Do you prep and wax between letters?

[ktlimq]

Do you prep and wax these tiny painted areas?
If yes, how?
If no, why?

[Mike Phillips]

Some cars I do, some care I just tape the area off to prevent splatter from getting into these areas.

I polish and wax around the letters as close as I can get by machine, everything else is by hand using usually a small peice of cloth for foam to get into the area and rub around with my finger. Then remove using microfiber and clean the area with something like our Triple Duty Detail Brush

[CivicEM205]

eh I try my best to get int the nookes and crannies. If it gets gunked up I'll pull out some q-tips, they do the job nicely.

[rammsteinmatt]

here is my situation:



each letter collects wax (argh) and in the case of the Lancer badge on the bottom left, a Qtip is even too big to fit in some spaces.
if i had a PC i couldnt use it as the large EVOLUTION VIII has very sharp corners (ie, pieces of towel are ripped off by careless wiping) and i feel that the PC would rip the badges off or at least lift some corners.

any reccommendations, as doing a quality job with Qtips and all may take 1+ hours just for the trunk lid with these badges. (i also have the FQ400 badges on the doors )

a standard business card is placed in there for size reference

thanks, matt

[ktlimq]

When I compare modern cars with cars introduced 20 years ago, I notice that new cars have less unpainted plastic trims.
This means we can wax with less obstacles.

I hope cars in the future have no badges: the brand name and model name are painted.

[GINA]

Have you tried using a toothpick with a cloth on the tip to get in those tight spots?

[Accident]

Also, for removal a soft toothbrush works well for removal, and it doesn't scratch the paint unless you press very hard. I usually spray it with some QD to keep it lubricated and further prevent scratches. If you look it up there is a forum on toothbrushes/power toothbrushes where I got the idea.

[rammsteinmatt]

i would normally use a toothbrush, but woudnt those scratch the paint?

the toothpick and cloth seems to be a good alternative, but it would have to be a thin cloth to allow for the small area required, and this may lead to the tooth pick poking through.

argh, these badges are kinda annoying

[redlude]

Q-Tip? It's cotton isn't it?

[Teak]

You could debadge the the trunk lid, then you would not have to worry about removing wax from between the letters.

Eric

[Newport Viper]

What's the point of waxing them? Why bother.....

[JG_Detailing]

You should wax in between them because some of them are painted. And they are exposed to the weather.

Originally posted by Newport Viper
What's the point of waxing them? Why bother.....

[Accumulator]

I like debadged cars for a number of reasons (and usually debadge my new cars if they're just glued on), but if I have emblems I take the same care with the painted areas as I do with the rest of the car.

Redlude- Yeah, a sharpened toothpick/swab stick with a little bit of cotton wool (e.g., pull it off a Q-tip) usually works the best for me.

I've had too many brushes mar the paint to feel comfortable using them these days. Inspecting with magnification usually reveals nasty micromarring that I then have to struggle to fix. Natural bristle brushes will usually soften up if you dampen them with something like #34, might be worth a try if that's compatible with your product.