2.5RS
New member
Worked for the first time with Collinite 476s paste wax. I thought I'd throw out a few thoughts on it.
A little background, I polished my white Subaru for the first time (first ever polish actually) about a month ago. Spent the better portion of a weekend on it. Used PB SSR2.5 -> PB SSR 1 -> Klasse AIO -> Klasse SG x2 ( Coats 14 hrs apart) -> Natty's Blue. Came out quite nicely, even though I left a few swirls.
We've had a bit of rain and the car has been washed at least once a weeks since then, sometimes twice. When washed I either used Meg's GC or Deep Crystal shampoo. Perhaps my experience with NB is different than others, and although I loved the smell, I didn't really care for the looks. So last weekend I decided to try something a different wax (Hehe.. this forum has.. encouraged me pick up a a few different kinds :grinno: ). Since I'd just received a tin of 476s and a bottle of 845IW it seemed like a good place to go. Ultimately I choose the 476s because it has a rep as being harder to apply/remove than other waxes and I suppose I'm a glutton for punishment.
Started on the front bumper by hand using a foam applicator pad. Obviously putting it on too thick, let if haze up and... umm... worked at removing it. Not the way I wanted to do the whole car.
Stepped up to a PC with a black finishing pad for the hood (put wax on the pad with a spatula). A little better, putting it on thinner, and seemed to come off a little easier. The pad seemed too soft so I switched again.
For the rest of the vehicle (excluding spoiler/trunk area that the PC is too big for) I used a damp white polishing pad. Applied the wax to the pad with a spatula, and then would run it on speed 1 while moving the spatula across the surface, this seemed to more evenly distribute the wax over the whole pad. After playing with speeds, I finally settled somewhere in the 3.5-4.5 range. At times it seemed as though I was applying it too thin, and got a little nervous. Once I started removing the excess with some MF towels, those fears were quickly put to rest. It was obvious that wax had been applied, and excess was being removed by the feel of the MF across the paint.
After I finished I stood back and looked at the car, and thought, "eh, it looks ok, but it's obviously not a gorgeous wax". Finished cleaning up my stuff and called it a day. The next morning, I took another good hard look and was very suprised. Wow! I really like the look of the wax, seemed to make my white paint look.. thicker, for lack of a better word. The reflections were outstanding. I'm really impressed by this stuff. Even more impressed the next day when we got a pretty heavy rainstorm, the whole vehicle seems to just shed water. Honestly after I figured out how to put it on, removal seemed perhaps just a hair more difficult than the NB, but it's nothing to run away from. I won't hesitate to use it again.
Obviously I don't have nearly the experience that a lot of you guys have and am happy to hear any of your suggestions, or tips that you've picked up. One day when I learn how to take a decent picture of a White vehicle without overexposing it, I'll have to post some photos.
-- Andrew
A little background, I polished my white Subaru for the first time (first ever polish actually) about a month ago. Spent the better portion of a weekend on it. Used PB SSR2.5 -> PB SSR 1 -> Klasse AIO -> Klasse SG x2 ( Coats 14 hrs apart) -> Natty's Blue. Came out quite nicely, even though I left a few swirls.
We've had a bit of rain and the car has been washed at least once a weeks since then, sometimes twice. When washed I either used Meg's GC or Deep Crystal shampoo. Perhaps my experience with NB is different than others, and although I loved the smell, I didn't really care for the looks. So last weekend I decided to try something a different wax (Hehe.. this forum has.. encouraged me pick up a a few different kinds :grinno: ). Since I'd just received a tin of 476s and a bottle of 845IW it seemed like a good place to go. Ultimately I choose the 476s because it has a rep as being harder to apply/remove than other waxes and I suppose I'm a glutton for punishment.
Started on the front bumper by hand using a foam applicator pad. Obviously putting it on too thick, let if haze up and... umm... worked at removing it. Not the way I wanted to do the whole car.
Stepped up to a PC with a black finishing pad for the hood (put wax on the pad with a spatula). A little better, putting it on thinner, and seemed to come off a little easier. The pad seemed too soft so I switched again.
For the rest of the vehicle (excluding spoiler/trunk area that the PC is too big for) I used a damp white polishing pad. Applied the wax to the pad with a spatula, and then would run it on speed 1 while moving the spatula across the surface, this seemed to more evenly distribute the wax over the whole pad. After playing with speeds, I finally settled somewhere in the 3.5-4.5 range. At times it seemed as though I was applying it too thin, and got a little nervous. Once I started removing the excess with some MF towels, those fears were quickly put to rest. It was obvious that wax had been applied, and excess was being removed by the feel of the MF across the paint.
After I finished I stood back and looked at the car, and thought, "eh, it looks ok, but it's obviously not a gorgeous wax". Finished cleaning up my stuff and called it a day. The next morning, I took another good hard look and was very suprised. Wow! I really like the look of the wax, seemed to make my white paint look.. thicker, for lack of a better word. The reflections were outstanding. I'm really impressed by this stuff. Even more impressed the next day when we got a pretty heavy rainstorm, the whole vehicle seems to just shed water. Honestly after I figured out how to put it on, removal seemed perhaps just a hair more difficult than the NB, but it's nothing to run away from. I won't hesitate to use it again.
Obviously I don't have nearly the experience that a lot of you guys have and am happy to hear any of your suggestions, or tips that you've picked up. One day when I learn how to take a decent picture of a White vehicle without overexposing it, I'll have to post some photos.
-- Andrew