New member and just wax the car for the first time.

[Executionerhk]

Guys and Girls,

This is my very first post. I just finish polishing with swirl X and wax with gold class paste wax.

I want to know how much swirl X I should use in how big of an area. I think the swirl marks on my car are too deep, but it did get better after , my polish... howevr, i think I need to work it couple more times before they will disapper. It is my aunts car and was lacking a lot of love.

So I would like to know some tips on using the swirl X correctly.


And on the gold class wax, how can I apply a thin coat? When I use the pad that came with the wax today, i try so hard to apply them, but it seems too thin, and i end up with a wax soak pad... that i can squeeze the paste wax out like liquid...

so again, any tips on how much wax i should put on the pad? and how do it know if there is any wax on the car paint... and how do i know if the wax is dry.


thanks for your help.
if you don understand my question please let me know...
i am tired from waxing...

[Murr1525]

Re: New member and just wax the car for the first time.

Here is a video on using ScratchX, same concepts.

How To Remove a Bird Dropping Etching by Hand using M105 Ultra Cut Compound

How to correctly apply ScratchX to remove swirls and scratches

As for the wax, yeah, you want it thin. It should be barely visible when applied, and then be a faint white when dry. This is of course easier to see on darker colors. Basically, the wax that is on the paint you will never see. You only see the excess, which dries white and you remove it. So you just want as little excess as possible. Doing two thin coats kind of evens things out.

To see if it is dry, so a search for "the swipe test". It will give you more info.

[Nappers]

Re: New member and just wax the car for the first time.

Guys and Girls,

This is my very first post.

to MOL!

I just finish polishing with swirl X and wax with gold class paste wax.

I want to know how much swirl X I should use in how big of an area. I think the swirl marks on my car are too deep, but it did get better after , my polish... howevr, i think I need to work it couple more times before they will disapper. It is my aunts car and was lacking a lot of love.

So I would like to know some tips on using the swirl X correctly.

I assume you are using SwirlX by hand? If so....I put about a teaspoon or so on an applicator and spread the product around in about a 12"X12" area and work the product in about a minute or so(never timed myself). SwirlX and Ultimate Compound seems to let you know when it's done doing it's thing, hard to explain. If the condition of your paint improves with one pass, then you can do more. I tend to do three passes of a product when dialing a process in then move up in aggressiveness if I need to do so. If your swirls are deeper than SwirlX can handle after three passes, it may be time to move up to Ultimate Compound. UC is a great product and should be used in a test area to get your process dialed in.

And on the gold class wax, how can I apply a thin coat? When I use the pad that came with the wax today, i try so hard to apply them, but it seems too thin, and i end up with a wax soak pad... that i can squeeze the paste wax out like liquid...

I tend to do the same, about a teaspoon of product on your pad. I was advised recently to "kiss" the paint in several areas so your not laying wax down heavy at start then thinning out when you finish.

When I spread wax around, I tend to do a body piece at a time and split the hood into at least thirds or less if the hood is bigger. I look at the paint at an angle to see if product is going onto the paint. If your saturating the pad, your using too much. I tend to "clean on the fly" meaning, I wipe my pad off and squeeze it into a towel to soak up any residual product. I have a ton of pads so I just break out a new pad.

so again, any tips on how much wax i should put on the pad? and how do it know if there is any wax on the car paint... and how do i know if the wax is dry.

There is what is called:

Swipe Test

Read the thread to determine if your wax is dry enough to remove. I have rushed things a time or two when removing wax. I tend to wax the whole car and start wiping where I started waxing, taking my time so when I reach the last part of what I waxed, it's dry. I also do a swipe test on every panel as I wipe.

Then you'll want to do a:

Final Wipe

Use a clean towel to do this one

Also, a note: The ONLY Meguiar's product that needs to dry is their waxes, including cleaner waxes, all other products are wiped before they are dry and after they worked their magic.

thanks for your help.
if you dont understand my question please let me know...
i am tired from waxing...

It's a tireing but rewarding process when you step back and see what you transformed your paint into. .

Keep us posted and upload and place some pictures in a show off!

Check out this link by Ryan L. Ryan put together some awesome reading for using products whether by hand, Dual Action or Rotary....

List O' Links 2.0

Have fun!

Aaron

[akimel]

Re: New member and just wax the car for the first time.

Hi, Executioner. Welcome to MOL.

If you could provide some close-up photographs of the swirled surface, that would assist the brethren to give you the best possible counsel: How-To capture swirls, scratches, etchings and other surface defects with your camera.

Polishing paint by hand is hard and time-consuming work, as you have already discovered. Congratulations on your successful employment of SwirlX. You may not have removed all the swirls, but at least the vehicle looks better.

