Advices: Please help

S

stogey420time

New member
New here and this site ROCKS :xyxthumbs

I drive a white 2005 350z and wash it a lot. My neighbors say "you're gonna wash the paint off the car." Is that possible?



How many times do ya'll polish your car? Yearly...or do ya'll do it monthly?

I polished my car last month and thinking about polishing it again.



I bought the poorboy's sealant polish: non-abrasive and use my hand to do the buffering not the orbital machine is that ok?



I also bought their wax too but want to conserve it by using it ONLY after i polish my car SO...

is it ok to use other wax such as: Meguiar's that i bought from Wal-Mart after just washing my car?
 
I don't think the paint can be "washed" off, as long as you protect surface with a high-quality wax and/or polish. Which Meguiars wax do you plan on using? Depending on the durability of the wax, a car can usually take on 3-4 washes with a car shampoo before the wax is gone. Waxing/polishing should be done on an average every 2-3 months. However, some waxes only protect for 1-2 months, while others can go all the way to 6-7 months. Other factors including driving conditions, weather, garaged or not...
 
Welcome. What are you using to wash your car? I'm talking about what kind of soap and what kind of towel/sponge/wash mitt. How are you drying your car? Wash materials and technique are discussed here regularly and you'll find lots of opinions, but it's pretty universal that you're much better off using microfiber instead of cotton towels and that you should use dedicated car wash soap instead of dish soap unless you're intentionally trying to remove wax, etc.



You'll be fine using the Mequiar's wax when you want to, but you may well find that you have a preference for the Poorboys or something else when it comes to appearance, durability, ease of application, water beading, etc.
 
stogey420time- Welcome to Autopia!



You can't over wash your car and if your polish is nonabrasive you can use it as often as you think necessary. I'd just refresh the wax *without polishing* when you think it could use it, as you plan to do with the Meguiar's wax.



Nothing wrong with mixing waxes back and forth, but you might find that you really prefer one or the other. IMO if you just apply it nice and thin you won't need to worry about saving it as you just won't use that much. I'm just finishing a can of wax I opened over a dozen years ago; most people use a zillion times more wax than they need and end up buffing 99.9999% of it off ;)
 
Thanks for the response fellas!



Car Soaps: i use the turtle wax soap from Wal-Mart....5 bucks for a gallon (cheap)

What car soaps do ya'll prefer? (enlighten me please)

I also have one 16fl. oz bottle of Zaino car wash (use for clay bar only) cause it'll be gone in 5 washes.



Washing: I use a small size rag to wash my car (been doing it for years) but after joining this site i might have to shop around for a good mitt or a grout sponge from Home Depo.



Drying: just use regular towel (not microfiber) although i do have a chamois but never use it

(don't know why)

Should i use a towel or a chamois?



Waxing: i have two different bottles of meguiars lol don't know how'd that happened - 1) gold class 2) mirror glaze (had this one for a while now...wax never go out dated right?)



Interior: what do you guys use for interior? I was using armorall...liked the shine but it attracts a lot of dust/lint on my dash so i stopped using it.
 
Only have a sec, so quick response:



Skip the cheap shampoos, not enough Lubricity. For a decent OTC one at least move up to Meg's Gold Class. I use Griot's Car Wash. Plenty of people seem to really like DuraGloss shampoo.



Use more than one mitt so you don't use the same one on the hood that you use on dirtier areas.



Most 100% cotton bath towels will mar automotive paint, get a waffle-weave microfiber towel to dry with. Chamois aren't popular here and I haven't used on in over 20 years, there are just better things available.



Which Mirror Glaze product do you have? There are a few of them...



You might try diluting the Armor All with some water. There are a *scad* of good interior products on the market these days, I'm still using up my Griot's Vinyl/Rubber dressing.
 
Thanks Accumulator.



Come to find out the Mirror Glaze is a freakin polish #7...not a wax.



Car Soap: how much do you pour into the bucket? Either Griot or Duragloss will do but jus don't want to use too much soap when i don't need to (ex: wax)



Interior: I just bought some 303 Aerospace Protectant....give that a try and if i don't like then Griot it is.



Drying: yea i'll try the microfiber towels...are all microfiber towel waffle-weave?
 
Waffle weave towels are a specific type of microfiber towel and they're made for drying. They also typically cost more than a regular plush microfiber towel. There are plenty of places to buy them and different levels of quality. Most of my MFs I bought in bulk packs from Sams Club, 25 towels for $11 or $12.



For wash mitts, you can get a pretty good deal on the wool Eurow mitts at Walmart. If there's a Big Lots near you that's also worth checking for a deal.



BTW, that #7 you have, while not a wax, is supposed to be pretty good stuff. It's a glaze that you'd usually use before the wax. I haven't used it, but the main criticism I've heard here about it is that it can be difficult to apply and buff out.
 
stogey420time said:
Come to find out the Mirror Glaze is a freakin polish #7...not a wax.



Car Soap: how much do you pour into the bucket? Either Griot or Duragloss will do but jus don't want to use too much soap when i don't need to (ex: wax)
Click to expand...



Even though I have it and it's OK, I dunno about the Griot's Vinyl dressing...I bet there are a zillion others just as good (or better) that cost less.



Shampoo- hard to say how much you oughta use as I'm working with the foamgun too...use less than they say though. I have the pump dispenser on my gallon jug and IMO one ounce per gallon is a bit more than you'll probably need. Put water in the bucket, add shampoo, add more water until it's as full as you want it.



[insert Accumulator's usual lecture on the wonders of a foamgun here..]



The #7 is a nonabrasive glaze that *IMO* isn't always that great on basecoat/clearcoat paint (I prefer it on single stage). It can be tricky to work with, maybe look up Mike Phillips' thread on how to use it.
 
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