailers who use this product for protection as well, although they use wax on top for gloss. Lately however, I think the nanotech stuff may have taken over for protection, I haven't kept up.

Griot's may be better, but you may also love waxing your car and have different tastes than me. I have not used it personally, however the OP was having a hard time with the wax he is using and many others were in agreement with the difficulty. There may be better solutions, I just offered mine. YMMV

doubleurx

Guys, do your self a favor and give the Menzerna sealant a try . I've used both Griots BOS wax and Zaino for years. Menzerna goes on easier and lasts a whole lot longer. This is coming from someone that was sold on Griots for the past 12 years.

Hammer911

I appreciate all the comments. Lots of products out there, and lots of personal preference.

I do tend to migrate to the Griot's products, and have had excellent results with them over the years. For some reason struggled with the wax this morning. In terms of technique, I think chuck911 is right - I suspect I was getting too much buildup on my buffing cloths. Perhaps a bit too cool this morning as well. The rest of the car gets it over the next few days, I'll post the results.

My last major polish and wax was my 1991 Guards Red C4 cab. Bought it with a significantly oxidized finish. Boy was my dealer happy when I traded it on the next 911!

Happy motoring!

doubleurx

Nice! I have a white '91 C4 cab. I don't think I'll ever sell it.....my first Porsche. Don't get me wrong, I still use mainly Griots products - wheel cleaner (love the smell), soap, cloths, polishers (both), and various tools. I just found their wax to be too difficult for the results. If you have to get the carnauba affect, P21s is another reasonably priced option that is much easier to work with.