no need to wax anymore?

[stangAtang]

hey guys/gals, got referred to this board from another forum. my situation is i recently clayed the car and waxed it saturday. Now i have a layer of dust that has collected on my car. I live in west tx and the dust is a major prob. now i am thinking to just remove the wax by washing with dawn. i seen on a post that using a clay bar removes cars protection and i should use a sealant after claying. since i have used a clay bar (the white small one) do i have to always have a sealant on my car now. i am new to the whole wax scene, i always just wash and call it a day, so i am a bit confused.

[HagFan]

Re: no need to wax anymore?

Don't wash with Dawn unless, as you said, you really want to remove the wax. The terms “wax” and “sealant” are typically used synonymously here. Most sealants are synthetic or polymers. Wax or sealant after clay is the right thing to do.


Washing with a good car wash soap should do the trick. You can’t beat the 2-bucket method, with Grit Guards, described elsewhere on this forum.


If the dust is light enough a lot of us will use a quick detailer (Quik Detaler, NXT Speed Detailer, Ultimate Quik Detailer) and save the wash job. Use those products with a clean microfiber towel and don’t let them self-dry.


I use clay and wax on the alloy wheels too and then just car wash soap and not wheel cleaner. Clear Coat alloys are just like your paint.

[stangAtang]

Re: no need to wax anymore?

thanx hag. how about if i want to never wax again, will i be able to get away with it even though i have used a claybar on my car? what is it exactly that a claybar does to the paint? i understand it removes stubborn contaminates but does it remove clear coat or anything else?

[HagFan]

Re: no need to wax anymore?

The clay doesn't enable wax or sealant to last forever. The most I'd expect to go is 6 months, but that will get a lot of cringes from most people here, me included. I use #21 and do it 3-4 times a year on my daily drivers. The "No Wax" finish is pretty much a myth from my experience

The clay bar removes the bonded contaminates from the outer most surface layer. Prior to clay you can feel these gritty contaminates easier if you slip a sandwich bag over your fingers and then gently swipe them over the paint—feels like fine sand paper.

Sometimes you may need some deeper cleaning than that so you follow with the Deep Crystal #1 (cleaner), Cleaner Wax or something that can chemically remove stains and such on your paint.

By the way, attracting dust to the paint is common after waxing. Some people think it’s the product, but I’ve yet to see one yet that didn’t show the same result with dust. I think all the (dry) rubbing statically charges the metal and that will dissipate after a wash or two.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: no need to wax anymore?

The clay bar removes above surface bonded contaminants but does not remove clear coat. It will also remove any wax or sealant you have on the car.

I'm concerned that you want to remove the wax and never apply it again? Why would you want to do that? Are you thinking that the wax is attracting the dust? I would suggest that since you just waxed the car on Saturday and now it's dusty, just wash it this weekend with a good quality car wash shampoo - Gold Class, NXT, etc - but definitely NOT with Dawn or other dishwashing detergents.

If your dust situation is serious, and in West Texas I can imagine it is, then routine waxing and washing is a very good thing to do for your car. You do not need to clay before each wax application, and you may not have to do it more than once a year. But you definitely want wax or a sealant on the car, no doubt about it.

Now, it may well be that the simple act of rubbing a towel over the paint to remove the wax last Saturday introduced a bit of a static charge to the paint. Your old process of wash/dry/leave it at that would not cause such a static charge. You may well find that after a gentle wash this weekend that static charge has dissipated and your dust clinging problem is diminished.

[HagFan]

Re: no need to wax anymore?

... I'm concerned that you want to remove the wax and never apply it again? ...

I took that to be making a distinction between wax and sealant--removing wax because he'd subsequently read he should have followed clay with sealant.

Right on about the wash... They always look best to me one or two washes after a wax job.

[stangAtang]

Re: no need to wax anymore?

thax for the info guys

[Mike Phillips]

Re: no need to wax anymore?

Wax and Paint Sealant, regardless of the name on the bottle do the same job, they Protect the paint.

See this thread and look for Step 4 Protecting, but read through the entire thread.


The 5 Step Paint Care Cycle

[CAShine]

Re: no need to wax anymore?

I would avoid using dawn and stick to washing with shampoo and claying. This is safe and effective.

[WrightDetail]

Re: no need to wax anymore?

I would avoid using dawn and stick to washing with shampoo and claying. This is safe and effective.

Using Dawn may cause payback down the road, relationship wise and auto wise

[buda]

Re: no need to wax anymore?

You have gotten a great deal of good advise so I will try to summarize for you:

1. You can use DAWN or better a shampoo that is formulated to strip the car of oils and old wax, etc.

2. You can then clay the vehicle to remove any invisible industrial fallout contaminants.

3. Then you can either buff, polish and protect (a 3 step process); polish and protect (a 2 step process) or protect (a 1 step process).

Which you do is dependent on the condition of the paint.

If you are just looking to protect then you would apply a wax or a paint sealant.

4. Waxes are different than paint sealants.

WAX - it can contain natural carnuaba, synthetic carnuaba (micro-crystalline wax) or other kinds of wax. Actually synthetic, or man-made waxes are more durable than natural waxes.
They also contain mineral oil, solvents, binders, water, and standard silicone fluids as well as, color & even fragrance.
This type of wax might last about 30 to 45 days.

PAINT SEALANT - really a paint sealant is nothing more than an evolution of wax or protection technology. They can contain wax, but not all paint sealants contain wax, they contain solvents, oils, binders, color, fragrance and the KEY ingredient----AMINO FUNCTIONAL SILICONES. These are different than standard silicone fluids and bottomline, they allow the paint sealant to last longer on the finish of the vehicle. Under the best conditions they could last up to 6 months, but most likely not much more than 3 months without an re-application and less if you wash the car every week or more or live in a salt air climate.

QUESTION??? If a wax formulation contains AMINO FUNCTIONAL SILICONES is it a WAX or is it a PAINT SEALANT?

For your situation in a dusty climatic area I would opt for a paint sealant rather than a wax which tends to be more oily than a sealant which could be causing the accumulation of dust on the vehicle.

Regards
Bud Abraham
DETAIL PLUS SYSTEMS

[roushstage2]

Re: no need to wax anymore?

No Dawn