When should I get my car waxed?
#11
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 104
Likes: 0
From: Philadelphia
My Ride: 530xi 07' fully loaded...stock :(
I would certainly do it myself
now, when you say waxing, if you mean just carnuaba wax, you can wax as much as you like (usually every couple of months)
its POLISH that is not really good as it takes away some clear coat, but again, on the first time, you really might need polish to do some paint correction (but thats a whole different story)
take a look at my pics (Scroll to bottom)
http://www.bimmerzone.com/detailing_service.htm too bad you are not in PA
now, when you say waxing, if you mean just carnuaba wax, you can wax as much as you like (usually every couple of months)
its POLISH that is not really good as it takes away some clear coat, but again, on the first time, you really might need polish to do some paint correction (but thats a whole different story)
take a look at my pics (Scroll to bottom)
http://www.bimmerzone.com/detailing_service.htm too bad you are not in PA
#13
I second going to autopia and finding a good detailer.. A good detailer will make your car look like new... those mass production hand wash place are likely to scratch up your paint. As for a good wax job - at most you can get 6 months out of a good wax (some special synthetic sealants such as FK1000P or Klasse Sealant Glaze). I would probably wax it 3 times a year.
#14
Contributors
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 14,646
Likes: 0
From: NY
My Ride: 2008 Silverstone II E60 M5 2012 E70 AW X5 50i Sport w/ LCI Aero Kit and Rocker Panels
I was thinking of getting my car detailed this weekend. I took it to a cheap car wash last weekend and I think it looks dirtier after they cleaned it. Is there any danger of getting it detailed? One of my coworkers (Porsche owner) told me it can be bad for the paint if you do it too often. I've never had this car detailed, and it's about 2 months old. Also, has the clear bra, not sure if that matters.
Also, any great San Francisco recommendations? Yelp likes these guys: http://www.californiadetailing.com/E...rDetailing.htm
But if someone knows of someone good, I'm all ears. In general, I'm more of a one-man-hero kind of guy, preferring to hire a dude who takes tremendous pride in his work rather than leave myself to the mercy of a big shop.
Also, any great San Francisco recommendations? Yelp likes these guys: http://www.californiadetailing.com/E...rDetailing.htm
But if someone knows of someone good, I'm all ears. In general, I'm more of a one-man-hero kind of guy, preferring to hire a dude who takes tremendous pride in his work rather than leave myself to the mercy of a big shop.
#15
#16
Senior Members
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 555
Likes: 0
From: DFW, TX
My Ride: '04 545i, sport pkg, premium sound, sprint booster,
#17
if your paint doesnt feel like glass it needs a polish and then a wax to protect it. run ur finger along the paint if its rough its got lots of dirt and contaminents on it. give it a nice good hand bath with good car soap and a good clean micro sponge. dont press hard just let the sponge do the work. get her all foamy and clean and give a good rinse off. dry it off with a leaf blower if you have one. if not a good shammmy. just dont drag a towel around the car to dry it. get a qaulity polish and go to town one section at a time. dont rush because youll miss spots and get poor results. after you take the polish off go to a good carnuba to protech the work you just did.so basically your going over the entire car twice. its gonna take some hours. the next time your ready for this work all you will need is the carnuba. try to wash the car once a week. and do all this in the shade. a hand buffer will save your arms and lots of time. pick one up at pepboys or something.dont pay a detail shop do it yourself have fun and save a few bux
#18
Senior Members
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 555
Likes: 0
From: DFW, TX
My Ride: '04 545i, sport pkg, premium sound, sprint booster,
if your paint doesnt feel like glass it needs a polish and then a wax to protect it. run ur finger along the paint if its rough its got lots of dirt and contaminents on it. give it a nice good hand bath with good car soap and a good clean micro sponge. dont press hard just let the sponge do the work. get her all foamy and clean and give a good rinse off. dry it off with a leaf blower if you have one. if not a good shammmy. just dont drag a towel around the car to dry it. get a qaulity polish and go to town one section at a time. dont rush because youll miss spots and get poor results. after you take the polish off go to a good carnuba to protech the work you just did.so basically your going over the entire car twice. its gonna take some hours. the next time your ready for this work all you will need is the carnuba. try to wash the car once a week. and do all this in the shade. a hand buffer will save your arms and lots of time. pick one up at pepboys or something.dont pay a detail shop do it yourself have fun and save a few bux
#19
Yes, claybar before polish. End it with a TEFLON treatment. It'll last 1-2 yrs, you can literally lightly hose off bird crap, highway debri, and highway bugs with ease, they wont penetrate the finish. It wont help against large debri(rocks) but its another later of protection.
