Regular waxing vs. polishing every couple of years.

Accumulator said:
Leaving aside why it'd necessarily need polishing after a winter, I sure wouldn't want to wait until *after* the worst season to do the LSPing! I'd want the vehicle protected throughout the winter to minimize the chances of things getting worse. Note that people often find lots of ferrous contamination after winter, supposedly from things like snowplow blades; I'd want the (sacrificial) barrier of a good LSP on there to protect against, well...all sorts of winter stuff.
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For now I have 2 coats of opti-seal, I was thinking I'd do another layer or two in a few months time. I'm interested to see how opti-seal holds up over the winter.



I want to see how fk1000p looks on metallic white at some point, and not having to reapply it for a long time would be a big plus.



The polishing ... I think I'll have to switch to a rinseless wash over the winter, and I'm not yet convinced I won't induce marring with this type of wash (I hope I'm wrong!) My current setup with using griot's car wash and cr spotless seems to be working, no marring yet that I can see.
 
David Fermani said:
Wax really isn't going to make your paint last longer. Look at all the cars lasting for decades that have never been waxed. What prevents aging is keeping it out of the harsh sun/elements.
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but look at all the hondas that have paint failure on the hood roof and trunk.



Most people go to work and park their cars outside 9 hours a day. It's nearly impossible to keep it out of the sun.
 
Rick A said:
Do you guys ever wash the undercarriage of your vehicles?
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I have a lift so wiping down my undercarriage is a breeze. It never gets dirty enough to have to scrub and wash. But even before I had the lift I used to twist and turn and bend to clean my undercarriage but I always did it.
 
Rick A said:
Do you guys ever wash the undercarriage of your vehicles?
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Every square inch of it, every vehicle, every wash (OK, I might skip it a few times each year, but not many). And I generally QD/etc. most of the underneath too. Yeah, I'm kinda extreme about it :o



Besides the functional (e.g., no dirt to absorb/harbor moisture and lead to rust), and the general pride-of-ownership thing, keeping it clean makes it easier to see if something's amiss and a lot more pleasant to work on when something does need done. And seeing the underneath on a regular basis makes it a lot easier to tell if something *is* amiss ("hey, that bushing didn't look quite like that the last time...").



Welcome to Autopia, Rick A :wavey
 
Bill D said:
I have a lift so wiping down my undercarriage is a breeze...
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That always has me thinking "don't know what you got, til it's gone.." :o :sosad



I did get a set of Race Ramps a while back, though I generally still stick to the floorjacks and stands; with the ramps I still have to jack up the other end so it's not really any quicker when I'm just doing a wash. At least the Tahoe has enough ground clearance that I can slide under with a creeper.



It never gets dirty enough to have to scrub and wash...
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Yeah, I can *sometimes* get away with that, but I use something like IUDJ to effect better (perhaps better than really necessary) cleaning.



But even before I had the lift I used to twist and turn and bend to clean my undercarriage but I always did it...
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I have to jack the cars up a little to do the wells anyhow, so I've pretty much reconciled myself to the added time to pump the jacks a few more times and stick the stands under there.



Now if I could just find the ideal faceshield....
 
[…or am I going to seal-in any contaminants unless I clay/polish/cleanse first (this only concerns me if those contaminants will continue to do damage)]



Vehicle manufacturer studies have shown that failure to remove environmental contaminants (like imbedded rail dust, acid rain, industrial fallout and other environmental contaminants) from paint film can cause premature degradation of the paint system.



Sintered ferrous oxide particles (brake / rail dust) penetrate the paint surface and if not removed will act as a conduit to the paint matrix system. Once water and heat (reactivity) is added the corrosion process is started, often showing ‘rust spots’ (blooming) on the paint surface, light colours tend show the necessity of decontamination more that darker colours. I am referring to those small brown ferric oxides (rust spots) that just seem to get larger and larger.
 
Dan said:
I can easily go 4-5 years with careful washing and waxing before I get enough swirls where anyone outside of autopia would notice. If I don't wax, I'll get hard water etching, bird bomb and bug etching and dull paint. Uncoated paint oxidizes quickly and starts to lose shine in 3-6 months (depending on color and location).
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+1



It's been 4 years since I polished, but I wax 2 times a year (1000p high temp), use a quick detailed after washes (FK1), and only hand wash. In the winter, I don't wash, but I will spray in booth (just water). Car is garaged.



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Jester7677- Nice to see a well-kept Audi from back when they still had the attractive front end :xyxthumbs



How do you like the look of the FK1000P on black? Heh heh, I *know* how you like the "living with it" aspect of that LSP ;)



Which QD do you use, the FK425 or the FK146?
 
pman626 said:
but look at all the hondas that have paint failure on the hood roof and trunk.



Most people go to work and park their cars outside 9 hours a day. It's nearly impossible to keep it out of the sun.
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Paint failure isn't the norm. Except with these funky Hondas. More of a factory flaw that is very isolated. Unless you're waxing one of these cars regularly, paint failure will end up rearing its ugly head eventually if parked outside in sunny environments. Most modern OEM paint systems are much more robust and are manufactured to last.
 
A few years ago I might have agreed with this but 'bottom line' car mfg are using a much lighter paint covering and it seems to get thinner as time goes on.



I would advise a coating product like Opti-Coat with a 'known' thickness of clear coat protection...
 
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