Noobie Questions (RE: Wax, Removal, Sealant)

[peacemaker]

Hi guys,



I did my first detail using a GG6 DA a few months ago on my Candy White GTI and it didn't turn out as well as I hoped. My mistake was not ensuring the MF pad was rotating. You live and you learn. I plan on correcting it in the Spring.



The car is sealed with Griots Paint Sealant. I'm planning on giving it an ONR bath tomorrow morning and wanted to add some wax. I have Collinite 845 and P21S Concours Carnauba Wax. Since I live in an apartment and its in the winter, I'm going to go with the longer lasting Collinite. I have a few questions:



1) I see light marring on the paint under the right light, and it bugs me. Should I clay the car (removing sealant) and top with Collinite 845? I'm thinking the 845 will fill in the marks and conceal them until I can tackle it in the Spring. If not, I will just wash & wax.



2) Should I bother to top the 845 with P21S on Sunday (24 hr cure)? I'm itching to use this stuff. I got it in August and haven't touched it yet!



3) How many MF towels do you use when wiping off the wax residue? It's going to be ~45F tomorrow morning and I'm guessing it will not haze fast. I'll probably wipe off after I'm done with half the car. How do you know when to retire a side of the towel?



4) Should I reserve the softest MF towel for the final pass on the entire vehicle? Should I use a QD or spray wax during this process?



5) Do you guys tape off the car when hand waxing?



Thank you!

 

[dfoxengr]

I love 845. A lot. I apply with my PC on black pad, speed 3ish.

It does conceal small things in my experience so maybe you should just IPA wipe the area that bothers you before waxing.



I wouldn't bother topping the Collinite though.



I use a quarter of a MF towel per panel basically and one 16x24 towel gets me a whole mid sized car. I'd just wait till you're done with the whole car before wiping. Makes it much faster.



I only use "good" MF towels on the exterior when removing wax, none of the type you'd get at target or costco. I really like the gold plush and then the higher weight of the same from AG. Though i just purchased a 12 pack of what I believe to be the same thing for 1/3 the price from Chemical Guys when they had a sale yesterday.



With 845 I do not tape since getting some on trim doesnt really stain it or dry white if you wipe it off well when doing your wipedown.



845 applies so smoothly with the machine it's really incredible to me.

 

[Accumulator]

peacemaker- compare my response with that of dfoxengr

1) I see light marring on the paint under the right light, and it bugs me. Should I clay the car (removing sealant) and top with Collinite 845? I'm thinking the 845 will fill in the marks and conceal them until I can tackle it in the Spring. If not, I will just wash & wax.

I wouldn't expect the claying to remove the sealant, unless you clay a *LOT* more aggressively than I do. I wouldn't *want* to remove the sealant; IMO more LSP is better than less and the marring doesn't enter into it IMO.



I don't get much of any filling/concealing with 845 (and I use it on a car that can't stand any more correction), but maybe you will on that color. Again, removing the sealant won't make anything better, just add the 845.



Heh heh, I'd work on not worrying about that "only you can see it, and only in certain lighting"-type marring Yeah, more of my Autopian Heresy, but don't drive youself nuts over this stuff.



Clay it gently and apply the 845 and see what happens. That's assuming you have reason to think the fresh 845 will protect better than the existing coat of sealant :think: Eh, I'd just be *VERY* gentle about the claying and think of the 845 as a topper.

2) Should I bother to top the 845 with P21S on Sunday (24 hr cure)? I'm itching to use this stuff. I got it in August and haven't touched it yet!

No, I wouldn't. I'd apply a second coat of the 845.

3) How many MF towels do you use when wiping off the wax residue? It's going to be ~45F tomorrow morning and I'm guessing it will not haze fast. I'll probably wipe off after I'm done with half the car. How do you know when to retire a side of the towel?

I used two MFs last time I 845'ed my old Audi, and the second one had "plenty left". But then I'm really good about applying LSPs very thin I bet most people use 3-5X more wax than I do and hence need more MFs.



I apply to the whole car before buffing off, even when doing huge vehicles. If you get a *ton* on some black trim, buff that off sooner.



You should be able to see/feel when the MF gets loaded with wax residue. Maybe think of one MF as the "gets the bulk of it off" towel and another as the "final buff" one.

4) Should I reserve the softest MF towel for the final pass on the entire vehicle? Should I use a QD or spray wax during this process?

Skip the QD/spray wax in this case, no need for it and sometimes such stuff can mess with Collinite for some reason. On that "softest towel" thing...eh, I'd only be using the softest MFs *period*, but yeah, you have the right idea. Fog the surface with your breath, the little bit of condensation makes things go better and eliminates the need for QD/etc.



Unless you put it on crazy-thick it oughta come off easily.

5) Do you guys tape off the car when hand waxing?

No, not even when machine-waxing, especially with 845. But if you do the crazy-thick thing I guess you might get some build-up somewhere, so, well... don't do that



845 is dead-nuts simple. The in-law I gave my old Volvo wagon to couldn't care less about this stuff, but she waxes that huge thing with 845 with no trouble at all.