Tweet
There has been a bit of discussion recently regarding the effectiveness of White Wax so we wanted to share a recent project with you that demonstrates just how effective this product is when used as an all-in-one.
What you see below is a couple close up frames of a single stage white Dodge Sprinter van. This thing is pretty huge, and the chalkiness of the SS white paint was so bad that you could run your hand over it and come away with a white powder all over your fingers. After washing and decontaminating the surface, we did three test spots on the hood, each with the idea that this was going to be a quick one step process. We used M20 and M66 first (opting out of even trying D151 since we were forced to work in full sun and D151 does not like those conditions). Why M20 and M66? They both worked very well on the WWII B25 bomber, Witchcraft, that we've done twice in the past - that aircraft had badly oxidized single stage paint and we were forced to work in direct sun. So, logical choices.
But why put a consumer product, White Wax, up against these two? Simple: SMAT abrasives, and a fairly healthy load of them, are part of the formulation. Well, in our side by side by side test spots, White Wax was the clear winner, and so we proceeded to do the entire vehicle with it.
A couple other caveats here: the buffer used was a Rupes LHR21 Bigfoot, not really for any additional cutting power it may offer beyond the G110v2, but because of its substantially larger footprint and the huge, flat panels that this Sprinter presented. We also stayed away from microfiber pads due to the heavy chalky nature of this paint, choosing instead to stay with foam polishing pads. We have very high confidence, however, that if you're working on any other paint than the rather unusual situation we had to deal with here, White Wax on a microfiber pad with the G110v2 would indeed produce outstanding results.
We won't bore you with a bunch of similar looking pictures, but instead selected just a few to show off the true ability of White Wax. Below you can see a nice scuff mark in the paint, but also a general lack of gloss and clarity in the reflections. But look at the "after" shot below it: not only is the scuff gone (admittedly it took two passes to fully remove it) but look at the change in reflection and clarity! Lighting is identical for both images - they were take maybe 5 minutes apart in full sunshine.
Here is a bit of a surprise, as we zoom in on the badge. All the gunk around the edges was taken care of with some all purpose cleaner and a brush, but the surface of the badge itself was simply passed over with the buffer, W8207 yellow foam polishing pad, and White Wax. And look at the difference!
White Wax, a W8207 foam pad that has seen better days. It's all that paint residue that we wanted to avoid with microfiber pads as the microfiber would have wanted to hold on to so much of it and loaded up, very likely to the detriment of our process.
This video clip shows the sort of transition we experienced every time we worked an area and wiped off the product residue. There was little to no reflection in the paint when we started, but after buffing a section we always got a kick out of watching a reflection appear as we wiped off the residue. Seriously, it just never got old!! Here we start filming on a section that has been buffed, we move to an adjacent area that has not been buffed and so is just as dull and flat as can be, and then we move back to the corrected section. Notice the reflections, even the palm trees in the background, as we go back to the corrected area. This with just a single pass of White Wax.
Now, it must be stressed that this application of White Wax was not what you typically think of when applying wax. That typical wax application process, when done with a DA buffer, if most commonly accepted as being:
Again, the process outlined immediately above is typical for wax application via DA.
But our process here was not typical for applying a wax. Oh no. Here, we treated White Wax almost as if it were a compound:
White Wax performed beautifully on this project, even though we were forced to work in full sunshine on a pretty warm day. Thankfully the vehicle in question was white and not black, and we still highly recommend working in the shade on a cool surface.
What you see below is a couple close up frames of a single stage white Dodge Sprinter van. This thing is pretty huge, and the chalkiness of the SS white paint was so bad that you could run your hand over it and come away with a white powder all over your fingers. After washing and decontaminating the surface, we did three test spots on the hood, each with the idea that this was going to be a quick one step process. We used M20 and M66 first (opting out of even trying D151 since we were forced to work in full sun and D151 does not like those conditions). Why M20 and M66? They both worked very well on the WWII B25 bomber, Witchcraft, that we've done twice in the past - that aircraft had badly oxidized single stage paint and we were forced to work in direct sun. So, logical choices.
