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Don't know if this is the correct place for my question or not.

What waxing procedures do you go through, when bringing the car out of mothballs, in the Spring?

Wash, cleaning compound, maybe clay bar, then wax ?

Tell me the steps you take and brand of wax used.

Thanks.

I do not wax my car. After removing the cover I dust it and then use a spray bottle with a couple drops of soap in it and spray and wipe. Then I follow with Britemax #6S Spray and Shine which is a detailer. I am not sure what it contains but I believe it has no silicone and no wax.

Hi Bob. I'm not an expert by any means, but here's my usual routine for getting our '47 ready for the season. It still sports the original nitro lacquer paint and its not perfect, but still shines. Our attempt is to keep it as presentable as can be for as long as possible. The process is the same for our daily drivers and other cars except the wax brand.

1. Wash and dry car. Meguiar's gold class soap is great for in between. (Some use dish soap to strip the old wax, but I don't like harsh detergents on my old stuff).

2. Use Mother's clay bar kit on entire car. You'll be surprised at what it pulls out of the paint (especially on newer cars).

3. Wash car again to rinse any clay residue off. Dry.

4. If the car needs polish, you can use something like Meguiar's #7 glaze. .

5. Follow up with a wax of your choice. Here's the best part since everyone has their favorites.

-Meguiar's is good, affordable and readily available in most places these days. Gold class is great. Cleaner wax is decent for a daily but there's mild cleaners in it that you may not need if your paint is in good shape. I always like to keep to a straight wax with nothing else in it on the old stuff.

-For a straight wax, I've switched to Beauty Shine 503 Pink Carnuba . It is really hard to remove, but it gives a deep shine you can't beat...especially on a dark colored car. You can also build it up in layers and its amazingly durable.

-If you don't want to mess with buffing and you want a long-lasting shine, I'd recommend a polymer sealant like HD Poxy . I had great results with it on my '47. Easy to do. Wipe it on, leave it for 24 hours and buff the haze off. It lasts the entire season, and people comment on the finish. You can even use carnuba on top of this for the best final product.




What kind of paint is on your car? What shape is it in? I'm assuming its not bad and you're just looking for a quick coating to look good / protect things for a summer cruise season?

Hope this helps, and happy motoring!

Daryl, how long does that process take. It certainly has its rewards as the car in the photo looks great.

Thanks for the compliment Steve.

I'm a little slow but it usually takes me a 1/2 day to do a full 'seasonal detail' of the Chevy. Biggest problem I have here is water spots from my awful city water. My Fleetline is not great, and I'm not a detail or paint guy, so feel free to chime in if you are (anyone in Chevyland?).

I know the 3M detail products for cutting & buffing are fantastic. I used that to bring the paint back to life on the car in 2012, and now its just a seasonal coating of wax to keep it shiny. I plan on using the 3M Perfect-It Ultrafine system this summer on my Plymouth.

I've also had decent results with the Turtle Wax Black Box system...but its a colored glaze and wax kit that conceals blemishes but frankly looks good on dark cars for only about 1 month :(

Daryl,

Your information is detailed, exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks!

Your '47 looks great, if mine would shine as well, I would be tickled.

I have two '51's, one is Mayland black, repainted with base coat/clear coat in 1995. The other '51 is Trophy Blue, painted with base coat/clear coat in 2005.

Finishes on both are good, both need to be detailed to look well again.

Again, your directions for the cleaning/wax is very helpful.

No problem at all. I forgot to mention I do the wax application by hand. Removal too I use an orbital buffer on the daily driverss and it works okay. Rotary buffers are way better. Porter Cable makes a good one.

Foam and terry clothes buffer pads are fine for wax. Wool pads are aggressive if you need to cut/buff the paint with a compound. You mentioned your car finishes were good, so I'd stick to the lighter stuff. The more aggressive you are, the less clear coat you'll have over time.

Post some before / afters if you'd like. Always love to see old Chevs.

About 20-25 minutes (if I can't get the PBR open)



More PBR maintains the shine throughout the year!

If it becomes confusing, as to which one to drink and which one to spray on the car, it's time to sit down and rest.

I was wondering why some don`t like the silicone type of wax? When I spiff up the `40 , I wash with a couple drops of Dawn in a bucket of water ..dry ...then use a silicone type wax ....Nu Finish(orange bottle) being one of my favorites. Easy on ..easy off ...looks great. My paint is 40+ years old.....Also use various spray detailers inbetween waxes ....all make the 40 look nice...

It's very difficult to remove if you need to do any touch up.