On your next attempt, be sure to first do a test spot. If SwirlX isn't getting the job done for you, then you may need to move up to a more aggressive product like Ultimate Compound. But be sure to do a test spot with it before trying to compound the entire car. You want to figure out both the correct product and the proper technique working a small space before working the entire car. Think of the test spot as a commonsense safety measure. As Mike Phillips writes: "Make sure you can make one small section look GREAT before going over the entire car. If you can't make one small section look GREAT, you won't be able to make the entire car look GREAT."



If you do move up to Ultimate Compound, you may find that you will need to go back over the compounded areas with SwirlX to remove any micro-marring that may have been left behind by the compound. This is normal. Doing a test spot enables you to experience all of this before tackling the entire car. And if you should discover that even UC does not produce the results you want, then you will have saved yourself many hours of work.

Good luck!

Cheers,
Al

[Executionerhk]

Re: New member and just wax the car for the first time.

question time.
about wax,

so it so be so thin that i should not be able to see it after i apply, is it correct?
I just have to make sure I go over every inch of the car, is it correct?
no matter how thin the coat of wax is, i should be able to see the wax once it dry, is it correct?
because it will look a little white, is it correct?

[akimel]

Re: New member and just wax the car for the first time.

Executioner, using the paste wax should make it easier for you to apply a thin coat. All you need to do is to give the foam applicator a little twist in the can and that should put sufficient wax on the pad for you to wax a section.

I have not yet mastered thin coats yet either, though I'm getting better each time I wax. One learns by trial and error. You'll get the hang of it soon. If you can find them, pick up some extra foam applicators. The extra applicators would give you the freedom to switch to a fresh applicator if the one you are using becomes too saturated or gets dirty.

When the wax dries, you will see the white residue. It's been a good while since I used Gold Class (in its liquid form), and I do not recall what it looks like when one applies it. My car is black, so I can always see something of the wax on the surface when I apply it, no matter which wax I am using. Maybe I'm still applying it too thick. But as long as one does not encounter difficulties in removing the wax, it really isn't a problem. The purpose of the thin application is to make it easier to remove the wax.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: New member and just wax the car for the first time.

Just a comment...

I read through this thread and see really high caliber people posting detailed, helpful answers with links to more information on related topics.


Nice work guys...

[Murr1525]

Re: New member and just wax the car for the first time.

question time.
about wax,

so it so be so thin that i should not be able to see it after i apply, is it correct?
I just have to make sure I go over every inch of the car, is it correct?
no matter how thin the coat of wax is, i should be able to see the wax once it dry, is it correct?
because it will look a little white, is it correct?

I would say you should see it sligtly when applied, and more easily when dry.

[Executionerhk]

Re: New member and just wax the car for the first time.

This is my Aunt's car.
I believe the car has only been clayed, polished and waxed only once in her life.
which i did it yesterday, only on the trunk. which is my frist hand on experience.

And here is the result.



This swirl has been reduced til this degree for 1 polish.
I do believe if I do it 2 more times, I could removed them at least 80%.

[Executionerhk]

Re: New member and just wax the car for the first time.

I just posted my swirl makes picture after 1 polish and 1 coat of wax.
but it said it won't show up yet...
so guys and girls, please wait.

i will be more patient next time. after all is not my car LOL
can't give her too much love!

and tell we what i can do better next time.

[Markus Kleis]

Re: New member and just wax the car for the first time.

I just posted my swirl makes picture after 1 polish and 1 coat of wax.
but it said it won't show up yet...
so guys and girls, please wait.

i will be more patient next time. after all is not my car LOL
can't give her too much love!

and tell we what i can do better next time.

2 minute delay... that fast enough?

[Executionerhk]

Re: New member and just wax the car for the first time.

you are the one with with the black fiesta right? LOL

[Mike Phillips]

Re: New member and just wax the car for the first time.

This swirl has been reduced til this degree for 1 polish.
I do believe if I do it 2 more times, I could removed them at least 80%.

So it looked worse than what we see in this picture and you've improved it to this point with one application of SwirlX?

Is that right?

[Nappers]

Re: New member and just wax the car for the first time.

Just a comment...

I read through this thread and see really high caliber people posting detailed, helpful answers with links to more information on related topics.


Nice work guys...

We are ready for the trials Master Jedi Phillips!

I love this forum as we are all here to learn and spread the word!

[Executionerhk]

Re: New member and just wax the car for the first time.

So it looked worse than what we see in this picture and you've improved it to this point with one application of SwirlX?

Is that right?

Yes it was way worse before.
I did 1 application of SwirlX, and those Swirls look a lot lighter.
Which looks like it is going to be easier to polish.