Wax not lasting

[Shiroelex]

I had taken some advice from here and purchased some Gold Class wax. After claying my car and waxing it, it looks great. I can still see a few small swirls, but it looks a billion times better than fron when I start. Now, a week later, the car looks like crap again. It looks like I have been driving through a field with tall weeds brushing along the sides of my car. I do everything by hand, because I am afraid of the buffer I bought at Autozone. Is there any suggestions on what I can do to help reduce some of the scratches that are right in the clearcoat, and what can I do to prolong the shine I get after the wax? I plan on doing a clay, cleaner wax, and regular wax sunday, so any tips would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[FidoAUTO]

Gold class, although a great wax it is definately short on durability (as most carnuba's are)... furthermore... the prep work that went in prior to you applying the wax might have a great deal to with it as well. (did you remove any old wax?? Did you Clay Bar the vehicle?)



can you tell us a little bit about what you did prior to applying gold class?? If anything at all.....??



also...... what is the make of the buffer you bought at autozone?? If you want something that is great for beginners then you should look into the PC7424 by Porter-Cable it is almost impossible to screw up the paint and there is lots of useful tips on how to use it with the appropriate Pads and Product.

 

[a.k.a. Patrick]

Even the nature of any paste wax, just do to its chemical makeup, will provide a little cleaning power. But unforunately, its never quite nearly enough. Just as you wash your hands prior to applying protection (lotion) so should the user in preparing his painted surface, prior to applying a protectant (wax). Polishing is the best way to prep the surface in advance of protection. I would recommend, at a MINIMUM, a paint cleaner (without the built in wax). All in one types of cleaners are convenient products to use for one step cleaning and protection. Are they enough? Seldom.

Even claying doesnt "prepare" for protection. It simply adds in the prep work, but doesnt deep clean the paint.

My advice, as im sure other will agree:

Wash

Stain removal

Clay

Polish

Protect

A PC would be optimum, but i understand your reservations. Great results can be achieved by hand, but better results attained with a PC, and proper product choices.

 

[xTravBx]

Excellent advice, but I have a question - you don't ALWAYS polish before waxing the vehicle, correct? I mean, you'd eat through the clear eventually if you polished that much.. right?

 

[wicho661]

Excellent advice, but I have a question - you don't ALWAYS polish before waxing the vehicle, correct? I mean, you'd eat through the clear eventually if you polished that much.. right?

Actually, no. Polish abrasives are spherical and cause much less friction than compound abrasives (which look like little oval footballs and cause much more friction). If youre using a high speed buffer, then yes, it will slowly etch away your clearcoat. Polishes are designed to flatten the surface rather than cut in.

 

[Scottwax]

How did you apply the wax? Foam hand pad? Terry cloth pad? Microfiber pad? How did you hold it? Did you turn the pad over (especially important with terry cloth and microfiber) to ensure no possibility of any product build-up in the pad scratched the paint? Did you keep your fingers close together or where they apart as you pushed down to apply the wax? If your fingers are apart, sometimes the cause pressure points that will mar the paint.

 

[Accumulator]

...you don't ALWAYS polish before waxing the vehicle, correct? I mean, you'd eat through the clear eventually if you polished that much.. right?

Given *enough* polishing, even mild products might *eventually* cause that sort of trouble, but it'll take an awful lot of polishing. So the trick is to not mar the paint in the first place so you don't have to use abrasives (of any kind) all that often. Easier said than done as washing without marring isn't easy.



I only polish when I have marring that I need/want to correct. I might clean the panels with some gentle claying (using Sonus green Ultra Fine Clay) before rewaxing if I think it might be beneficial but I don't even do that all the time. It's a matter of what's happened to the paint since the last time you waxed it: if it got marred up you'll probably want to polish; if it's gotten too dirty for a regular wash to handle you'll probably want to clay it (or use a chemical paint cleaner); if it's stayed nice you can just put on more wax after a regular wash.



Shiroelex- It sounds like you need more aggressive polishing than you'll get from the cleaner wax, though a cleaner wax topped with a straight wax can be a good combo in some cases. Using a polish (e.g., Meg's Scratch-X) instead of a cleaner wax (e.g., Meg's Color-X) oughta reduce the marring. Then topping with a straight wax (I'd use Collinite due to its durability but Meg's #26 would probably last longer than Gold Class) will finish it off nicely.

 

[mikebai1990]

Gold Class is indeed a good wax that produces very nice shine, but it is nevertheless a "weak wax". These waxes generally provide brilliant and deep shine, but you compromise durability. Gold Class, however, is not necessarily considered a very professional wax, but it is not bad at all for the price. If you care for shine, then you will have to wax every month or so.



If you are looking for a durable wax, you can consider Collinite, Zaino, Klasse twins, etc... They will provide up to 6 months of protection, while giving pretty nice shine. Especially the Zaino