Wax prep

[wacky]

I wondered what you do for prepping the car for a coat of wax please ?

[AJP]

In the most basic terms - polishing. And before the polishing comes cleaning.

The wax protects whatever finish you achieve.

[wacky]

thanks

so you wouldn't use distilled water to take off whatever is left of the current protection on the car ?

[AJP]

I've no experience of that. Although I'm not that into the whole detailing thing.

I always got the impression that polish would remove any wax, as it's slightly abrasive. Hopefully someone more into it can offer some info.

@bonelorry perhaps?

[Horatio]

Have a look on www.detailingworld.com it's a complete mine-field.

There's 101 products to choose from.

Halfrauds sell lots of products to achieve the look you're after.

Wax free shampoo wash, clay-bar, polish, wax

[lukemk5gti]

I have a detailing guide "Luke's detailing guide" but basically:

Heavy pre cleaning agent
Wash
Clay bar
Polish
Glaze
Sealant
Wax

[Matt-Finishes]

As above, if your looking for something to physically strip previous wax / sealant layers, you either need something with an abrasive in it or a dedicated wax removal product.

[MIJ_JAGGER]

Good old fairy liquid will take the wax/sealant off

[Matt-Finishes]

Good old fairy liquid will take the wax/sealant off

Incorrect. What fairy actually does is change the LSP reacts to water, masking the protection side of it, which makes you think you have actually removed it when you havent.

[MIJ_JAGGER]

Good old fairy liquid will take the wax/sealant off

Incorrect. What fairy actually does is change the LSP reacts to water, masking the protection side of it, which makes you think you have actually removed it when you havent.

[lukemk5gti]

Good old fairy liquid will take the wax/sealant off

Incorrect. What fairy actually does is change the LSP reacts to water, masking the protection side of it, which makes you think you have actually removed it when you havent.

He's not entirely incorrect.

A strong stripping agent doesn't have a dissimilar impact to fairy liquid. Both rely on harsher cleaning using a hydrophobic reaction.

Ideally you would use a pre clean but if I'm stuck I use fairy liquid and just make sure to wash with a pH neutral shampoo and rinse well after to ensure there's a residue free surface for the wax to bond to.

[willni]

He's not entirely incorrect.

A strong stripping agent doesn't have a dissimilar impact to fairy liquid. Both rely on harsher cleaning using a hydrophobic reaction.

Ideally you would use a pre clean but if I'm stuck I use fairy liquid and just make sure to wash with a pH neutral shampoo and rinse well after to ensure there's a residue free surface for the wax to bond to.

Yep I agree with Luke, if you want to strip off previous fillers, glazes, wax etc you ideally want a wax remover or IPA but if you don't have any fairy liquid works, and other detailers will agree.

To apply wax you just need to ensure the car is clean from dirt, you can layer them onto of each other.

Polishing, glazes etc are extra steps to either remove or fill in scratches.