First time I will ever be waxing a car

[Roncallo]

OK

I just bought a black 560sl last fall and It is the first car I ever owned that I actually hand wash and intend to wax. As a virgen waxer I have a few questions.

1) The car looks really good so I assume there is wax on it already. How do I know when it needs to be re-waxed.

2) Do I have to strip off the old wax. And if so how.

3) Is there a difference between wax and simonize.

4) Is a waxing machine recomended, I'm not getting any younger.

5) What about chrome. mine hase these very fine pitting, can it be polished out.

6) About washing. When they say towel dry do they mean keep the whole car wet untill your done washing everything and then dry with a towel. I have done this and find it requires several large towels. When I let it just air dry I cant see any difference between air dried and towel dry so whats the point of towel drying?

Thank You
John Roncallo

[Veloce300DT]

John-

There are some great threads on waxing and detailing on this forum, so Id reccomend doing a search for "wax" or other applicable terms in the search engine. Here are some basiic answers to some of your questions-

1) You can tell if yyour car needs to be waxed if water doesnt bead up on thhe paint when wet. Wax acts as a shield and shine, repelling water and letting it roll off of the car. When you wash the car does the water bead? You can also tell that the paint needs wax by feel- if the surface of thhe paint is smooth and allows you to gently glide your hand over it without any friction, you most likely have some wax on there, or your paint is nearly new. If there is resistance and maybe some noise when u glide you hand over the paint, STOP. You NEED WAX. Anything thhat touches paint in thhis condition can damage it by rubbing fine partculates that have accumulated on the surface into the paint, casing scratches, and finish dulling.

2) I have no idea what simonize is.

3) Virgin waxers should start off hand waxing- it allows one to get a feel for the product, iits application, and its removal. It takes more effort, but it will allow you to really observe how waxing works. Not to mention, unless one has used a rotory machine for waxing/bufffing, it can be damaging to the paint- getting the right pressure and motions takes skill to make a machine waxed car look almost as good as a hand waxed car. Too much pressure can wear away paint, scratch, or worse.
I personally like hand waxing anyways- makes you pay more attention to details, and is much more forgiving. There is also less chance of creating swirl marks from circuular buffing.

5) Dont know of nay product that will polish out pitting, but there are many chrome polish products on the market that can bring out a nice shine in the finish, along with cleaning the surfaces of chrome plated parts of the car.

6) When you let a car air dry, some of the water evaporates, some falls off of the car, and the rest just sits on the car, and as this stagnant water dries, it leaves behind mineral deposits on the surfaces of thhe car. These deposits ca cause water spotting, and will indefinitely dull the finish of the car over time. Esp. if there is little to no wax on the paint. A good example of whhat air drying a car does to its finish is comparing it to your bathroom shower, sinks, or faucets... water minerals build up, causing dulling in finish, calcium build up, and lots of other gross visual and physical blemishes. YUCK. Dont do that to your paint. Towel dry. ACTUALLY, get a nice leather chamois or comparable product to dry your car withh. A chamois and othher products designed to dry cars will be much more efficient at removing water....

[Roncallo]

Originally Posted by Veloce300DT

John-


6) When you let a car air dry, some of the water evaporates, some falls off of the car, and the rest just sits on the car, and as this stagnant water dries, it leaves behind mineral deposits on the surfaces of thhe car. These deposits ca cause water spotting, and will indefinitely dull the finish of the car over time. Esp. if there is little to no wax on the paint. A good example of whhat air drying a car does to its finish is comparing it to your bathroom shower, sinks, or faucets... water minerals build up, causing dulling in finish, calcium build up, and lots of other gross visual and physical blemishes. YUCK. Dont do that to your paint. Towel dry. ACTUALLY, get a nice leather chamois or comparable product to dry your car withh. A chamois and othher products designed to dry cars will be much more efficient at removing water....

It sounds like I dont have to be crazy about starting the drying process from a fully wetted car. That is probably my whole frustration. I just dont have that many towels.

