Sealant and waxing?

Neo187H

I have tried reading the FAQs and such but I am a bit confused on this, if I were to go through the whole process of of cleaning the car, waxing, applying sealant and than if I so choose a wax over it to add some shine when would I go through this whole process again? When the car gets dirty again what do I do? Just use car wash soap and than rewax? From what I understand the sealant type waxes only need to be applied once or twice a year so I wouldn't clay again until I went to apply a another coat of sealant right?

Sorry for the multiple questions in one but hopefully someone can shed some light on this for me, I feel like my mind is currently overloaded with all the other information I'm taking in and can't figure out this simple concept.

AdamsPolishes

Things to understand -

Choose a good soap. Many soaps on the market advertised as "car shampoo" actually strip and degrade waxes and sealants. Our soap is perfectly pH balanced so it will never strip or remove your wax.

Depending on how much time you want to dedicate to it and what products you're using you can throw a quick coat of wax down whenever you wash, but that might be a tad excessive. I personally refresh my coat of wax every 2-3 washes, obviously how many miles you drive, the conditions in your area, and the product you use will dictate if thats often enough for you.

You only need to clay again if the paint gets heavily contaminated (water spots, rail dust, paint overspray) or you start to notice the paint is rough. Theres a quick and easy way to tell if your paint is ready to clay... its the plastic bag test:

Scratch Removal

If you clay the car you will be pulling all your wax/sealant off... the clay will remove it so you will need to go thru the full process again once you clay. Generally an average care only needs to be clayed a couple times a year at most so don't over think it.

Hope that helps, shoot anymore questions out if you have them.

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dad

Watch these videos, they will help.
Car Care Tips: How to Wax Your Car to Classic Car Restoration, Your Guide to Car Detailing


Plus these posts by Alexus will help!

http://www.the370z.com/search.php?searchid=883123

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Forrest

Ill take a stab at answering this.

If you wax and seal your car then drive it around. Every thing is going to accumulate on the car and attempt to grind its way in.

The question do you need to clay again before putting wax/sealant on top? Honestly today I felt the surface of my car and it was pretty clean but I felt a tiny bump here and there from stuff sticking to it. I felt it was so little that it wasn't worth clay baring before I put wax on it. The surface of my car feels like marble to my touch.

If you go in with the mind set of you waxed/sealed and it lasts 6 months and you never wash your car, by time you want to wax/seal it again I think you will have a lot of debris stuck to the car that needs clayed out.

If you wash often I think you extend the time you need reclay because you are removing things before they get a chance to dig in.

This is how I look at it. If this doesn't answer your question let me know.

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Neo187H

Thanks for the tips everyone, I think I understand it now though I still have a lot to learn about it all.

dad

Sealants are new to me, I've never used them. So I have to learn about using sealant also!

Car Wax, paint Sealants,Car Waxes, Show Car Wax, Best Car Wax, Carnauba Car wax, P21s Car wax, Pinnacle Souveran Wax, Meguiars car wax, Mothers

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Xan

I don't believe this is always true. Depended on your wax/sealant and how "hard" you clay the car, you won't be pulling of your wax/sealant and have to go through the full process again.

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AdamsPolishes

In most all cases its going to pull the sealant off... at a minimum its going to degrade the durability significantly and since theres really no feasible way for most people to measure or visually tell if the sealant is still intact its probably best to assume its gone... the alternative it to assume its still there and learn the hard way when you get etching from a bird bomb or hard water.

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dad

Claying will remove your wax. You never clay "hard". Use a soft pressure, just glide it along. All detailing sites "highly recommend" applying wax after claying.

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Forrest

I dont think claying will remove Zaino either. I think it can take a small layer off but i dout it will strip it on a well layered Zaino car.

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Xan

The "hard" was between quotation marks for a reason, as I meant to point out the difference between removing some light contamination on a touch up or do a full claying on paint that has a lot of contamination. It wasn't directed to how much pressure you put on the clay...

I agree that it could degrade the sealant layer and that it's advisable to put on an extra coat after claying, but you're not starting from scratch when you do some claying to remove some light contamination.

The reason the difference from 'starting from scratch' and 'putting a coat of sealant on' after claying might sound like semantics to you but not to me, can be explained in one word: Zaino.

Different products might have different results, but because we all know how much work it would be to start from scratch using Zaino, I'm happy I don't have to do that every time...

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StealthZ

A good base of sealant shouldn't be effected that much from claying from what I've seen, now to be careful I ussually re-seal/ wax afterwords. for preparing my vehicle or any other i usually wash, clay, polish, seal, then wax. As for when it gets dirty again simply wash and wax at normal intervals or when needed, and make sure you do so correctly to not make swirls in the paint surface. I typically re-apply sealants atleast twice a year depending on the durability of them, and wax every wash. I also clay as needed depending on vehicle and contamination that is in the clear. (you can feel this after a wash.) Claying can be done as needed as well and really up to you and the condition of paint, then just go and apply sealant and wax.
By the way what products are you using? I have had great experiences with Optimum, Wolfgang, and Pinnacle products.
Good luck and don't get sucked into the addiction of detailing