Applying wax with the PC

S

sgcurtis

New member
Greetings!

I just completed my first polish & wax with my new Porter Cable. This was my very first full exterior detail, DA or not, and everything worked out as I had expected. Mostly.

2014 Mazda 3

Nanoskin Autoscrub
Wash: Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash
Polish: Blackfire Total Polish and Seal
Wax: Maguiar's Gold Class Carnuba Plus

The polishing went just as described in the many posts I read, as it took a bit to get used to the new machine. By the time I worked my way around the car, I was definitely getting the hang of it. I pushed the one pad all the way around, figuring it's a small car. I noticed about 3/4 of the way around that it was saturated and the feeling definitely changed. I should have swapped it out halfway through. Lesson learned.

Applying the wax didn't work so well for me. Couple of questions:

How should I get the wax on the pad (I was using a LC Gray 6.5" flat pad) without making a mess? I tried to take the wax out of the can, but it mostly just broke into large chunks. I used just my left hand to apply the wax to the pad, but then my hand and the PC handle had wax all of it.

More importantly, it seems as though I applied way too heavy a coat of wax, though I wasn't necessarily trying to. When I came back around to remove the wax (with a separate LC Blue 6.5" flat pad), there were large sections it wasn't removing. So I ended up removing the wax by hand. The downside to that is that both my shoulders are in poor shape -- thus the PC in the first place. I'll be on Advil for the next day or two after that wax removal.

Is there a different wax I should use? Different technique?

As I said, though, other than that issue with the wax, I really enjoyed the PC and the finish that's now on my car.

Thanks!
 
i've heard of some folks using a butter knife to spread it onto the pad, but i usually paste wax by hand. when using a machine, liquid wax does not re-introduce contaminants back into the container as using paste wax can. Blackfire Midnight Sun Batch #25 Carnauba Paste is the only paste wax i've used that literally falls out of the jar and can easily end up on the ground if you're not careful. if you insist on using your machine, swap out the backing plate an use a 3" or 4" pad which will fit into an open paste wax container. (or just use the smaller pads to dip into the can and then back onto your larger pad). also, always remove the wax with mf by hand, not another pad. megs gold class carnauba plus is a good wax, but not as easy to work with as others. the longer it dries, the harder it is to remove. Blackfire Midnight Sun Batch #25 Carnauba Paste is probably the easiest to work with, very easy on, easy off. any of the Poorboy are excellent. (red,white, or blue versions) easy on, easy off, and can be applied in the sun.
 
Here are a couple of pointers:
1) Sounds like you're putting the wax on very heavy, you just want to spread a thin section on your pad (sounds like you'll be best off using a butter knife to apply it onto the pad.
Waxing a vehicle shouldn't require swapping out pads unless there is too much wax on the pad.
You don't want a thick coat of wax on the paint, this offers no benefit and makes it tough to remove.
A good tip and easy way to tell if you have any wax on your pad is to press the pad on your *CLEAN* window(A dirty window will contaminate your pad). If it leaves a print then you're fine to continue on without adding more wax to your pad, if it leaves nothing or you can hardly tell a difference then it's time to add some more wax.

2) If you want to remove wax with a machine you won't be able to do so with another pad. Pads are for applying product and will tend to keep the product on the top of the pad, as that is what you want when you working with a wax, polish, etc.
To remove wax with the machine you'll want to get some microfiber bonnets, these fit over top of a clean pad (the blue pad would be fine to use here). Here is a link:
Special Purchase 6 Inch Microfiber Bonnet 6 Pack
 
Great points and a bit of a "Duh" with the bonnets. I think I saw the "removing product" for the 6.5 blue pad and thought it might be interchangeable.

I'll definitely tone down the wax content next time.

Thanks!
 
I apply paste waxes by machine quite often. I first tried it when I had shoulder problems and the different motion (comared to doing it by hand) made all the difference.

I don't like the LC gray/black pad. Too soft for my taste. Via Cyclo I generally use their white pads and via PC/GG6 I like the Red pad from Griot's.

I've never tried it, but everyone seems to like the Gold LC LSPing pad.

I either take the pad off the machine and rub it against the wax, or transfer wax to the pad with some kind of tool (plastic razorblade, rubber spatula, etc.). Distribute wax evenly on pad.

Then..CRITICAL STEP...I try to remove as much wax as possible from the pad. You don't need much on there and you can always add more if it's needed.

After I'm finished with the whole vehicle, I see how much wax is still in the pad (how much I have to clean out with hot water and APC/pad cleaner). If there's any more than the barest, most negligable amount, then I feel that I used/wasted way too much. I mean...I've done an entire A8 with the tiny bit of wax that remained in the lower rim of an "empty" tin. Maybe a bit more than a thumbnail-size amount of wax to do a big sedan (OK, I did that one by hand) ; IMO most people use way too much, a tin of wax lasts me many, many years.

Buffing off wax residue by machine works OK but I always end up giving it a final going-over by hand anyhow, fogging the surface with my breath as I go. I use both plush (Cobra and Meguiar's) and suede-style MF bonnets. I generally prefer to use foam pads to hold the bonnets but some people like wool pads for that instead.

The only (foam) Wax Removal Pad I've ever used came from Griot's and it was a smallis rectangular thing made of white foam which did work OK as long as I'd applied the wax *VERY* thin (lest the pad load up too quickly). I did need a few of them to do the whole vehicle and also needed to do a follow-up with a towel.
 
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