I have a new one and have yet to wax it, just been using spray on wax from Griot's after washing. Doesn't look like it really needs a wax yet (I garage it), but I'm wondering how often you guys wax?

Bonus points to go through your process and what products you use and why! Thanks

 

I usually hand wax every 3-4 months. I have an orbital, but have not needed it yet, although I have clayed the car a couple of times to prep it for wax.

I use Zymol wax, Griot's clay and SpeedShine for in-between waxes.

 

You can see when the wax starts to fail. Environmental debris starts to stick and not just rinse off and water doesn't bead and sheet off like it used to.

Products, this one is a bit longer. I've used a lot of stuff over the years on various vehicles parked in various conditions. I have my favorites and I have no brand loyalty. My basic process for any car is pretty much the same but I start at the point the car needs it by looking at the paint:

1. 2 bucket wash with Chemical Guys orange wash. It has citrus and really cuts through old wax and debris on the vehicle. I only dry or buff the cars with Swissvax towels. Possibly overkill at 30 dollars a towel but they work, they are extremely thick and a tiny towel will dry an entire car. Last forever too.
2. Clay vehicle generally using Griots Garage Speed shine and Clay.
3. If the car needs it I'll polish it at this point. I'll use the griots white polish with their random orbital for very light stuff or if I need to I'll start with the grey Chemical Guys medium polish.
4.This step is really only needed if you use Swissvax. I'll do the entire car with a swissvax cleaner fluid before applying wax. They suggest it. I've never tried their wax without it but it might be a waste of time.
5. I apply Swissvax PTFE. Yes it's 215 dollars a can. However it does honestly last 6 months on a car even if it's parked outside and exposed to the elements. A tub does about 15 applications. I literally apply this by hand. I put it on my hands and work it onto the car. Then I buff it out with one of the swissvax microfibre towels.
6. I do all the trim once a month with Poor Boys World Trim restore. It has UV inhibitors and they work really well. We have a 7 year old Z4 that parks only outside baking in the sun, the trim looks factory fresh and so does the roof. See step 7.
7. For convertible tops the Gtechniq protectant is incredible. Factory fresh top on the Z4 after 7 years of sun.

Not all of those are applicable or even necessary. It's probably just my OCD craziness with paint but I do this with all the vehicles and regardless if they're garage parked or sitting in the sun the paint looks good after years and years. Easier to wash and maintain as well. None of the cars have swirls regardless of age nor do any of them have any perceivable UV damage. I'm probably nuts but doing this provides with personal enjoyment and the cars look good, so to each their own.

For weekly washes it's a lot faster and easier. I use Chemical Guys Maxi Suds II, because it foams like crazy and smells nice. Hose off car. Foam cannon car and leave to soak. Spray wheels with Sonax wheel cleaner. If anything is really dirty I'll hit it with a lamb wool mitt from the wash bucket with grit guard. Rinse off car and dry with a swissvax towel. Takes me maybe 15 minutes to do a car from start to finish. With the PTFE wax everything really just slides off so it's very little effort.

 

Not once yet.

It's why I got Opti-Coat.

 

Opti-coat is great stuff. But it has drawbacks just like every other product and they can be time consuming and difficult. When it takes damage you end up having to remove it from the panel or area by buffing and re-applying. Removing is not easy but hey that's the idea, it's supposed to hard to remove. I found it to be neither permanent or bulletproof as the manufacturer implied. This is my experience if we're talking about the same product - Optimum Opti-Coat II. There are a lot of coatings available so I can only assume we are talking about the same product.

I'm not trying to disparage the product in any way. It's a good product. But like everything else it has it's pros and cons. To me it doesn't look as good as wax and eventually becomes very time consuming. Great protection and super easy initial application if directions are followed. Also very cost effective.

 

For me Opti-Coat gives me that nice shine and glossy patina without having to pay for a wax job every month (or two).

Is it forever everlasting? Of course not.

Is it perfect? Hardly.

Is it better than traditional wax applications? I suppose that depends. I like the look of it, and not having to pay for a wax job every other month or so makes it cost-effective. For me at least.

 

Thanks for the feedback. Maybe i should have just got the opticoat or still should to save some money and time? I have a black car too so its weekly washes at least so far.

I already hit something on a road that scratched my bumper a bit maybe the opticoat would have protected it

 

After I wash my car and dry it with a master blaster, I put a baggie on my hand and gently sweep my fingers across the paint. Any chemical impurities embedded in clear coat become readily apparent. If the surface is to bumpy I rewash with dawn soap to break down the wax and dirt.

The next step is to use the clay bar and follow with a fine machine polish . My tool of choice is a cyclo polisher, it is the most gentle of the various machines. My final step is to apply wax or paint sealer. Wax is hand applied and paint sealer is applied with the cyclo. The most common interval is four months.

 

I do some variation of the above whenever the finish does not feel slippery smooth with deep refections. Keep in mind that you are doing all the cleaning, polishing and coating of a thin layer of clear coat and not the paint underneath. So long as you don't damage it by introducing scratches and swirls or removing it when you clean off the crud and smooth out the ones that accumulate naturally, your car will look new.

 

There's an easy way to determine when its time to wax. Begin with clay, polish and wax. (Yes, even though your car is brand new you still need to clay, polish and wax!) Now when washing your freshly waxed car do a sheet rinse.

The correct way to sheet rinse is to remove the spray nozzle (which you shouldn't have been using anyway) and carefully adjust water to a rate where you can hold the hose a few inches above the paint and water will flow smoothly from the hose and sheet onto the car without splashing. Then start at the top and move the hose to follow the sheet as it flows off the car. It takes some experimentation to get it right but when you do then all the water will sheet off leaving nothing behind. Nothing. Not one drop!

Now if you get into the habit of doing this every time you wash- which you should as it saves time, pretty much eliminates water spotting, toweling and the hideous air blasting technique- then you will find that the way the water sheets off tells you when its time to wax.

With a good coat of wax, water will sheet off quickly and evenly leaving zero drops behind. As the wax wears off water will still sheet off but not as quickly. When the wax is gone or contaminants get stuck on the paint you will see tiny little spots where the edge of the sheet gets "hung up" and leaves little droplets behind. Time to clay and wax.

Oh yeah, and since you asked: Griot's. Why? Because its the best.

 

I wax about every 2-3 months. I never use a machine to wax; I always do it by hand. I use P21 Carnauba paste wax.

 

I wax every 6 months or so... always by hand.

 

Chuck, I air blast my car (using a leaf blower) and I'm wondering why it is hideous. I actually have an idea on that, as I have gotten some mysterious embedded water spots that I'm still trying to get out of the clear coat, thinking that maybe the air blasting contributed to that (I use a deionizer, and never leave the car out at night/rain etc.) Could this be part of the problem?

Thanks as always for your excellent info (you're the new Gary)

Jeff

 

OptiCoat Pro will not offer any protection for this.

No. Not from your leaf blower.

 

Every 4months:

Menzerna Polish
Menzerna Finish
Wax (carnauba) whatever is on sale