Not unusual for me to wax my garage queen twice in a weekend. Sometimes three times. New high end car, purchased late last year that was stored during the winter. Clayed, waxed and sealed with many coats of Griots since late March. Considering (gulp) trying the Pinnacle Sauvaron with a Klasse sealer. One of the detailer online stores suggests removing the old wax if I make the change. Is that necessary or if I choose to stay just with the Griots, do i periodically need to remove the old wax? Car is garaged most of the time. thanks for your input.
Can you overwax and does it make any difference if I change wax
- Thread starter megmarc
- Start date
House of Wax
Active member
If you're going to put a sealant on, you'll want to remove the old wax so the sealant can bond to the paint.
Accumulator
Well-known member
megmarc- Some sorta-random thoughts on your Qs:
(You're using Griot's SEALANT, right?, not their wax...)
-I wouldn't do the KSG/Souveran unless you have a very good, specific reason for doing so; IMO the best thing about KSG is that you can really protect the paint by occasionally layering on more, and the wax topper precluded that. The look of KSG, even topped with wax, isn't what I think you'd want, but I'm jut guessing (no, it's not a case of "you only see the final layer", the overall look becomes a gestalt of everything done/applied to the paint).
-I like Souveran and have used it on one of my cars for decades, but it needs redone at most every wash and it provides minimal real protection. It's a beauty-wax for cars that don't get used in the real world and it's one of those waxes that does need "stripped off" now and then. NO WAY do I think the KSG/Souveran combo is what you oughta do.
-If you have many coats of GG Sealant on there (never used that product myself..) it oughta be well-LSPed, so what about just maintaining it? Is there something you want to change? If so, what?
-Many layers of sealant are usually OK (often that approach is even optimal IMO) but you gotta keep it *clean* or you'll get dirt layered in with your subsequent applications and it'll start to look dull. Don't over do it...most of the time you should probably just wash and spritz on a leaves-stuff-behind QD when you're drying.
-Sooner or later you'll need to clean the sealant off and start over from "bare paint" to avoid that gradual dulling, but "when" depends on many things (I've just been adding more sealant to my S8 for years now, but it's a garage-queen).
Quick EDIT: If you *are* using Griot's wax, I'd sure want to upgrade to something better. In that case, if there's no marring to correct I'd strip off what's on there with either a paint cleaner of some kind or a mild polishing or an AIO,and then apply the right LSP for your needs/wants.
(You're using Griot's SEALANT, right?, not their wax...)
-I wouldn't do the KSG/Souveran unless you have a very good, specific reason for doing so; IMO the best thing about KSG is that you can really protect the paint by occasionally layering on more, and the wax topper precluded that. The look of KSG, even topped with wax, isn't what I think you'd want, but I'm jut guessing (no, it's not a case of "you only see the final layer", the overall look becomes a gestalt of everything done/applied to the paint).
-I like Souveran and have used it on one of my cars for decades, but it needs redone at most every wash and it provides minimal real protection. It's a beauty-wax for cars that don't get used in the real world and it's one of those waxes that does need "stripped off" now and then. NO WAY do I think the KSG/Souveran combo is what you oughta do.
-If you have many coats of GG Sealant on there (never used that product myself..) it oughta be well-LSPed, so what about just maintaining it? Is there something you want to change? If so, what?
-Many layers of sealant are usually OK (often that approach is even optimal IMO) but you gotta keep it *clean* or you'll get dirt layered in with your subsequent applications and it'll start to look dull. Don't over do it...most of the time you should probably just wash and spritz on a leaves-stuff-behind QD when you're drying.
-Sooner or later you'll need to clean the sealant off and start over from "bare paint" to avoid that gradual dulling, but "when" depends on many things (I've just been adding more sealant to my S8 for years now, but it's a garage-queen).
Quick EDIT: If you *are* using Griot's wax, I'd sure want to upgrade to something better. In that case, if there's no marring to correct I'd strip off what's on there with either a paint cleaner of some kind or a mild polishing or an AIO,and then apply the right LSP for your needs/wants.
