Waxing Regime

[craigsup]

Hi,

I recently purchased a bunch of products for my BMW in order to keep the paint looking tip-top.
I got most of it based on reviews from review websites and as such, Autoglym seemed to be the best(?).

So from that I purchased:
Autoglym shampoo,
Autoglym Polish
and Autoglym HD Wax.

I also got a few sponges and microfibre wash mits + a shammy.

2 weeks ago I washed my car thoroughly, shammy'd it dry and then polished it to remove any dirt etc.
To polish it I simply used a microfibre cloth and in small circles rubbed a small amount of the liquid polish. Once I'd done the car I gave it a once over with a clean cloth to remove any excess.

I then let the car sit for about 3 hours while I watched some F1. After that I went back out and waxed the car - using a similar technique to the polish but using the provided sponge. I applied a small layer panel by panel - once I'd covered one panel I removed the previous panels wax with a microfibre cloth. So I reckon it had about 10 minutes to sit on the body.

My real question is, is my technique correct? Did I leave the wax on for enough time?

I plan on repeating this tomorrow as I have access to my dads drive way and hose pipe etc. (I live in a city so had to use a petrol station jet hose before). Any tips or pieces of advise is welcome.

Cheers

[craigsup]

e21Mark said:

Did you use a clay bar first, to remove assorted crap from the paint?

Nope, I read somewhere that the autoglym polish has something in it that removes said crap?
Guessing that's wrong and I need to use a clay bar?

[craigsup]

PositronicRay said:

A clay mitt is much easier than a bar.

Can you recommend any?
I'm going to be doing my car early tomorrow morning - so preferably one I can get in a store on the way to my dads house (as ordering online will be too late).

[craigsup]

Nedzilla said:

G3 clay mitt is superb,available from Halfords for about £15. Use after washing while car is still wet,best used with G3 quick detailer spray as lube and keep dipping in your clean wash solution bucket to clean and add extra lube. Panels will soon feel as smooth as glass.
Dry the car then polish then wax.
Also if you are doing the work outside I wouldn't leave several hours before waxing as all kinds of dirt,dust and debris could fall on the bodywork which will then be rubbed in to the paint when waxing causing damage.

Brilliant - I'll drop by Halfords and get them.
When waxing, do you think 10-15 minutes is long enough before removing the wax? Or should I do the whole car, and then remove in one go?

Also the only reason why I left so long was because the F1 was on, and I didn't have time to do it before - or do the whole wash/polish/wax after. This time, I'll be doing it all in one go

Edit: The only 'lube' I saw with a similar name to what you mentioned was this:
http://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-cleaning/clay...
Is that the one you meant?

Edited by craigsup on Friday 23 October 13:45

[craigsup]

Thanks for the tips guys, I gave it a good go yesterday - and it looks in fantastic condition
I didn't really notice much by using a clay mit - made some streak marks on the surface which disappeared when polishing.

Hoping that with the wax I've applied, it'll keep the paint looking good over winter!