#20
there are a few things you should know about polishing your own car. for starters, it's extremely obsessive. i don't mean the act of polishing, i mean that once you understand what polishing is and does, you'll see so many defects in your paint it's, at times, close to unbearable. i have been an amateur (but good, i just don't do other people's cars) detailer for about 7 years.
the second thing you should know is that detailing takes a serious amount of time to be done right. swirls/hazing/marring on your paint cannot be removed by hand; you need a machine. most people buy porter cable machines. you can get them online or even at home depot. and no these are not the same machines that cause the dealer haze you see on some new cars.
detailing your car is really about 5 steps to be simple. 1 is wash, 2 is claybar, 3 is wash again, 4 is polish (with a compound that cuts into your clearcoat and reduces swirls), and 5 is protect with an LSP or wax. numbers 4 and 5, by many professionals, is expanded into something more like 4-7 or so.
but that's really not necessary to the every day enthusiast, and i guarantee you following steps 1-5 properly will look as good as just about any detail you'll see on the road. steps 1-5 will take you a full 8 hours, if not more. if you have to pause and come back to the work for more than 12 hours, even if your car is garaged, you'll have to wash it again. dust on the paint will just cause it to get marred again if you polish while it is on your car.
my advice: if you are obsessive in nature, or just want your car to look great to you but don't really want to know the specific "problem" areas, you should get your car detailed by a professional. someone referenced www.autopia.org already, and that is a great place to look up professionals that know what they are doing that will make your car look great for $250 or so.
as for it damaging your paint, polish sands down your paint to a level surface so that scratches are no longer indentations but the surrounding area is on the same plane. if you do this enough, yes, you will eat right through the clear coat. mild polishing is recommended once every 6 months or so. this is harmless to the paint as long as you aren't using a very abrasive polishing compound and spending an hour on each body panel. but, in reality, i only do it every 1-1.5 years, and wax every 6 months or so. that does the trick for me; mileage for you may vary. the more i polish the more i realize it doesn't take an over-the-top dose to turn heads.
the second thing you should know is that detailing takes a serious amount of time to be done right. swirls/hazing/marring on your paint cannot be removed by hand; you need a machine. most people buy porter cable machines. you can get them online or even at home depot. and no these are not the same machines that cause the dealer haze you see on some new cars.
detailing your car is really about 5 steps to be simple. 1 is wash, 2 is claybar, 3 is wash again, 4 is polish (with a compound that cuts into your clearcoat and reduces swirls), and 5 is protect with an LSP or wax. numbers 4 and 5, by many professionals, is expanded into something more like 4-7 or so.
but that's really not necessary to the every day enthusiast, and i guarantee you following steps 1-5 properly will look as good as just about any detail you'll see on the road. steps 1-5 will take you a full 8 hours, if not more. if you have to pause and come back to the work for more than 12 hours, even if your car is garaged, you'll have to wash it again. dust on the paint will just cause it to get marred again if you polish while it is on your car.
my advice: if you are obsessive in nature, or just want your car to look great to you but don't really want to know the specific "problem" areas, you should get your car detailed by a professional. someone referenced www.autopia.org already, and that is a great place to look up professionals that know what they are doing that will make your car look great for $250 or so.
as for it damaging your paint, polish sands down your paint to a level surface so that scratches are no longer indentations but the surrounding area is on the same plane. if you do this enough, yes, you will eat right through the clear coat. mild polishing is recommended once every 6 months or so. this is harmless to the paint as long as you aren't using a very abrasive polishing compound and spending an hour on each body panel. but, in reality, i only do it every 1-1.5 years, and wax every 6 months or so. that does the trick for me; mileage for you may vary. the more i polish the more i realize it doesn't take an over-the-top dose to turn heads.
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