how often should wax be removed and polish be used?
I don't want prematurly wear out the paint. Whats the least abrasive way to remove old wax. thanx

 

Don't need to worry about removing the old coat of wax at all unless you're trying to start with a clean surface for some reason.

Just wax right over it.

I polish the whole vehicle probably once to twice a year. I'll spot polish other parts as they need them though to remove some spotting or a scuff or what not.

 

Also, remember that abrasive polishing will remove wax from the surface of your paint...

With that in mind, there's no reason to 'strip' off the wax... you're going to do it with your polishing step.

Like Intel, I polish on the order of 2-5 times per year (depending on need)... Polished this past weekend in fact.

RP

 

Thanx for your help you guys seem quite informed in this area. Your statments seem very sound. What buffer pads do you use for-1)applying 2) polishing 3) waxing application 4)removing wax 5) final buffing, thanx again

 

I have some yellow meguiar's pads I've been using for polishing.

For waxing I have Lake City (or is it lake country?) black pads.

For wax removing and final buffing I use microfiber towels. There aren't any good buffer pads for buffing residue off.

 

Similar to Intel, I utilize mechanical means to apply polishes and last step products. Further, I often will utilize a mechanical method to remove my last step product if time is of the essence and I feel comfortable with the color that I'm working on (ie: the vehicle isn't a dark color).

I will utilize a Meguiar's yellow pad (polishing pad) to apply just about all product that are designed to polish. This would include products like #9 Swirl Remover 2.0 and Speed Glaze just to name a couple. I typically dedicate pads to products thus, for the entire life of the pad it only sees one chemical. This might be a bit excessive but, it's part of my routine.

Removing a polish is almost always done by hand for me. I'll utilize a nice microfiber towel like the 'Big Blue' from premiumautocare.com . If I'm using a product that is a bit tougher to remove (say, Meguiar's #7 SCG), I may utilize a 100% terry towel (ultra-plush -- no cheapos) to remove it as it has a bit more 'cut' to get through the skin of the dried polish on the surface of the paint. Again though, it's not often that cotton is used because I prefer microfiber.

Applying my last step product (the protection step. ie: wax) is done by PC with a beige pad (called a finishing pad). During this step, it's not as critical to be as slow with the machine as you're simply using it to apply the product. There are instances, however, where the machine should be worked very slowly as well (ie: cleaner wax so that the cleaner can work). Typically though, I'm using a product like #26 or #16 that are pure wax products. NXT is another product used here but, because of it's very minor cleaning action, I don't really change my technique.

Don't forget that you won't be able to get 'everywhere' with a machine. You'll still want to use some elbow grease to ensure uniform coverage. I always apply, at least, two coats of my last step product.

Removal of this step is either by DF Concours bonnet on my PC with a cutting pad as the backing or by hand with a DF Concours Towel.

I hope that helps a bit.

RP

 

thanx for your info ,i guess i could have done a search , but this is more fun to wait for up to date responise and besides this would be a boring site if no one posted anything new , stupid or not.

 

Don't worry about your paint. How often is typically 3 months to 6 months depending on the air in your town. Here in Houston we have heavy pollution so I use Liquid Glass every three months even though it is good for six months. If you have pollution you also need to keep it washed. Any polis will get the old wax offBUT stick with a "system". By that I mean if your choose Mequires then use all their products as they are produced with the other productsin mind for maximum effect.