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Washing between sealing/waxing

Claying, polishing, waxing... share your secrets in here.
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Silverzedtom
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Washing between sealing/waxing

Post by Silverzedtom » Tue Mar 07, 2017 10:08 am

Every six months or less I dedicate a day to keeping the paintwork looking as it should. Here's what I do
- wash
- leather
- Clay
- super resin polish
- AG extra gloss protection
- HD wax

I know there's other products that are better than AG but I know how to get the most out of them and am happy using them. I also know that if I'm putting a sealant like extra gloss protection on then I don't need a hard wax like HD - I just love the silky smooth paint and watching the rain roll off the paint.

If I'm dedicating a day to detailing then I don't want to undo my hard work by polishing off the wax and sealant in the next wash.

At the moment I wash and use a detailer spray / clay lube to help add a bit of shine. What do you guys do to keep it looking sharp but between wax / sealant?
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Washing between sealing/waxing

Post by JAD » Tue Mar 07, 2017 5:42 pm

Silverzedtom wrote:Every six months or less I dedicate a day to keeping the paintwork looking as it should. Here's what I do
- wash
- leather
- Clay
- super resin polish
- AG extra gloss protection
- HD wax

I know there's other products that are better than AG but I know how to get the most out of them and am happy using them. I also know that if I'm putting a sealant like extra gloss protection on then I don't need a hard wax like HD - I just love the silky smooth paint and watching the rain roll off the paint.

If I'm dedicating a day to detailing then I don't want to undo my hard work by polishing off the wax and sealant in the next wash.

At the moment I wash and use a detailer spray / clay lube to help add a bit of shine. What do you guys do to keep it looking sharp but between wax / sealant?
Tom, with the greatest respect, ditch the leather as soon as you can and buy even a basic drying towel. The difference to your paint will be monumental.

Additionally, claying every 6 months is overkill if your car is well protected - as you say, AG EGP isn't the greatest but it'll do enough to keep contaminants off your paint surface for 4-6 months.

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Silverzedtom
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Washing between sealing/waxing

Post by Silverzedtom » Tue Mar 07, 2017 6:33 pm

JAD wrote: Tom, with the greatest respect, ditch the leather as soon as you can and buy even a basic drying towel. The difference to your paint will be monumental.

Additionally, claying every 6 months is overkill if your car is well protected - as you say, AG EGP isn't the greatest but it'll do enough to keep contaminants off your paint surface for 4-6 months.
No offence taken. I have been meaning to get a decent drying towel for a while now, I need to get some shampoo now so will pick one up.

I was also thinking of claying a little less often as the clay is always pretty much clear of any dirt build up but as the Zed is so small it doesn't take too long so in my mind I may as well.

You didn't say how you look after yours between waxing / sealing :poke:
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Washing between sealing/waxing

Post by patriot66 » Tue Mar 07, 2017 7:29 pm

In between waxing I do regular maintenance cleaning using snowfoam pre-wash and the two bucket method. Then dry off using a couple of large microfibre drying towels and generous amounts of Sonax Extreme Brilliant Shine Detailer. The Sonax Detailer is my favourite at the moment with a super slick, durable shine and fantastic beading ! I buy it in 5 litres on Ebay for about £37. :thumbsup:
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Washing between sealing/waxing

Post by Silverzedtom » Tue Mar 07, 2017 8:19 pm

patriot66 wrote:In between waxing I do regular maintenance cleaning using snowfoam pre-wash and the two bucket method. Then dry off using a couple of large microfibre drying towels and generous amounts of Sonax Extreme Brilliant Shine Detailer. The Sonax Detailer is my favourite at the moment with a super slick, durable shine and fantastic beading ! I buy it in 5 litres on Ebay for about £37. :thumbsup:
Cheers :thumbsup: , sounds fairly similar to what I'm doing minus the snow foam.
Will have to have a look into the Sonax detailer when mine runs out.
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Washing between sealing/waxing

Post by Any1else » Tue Mar 07, 2017 9:11 pm

I was going to ask this too cos I just washed, clayed, polished and waxed mine at the weekend and dont want to wash everything off next time I clean the car.

