Waxing a car, how many coats do you put on?

[sparks_E39]

Is it beneficial to give it a couple of coats?

[alextwo]

2 coats - just to make sure you get any bits you've missed with the first layer.

Any more and you're wasting your wax.

[sparks_E39]

Thanks, welcome to PH by the way.

[davepoth]

I usually take my coat off, it's quite intensive physical work...

[0a]

Zero - the bird st protects the Focus's paintwork.

[iPlod999]

To really get OCD, skint and lose all your weekends get over to Detailing World.

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.p...

The above is my car. I now lock it in my garage overnight, don't take it out when it's raining and I have spent a fortune on products.

It is good though!

[CapriV6S]

2 coats of Autoglym polish (red-label) to start, then just wash and rinse regularly over next 2 wks using good quality wax-shampoo, then put on another 2 more coats of Autoglym wax.

I have no connection with above products-manufacturer, but in my experience over many years they do have lots of products which are well worth using. (Dont try washing yourself with them tho).

Hope u get results u are looking for.

[parapaul]

I use sealant rather than wax, it last for months rather than weeks between applications.

CapriV6S said:

2 coats of Autoglym polish (red-label) to start, then just wash and rinse regularly over next 2 wks using good quality wax-shampoo, then put on another 2 more coats of Autoglym wax.

This is probably no use. In those 2 weeks your freshly polished (but now completely unprotected) paintwork will be exposed to all sorts of nastiness - whether it's tree sap and dead bugs in summer, or road grime and salt in winter. If you then wax it, all you're doing is sealing in the contamination.

You'd be MUCH better with one coat of polish and one coat of wax, then repeat every couple of months.

[Blue Oval84]

parapaul said:

This is probably no use. In those 2 weeks your freshly polished (but now completely unprotected) paintwork will be exposed to all sorts of nastiness - whether it's tree sap and dead bugs in summer, or road grime and salt in winter. If you then wax it, all you're doing is sealing in the contamination.

You'd be MUCH better with one coat of polish and one coat of wax, then repeat every couple of months.

To be fair, I think the AG SRP is good for a couple of weeks protection at least, it's always been pretty good for me although I do think it lasts a lot longer with a sealant on it.

[CapriV6S]

Sorry, my mistake, didnt realise I had caused confusion between wax and polish.
But still use same Autoglym red-label wax I meant in first place. I called it polish, maybe someone thought I meant u to use a T-Cut type paint-restorer-product first. Only use this if absolutely necessary. If your paintwork reasonable then its only lots of wax u need.

Anyway good luck and thanks for being corrected.

[CapriV6S]

There is a AG sealant, I think its with a black label, worth using.

[jatinder]

Two or three.

But Autoglym sell this.



Easy to apply, goes a long way comes off with minimum fuss. its not a wax but lasts quite a while.

I have spent about 2-300 pounds on waxes, but use this on everyone else's car because it works so well. A couple of layers will be fine.

[BorkFactor]

Ah, Extra Gloss Protection. Lovely stuff! You should put EGP on before waxing the car - gives a nice protective layer, and a good wax will add some depth to the paintwork and really bring out the shine. My method is:

Wash car
Polish with super resin polish
Seal with EGP
One, maybe 2 coats of HD Wax.

The super resin polish is the key here for best results - you don't apply it like EGP or a wax. You need to really work it in to the paint - a pea sized drop for a square ft usually works for me. Work it in until there is very little white residue, leave for a bit, and buff off when it passes the swipe test.

Make sure you "detail" the car away from direct sunlight too

[braddo]

BorkFactor said:

Ah, Extra Gloss Protection. Lovely stuff! You should put EGP on before waxing the car - gives a nice protective layer, and a good wax will add some depth to the paintwork and really bring out the shine. My method is:

Wash car
Polish with super resin polish
Seal with EGP
One, maybe 2 coats of HD Wax.

The super resin polish is the key here for best results - you don't apply it like EGP or a wax. You need to really work it in to the paint - a pea sized drop for a square ft usually works for me. Work it in until there is very little white residue, leave for a bit, and buff off when it passes the swipe test.

Make sure you "detail" the car away from direct sunlight too

What's the swipe test?

[BorkFactor]

braddo said:

What's the swipe test?

When you have applied polish / sealant / wax to a car and left it to "cure" for a while, you test it by swiping a small section with a microfiber cloth over your finger.

If there are no streaks in the bit you have tested then it is ready to be buffed off - if there are streaks then you need to leave it a little longer

[sparks_E39]

Thanks all for the tips, all taken on board. While we are at it what's the best alloy wheel cleaner?

[BorkFactor]

sparks_E39 said:

Thanks all for the tips, all taken on board. While we are at it what's the best alloy wheel cleaner?

If you are on a budget, the red stuff from Tesco is actually very good. If not, I use the AutoGlym clean wheels stuff occasionally and it is brilliant.

You can get alloy wheel sealer too, never used it but may be worth a look?

[braddo]

BorkFactor said:

When you have applied polish / sealant / wax to a car and left it to "cure" for a while, you test it by swiping a small section with a microfiber cloth over your finger.

If there are no streaks in the bit you have tested then it is ready to be buffed off - if there are streaks then you need to leave it a little longer

Thanks. Do you tend to have multiple sections on the go (i.e. start a new one while another is curing)? Otherwise it sounds like there is quite a lot of waiting to do!

[BorkFactor]

braddo said:

Thanks. Do you tend to have multiple sections on the go (i.e. start a new one while another is curing)? Otherwise it sounds like there is quite a lot of waiting to do!

It certainly can be a lot of waiting! I don't do it all that often, once every couple of months or so, so I tend to set time aside for it.

I find it very useful to plan ahead too. Polish is easy, if you do it by hand like me (very tiring!!) by the time you have finished and had a cup of coffee, it will generally have cured by then if you start buffing of in the same place you started polishing (ie do the bonnet first and work round the car, and buff the bonnet off first etc.).

Stuff like EGP and HD wax to a certain extent take a bit longer. I tend to apply it, and while it is doing its stuff I will start work on the interior of the car or checking levels / tyre pressured etc to use the time productively.

I probably wouldn't have 2 things curing at the same time, but I do know what you mean about the waiting! EGP takes a good half hour + to cure properly.

Setting an afternoon aside with some good musc in the background helps, so I don't mind it too much

[matt3001]

sparks_E39 said:

Thanks all for the tips, all taken on board. While we are at it what's the best alloy wheel cleaner?

Bilberry by a country mile.

http://www.detailedclean.co.uk/wheels-and-tyres/va...

Best £9 you will ever spend. You will need a dispenser though as you dillute the product.