But why put a consumer product, White Wax, up against these two? Simple: SMAT abrasives, and a fairly healthy load of them, are part of the formulation. Well, in our side by side by side test spots, White Wax was the clear winner, and so we proceeded to do the entire vehicle with it.
A couple other caveats here: the buffer used was a Rupes LHR21 Bigfoot, not really for any additional cutting power it may offer beyond the G110v2, but because of its substantially larger footprint and the huge, flat panels that this Sprinter presented. We also stayed away from microfiber pads due to the heavy chalky nature of this paint, choosing instead to stay with foam polishing pads. We have very high confidence, however, that if you're working on any other paint than the rather unusual situation we had to deal with here, White Wax on a microfiber pad with the G110v2 would indeed produce outstanding results.
We won't bore you with a bunch of similar looking pictures, but instead selected just a few to show off the true ability of White Wax. Below you can see a nice scuff mark in the paint, but also a general lack of gloss and clarity in the reflections. But look at the "after" shot below it: not only is the scuff gone (admittedly it took two passes to fully remove it) but look at the change in reflection and clarity! Lighting is identical for both images - they were take maybe 5 minutes apart in full sunshine.
Here is a bit of a surprise, as we zoom in on the badge. All the gunk around the edges was taken care of with some all purpose cleaner and a brush, but the surface of the badge itself was simply passed over with the buffer, W8207 yellow foam polishing pad, and White Wax. And look at the difference!
White Wax, a W8207 foam pad that has seen better days. It's all that paint residue that we wanted to avoid with microfiber pads as the microfiber would have wanted to hold on to so much of it and loaded up, very likely to the detriment of our process.
This video clip shows the sort of transition we experienced every time we worked an area and wiped off the product residue. There was little to no reflection in the paint when we started, but after buffing a section we always got a kick out of watching a reflection appear as we wiped off the residue. Seriously, it just never got old!! Here we start filming on a section that has been buffed, we move to an adjacent area that has not been buffed and so is just as dull and flat as can be, and then we move back to the corrected section. Notice the reflections, even the palm trees in the background, as we go back to the corrected area. This with just a single pass of White Wax.
Now, it must be stressed that this application of White Wax was not what you typically think of when applying wax. That typical wax application process, when done with a DA buffer, if most commonly accepted as being:
- speed setting 3 on the DA buffer
- a foam finishing pad
- light downward pressure
- very minimal product usage in order to spread it as thin as possible
- fairly quick arm movements across the paint
- each area covered in both a quick side to side and a quick up and down motion
- larger areas covered at a time - perhaps as large as the entire hood of the car, or even half of one side, before adding more product
- entire vehicle covered with wax, allowed to haze, then wiped off
Again, the process outlined immediately above is typical for wax application via DA.
But our process here was not typical for applying a wax. Oh no. Here, we treated White Wax almost as if it were a compound:
- speed setting 5 on the DA buffer
- a foam polishing pad
- moderate to slightly heavy downward pressure
- 3 large dollops of product for each 3' x 3' section covered (yes, we went a little bit larger than usual for heavy defect removal with a compound - but we were not chasing a show car shine here; it is, after all, a work truck!)
- slow arm movements over the paint
- each area covered in slow and repeated (3 or 4 times) side to side, then up and down motions
- smaller areas covered with each section pass (as much as 3' x 3' as noted above)
- product residue wiped off immediately following buffing of the section
- pad was cleaned with a pad brush after every couple of sections
White Wax performed beautifully on this project, even though we were forced to work in full sunshine on a pretty warm day. Thankfully the vehicle in question was white and not black, and we still highly recommend working in the shade on a cool surface.
I have seen the consistency of WW is more like toothpaste in some thread pics. So would the amount you apply on a regular toothbrush be adequate for
Test Hoods Are Cheap And Most Of The Time Free
Comment