vinyl stripes and wax

[ClassicConcepts]

Re: vinyl stripes and wax

Hate to drag up an old thread, but I'm a little confused. On the first page it says "If the bottle says don't use the product on vinyl just find a wax that doesnt." then it is recommended to use NXT Wax on them, but that bottle says not to use on vinyl.......

I have a small piece of the hood I cut out for a hood scoop for testing, and have tried NXT wax 2.0 on it and it looks good, but that doesn't tell me if repeated use will cause the stripe to dull from anything in the wax. For now, to be safe, I put a coat of #26 but not sure if I should use the NXT wax instead. The manufacturer of the graphics says to wax them with a good wax that does not contain abrasives. Just not comfortable with that "do not use on vinyl" label on the 2.0

[Poki]

Re: vinyl stripes and wax

We need to be careful and not lump all vinyl stripes in the same catagory. Some can be waxed per the stripe manufacturer. Some can not per the maker and some say nothing. If at all possible, try and track down the maker of the vinyl stripes and contact them. I work in the RV industry and many have vinyl stripes. Some can be waxed and some can not. Our pros' advice of avoiding the edges is spot on! Sun is the killer. Some blues and golds fade faster than other colors. In my opinion, a specific vinyl product like Supreme Shine or the others Megs has "should" be safe but.......

[JimboB5]

Re: vinyl stripes and wax

Along the same lines, should one avoid stripes when claying?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: vinyl stripes and wax

Perhaps this bears repeating at this point in the discussion:

If the vinyl graphics (in this case stripes, obviously) are smooth and glossy then you can wax them just as you would the painted surfaces of the vehicle. If they are a matte finish, at all textured or otherwise not glossy then you should avoid getting wax on them. Gold Class Trim Detailer has proven to do an excellent job on matte and textured black vinyl, but it needs to be used sparingly.

Regardless of the finish, you will want to avoid machine polishing them with any sort of abrasive product.

Textured or a matte/flat finish is what you want to keep wax off of since it will tend to dry white in the texture and be a real bugger to get out. You also don't want to clay this texture/matte/flat surface just as you would NOT clay any other exterior textured trim.

But if your vinyl graphic is smooth and glossy then go ahead and treat it like other smooth and glossy surfaces - paint, clear plastic, glossy B pillars, etc - clay it and wax it.

As others have stated though, do you best to stay away from the edges when working on them.

[JimboB5]

Re: vinyl stripes and wax

Thanks Michael for the claying answer for pinstripe/vinyl.