My car cleaning has only just developed to using 2 buckets and not going near a sponge but i do love it when it's clean and (relatively) shiny.

My recent exploits DIY refurbing my wheels (as found here) ended with a couple of coats of FK1000P which by all accounts is awesome and has inddeed made my wheels super glossy.

My understanding is that it's also a good product to do the rest of the car with and i'd LOVE my car to look that shiny even ifit was just for one day! However is it a stupid/pointless idea to apply a coat of wax to a car that hasn't been fully detailed by a pro and isn't clean to within an inch of it's life?

It'd be a straight forward wash of shampoo (car shampoo not Head & Shoulders :p) -> wash mit -> drying towel.

The car has never been detailed or even clayed (or at least not in the 2 1/2 years i've owned it) so is waxing it now going to just seal in any dirt that is too ingrained to come off with a "normal" wash?

Edited 2 March, 201115 yr by PastyBoy

so is waxing it now going to just seal in any dirt that is too ingrained to come off with a "normal" wash?

Basically yes, whatever you do not wash off / polish out etc will be sealed under the wax.

Just make sure that the car is as clean as you can get it otherwise you will be waxing in the dirt.

Clean is clean. Free of debris.

You need to wash the car. And then dry it.

When you put a coat of wax on the car all you are doing is applying a very thin coat of hard fat to the paint. That fat layer is very smooth (so the car looks shiny) and it repels water so water beads and dirt doesn't stick so easily. But it's still just a layer of fat and you can take it off with any detergent. Even a mild shampoo will attack the fat and start to break it down.

Sealants are a little different, but again, they can be removed easily enough if you need to get the coating off.

Don't get hung up on claying. If you don't know what you are doing you can actually marr the paint with a claybar. Likewise, it is not necessary to wipe the car down with a degreaser (pre-wax cleanser/treatment), although you can sometimes get a better result by doing so.

Just wash the car, then wax/seal it. It'll be fine!

Just wash the car, then wax/seal it. It'll be fine!

Awesome - that was the plan!

Last thing i wanted to do was to waste wax, and elbow grease, for a task that won't really have an effect without more prep work.

Shiny shiny this weekend then

unless it rains! :|

Wash it, polish it, wash it, then seal the paint before waxing. Washing it twice will remove polish dust.

Collonite 476 is detergent proof so won't wash off as suggested above.

Edited 2 March, 201115 yr by prolfe

Or, you could try doing a mini-detail yourself. Foam, Rince, Foam, Wash using TBM, dry, clay, wash, dry and then use a sealant rather than wax. I went for Opti-seal and it's great and the car is extremely shiny and sheds the water/dirt.

Rich

If you run your fingers over the washed paintwork and it doesn't feel silky smooth then it WILL need claying before doing anything else.

Collonite 476 is detergent proof so won't wash off as suggested above.

If know what you're saying, but there is a difference between being detergent resistant and detergent proof. If it was detergent proof then it would never need re-doing and you wouldn't be able to use a stiff mix of APC to remove it.

If you run your fingers over the washed paintwork and it doesn't feel silky smooth then it WILL need claying before doing anything else.

That's quite a sweeping statement. I've seen plenty of new cars that have had paint contaminants removed by claying but they had still been prepared and looked perfectly good before they were clayed. Or Iron-cut etc. Many of these treatments do make a difference to the final finish, however it's the difference between getting an extremely deep reflection and a very deep reflection. At what point do you say that you must wet-sand out the orange peel before you wax it?

If you are a professional detailer and you're looking to justify your charges then things like claying, ferrous deposit removal and paint cleansing wipedowns with IPA all help add up the hours and therefore cost, but they are not absolutely necessary to get a decent protective coating on your paint that keeps it clean longer, makes it easier to wash and makes it look better.

Ok gents calm yourselves

To be honest the waxing the car is a simple of case of making the most of what i've bought rather than leaving it sat in a cupboard for eternity.

Having put work into refurbing the wheels i wanted to protect them as much as possible to make sure my handiwork lasts as long as possible. FK1000P seemed to be the wax of choice to keep brake dust out.