I didnt use the EGP though cos I thought I saw somewhere not to use it with the SRP but after reading your thread I had a browse and cant find anything against it. If I wanted to apply SRP now, is it too late since I have waxed?
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Washing between sealing/waxing

Post by Silverzedtom » Wed Mar 08, 2017 10:54 am

Any1else wrote:I was going to ask this too cos I just washed, clayed, polished and waxed mine at the weekend and dont want to wash everything off next time I clean the car.

I didnt use the EGP though cos I thought I saw somewhere not to use it with the SRP but after reading your thread I had a browse and cant find anything against it. If I wanted to apply SRP now, is it too late since I have waxed?
The washing and clay get the dirt off, the clay lifting any contaminants out. The Polish is slightly abrasive, taking the tiniest layer imagineable away so you are left with lovely smooth paint. It also contains fillers to mask any light swirls etc that still remain. The extra gloss protection or other sealant or wax will lock in and protect everything underneath it.

The reason I put the thread up is because I am interested to know what people do between waxes as polishing after wax will be cutting through the wax and removing a lot of it, at least significantly reducing the time the wax will be useful on there.

What I've been doing (and it sounds like others do this) is using a detailer spray to keep it looking crisp between polishing and waxing. So I'd use a spray detailer until your ready to re wax or seal. And I'd give her a good polish before you do so. :thumbsup:
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Washing between sealing/waxing

Post by Buckz » Wed Mar 08, 2017 11:01 am

between waxes, usually every 3-4 weeks i do -;

snow foam
2 bucket wash
QD - sonax BSD is my favorite for now.
black bit protection(sonax gel)
tyre gel

every 4-6months I will -;

polish, clay and wax the car.

sometimes more often If I'm tempted to try that new tin of wax I got :lol:
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Washing between sealing/waxing

Post by lordgrover » Wed Mar 08, 2017 1:28 pm

A bit off topic, but for general cleaning/detailing advice there are few more entertaining than junkman. Set aside an hour or ten and watch some of his vids: click.

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Washing between sealing/waxing

Post by scooobydont » Wed Mar 08, 2017 2:53 pm

lordgrover wrote:A bit off topic, but for general cleaning/detailing advice there are few more entertaining than junkman. Set aside an hour or ten and watch some of his vids: click.

This, a must watch for any detailing enthusiast!

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Washing between sealing/waxing

Post by Any1else » Wed Mar 08, 2017 9:42 pm

Silverzedtom wrote:What I've been doing (and it sounds like others do this) is using a detailer spray to keep it looking crisp between polishing and waxing. So I'd use a spray detailer until your ready to re wax or seal. And I'd give her a good polish before you do so. :thumbsup:
OK, its on the shopping list. :thumbsup:

When I do go to rewax it - how do I get the old layer of wax off. Will polishing it remove the wax?
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Silverzedtom
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Washing between sealing/waxing

Post by Silverzedtom » Wed Mar 08, 2017 10:41 pm

Any1else wrote:
Silverzedtom wrote:What I've been doing (and it sounds like others do this) is using a detailer spray to keep it looking crisp between polishing and waxing. So I'd use a spray detailer until your ready to re wax or seal. And I'd give her a good polish before you do so. :thumbsup:
OK, its on the shopping list. :thumbsup:

When I do go to rewax it - how do I get the old layer of wax off. Will polishing it remove the wax?
Clay removes all so your back to square one
Polish makes it pretty
Wax or a liquid sealant keeps it pretty :thumbsup:
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Washing between sealing/waxing

Post by Any1else » Wed Mar 08, 2017 11:44 pm

Silverzedtom wrote: Clay removes all so your back to square one
Polish makes it pretty
Wax or a liquid sealant keeps it pretty :thumbsup:
Nicely summed Sir!

Many thanks
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Washing between sealing/waxing

Post by GAZA62 » Thu Mar 09, 2017 6:23 pm

As above a good QD after washing and top up the wax every 6-8 weeks between a full detail
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