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Too Much Polishing/waxing


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Hi All,

Q1

Since the weather has been so good, I've started to polish my car. I started with Mer, waxed with Mequires and sealed with Auto Glym.

But now I have found myself in a ritual which is taking over my life (wifey not very happy). Everytime I wash the car (every week), I find myself giving it another layer of wax and then sealant.

On Sunday, I had a terrible thought, 'Could I be damaging my precious paintwork'.

Q2

I'm also slightly confused...should I be polishing, waxing and sealing or should it be polishing, sealing and then waxing?

So, am I overdoing it ??? and what system of detailing should I be using, what system works for you??

Any tips greatly appreciated.

Thanks

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Erm not really used the sealant myself so not sure what way you do it, but the name suggests to me that you use it after everything else?

As for damaging the paintwork, in theory everytime you polish you are removing the lacquer as the polish is slightly abrasive, but I'm talking incredibly thin layers of the lacquer you're removing, to be honest don't think you've got much to worry about there?

Guess if you were using products with loads of silicones then you are making life harder for a bodyshop should they ever come to need to respray something, read somewhere that silicone based products make their lives much harder!

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Guess if you were using products with loads of silicones then you are making life harder for a bodyshop should they ever come to need to respray something, read somewhere that silicone based products make their lives much harder!

Yeah I heard that goes for interior silicone products too. e.g Autoglym

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Guess if you were using products with loads of silicones then you are making life harder for a bodyshop should they ever come to need to respray something, read somewhere that silicone based products make their lives much harder!

Yeah I heard that goes for interior silicone products too. e.g Autoglym

make 'em work harder - they charge enough!

As long as the stuff is not abrasive and you put things on in the right order, I wouldn't have thought you would have done any damage.

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Wash

Polish

Seal

Wax

never sealant on top of wax

whats the difference between a polish and a wax then?

are we talking the difference between something like megs wet look wax and carnauba or something else?

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Polish, Wax, Glaze and Polymer Differences:

•Machine polish (Compound) are formulated to break down as they are used, gradually reducing in size, usually with levels of abrasives to remove oxidation, swirl marks and minor surface scratches, always finish with the least abrasive machine polish and `back-down' from one grade to the next. Always use the least aggressive product first, evaluate the surface, then only if necessary `step-up' to the more abrasive products.

•Polish (to provide oils and a high gloss)-Usually formulated with ultra-fine abrasives, with varying grades of abrasion, they break down as they are used, gradually reducing in size and burnishing the surface to produce a highly reflective gloss, renewing the necessary oils found in paint (if applying a polymer after polishing you’ll need to remove any surface oils with Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA).

•Polymer Sealant- (provides durable protection)-A non-organic based wax formulated from polymers used to seal paint with a thin hard barrier. They are very durable and provide a very bright, but flat silvery shine. This type of product is a compromise as it does provide durability but lacks the properties of a Carnauba wax lacking both colour and depth, and because of a polymer's inherent molecular structure it cannot mimic the properties of a Carnauba wax. If not properly designed, polymer sealants may crack, yellow or distort the optics of the paint surface.

•Glaze- (purely an aesthetic product ) that provides gloss but very little protection; it's often referred to as Show Glaze, made from an emulsion formulated from water, polymers and glycerine oil, solvent, abrasives (to remove minor swirls) Kaolin clay fillers (or similar ) that hide small paint surface scratches, abrasions and swirl marks, surfactant, colouring and fragrance. Its filling abilities usually wear off in a matter of days before the surface abrasions become visible again, washing the paint film surface will accelerate this process.

•Carnauba Wax- (provides a sacrificial but renewable protection)-A natural wax repellent, it forms a barrier that is a natural protection from the suns UV radiation, acid rain, airborne pollutants and acidic bird droppings, it provides Colour, Depth and Clarity that is without equal, but lacks durability. An ideal Carnauba wax should wipe on and the residue should be wet when removed to avoid surface marring, it should provide clarity (transparency) should be able to be ‘layered’ without becoming occluded

(clouded) or decoloured and should include additional oils, which ‘wet’ the paint surface to give the paint finish depth and a rippled liquidity (this is caused by the wax ‘egg crate’ shape distorting the reflected light)

Carnauba wax will bond to a cross-linked polymer; conversely if a polymer is applied on top of Carnauba wax the cross-linking / bonding may be compromised Carnauba wax dries to a deep, natural shine, in contrast, bees wax, paraffin and many synthetic waxes, which tend to occlude (cloud or yellowing).

A wax or sealant can only reflect what is underneath it, so a clean, level well-prepared surface is the most important consideration (85% of a surfaces reflectivity is its preparation) along with applied product clarity.

If you apply a product over a surface that is dirty or one that has surface imperfections a wax or sealant will not disguise it, only highlight them.

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Hi All,

Thanks for all the advice. I think I may have doing it incorrectly and this advice will prove very useful.

I'm going to ditch Auto Glym and Mer as I don't think they are useful. I have Maguirs step 3 wax which I bough from Halfords, and wish to keep. So,

Can anyone one advise which other polish and sealants I should use. I'm looking for good protection and looks. I wash my car every one or two weeks and am aiming to wax every two or three washes during the summer, noting that I will be completing all three stages before autumn and winter set in.

Any advice greatly appreciated

Thanks

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Can anyone one advise which other polish and sealants I should use. I'm looking for good protection and looks. I wash my car every one or two weeks and am aiming to wax every two or three washes during the summer, noting that I will be completing all three stages before autumn and winter set in.

Not tried Meguiars but was advised by others on here to try the Klasse All-In-One polish:

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/kus-kla-10.html

And P21S Carnauba Wax:

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/p21-127.html

The polish is definately easier and better than Mer which I have used on other cars in the past. Not actually got around to try the waxing yet as the hosepipe ban meant my wash and polish took ages...

I went for the all-in-one as I really can't be bothered with too many steps, wash, polish and wax is about the limit for me, and as I said, the waxing step can get dropped anyway!

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