How much wax to use.

[68bowtie]

I have the griots polisher and a red pad. I am using souvern paste wax and was wondering how much to use for a car. When u put it on the pad how big of a area can use before u need to put more on. I think i might be using to much.

[Dan]

Prime the pad with a decent amount, maybe 1/4-1/2 a teaspoon. Then when you can no longer see ANY wax on the car surface, re-apply. You want to go as thin as possible.

[68bowtie]

So that means you don`t have to use that much. I was appling to the pad every panel and i think that was too much.

[Dan]

So that means you don`t have to use that much. I was appling to the pad every panel and i think that was too much.



Exactly, you want just enough so you can see that it was applied. Any more and you are just wasting it.

[TerryD]

Yes, I agree you may be using too much. I typically apply 2 to 3 swipes from the can for every 2 to 3 panels. Just as mention above, I keep going until I don`t see wax transfering from the pad to the panel.

[Accumulator]

If you even *suspect* you`re using too much, then you almost certainly are. I`ve done an Audi A8 with the miniscule amount of wax that was stuck in the fold at the bottom of the tin. Remember that 99.9% of the wax you apply gets buffed back off anyhow.



When you`re sure your pad needs more wax, try wiping it against a piece of chrome or black trim, see if it leaves wax behind after all.



Oh, and while I do love to apply waxes (including pastes) via machine, I do Souveran by hand. If you have a specific reason for doing it via machine, then OK, but otherwise I`d give that some thought.



Oh#2, while most people say to wipe Souveran off before it hazes, I`ve come to prefer letting it set up until it`ll pass the "finger-swipe test". But you gotta apply it nice and thin for that to work OK.



Oh#3, I simply love using Souveran of black exterior trim, even if it does need to be redone pretty soon. Been using it on the Jag`s trim (including exterior rubber) for *decades* now.

[Scottwax]

By hand, I can get 60 applications out of a jar of Souveran. I can`t see there would be any advantage to doing it by machine unless you like buying it more often.

[Accumulator]

I can`t see there would be any advantage to doing it by machine unless you like buying it more often.



That`s a good way to put it :xyxthumbs



Some rare paste waxes really do seem to benefit from machine application (e.g., M16), but those are few and far between; gee, the M16 is about the only one I can think of! Otherwise it`s just a "which motions do you prefer" kind of thing.



I will say, thinking of your recent injury Scottwx, that when I had some serious shoulder problems I had to pretty much do all such stuff via machine or else not do it at all.



But putting Souveran on too thickly would sure be a PIA and IMO that`s more likely to happen via machine.