Cleaner Wax with a cutting pad

B

biff

In Exile
I have to wash and wax a grocery-getter that I haven't seen in six months, tommorrow.



I'd like to save some time, so instead of going with clay, DACP, carnuba, I'm actually considering just going clay then cleaner wax with a Meguiar's burgundy pad on a PC.



Has anyone tried an agressive pad with cleaner wax?



Should I just stick to a polishing pad? I find that cleaner wax is pretty hard on those pads (picks up a lot of crud)
 
Mr. Sparkle



I say a polishing pad with Zymol cleaner wax. I am not a fan of cleaner wax but Zymol I liked the best out of all the ones I have used.
 
My votes with "2001civicex" I've tried it....it works......./







Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/



justadumbarchitect
 
Thanks for the replies, I guess I should have been clearer.



I have already picked my cleaner wax, (if I go that route), but I was really just wondering if the cutting pad was too aggresive for cleaner wax or if I should play it safe with a polishing pad.



:)
 
One has to remember that most cleaner waxes have light to very light abrasive properties. Truthfully, it would depend on the severity of the oxidation on the vehicle. But my gut feeling says that you are taking the right approach.
 
The cleaning properties of a cleaner wax are pretty mild. If you have any sort of swirls or defects that you want to get rid of, a cleaner wax isn't going to do much.



Honestly, I can apply/buff a coat of S100 wax to a car in 20 minutes, so doing DACP (or other proper polish) beforehand isn't a step I'd skip for the minor time savings.



That said, cleaner wax on a cutting pad will probably work, just not as well. Up to you.



Michael
 
mpauly said:




Honestly, I can apply/buff a coat of S100 wax to a car in 20 minutes, so doing DACP (or other proper polish) beforehand isn't a step I'd skip for the minor time savings.





Michael
Click to expand...



I agree that S100 wax is a twenty minute process, but to properly buff out DACP to my satisfaction is a process that will take me at least an hour or more(if several passes are needed). So its a pretty major time saving for me to skip it.
 
If this is a "grocery getter" and not a car that the owner only handwashes regularly, then go with the cleaner wax and cutting pad. IMHO, if the finish isn't going to be taken care of after all your hard work, then it would just be a waste of your time and products. Let us know how you like the results.
 
If you know the person and they abuse their car and really dont' care that much, just give em a cleaner wax job. They won't even know the difference unless they were a detailer themselves.
 
Your idea might actually be okay. I've never tried it myself, but all those famous pictures Jngrbrdman posts showing the "power of AIO" were done using a burgundy Meguiar's cutting pad. AIO is pretty much like a cleaner wax. Maybe try asking him if he got any marring from the pad, which would be the only thing I'd be worried about. I don't think he did though, because I'm pretty sure I asked him about that one...
 
I did the job last night. 3 hours to wash, clay, DACP, wax plus tires, trim, glass etc.



Sorry, no pics; 'cause it really wasn't photo-worthy and I'm not satisfied with it. (Just a Neon)



I can't believe I was considering a cleaner wax on this thing!! The red paint was pretty oxidized, swirls weren't that bad though. But there was a fair amount of acid rain spots etched into the paint and it was covered in scratches.



It seems since the last time I worked on it, the owner's husband bought one of those ridiculous car wash "scrub brushes on a pole" and has been using it regularly.



I was limited to one application of DACP with a cutting pad due to time restraints, starting on 4 with the PC then breaking it down on 6. It worked wonderfully on the oxidation and the few swirls that were there, but didn't make a dent in the scratches or acid rain spots. If I could have done more passes it probably would have helped, but I've found in the past, that even with 4 passes that DACP it really doesn't do much for scratches (with the PC anyway). I'd like to try something more aggresive that I can use with the PC. Would Compund Power Cleaner be the right choice? How much damage, if any, could I do with it and a PC?



Anyway, back to the tale: I hate giving a car back that I'm not satisfied with. I wanted those scratches out but didn't have time to hit them multiple times with DACP. (hopefully this is where something more aggresive will help) This also was pretty much a "favor job" without any cash involved. So after one pass, I topped it with S100.



By the way, this particular model of Neon had single stage paint on the bumpers. Now working on non-cleared paint is a hole different world, isn't it. The pad was gumming up and had to be spurred often. Another question: I managed to gouge a fairly shallow but long swirl into the pad (from the washer nozzle), is this pad OK to keep using, or should I replace it?



I explained to the owner about the scratches and how they got there and that I would like to take the time to attack them properly in the Spring.



Even so, she's thrilled with the way it looks now .... I knew that my Mom(!) would be. Now if I can just get that scrub-brush away from Dad! (and you were wondering why it was a "favor job")
 
Good ending to the story. Looks like someone was paying attention in Creative Writing class. :)



If you can remove scratches and acid rain damage with a PC, you are a better man than I, my friend. CPC will help.... maybe. I've used CPC with a rotary to remove moderate scratches and it worked pretty well for me. You'll need to generate some heat with the CPC and the PC just ain't gonna do it.



I'm not saying, "don't try it". Just passing on what I've tried with these products.



If the gouged pad looks to be OK and won't fall apart with the next use, I'd say it's good to reuse. Beat up pads are a fact of life but you don't want to use one that will self-destruct if used again.
 
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