Hand waxing techniques

[airjames]

When waxing, polishing etc.. a car by hand there's 2 techniques I've learned that are most common. Circular motion and straight back and forth. Both techniques have there pros and cons.



When doing it in circular motion, you get better coverage on the paint surface and distribute product better over the area. Cons are this is also how swirls and microscratches appear.



When doing it in straight back and forth motions, I use more product and miss spots on accident, however, this is also a good technique to avoid scratches and swirls.



I bring this up because my Dad and I were:argue over how to properly apply wax on a car. Says he doesn't buy the back and forth technique that causes swirls and microscratches. Anyone care to help me out here on what's a good technique to apply wax by hand, good coverage and no cause the swirlies. Tks,,,,,,91

 

[Scottwax]

On properly clean paint with a clean foam pad with a pure wax (no abrasives or cleaners), I don't think it really matters. I've tried everywhich way you can apply wax and I can't tell a difference. However, if you get some grit on the paint or foam pad, using a circular motion will leave little circle scratches.

 

[xenangel]

So if using abrasives in a circular motion leaves little circles scratches, what about back and forth motion??

 

[DCT]

Circular swirls always seem to be more noticeable than straight line swirls.

 

[johnnygee3]

I heard somewhere that the marks left by the bac an forth method are more easily covered up the the circular swirl marks

 

[tommyd]

because of the way light reflects of the grooves in swirls... circular ones are more noticeable since whereever you're looking, you're gonna catch an edge...

straight lines are only noticable at a very specific angle and therefore hide easier... but they're still there if you look hard enough...

 

[airjames]

:up



Thanks everyone for the responses. One other thing about hand waxing seems like, time consuming, IMO I know alot of people here say they like to hand wax to feel the paint, I guess to see how to smooth it is. Thanks again,,,,,,91

 

[the diesel rat]

I hand wax simply because it's easier for me. I don't want to spend the money on a DA, so I just do it by hand. I only wax my car every 3 months, so it's not a big deal.

 

[Quickstrike]

On Zaino's website I believe they recommend applying the wax in a circular motion, to achieve the best coverage. Then going in a back and forth motion, to achieve the best shine/reflectivity.