Wax on. Wax off. Oh, Mr. Miyagi, you made it seem so easy. So why do some cars end up looking picture perfect, while others end up…{"id":6992,"date":"2016-02-18T13:16:40","date_gmt":"2016-02-18T21:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/?p=6992"},"modified":"2016-02-18T13:26:16","modified_gmt":"2016-02-18T21:26:16","slug":"get-your-classic-ready-for-the-show-the-proper-wax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/2016\/02\/18\/get-your-classic-ready-for-the-show-the-proper-wax\/","title":{"rendered":"Get Your Classic Ready for the Show: The Proper Wax"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wax on. Wax off. Oh, Mr. Miyagi, you made it seem so easy. So why do some cars end up looking picture perfect,\u00a0while others\u00a0end up looking like my 3 year old smeared his donut’s icing all over the paint? Well, it\u2019s all about the process…<\/span><\/p>\n

The first step to achieving a high quality wax job is probably\u00a0the most important. Start with a freshly washed car. But, more than that, your car has to be contaminant free. Do the plastic bag\u00a0test – put a clean Ziploc sandwich bag over your hand and gently slide your fingertips\u00a0over the paint. If the surface feels gritty or rough, you’ll want to use detailing clay before going any further. Removing contaminates is vital to ensuring a show car finish… and a sticky, nonabrasive clay bar is what you need for that.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, depending on how good or bad your paint is, you have some choices. If your paint is relatively new, or if it just doesn’t have a lot of imperfections, you might move straight to a glaze and then the wax. But, if your paint has swirl marks from washing your car over the years, you’ll want to use a swirl remover and finishing polish before jumping to the glaze and wax. And if your paint is heavily scratched or if it has lots of imperfections, you’re going to want to use a polishing compound first.<\/span><\/p>\n

All of these steps can be done by hand, but we like and use a<\/span> Porter-Cable 7424XP<\/a><\/strong> random orbit\u00a0polisher.\u00a0It’s a relatively inexpensive polisher, and\u00a0you get a lot of bang for your buck with it. There are lots of opinions on which polishing pads to use, and which compounds\/glazes\/sealants\/waxes work best in combination with those pads. Lately, we’ve been using<\/span> the Chemical Guys<\/a><\/strong>‘ V Line polishes and compounds, along with Hex Logic pads. Of course, which pad with which polish to\u00a0use for the best results will differ based on the hardness of your car’s paint, and the degree of imperfections that you’re trying to correct. We always like to follow\u00a0<\/span>Meguiar’s<\/a><\/strong> philosophy of “<\/span>using the least aggressive product to get the job done<\/a><\/strong>.”<\/span><\/p>\n

If you’re a beginner, here’s a great instructional video from the Chemical Guys to get you on your way:<\/span><\/p>\n