Thanks Accumulator, I am using Griots wax. Have a couple of questions based on your thoughts
1) In terms of why I want to try the Klasse/Sauvaron combo it was all about the glass look. From everything I read it was a great choice. But if as you say, it needs to be redone regularly then to me it is not worth the cost, especially given that it also does not provide the protection I expected
2) At this point I have a DuraGloss sealant on as a base and everything on top of that is either a Griots carnuba wax or a Megulars carnuba wax
3) My car is rarely washed, but frequently sprayed with DuraGloss Aquawax or DG Fast Clean and Shine. Dont wash because it is rarely in the rain. Mostly accumulates dust
4) Any recommendation on wax or a different sealant or anything else much appreciated
thanks
1) In terms of why I want to try the Klasse/Sauvaron combo it was all about the glass look. From everything I read it was a great choice. But if as you say, it needs to be redone regularly then to me it is not worth the cost, especially given that it also does not provide the protection I expected
2) At this point I have a DuraGloss sealant on as a base and everything on top of that is either a Griots carnuba wax or a Megulars carnuba wax
3) My car is rarely washed, but frequently sprayed with DuraGloss Aquawax or DG Fast Clean and Shine. Dont wash because it is rarely in the rain. Mostly accumulates dust
4) Any recommendation on wax or a different sealant or anything else much appreciated
thanks
Accumulator
Well-known member
megmerc- Hard for me to predict what LSP you're gonna like, but if you want the "glass look" I don't think KSG is gonna give it (with or without the Souveran topper). KSG gives more of a "plastic-coated" look and the Souveran is used to (try to..) impart some depth and "richness". Souveran can give a nice clear look (it's my wife's fave on silver) but it needs redone (including being stripped off now and then) all the time, and I mean *all* the time. Plus, you need better protection for real-world use lest you get etching from bugs/birds.
For the "glass look" I think you'd want something very "clear" and highly reflective.
What color is it? If it's a light or medium color I'd probably use FK1000P. Other end of the color spectrum- on my dark blue car (21 years old, I think of it as my beater) I use Collinite 476S and it looks so good that people with new cars ask what they should use to get that look, and the same wax is what I use on my pal's concours car (some "expert" though it was a high-buck boutique wax because "nothing else looks like that!"). But I've also used the FK1000P on metallic black and it got lots of compliments (people coming up to me in parking lots to talk about it).
Eh, note that I'm kinda jumping all around here, saying both "use a sealant" and "use a wax". This stuff is just so subjective and you and I are different subjects
General truism- "it's all in the prep". So I can't help but wonder whether it'd benefit from a good Finishing Polish no matter what LSP you use. But I never liked the look of GG waxes and I've never seen a car look OK (IMO) with them so I do think you can come up with something you'll like better.
And BTW, I'd give it a regular wash from time to time; that's the *only* way I ever clean any of my vehicles, even the ones that only get driven a few times/year. Only way I can avoid (even very *VERY* light) marring, which detracts from the appearance. And IMO your current regimen isn't sufficient to get things clean enough for more applications of your LSP.
For the "glass look" I think you'd want something very "clear" and highly reflective.
What color is it? If it's a light or medium color I'd probably use FK1000P. Other end of the color spectrum- on my dark blue car (21 years old, I think of it as my beater) I use Collinite 476S and it looks so good that people with new cars ask what they should use to get that look, and the same wax is what I use on my pal's concours car (some "expert" though it was a high-buck boutique wax because "nothing else looks like that!"). But I've also used the FK1000P on metallic black and it got lots of compliments (people coming up to me in parking lots to talk about it).
Eh, note that I'm kinda jumping all around here, saying both "use a sealant" and "use a wax". This stuff is just so subjective and you and I are different subjects
General truism- "it's all in the prep". So I can't help but wonder whether it'd benefit from a good Finishing Polish no matter what LSP you use. But I never liked the look of GG waxes and I've never seen a car look OK (IMO) with them so I do think you can come up with something you'll like better.
And BTW, I'd give it a regular wash from time to time; that's the *only* way I ever clean any of my vehicles, even the ones that only get driven a few times/year. Only way I can avoid (even very *VERY* light) marring, which detracts from the appearance. And IMO your current regimen isn't sufficient to get things clean enough for more applications of your LSP.
Accumulator
Well-known member
On my white car I'm perfectly happy (literally) with FK1000P, only LSP I'll ever use on it. 100% satisfaction, as good as it gets IMO.
FK1000P is the name of the product, made by FinishKare. AKA "Big White" and some other name that I can't recall...do the dreaded search here and see if you can find some of the info Ron Ketcham has posted about it (he used to work for FinishKare).
Quick EDIT before I go offline- I can't link on this computer for some reason, but I went to Autogeek.net and under "synthetic waxes" you can find FK1000P, maybe 2/3 down that screen. I really do think you'll like it, but do some kind of light polishing first to get it really glossed up and to get that Griot's stuff off of there.
FK1000P is the name of the product, made by FinishKare. AKA "Big White" and some other name that I can't recall...do the dreaded search here and see if you can find some of the info Ron Ketcham has posted about it (he used to work for FinishKare).
Quick EDIT before I go offline- I can't link on this computer for some reason, but I went to Autogeek.net and under "synthetic waxes" you can find FK1000P, maybe 2/3 down that screen. I really do think you'll like it, but do some kind of light polishing first to get it really glossed up and to get that Griot's stuff off of there.