When to re-apply wax etc?

[Jameze]

I polished and waxed my car back in February, along with some other things such as Gtechniq to the windows etc.

When should I look at waxing my car again? And polishing again?

I've not been able to wash it very much since February as I've been concentrating relentlessly on my final semester of university. Now that my dissertation is done and my final ever lecture is coming up this Friday, I'm hoping to be able to give my car a much needed wash next weekend! I've purchased a few more goodies on top of the usual arsenal.

Does polishing and waxing usually go hand in hand or can I just give my car a good clean and top up the coat of wax every now and then? Is polishing something that doesn't need to be done quite so much? I'd like to avoid unnecessarily polishing it if I can, as by hand, it's very laborious. I'd suspect the answer might be "Once the paintwork needs it" but I'm just wondering if anyone has a set routine for certain things such as wax every X months, polish every Y months etc.

Cheers

 

[RobbieWebs]

Personally I'm going to wax mine 3 times a year. U never said what make of products u use? I'm sure different kind of waxes last longer or shorter dependant on make I use poorboys natty blue wax myself and it seems to last ages. I use meguiars quik wax after washing that makes the car look waxed. Doesn't take long to apply and the shine is great

 

[Jameze]

I used AG Super Resin Polish and AG HD Wax which seemed to give pretty good results. Is it okay to just 'top up' the wax if needs be then? You don't need to 'strip' the previous coat off or anything? I probably would do yearly and give it another polish, but if I can get away with it then I'd prefer to just top up the wax coat every few months. I'm not sure what the norm is or if it's a good idea etc?

 

[RobbieWebs]

Personally I haven't used AGSR, well not since I hada car in 1996 but I know it's better now. Iv bought heaps of car polish etc, but I bought poorboys black hole shine, poorboys natty blue wax which both are amazing and easy to go on and off. Before u put on a new wax I would clean the paint first. I used meguiars step 1 which was really good I'd recommend. Judging by what iv read well worth claying once a year before applying a new wax. Just out of interest how's ur bonnet and front spoiler for stone chips? Mine is the same year and colour and looks like its been attacked lol. Must say I'm never getting a black car again

 

[_G_]

Depends where you live and weather conditions etc. In and out of city traffic here and my wax tends to last 4-6 weeks. I find myself waxing every 2 months at least. Polish for me is 2-3 times a year as is claying. If you seal the polish/glaze in properly and then wax, you can get away with applying a top up wax every month. Yep so that's me. I'm experimenting with blackfire sealer/protector at the moment and so far I'm impressed.

 

[Jameze]

Personally I haven't used AGSR, well not since I hada car in 1996 but I know it's better now. Iv bought heaps of car polish etc, but I bought poorboys black hole shine, poorboys natty blue wax which both are amazing and easy to go on and off. Before u put on a new wax I would clean the paint first. I used meguiars step 1 which was really good I'd recommend. Judging by what iv read well worth claying once a year before applying a new wax. Just out of interest how's ur bonnet and front spoiler for stone chips? Mine is the same year and colour and looks like its been attacked lol. Must say I'm never getting a black car again

I've only got the AGSRP because it came in the 'Lifeshine' pack when I bought my car but once that's finished off I'll be exploring other polishes I think.

Fortunately I've got no stone chips at all! I did have though... had the bonnet re-sprayed. Some pointing fell off the house roof last year and took a bit of paint off the top of the bonnet so I took it in for a re-spray and the bodyshop did the whole bonnet I was very pleased as the stone chips were driving me mad (and I'd attempted a DIY fix myself and made some worse).

Depends where you live and weather conditions etc. In and out of city traffic here and my wax tends to last 4-6 weeks. I find myself waxing every 2 months at least. Polish for me is 2-3 times a year as is claying. If you seal the polish/glaze in properly and then wax, you can get away with applying a top up wax every month. Yep so that's me. I'm experimenting with blackfire sealer/protector at the moment and so far I'm impressed.

I saw that Blackfire stuff and almost bought it, might have to give it a go. I'm up and down the motorway everyday (I spend hours washing my car on a weekend... drive down the motorway to work and it's filthy with road grime by day one!). I've noticed the wax beading a lot less but I'm not sure if that's just because there's so much dust and filth on it, I'll see what it's like when I wash it and top up if necessary will look into sealers for longevity too.

 

[Ian-83]

I would say polish twice a year. Got to remember polishing is an abbrasive so its slowly cutting away at the clear coat. I know by hand won't remove as much as machine polishing but still something to think about. I would say give the car a good wash. If the paintwork still looks clean with no signs of tar or other ingrained dirt you should be ok to re apply wax. The main problem is if you have anything like tar you need to remove it first if not your just locking it in.

I currently use the Werkstat Acrylic kit which has good dirability for winter but the downside is being spray on its tricky to apply on blustery days!

 

[JPK]

A 'pure' polish doesn't have any abrasives in it right?

 

[_G_]

A 'pure' polish doesn't have any abrasives in it right?

correct.. a good example is Megs deep crystal

 

[the_cueball]

I polish my car when I buy it, then maintain once a year with a finishing polish.

I apply the wax at least once a month, minimum of 2 layers.... just because I enjoy my hobby...

Total overkill (on the waxing) but there you go...

 

[_G_]

I polish my car when I buy it, then maintain once a year with a finishing polish.

I apply the wax at least once a month, minimum of 2 layers.... just because I enjoy my hobby...

Total overkill (on the waxing) but there you go...

I mean the laws of deminishing do apply so three coats would look worse... but two is a good idea for hiding swirls that are still visible after the first layer of wax. Now don't get me wrong a proper polish would be a good way to go with heavy swirls but building the layers of wax is a good mask and doubles the protection too! The best way to apply wax is to build the layers anyway so nowt wrong with two coats as long as the first has cured. Three is over kill in my book.