If the wax can be used on body work too and it actually has a good effect then great.

I'm not getting into the detailing world for me wash -> dry has always been enough before and i've been happy with how the car looks after that.

If waxing without detailing/mini-detailing, is going to be counterproductive or not actually help the paint work i won't bother. I'm not searching for a mirror smooth finish but if a coat of wax will mean the paint is protected and will be easier to clean great, if it adds an extra glossy sheen to the car even better.

So I guess the evolved question is

Is there any benefit to waxing a car that has just been "cleaned"?

That's quite a sweeping statement. I've seen plenty of new cars that have had paint contaminants removed by claying but they had still been prepared and looked perfectly good before they were clayed.

At what point do you say that you must wet-sand out the orange peel before you wax it?

My point exactly. Just because you can't see that there's a bad finish, doesn't mean that using a clay bar won't produce an even better one! I don't think you need to go to the trouble of sorting out the Skoda 'orange peel' though but if you manage to get a silky smooth 'orange peel' then that has to be the basic starting point doesn't it?

If you've never seen a car after it's been clayed then you just won't appreciate the difference it can make to the smoothness of the paint - I didn't until after I'd first used it.

Is there any benefit to waxing a car that has just been "cleaned"?

The easy answer is yes but in the context of your recently refurbed wheels, why didn't you just paint them instead? Obviously because you wanted a decent job that would last a while?

After having your car for 2.5 years it's 100% certain that it will need claying. Anything less will be like doing this.

Classic image...........

If know what you're saying, but there is a difference between being detergent resistant and detergent proof. If it was detergent proof then it would never need re-doing and you wouldn't be able to use a stiff mix of APC to remove it.

Just really going by what sites say in their description.

http://www.meguiarswax.co.uk/wax/collinite/cat_3/

http://www.i4detailing.co.uk/acatalog/Collinite_Super_Doublecoat_Auto_Wax_1.html

http://www.perfectlycleaned.co.uk/collinite-476-supercoat-double-wax-xl---18oz--free-microfibre-281-p.asp

for a few.

You can get cleansers to remove colly and other durable waxes, Chemical Guys Strong Wash for example.

Pastyboy: any protection is protection, weather it be sealed and waxed or just waxed. Washing and waxing is fine, you'd get better results with more effort though.

Edited 3 March, 201115 yr by prolfe

Wax is more effort than i've ever made before!

(except when at 17 i had to T cut an 89 Nissan Micra from pink to red to avoid sixth form common room ridicule!)

Going back to the original question: FK1000P is actually a sealant, not a wax.

Will it improve the look of the car, from the point it's at now, and make it easier to clean in future? Yes.

Could you make it even better and worthwhile by claying the paint after washing, before applying FK1000P? Most definitely.

Then after the sealant stage, I would add a coat or two of wax.

An afternoon well spent, in my book

The choice is yours

Wax is more effort than i've ever made before!

(except when at 17 i had to T cut an 89 Nissan Micra from pink to red to avoid sixth form common room ridicule!)

If I lived any closer i'd pop round and do it myself.

+1

:yes:

Going back to the original question: FK1000P is actually a sealant, not a wax.

Will it improve the look of the car, from the point it's at now, and make it easier to clean in future? Yes.

Could you make it even better and worthwhile by claying the paint after washing, before applying FK1000P? Most definitely.

Then after the sealant stage, I would add a coat or two of wax.

An afternoon well spent, in my book

The choice is yours

This man speaks good sense

hmmm maybe i'll just wash it for now then explore the world of clay bars and wax/seal/FK1000P after that!

Now that you've asked the question, the option of 'do nothing' is now closed to you Mr Pasty!

If it's a case of 'CBA', then just apply a coat of FK1000P after you've washed and dried. As you rightly point out, it's a lot better than nothing. And better than leaving it as it is, and 'unprotected'.

Don't make us come down there!

+1

I have the Diesel in my car and microfibres in the garage and I am prepared to use them!

Briskoda Cleaning Task Force anyone? :p