Am I waxing too much?

[mis3]

Like many of us in this forum, I wash and wax often. In general, I wax every 3-4 weeks.

Because of the time required to do the full 5-step detailing process, I do it only once a year. So, I am actually adding wax on top of wax throughout the year. For example, I just did the full 5-step process 4 weeks ago (WASH-CLAY-UC-DC_POLISH-UW-UW) and I waxed again last weekend (WASH-UW-UW). So, I now have 4 coats of UW on my car. Will it come to a point I am getting negative return of my efforts?

I use Cleaner Wax (consumer and Mirror Glaze lines) every 2nd or 3rd wax followed by NXT and recently UW. Since UW is a long lasting wax, the Cleaner Wax is probably applied on top of a layer of UW. Not sure if Cleaner Wax can effectively clean the paint under the UW.

I am just curious. So far, I am getting great results for my detailing efforts.

[Marc08EX]

Re: Am I waxing too much?

You're not really layering wax if you apply it often. You can't say that you have 4 coats of UW. Adding more coats just ensures even coverage and filling in the areas where the wax has already worn off. (This is the reason why I HATE Zaino but that's a different story)

IMO, there's nothing wrong with waxing too much. You can only help to protect your car better and make it look good.

[Shawn T.]

Re: Am I waxing too much?

Are you breathing too much? JK

But, your fine. When I was starting out I was waxing every weekend with M26 Hi-Tech Yellow Wax.

[ajb39oh]

Re: Am I waxing too much?

I've never heard of such a concept!

[mis3]

Re: Am I waxing too much?

I wonder if I have wasted my efforts.

I did the full detailing cycle 4 weeks ago and I waxed again last week. I could have used UQW last week and the end results might be the same. 2 coats of UW takes 2 hours and UQW takes 30 minutes.

[Murr1525]

Re: Am I waxing too much?

You may be doing a lot of extra effort though.

UQW is much quicker for a top-up (edit: I hope the 30 min includes washing? Otherwise, taking too long.)

Also, Wash, Clay if needed, ColorX, Wax is nice and quick for a cleaning step.

Just thoughts though, up to you what you enjoy.

[mis3]

Re: Am I waxing too much?

The 30-minute UQW time does not include the wash. I did not time myself but it seemed like 30 minutes.

Maybe I'm slow, it takes me a whole hour to wash and dry my car.

[Murr1525]

Re: Am I waxing too much?

Well, no need to rush of course.

But say it takes 3 minutes to wipe a towel over the entire car. Thats about all UQW involves.

If you are applying a lot, and working hard to remove it, you're over doing it.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Am I waxing too much?

Like many of us in this forum, I wash and wax often. In general, I wax every 3-4 weeks.

Because of the time required to do the full 5-step detailing process, I do it only once a year. So, I am actually adding wax on top of wax throughout the year. For example, I just did the full 5-step process 4 weeks ago (WASH-CLAY-UC-DC_POLISH-UW-UW) and I waxed again last weekend (WASH-UW-UW). So, I now have 4 coats of UW on my car. Will it come to a point I am getting negative return of my efforts?

Well, as Marc points out the whole concept of layering, ie creating an ever increasing film build by applying coat after coat after coat of wax, is something we just buy into. When you're using a long lasting wax like Ultimate Wax, NXT Tech Wax 2.0 or any of the other quality synthetics on the market you don't need to wax every week. You can, however, use Ultimate Quik Wax every time you wash your car to help extend the protection on your car, and that process is very quick and easy.

I use Cleaner Wax (consumer and Mirror Glaze lines) every 2nd or 3rd wax followed by NXT and recently UW. Since UW is a long lasting wax, the Cleaner Wax is probably applied on top of a layer of UW. Not sure if Cleaner Wax can effectively clean the paint under the UW.

Cleaner wax is going to pretty effectively remove the existing UW, but you're right in thinking that the UW is going to slow down the Cleaner Wax's ability to do much to the paint. The polymers in UW are pretty tenacious so CW is going to have to work pretty hard to take it off. We know for a fact that even UQW will slow down a wet sanding process until all the UQW is gone - but UW is much more durable than UQW and CW is far, far, far less aggressive than wet sanding. So you can see that CW is indeed going to be at least slowed down by UW. But if you haven't waxed in a few months and then you apply CW, well, there won't be anywhere near as much UW left on the surface anyway. Do it a week later, however, and you may well be spinning your wheels.

I am just curious. So far, I am getting great results for my detailing efforts.

While we love that you're making such heavy use of so many of our products, in all honesty we think you're overkilling it here. Sure you're getting great results - you're doing every week what even most die hards only do once a month (and you can argue that even that is overkill). We don't want to see you get burnt out on the hobby, but we love that you're being very critical about how your car looks. But after doing the full 5 Step process you should be more than fine (exposure permitting, of course) just doing routine maintenance for 3 or 4 months. By that we mean regular removal of loose contaminants before they have a chance to bond using Ultimate Quik Detailer, and boosting the protection on your car by using UQW after every wash. Then, after 3 to 4 months pay even closer attention to the finish when washing - if you start to feel some bonded contaminants, clay it then rewax with a proper liquid or paste wax. If you start to see some fine swirl marks, decide when it's time to go after those with a paint cleaner or just a cleaner wax, and then follow with your regular liquid or paste wax. Get into a routine that works for you, but minimizes the risk of burn out on your part. We'd rather see you in this hobby for the long haul.

[mis3]

Re: Am I waxing too much?

Thanks for the clarifications.

This is what I usually do:

1. Full 5-step process once a year.
2. Wash once a week, or wipe down if not too dirty.
3. Wax once every 3-4 weeks, alternate UW-UW and CW-UW.
4. UQW after wash if no wax.