Not really a big fan of off-the-shelf car wax...just don't think it works as good. I'd always ordered up a bag of carnauba flakes and making my own wax (looks better, the finnish is harder, and it's a lot more satisfying when you get done) but I needed to get something to seal up the new paint job on my TL's tank. I tried this meguiar's stuff from wal-mart...it's supposed to be the best but it's nowhere near as good as straight carnauba...it's adds nothing but shine. There's no real protection there...except maybe from water.
Also, if you follow the instructions, you'll never get it to shine up right. The instructions say to use the little foam pad to apply the wax, wait a couple minutes to let it dry, then wipe the surface clean with a cotton cloth. The little foam pad is completely the wrong texture for applying wax. It was much more effective to use my hands and just rub the tank down. After that you need to start wiping and polishing the tank almost immediately or the wax dries and turns hard. That little faom pad, however, worked great at polishing the tank. I got a real nice pretty surface afterward. I just don't think it will last long.
This is the BEST wax, for anyone interested:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Carnuba-Carnauba-Grade-No-1-Carnauba-Wax-4-OZ-flakes_W0QQitemZ230096141372QQihZ013QQcategoryZ134295QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Do you have a recipe for those flakes? Or do you just rub them on?
I know what you mean about the Meguiar's paste and that foam thingy... it never polishes off very well and just leaves swirls of wax. I'll have to try it as you suggested.
If you want to try liquid waxes, Zymol is tops from what I've read and I really liked it when I've used it
Yeap I don't care for Meguiars Either.After I painted my T500 I checked it a few Months later and the Wax had Mildewed or Molded.It looked like Thick Black Spider webs all over the paint.After I cleaned it off it left Dark Spots in a few Places and it loked like the roots had Dug into the Clear Coat. :mad:
I liked Mother's- I used the clay bar and wax. That was back when I lived in the suburbs. Now I live in the city, and it's pretty hard to do it myself.
yeah mothers is good stuff. Their carnuba wax i have found to be great, put it on thick with your hands, let it haze and buff off. If your lazy like me you use a buffer :laugh: :laugh:
I've never even heard of applying wax by hand until that video of the $10,000 car wash... I guess I've been out of the loop
^Applying it by a clean hand is the best way to do it. Anytime you use a rag or an "applicator" to do it, you run the risk of scratching the paint with tiny debris and sealing said debris into the wax finnish.
Quote from: manofthefield on February 28, 2007, 06:39:04 AM
Do you have a recipe for those flakes? Or do you just rub them on?
You put a small pile of flakes and rub it between your hands until it's a thick paste...it reacts with the oils and acids in your skin. Then rub down whatever you're waxing with it. You can lay it down thick then, after it starts to harden, it'll polish real bright and shiny. It's hard work, but the finnish is absolutely unbeatable.
~they talked about it briefly in that "most expensive car wash" video...except what a load of shaZam! that was! "Made from a rare carbauba found only in northern brazil" haha...carauba trees grow in northern brazil and they're not exactly abundant.
My fingertips are like sandpaper... So... I think I'd opt for the cloth.
doesn't matter how corse your think your hands are, human flesh will never be as corse as the grit found in every cloth.
Wash your hands before applying and you're set.
hey Mak, how much of that flake would I need to do a standard sized sedan? Would one bag be enough? I think I'm going to pull the trigger and try it out.
Quote from: makenzie71 on February 28, 2007, 09:39:20 PM
doesn't matter how corse your think your hands are, human flesh will never be as corse as the grit found in every cloth.
Wash your hands before applying and you're set.
+1, and when your done a little dish soap and scrubbing will clean your hands right up again. I never trusted rags or the applicator crap on a car that i wanted to keep nice.
Mandres...it's hard to say...sometimes I use up to a pound getting my 328 covered.
Quote from: makenzie71 on February 28, 2007, 11:53:01 AM
wax finnish.
Not to jack but I smiled the first time you said "finnish" ... the second time my boss asked me why i was laughing so hard ... thanks mak :thumb: that made my day ... i could just imagine a group of "finns" waxing a car and talking like the swedish chef
daboo dadoo hoosh stadooo
Quote from: makenzie71 on March 01, 2007, 02:14:47 PM
daboo dadoo hoosh stadooo
damn - now i'm picturing the finns saying onoz and omg .... hahaha