How much wax to use.

[68bowtie]

I have the griots polisher and a red pad. I am using souvern paste wax and was wondering how much to use for a car. When u put it on the pad how big of a area can use before u need to put more on. I think i might be using to much.

 

[Dan]

Prime the pad with a decent amount, maybe 1/4-1/2 a teaspoon. Then when you can no longer see ANY wax on the car surface, re-apply. You want to go as thin as possible.

 

[68bowtie]

So that means you don't have to use that much. I was appling to the pad every panel and i think that was too much.

 

[Dan]

So that means you don't have to use that much. I was appling to the pad every panel and i think that was too much.

Exactly, you want just enough so you can see that it was applied. Any more and you are just wasting it.

 

[TerryD]

Yes, I agree you may be using too much. I typically apply 2 to 3 swipes from the can for every 2 to 3 panels. Just as mention above, I keep going until I don't see wax transfering from the pad to the panel.

 

[Accumulator]

If you even *suspect* you're using too much, then you almost certainly are. I've done an Audi A8 with the miniscule amount of wax that was stuck in the fold at the bottom of the tin. Remember that 99.9% of the wax you apply gets buffed back off anyhow.



When you're sure your pad needs more wax, try wiping it against a piece of chrome or black trim, see if it leaves wax behind after all.



Oh, and while I do love to apply waxes (including pastes) via machine, I do Souveran by hand. If you have a specific reason for doing it via machine, then OK, but otherwise I'd give that some thought.



Oh#2, while most people say to wipe Souveran off before it hazes, I've come to prefer letting it set up until it'll pass the "finger-swipe test". But you gotta apply it nice and thin for that to work OK.



Oh#3, I simply love using Souveran of black exterior trim, even if it does need to be redone pretty soon. Been using it on the Jag's trim (including exterior rubber) for *decades* now.

 

[Scottwax]

By hand, I can get 60 applications out of a jar of Souveran. I can't see there would be any advantage to doing it by machine unless you like buying it more often.

 

[Accumulator]

I can't see there would be any advantage to doing it by machine unless you like buying it more often.

That's a good way to put it :xyxthumbs



Some rare paste waxes really do seem to benefit from machine application (e.g., M16), but those are few and far between; gee, the M16 is about the only one I can think of! Otherwise it's just a "which motions do you prefer" kind of thing.



I will say, thinking of your recent injury Scottwx, that when I had some serious shoulder problems I had to pretty much do all such stuff via machine or else not do it at all.



But putting Souveran on too thickly would sure be a PIA and IMO that's more likely to happen via machine.