Yes, the silicone looks good and is easy to use, but future touch-up paint work won't stick without a miracle.

Have to say David, it does look good !

Ditto. Very nice cars. Last time I parked in a spot like that by a store I had a late model car 4" away on each side. Luckily I chased away the shopper trying to park on top!!! Love N.Y.

That is one gorgeous '40 my friend. It certainly has a glow about it.

It works, that '35 looks great. I'm more of an Old Style guy, but I wouldn't turn down a PBR after a day of working on the car.

Thanks... Ignore the 34 ornament. After a ton of grief from someone here, I changed it to the correct one. Funny thing is I never noticed it...

Thanks for the thumbs up on my `40, guys !....now that I know how hard it is to remove the silicone wax, do any of you have a way to do it on a lacquer paint job? I will be doing some stone chip type of touch up this summer ....I`m thinking some type of soap detergent? Great looking cars !!

Check out this site www.rapidtac.com.

I haven't tried this, but a few detail websites recommend Top Of The Line for removal of silicone wax. I would think any solvent would harm the finish, so maybe best to steer clear. Start with Dawn or a dish soap. You may be fine with just a few washes with that.

Alcohol will remove silicone. Isopropyl 100% is best. Ethanol, Propyl are okay. Rubbing alcohol is okay but contains ~ 30% water so take more to remove the silicone oils. Most pre-painting solvents will remove silicone. I would recommend several wet applications of the solvent and wiping off with clean cloth before it dries. Generally soaps and detergents don't do well at removing silicone.

Chipper, alcohol is okay to use on lacquer?

Alcohol should be fine on lacquer. Best to test it on an inconspicuous spot first to settle your mind.

This is the ONLY wax I use. Do this, and trust me you won't scratch. After you apply the wax, let it dry. Then take a cloth diaper or something extremely soft, sprinkle corn starch on the panel, and wipe away! The corn starch will give a dry medium and actually lightly polishes the surface. When my dad used to show his cars, he would use this on the top sides, and then crawl underneath and polish the chassis with Pledge! Works wonders, doesn't hurt the paint (nitro lacquer) and it smelled like lemons!

Bryan,
You let the wax dry for how long ? Until it just hazes or overnight, as another stated ?

Never heard of the corn starch thing. That's actually kinda neat. I may try it out sometime.

Back in the day when we used to paint, sand and buff multiple coats of nitro lacquer to get a deep shine, corn starch was used in the final buffing finish before waxing. That was before we had 1500 and 2000 grit wet/dry and the large range of buffing compounds and pads available today. The corn starch provided a really high deep gloss when used with a lamb's wool pad. Have not heard of using corn starch when waxing.

The more I've read about this corn starch thing, it seems to still be popular among vintage car enthusiasts in the UK and Australia. Definately sounds like an old school way to micropolisb before today's chemicals came about.

I used DURHAM CORN STARCH back in 1980 to polish my 35 std coupe parts as the final buff before applying wax.

I also did that again when I refinished 3 front fenders in black nitrocellulose lacquer. I used a band new wool buffer pad just for that operation.

I bought a Meguiars wax company, random orbit multi speed 1--6 speeds buffer along with the correct selection of foam buffer pads ( 3 = 7000, 8000, 9000)to polish the paint. You have to be very careful with wooly pads as they tend to wipe out paint on the edges. The foam sponge pads work great.

I think I also used a product called LIQUID EBONY sold by a Brooklyn NY couple, still got some. Its smells like licorice, wipe it on and buff to a high shine . Last I checked 2 years ago they are still in business and shipping products.

mike lynch

The liquid ebony is used as a wax ?

Here is what I do:

a. Wash the car using the recommended amount of car soap. (Don't use laundry or dishwashing soap. Ask Chipper about this)

b. Dry the car off. ( Use a chamise (sp))

The above is all I've needed ever since I had it painted with base coat-clear coat. No wax seems to be needed for it to continue shining like a new dime. Best 800.00 bucks I've ever spent including the missus's engagement ring. Not show but nice.

Charlie

BTW: If your car has a Fulton, there is no point in waxing it. You can't polish a turd.

Sooooooooooooooo Charlie,is there any exterior visor you like???

I think I understand your comments, Charlie.

"The above is all I've needed ever since I had it painted with base coat-clear coat. No wax seems to be needed for it to continue shining like a new dime"
"You can't polish a turd."

I don't, maybe Charlie could clarify????

Yes

Charlie

Ah heck, stinkin Bob is just trying to twist my words. Dang!