Thank You
John Roncallo

[Rahulio1989300E]

MAKE SURE that your towels are 100% cotton, if any polyester is present mircoscopic scratching will occur... all toweled surfaces will look like crap!

To test, first read the tag on the towel, if it does not say 100% cotton, do not use on your towel.

If you have a towel that is 100% cotton, then get a lighter and burn one corner just enough to see the flames, if they are blue or green or any other unnatural color, that towel has polyester in it!

(Not all towels that say 100% cotton are really cotton!)

[Roncallo]

Originally Posted by Rahulio1989300E

MAKE SURE that your towels are 100% cotton, if any polyester is present mircoscopic scratching will occur... all toweled surfaces will look like crap!

To test, first read the tag on the towel, if it does not say 100% cotton, do not use on your towel.

If you have a towel that is 100% cotton, then get a lighter and burn one corner just enough to see the flames, if they are blue or green or any other unnatural color, that towel has polyester in it!

(Not all towels that say 100% cotton are really cotton!)

What about these micro fiber towels from Griot's Garage. I cut an pasted the text on the towels from Groits below.

MY NEW FAVORITE POLISH AND WAX REMOVAL CLOTHS ARE MADE OF SPACE AGE MICRO FIBER
Micro fiber is a technological marvel created out of polyester polyamides. Yes I know. For years I've told you 100% cotton is the only thing that should touch your paint. A unique design has made this material safe. Each fine fiber is several hundred times smaller than a strand of cotton! This creates non-abrasive ends which are super soft and provide many additional benefits. Micro fiber absorbs seven times its weight in liquid and soaks up water like a chamois. Ideal for Speed Shine® wiping and drying. The non-abrasive, wedge shaped micro fibers, lift and trap wax and polish better than cotton and are lint-free. This makes wiping go faster. Made in many grades from cheap to premium, our micro fiber is the finest and has been tested thoroughly. Machine wash and dry (don't use fabric softener, bleach or iron). Wonderful for dusting too. Set includes six cloths; color coded for Best of Show Wax® and Speed Shine® (white) and Polish (yellow). For those of you that still like our Cotton Cloths, don't worry we won't stop selling them. But, these Cloths are certainly worth your while to try out. A generous 16" x 16" square.

John Roncallo

[kknudson]

Search the threads up here, there are lots on cleaning and waxing. Read as many as you can you'll save a lot of grief and work.

Removing wax, dishwashing liquid.
So Don't use this as your normal car wash. Get Zaino (my fav) or Mequairs or ?? liquid car wash.

Same with wax, don't get religious, find one YOU like and use it. You might have to try several, different colors, different paints ... react differently to different waxes.

Wash with lots of water, flow not force. I dry with a shamee (??), a detailer I know does recommend those Micro Fibers for drying. But they are pricey, although you only need a couple for drying. A good leaf blower can help too (Yes).

Micro Fiber towels etc, don't wash with anything except other MF towels.

Get a good wash mit, wash from the top down.

For general work, Micro Fiber towels are great. I have a bunch of Hand towel sized for misc.

Cotton towels, per above "Made in USA and 100% cotton", apparently foreign 100% Cotton may not be.

Again search up here, lots of info and lots of good people to help.

AND Welcome !!!!

[benzboy87]

I came across a great tip about drying the car off and thought I would pass it along. If you keep your car waxed several times a year (as we all do) then when you are finished rinsing the car take off the sprayer nozzel and use the hose to do a final rinsing with the water. Most of it will sheet off the car leaving only some trails of water to dry with the chamois.
Also, if you have a leaf blower it comes in handy to blow the water off the car.

[manny]

Originally Posted by Roncallo

As a virgen waxer
Thank You
John Roncallo

Could you post a picture of yourself ?
I've never met a " Virgin Waxer " before.

[Roncallo]

Originally Posted by manny

Could you post a picture of yourself ?
I've never met a " Virgin Waxer " before.

I posted a picture of the car. That will have to do.

Thanks for all the advice
John Roncallo