I have lots of questions...

C

Civicman86

New member
OK I have been reading alot on here the past couple days. And I must say I'm in love with this site. You all really know your stuff and have done some beautiful work. I'm so glad someone refered me to this site for information!!!



Ok onto the questions:



1.

Selants vs Wax? Am I correct in saying that a sealant is a synthetically made "wax". They tend to last a little longer than a carn. wax but lack the depth and warmth that most true carn. waxes give?



It also seems common for people to seal the car then wax ontop of it? I have a light car (silver) so I was planning on maybe doing the Jeff's Acrylic then the p21s carn. wax ontop? Is this a good choice or am I crazy?



2.

When applying polish to a car I hear people talking about breaking it down and long/short work time. How does one know when a polish is fully broken down? Im assuming (I know you only look like an *** when you ASSume) that the polish is opaque when applied then turns to a transparent when its broken down?



Basically how do I know when I start to polish the car that I am "done" with the section im working on? Is it all just experience and just knowing (you have to remember I'm a noob and don't even have my PC in hand yet, although its on its way).



3.

I'm almost embarresed to ask this one but it doesnt make sense to me. As you use an aggresive polish you begin to "shave" some of the paint off to level it out with the rest correct? So what happens to the clear coat on the car? Im assuming (yeah I'm doing it again :bolt ) that you jsut go through it and the sealant/wax protect the paint in its place?



4.

Do most of you all wax with a machine like the pc or by hand?

:waxing:
 
Ok I'll answer this the best of my knowledge and maybe rub against the grain of alot of members on here but.



1. Sealants are chemically enhanced to last quite awhile. Not "usually" very much depth to them though. They are used for durability and protection. Wax ehances the depth and shine. Nuba's were created and are still created for single stage paints. There really seems to be a great deal of confusion on this site about that. While there is no adverse effect at all in putting nuba's on Clearcoats there's just much better products out there made to enhance clearcoats better than any nuba ever possibly could. nanotechs and synthetics usually produce a much better depth on clear coats.



2. A polish is broken down when it becomes transparent and the dust starts to fly. This is really only a question until you actually do it. experience is the key. Once you do it once you'll always know. Some polishes react differently and need to be applied differently than others. So pay attention to how the Manufactuer tells you how to work it.



3. you only shave paint off on a Single stage paint (the pad will take on alot of color) with Clear coats your actually correcting the blemishes in the clear coat. the very last thing you ever want to do is take the clearcoat completely off a painted surface. there's not a wax or sealant on the planet that can take the place of a clearcoat. Pleanty of them that can help it out and even enhance it but never trust one to actually take the place of it.



4. Either or. If I'm in a rush I usually pull out the D/A machine but there's still alot of times where I'll just grab a wax pad and go to town the good ol fashion way.
 
Civicman86 said:
OK ..onto the questions:



1.

Selants vs Wax? Am I correct in saying that a sealant is a synthetically made "wax". They tend to last a little longer than a carn. wax but lack the depth and warmth that most true carn. waxes give?
Click to expand...



Some waxes are *VERY* durable. Sealants only look good (IMO) on a perfectly prepped/marring-free finish. FWIW, I use waxes on most of our vehicles and only use sealants on two. Both look fine on silver. I'd recommend you go with Collinite brand wax, you won't be missing anything and you'll love the beading, durability and protection.



It also seems common for people to seal the car then wax ontop of it? I have a light car (silver) so I was planning on maybe doing the Jeff's Acrylic then the p21s carn. wax ontop? Is this a good choice or am I crazy?
Click to expand...



I used to top the sealant on the (silver) minivan, but the very slight improvement in looks wasn't worth the inability to add more sealant without starting over. I quit doing it and now I choose between wax/sealant and just use one or the other. Don't get all caught up in "which looks the best", the choice of final product doesn't really make that big of a difference in most cases, especially when you're just starting out.



Heh heh, if you use Collinite wax, and it doesn't look super, the blame will not rest on the Collinite ;) Note that the preceding comment comes from a guy who's *VERY* particular about how his many vehicles look and who uses a lot of different waxes and sealants.



2.

When applying polish to a car I hear people talking about breaking it down and long/short work time. How does one know when a polish is fully broken down? Im assuming (I know you only look like an *** when you ASSume) that the polish is opaque when applied then turns to a transparent when its broken down?
Click to expand...



Some polishes (such as the 1Z stuff that I always recommend to newbies for use under wax) are very easy in this regard, you can tell by how it looks/sounds/feels. Yeah, most polishes become less opaque as they break down. You'll get the hang of it with a little experience.



Basically how do I know when I start to polish the car that I am "done" with the section im working on? Is it all just experience and just knowing (you have to remember I'm a noob and don't even have my PC in hand yet, although its on its way).
Click to expand...



When you buff off the polish residue, inspect your results, and are satisfied with those results, then you're ready to move on to the next area. Working by PC, it can take *many*, and I don't mean just five or six, applications (each one being putting the polish on, working it until it's broken down, wiping off the residue, inspecting) to achieve a decent finish.



3.

I'm almost embarresed to ask this one but it doesnt make sense to me. As you use an aggresive polish you begin to "shave" some of the paint off to level it out with the rest correct? So what happens to the clear coat on the car? Im assuming (yeah I'm doing it again :bolt ) that you jsut go through it and the sealant/wax protect the paint in its place?
Click to expand...



The aggressive abrasives do remove clear (the abraded-away clearcoat ends up mixed with the polish residue, you wipe it off with your buffing towel) and no, the products you put on don't really substitute for it. So you need to weigh the need for improvement against the requisite loss of clear and pick a good trade-off balance. You're literally "sanding the paint smooth" by removing clear, that's how you "take out" scratches and other marring. So don't over-do it in hope of attaining perfection, don't do it very often, and, most importantly, don't *re-mar* the paint once you get it nice (that usually happens during the washes); if you don't scratch it in the first place you won't have to polish away more clear ;)



4.

Do most of you all wax with a machine like the pc or by hand?

:waxing:
Click to expand...



I do waxes by machine and sealants by hand, but other people have other preferences. Just have to see what *you* like doing.
 
The 476s is the Super Doublecoat Wax correct? I think I prefer paste over a liquid.



I think Im going to buy some of the p21s, some of the prima epic and some of this collinite. Then I can have a few kinds to play with :buffing:
 
Civicman86 said:
The 476s is the Super Doublecoat Wax correct?
Click to expand...



Correct. See what you think when you compare those different waxes. On some paints the 476S looks wonderful, while on others, well, it's sure no beauty wax. But I've *very* seldom actually looked things over and thought "gee, I gotta use a different LSP"; it looks *superb* on my pewter Blazer.
 
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