Charlie

Bob, Mike,

You guys come by and see me at Charlotte. They moved me to BDD. Space 70 or so will get you close enough. Just follow you nose from there.

Charlie

Charlie, if you're not in space 70, I'll just look for your unwaxed '41, with the Fulton on it.

I would fly down just to see a Fulton on a car owned by Charlie

Worth the price of admission.

You can say that again

I'll just give quotes. " "

Bryan,
You let the wax dry for how long ? Until it just hazes or overnight, as another stated ? [/quote]

I will wax one panel complete, then move on to the next. When I finish waxing the 2nd panel, I use the corn starch to remove the wax on the first panel. Then I wax the 3rd. When finished with the 3rd, I remove on the 2nd, and so on.

Important to NOT wash your car for at least 24 hours to let that wax cure up a bit. I've found that if I wash the corn starch dust off immediately it will also wash most of the wax off too. The longer you wait, actually, the better.

bobg, just my experience: i applied "NuFinish" to our '30 coupe twice in the last 4 years (maybe 5) and it resolutely stays gleaming after the occasional warm soap and water washings. no wax. jim

"the chevy six clatter means nothing's the matter."

You can get about as deep into paint care as you want to.

I just started the process on my '31, it probably had not been washed in 10 years while it was up at my granddads.

Here is my process (same process I use for daily drivers with a few modifications):

Wash: Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine (Fantastic Product)

Clay: Mothers Clay bar, using Blackfire rinseless wash for lube
Re-wash: Optimum No Rinse (ONR) Just to make sure the clay didn't leave anything behind and to clean up the rinseless wash.

Polish: I have a Griots Garage Random Orbital Multi-speed buffer. I use this with an orange pad (fine cutting ability) to work any deep swirls or light scratches out of the paint using Blackfire SRC Swirl Remover compound. Then I use Blackfire finishing compound to really beef up the gloss of the car.

Glaze: Meguiars #7, if you don't want to get too in depth with it, I highly recommend this product. The show car glaze fills in any swirls or marring your paint may have for maximum gloss.

Wax: Optional when using a glaze like Megs 7 but I like it because it seals in the glaze and adds a little pop. I use Poorboys World Natty Blue Paste Wax.

The main thing to remember if you want a nice shine is that 90% of the gloss, clarity and overall sheen of the paint comes from prepping the paint for a glaze or a wax. Meaning, spend the time to properly clay the car and polish it. Even if there is little to no swirls, etching or marring a finishing polish makes a world of difference to really bring the color of the car out.

If you have never used a clay bar before I highly suggest you give it a try, you won't believe the crud (oxidation, road grime, embedded dirt, etc.) that attaches to the paint that a wash won't get.

Once you do that full process once, keeping the car clean and washing will become a lot easier. Personally I clay all of my cars once a year, polish twice, and wax as needed. I typically use a Quick Detailer after washes between waxing to help preserve the wax.

I'm a bit of a nut when it comes to this stuff but I think it pays off.

Figured I'd post a little write up with my results. That Meguiars #7 is some incredible stuff. Very restorative.
Trunk Transformation

I have been using F-11 made by Top Coat. I think it's awesome. I started using it on my Harley Davidson, but then just carried it over to the 33 Master. It really works well. (I still haven't gotten the hang of posting pictures. I've tried the "The File Manager" and it keeps saying I'm only allowed 0 bytes to upload)
http://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=vbkYKDz9Pf4

Here is some help with posting pictures.



Additional info on posting pictures is included in a post on Emergency Brakes

Good luck, Mike

This is the same wax I've been using for many years. The way I apply it is with a wet shop rag. Load the rag up with the wax (there is no such thing as too much here) and apply in circles to one entire panel. Think about Karate Kid here. After that panel is done, move on to the next adjacent panel. When your done applying to that panel, stop. Take a cloth diaper and either load the diaper with corn starch or sprinkle corn starch all over the 1st panel. It will get real messy, and that's ok. When your done removing the wax on the 1st panel, put down the corn starch. Apply wax to panel #3. When finished with that, remove the wax on panel #2. And so on. This is the fastest way to use this wax. Another method is to wax the entire car and let it sit for an hour or so. The idea is to let the wax dry out and cure up a bit prior to removal.

Now for the most important part...your car will be a starchy mess. DO NOT WASH IT YET!!! Put it back in the garage for a day or two, the longer the better. If you wash it within 24 hours of wax application, you will wash most of the wax right off. It needs to fully cure in order to give a longer life. Using this method, I can get at least 6 months out of a daily driver..