So you say a "thin" coat of wax is best huh?

[fredcandetail]

So tell me what exactly is a "thin" coat to you guys?
I have a 2007 black tahoe and I when I do my LSP or m07 I first spritz the pad with Last Touch then about 5-8 dots of wax per panel. This amount is enought to evenly spread the product around on the vehicle and never do I buff dry.
I wax the entire truck and then come back and wipe (abt 15-20) minutes later
then product always comes off smoothly with little to no effort but I'm really beginning to wonder if I should be using more product??
How much do you guys use?
Let's talk dots and sprinkle not ounces please!:P

[Frozenbarb]

Re: So you say a "thin" coat of wax is best huh?

I think just enough wax so it covers the surface. All the white dried wax are wasted wax residue.
Yesterday I used TW cleaner and applied to much and spent like 30 minutes buffing a whole car.
Applying less maybe harder but it will definitely be easier upon removal.

[Murr1525]

Re: So you say a "thin" coat of wax is best huh?

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39350&highlight=thin+coat+wax

[fredcandetail]

Re: So you say a "thin" coat of wax is best huh?

Thanks Murr - I am point on with the application and removal time .. i just find myself in awe when i see how much wax i use to do my vehicles... and if you really break it down i would say based on a $20 bottle, i use about fifty cents worth of product each time ... NOT BAD!

[Murr1525]

Re: So you say a "thin" coat of wax is best huh?

Well, the white left behind is all excess. As long as the paint is covered, and the pad stays wet so you arent dry buffing, it doesnt take much. Even less with the paint well prepped.

[eyezack87]

Re: So you say a "thin" coat of wax is best huh?

Best way to teach yourself "thin" is to pick up a tin of Collinite 476. After the first coat you do, you'll know if its thin enough or not. I'm sure everyone who used that in the past knows what I'm talking about

[tcope1]

Re: So you say a "thin" coat of wax is best huh?

I like the two response above. Applying a thin coat does not define what is left after it's removed. Applying it thin means not to apply so much that there is a lot to remove. You are just wasting the product. What is left after it's removed is going to be the same regardless. You need to apply just enough to be sure you completely covered the area... no more.

I also like the Collinite reference. Applies to M16 as well! Apply to much and it's like removing cement from the paint.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: So you say a "thin" coat of wax is best huh?

If you are using just a few drops of product per panel and you are satisfied that what you're laying down is giving coverage to the full area, then you're using all you need to. Remember, with a non cleaner wax all you need to do is transfer a thin film of product to the paint, nothing more.

Fred, it sounds as though you are doing it exactly right.

[searle]

Re: So you say a "thin" coat of wax is best huh?

... Applying a thin coat does not define what is left after it's removed. Applying it thin means not to apply so much that there is a lot to remove. You are just wasting the product. What is left after it's removed is going to be the same regardless. You need to apply just enough to be sure you completely covered the area... no more...

^ +1

Most folks have no idea how thin a layer of wax is actually left on the car, almost all the applied wax is wiped off (wasted, and requiring extra effort). An optional second coat is just to ensure coverage, not extra depth (regardless of what other products claim).

"FinstP" did detailed scientific measurements in applying and layering wax and reported the results in "DetailingWorld"
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/foru...d.php?t=127943. Many posts/pages of tests, results, and discussions, give it a read.

The quick summary is that regardless of how many coats of wax are applied, simply buffing quickly resulted in a consistent 5.6nm layer of final wax coating. Note that 10 nanometres (nm) is 1/100th of a micron. One micron is roughly 1/80th of the thickness of a human hair, so 10nm is roughly 1/800th of the thickness of a human hair.

It is truly amazing how thin a layer is actually left (pay attention when Meguiars says to apply a THIN coat), but what wonders that thin layer provides.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: So you say a "thin" coat of wax is best huh?

"FinstP" did detailed scientific measurements in applying and layering wax and reported the results in "DetailingWorld"
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/foru...d.php?t=127943. Many posts/pages of tests, results, and discussions, give it a read.

What's really interesting about this gentleman's testing (he has a second thread on that forum testing more products) is that he used a broad variety of waxes and applied them in different ways, yet the net effect of any one test subject was always within a fraction of any other test subject. What's also interesting is that he found, under repeated "buffing" of the wax or using heavy pressure to "buff" the wax, that he actually remove the vast majority of his film build. Meguiar's has always taught that once the wax has dried all you need to do is wipe it off, there is no need to repeatedly buff it as you don't gain more shine from doing so. His testing would seem to prove that in so doing you actually continue to remove more and more wax. That, obviously, is not a good thing!

[Clutch34]

Re: So you say a "thin" coat of wax is best huh?

I was gonna start a new thread, but this is the same topic so I'll post here instead...

I just washed my car using ONR and decided to try both claying and ColorX for the first time. I only had enough daylight to clay and ColorX my wing spoiler - I guess it could be my test spot. I think I clayed correctly with light pressure since the spoiler felt smooth as glass, although the clay didn't get dirty at all. I've had the car for a little over a year so I was a little surprised of how little the clay picked up, unless I did something wrong/didn't use aggressive enough clay. I followed it up with some ColorX and applied it VERY thin, so thin that I had to look at an angle to see that I had even applied anything. I let it dry and buffed off after doing the swipe test, but it seemed ready to buff after about 5 minutes. It was about 70 degrees F outside.

Ok after all that, I think the clay worked alright since the spoiler felt smooth, but I think I spread the ColorX TOO thin... it was even thinner then the "thin" side in the link Murr posted (http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/sho...=thin+coat+wax). I performed everything by hand and used a Meg's foam applicator, wiping off with Supreme Shine MF towel. I wasn't looking for any paint correction or anything, just wanted to simply clean the paint and add some protection. Does everything I did sound ok? I have some SwirlX, too, maybe I should have used that to clean the paint? I will be following it up with NXT 2.0 wax and GC carnauba wax if everything looks good.

Sorry for the long post... any advice?

[akimel]

Re: So you say a "thin" coat of wax is best huh?

Sounds like you done just fine, Clutch.

[Clutch34]

Re: So you say a "thin" coat of wax is best huh?

Cool! Looks like I can continue on the rest of the car this week!

And is it ok that it only took 5 minutes for the ColorX to dry? Isn't that kind of fast?

[xantonin]

Re: So you say a "thin" coat of wax is best huh?

Only thing I would change is not spraying your pad with Last Touch before applying wax... I don't see why you would want to do that. It sounds like it would make the wax dry less effectively.

[akimel]

Re: So you say a "thin" coat of wax is best huh?

Only thing I would change is not spraying your pad with Last Touch before applying wax... I don't see why you would want to do that. It sounds like it would make the wax dry less effectively.

Good catch! I overlooked this when I read the original article. I'm sure that official Meguiardom would discountenance the spritzing of the application pad with Last Touch (or with any other liquid) when applying any of their liquid waxes. First there is no need to do so (the waxes already have sufficient lubricating oils), and second one does not know how the chemicals in LT will affect the performance of the wax itself.