I know that answer is yes when you get down to the metal!!

BUT, I was talking to my dad and a friend of mine, and they both say that waxing a car to much isn't good (but they can't give me a valid reason why though) I usually wax my car once a week. Sometime I put an extra coat or 2 on the hood to stop rock chips.

I usually use Turtle Wax extreme, mostly New finish though (sp?)

Any help on the debate would be great!

Thanks

I usually wax my car once a week

Man, that's obsessive compulsive :eek:
I usually wax about once every 3 months, and have been accused of waxing too much.

I've heard that you shouldn't wax the car when it's new.

I'm using Zymol now, but I want to try what everyone's been raving about: Zaino.

meguiars.... and griot's garage goodies...

that's all i use on my car...

detail clay, polish and then wax...

once a month...
havent been able to rub the paint off yet :D

j.
www.subiegal.com

rubbing paint off is bad... that happens on conventionally painted cars (old ones) that don't have clearcoats (before they had clearcoats) and you can rub a rag or whatever with a bit of pressure and get a little paint off without harming it too much... clearcoated paint, if you can do that, that's bad =) time for a new paint job

Wax. I don't know a lot about waxing your car but I heard that it is a good idea to polish your car often. Wax is a good thing but you should not wax a car more than one time a month and even that is a bit much.

Polish on the other hand can be done onece a week. It is eaiser to use than wax.

Everybody is into this Zaino brothers polish/wax. I don't know my roomate uses it and it looks good. However I use eagle wet one polish and I don't think the difference is all that great. I mean polish is polish. YOur car is always going to find a way to get dirty.

I've heard that you shouldn't wax the car when it's new.
I e-mailed SOA and asked them when my WRX was brand new. They said it was 100% fine to polish and wax it. That the paint and clearcoat take a couple weeks to fully cure, and that it's that time or more on the ship over here and trains, trucks, etc. getting to you.


Polish on the other hand can be done onece a week.
I am certainly no expert, but I don't think you'd want to polish weekly. Polish usually has very mild abrasives in it to take out minor scratches, etc. and smooth the finish down to glass-like smoothness. While this is ok and even necessary from time to time (once per year for me), if you did it weekly you're eventually going to wear through clearcoat and paint. Wax, on the other hand, shouldn't contain any abrasives and is only adding a layer of itself to your car's finish. This ain't gonna hurt anything.

Just to add to what loafing wrote: if you are waxing frequently, make sure you use a high-quality abbrasive free paste carnauba wax. Don't use cleaner wax, as that is a polish and wax in one. I don't know about Turtle wax. I would stick to higher quality brands like Meguiars or even Mothers. Then there's the really expensive stuff like Griott's, Zaino, and Zymol.

One option you might consider, instead of waxing your car every week, is using a quick detailing spray, like Eagle One Wet Wipe and Shine. It is basically a mild detergent with a small amount of carnauba wax. You spray it on, then wipe it off. It is good for taking off dust and light dirt, plus it refreshes the wax layer already on the car. You can do the whole car in a few minutes, and it is certainly much easier than waxing. Just don't use it if the car is too dirty, as you'll scratch the finish.

Jordan

i don't see why polishing once a week is bad.. sure it might be an abrasive, thus diminishing the amount of wax on the car so you'd have to wax more often, but as long as there is wax on the car, the abrasive shouldn't be able to affect the clearcoat, right?

Well, let's put it this way. If your antique furniture is looking a bit dingy, do you spray it with Pledge, or do you use fine grit sandpaper on it? That's a bit extreme, but not too far off. Most polishes are made to strip off old wax and smooth out any minor imperfections in the finish. You really shouldn't have to do this more than once or twice a year (IMO) if you keep the car covered with a good coat of wax.

Jordan

What do you do when you wax a car?

You put on a bunch of crap, and then you rub all of it off but a small layer.

So however many layers or times you do it, it doesn't matter. You need to wax it as often as you think the wax has worn off.

Overwaxing can't hurt, but it sure is a waste of time.

I don't think waxing your car weekly will hurt your paint, as long as you are using a quality wax over a clean car (make sure you're not pushing around dirt), and good quality towels. Using cheap towels for buffing out wax is a major cause of swirl marks and light scratches.

And I would definitely stay away from the Nu Finish! I hear it is actually quite abrasive. One guy was using it regularly until one day he got a good look at his car under bright flourescent lights and was shocked to see a ton of scratches.

Like others have mentioned, you might want to use a quick detailer instead of full on wax every week. Some quick detailer sprays like One Grand Show Off and Eimann Fabrik Clear Pearl contain a bit of carnauba wax in it to help prolong your wax job. But hey, if you've got the time and energy to wax your car every week, more power to you.

it's pointless.
just was the car to keep it clean
your just toss'n $$$ away that could go for better toyz later on.
i love to keep all my ridez super clean but thats not gona happen. i jus wash as much as i can(usualy once a week or every 2 weeks depending on how dirty) and i wax once a year
i got a 10 yr old truck that looks like it just came off the dealer lot. ppl always ask me were i got it repainted. i respond it's the original paint from the factory(and it blows mind u)

now unless u got something like an 10k paintjob or more then fine wax all u want. it's just a waste in my point of view.

you should POLISH the car once a week if you want to keep it shiny...

or use a nice DETAIL SPRAY to keep the shine up....

but you need not wax it every week... there are 'other' products out there that can be put to good use...

j.
www.subiegal.com

From what I know, You polish the paint, not the wax. I thought you you wanted to polish the car you have to strip it if all wax so you then have access to the paint?

MikeyG

I hav an issue of sport compact car. the one with a suped up red focus on teh cover. they hav like 6 pages in it with directions on how to wash and polish and wax your car. you migh consider picking it up. and im so surprised how big the magazine is. its jam packed with carstuff in it. quite a surprise for a monthly magazine.