I'm finally going to get around to waxing my car (I've been using Hydro in the meantime) and am curious how careful I have to be about getting Epic on any of the black plastic parts.

Thanks.

 

You don't have to be too fussy, but of course you should avoid applying wax to the trim if you can help it....

Just wipe it off before it cures and you should be fine. Wipe it away in the first 30 minutes or so and you should be good. I always get a bit on the trim and it doesn't stain prior to curing in my experience.

If applying by hand you should only get a trace bit of extra on the trim - easily manageable to simply wipe away. Just keep a clean microfiber dampened with vinyl cleaner/Nero/even detail spray handy to wipe off the extra wax.

If you're planning on using a Porter Cable or other mechanical process, do yourself a favor and spend 15 minutes taping the trim with 2" painter's masking tape... It will still wipe off before it cures, but it will literally take you less time to tape the trim than to wipe the wax off the trim and out of all the little crevices like the side-marker trim and such...

 

Thanks for the help.

I just thought of another question ...any harm in waxing the bonnet stripes?

Thanks again.

Dean.

 

Nope - I wax my boot and bonnet stripes every time I wax the car. Keeps 'em shiny.

 

In the event that we do get epic on the black trim and don't catch it until it's cured. What are our options?

 

Try Black Wow... that seems to get everything off from what I can tell. Richard (Octaneguy) has a thread on it in here a few posts down.

Some folks have used peanut butter, but that seems... WRONG to me to do that. But you probably have some on-hand for free.

I'd also try Prima Nero on one of those chisel-tipped foam brushes that you can get for a few bucks at the hardware store- they're very precise and allow for a certain ammount of "scrubbing" action and might get out the cured-on residue. Worked for me with baked-on clay residue anyway...

 

Other trim-avoidance tips:

Prior to waxing, apply a trim dressing/protectant (like 303 AP or Nero or similar) to the trim. That will make it much easier to clean up any Epic that gets on the trim.

Also, if you have to wipe off some Epic from the trim, use a slightly damp cloth to do so (or if water isn't handy you can spritz the cloth with some Clarity instead), as opposed to a dry cloth.

Although it is recommended to try to avoid getting Epic on the trim and if you do to wipe if off ASAP, Epic isn't usually very stubborn on the trim anyway. Every once in a blue moon it is stubborn... if this is the case, you can use rubbing alcohol to remove it (like if you realize you got some on the trim a couple of days after the fact and it's had time to cure there, etc). Just be sure to reapply your dressing/protectant to your trim after you use rubbing alcohol on it. No problemo!

Have fun waxing!

-Heather

 

[quote=ImagoX;1592346]Try Black Wow... that seems to get everything off from what I can tell. [quote]

In addition to rubbing alcohol, Black Wow or Wizards Black Renew both have strong cleaners that are effective in removing wax residue.

-Heather

 

Definitely wax your stripes, as it will protect and enhance these in addition to doing so for your paint.

-Heather

 

Wizards Black Renew IS great stuff but I never tried it on cured residue... It makes the trim look fantastic and only needs to be applied about once a month. I usually do weekly touch-ups with Nero to keep it looking great. Good to know it will get it off - thanks!

 

I have found that both Black Renew and Black Wow will easily remove dried Epic residue. Of course you could tape like Imagox recommends, but I hate taping and would rather use one of the two trim dressings to just remove after the fact. I would guess it takes as long for me to clean-up any splatter and errant Epic than it does for me to tape but that's just me. I won't even tape when I'm painting a room; perhaps it is because of that horrible taping accident I had as a kid ... but that is another story.

 

Unless you're using a Porter Cable, you should have plenty of control and wax on the trim should be minimal - really I only tape when I use a machine, which is only once or twice a year thanks to the amazingly durable Epic coating. In fact... I'm due to re-polish soon - I keep thinking I need to do it, but even after 6 months my car still feels slick and smooth and looks brand new (people are asking me all the time if I just bought the car).

I can't believe the wax is still on there, but maybe my **** 2-3-times weekly wipedown with Slick has protected it.... (shrug). I guess Heather made the Epic wax TOO WELL.

 

Newbee question here... I've never detailed a car before...
I've had my mini for almost two months, and have washed it once, but not waxed it yet. I bought some PRIMA products, including HYDRO and EPIC. Can you use Epic on the chrome trim, or do I need to avoid getting it on that as well? Is there something special to use on chrome?

Also, is it OK to just use HYDRO for a few months until I get the car to a place where I can spend some time doing the EPIC (I live in NYC and don't have my own space to wash my car)?

Thanks for any info

 

I taped before using a PC, and still wound up with a good bit of product (either Finish or Z2) over one wheel well. That product dried for hours before it was discovered. Heavy scrubbing with a small amount of Black Wow greatly diminished the problem, but it did not eliminate it. Curiously, after just letting it sit for ten minutes or so, a second very light application of BW seemed to completely do the trick.

 

I use Epic on my chrome, it seems to work fine. Although any chrome polish you might use later probably just takes it right back off.

I know the Hydro thing has been discussed...it can be used as a temporary stand-in for Epic, but I don't remember for how long...probably a week or two, but I'd do a search here to be sure.

 

Hydro tends to last about a month, depending on weather conditions...

 

Thanks for the info. I used HYDRO yesterday. Hopefully in a couple of weeks I can get out of the city and spend some time doing the EPIC.

 

So, ala kenchan, if you use hydro after each wash, you can indefinitely postpone the Epic experience. (That is, if you wash it more often than I do).

 

Technically...but Epic looks a lot nicer on, IMO.

Lasts longer, too...

 

that's probably because you work a lot harder to apply Epic.

i honestly could not tell the difference between Hydro and Epic after
the 24hrs.

 

So Epic doesn't look that much different after it 'cures'?

 

honestly, i could not tell the difference. if i could, i would use Epic
over Hydro for the warmer seasons as well. i am sure Epic has better
durability to maintain its glossy look vs Hydro, but if you keep applying
Hydro i think the results are 'the same' to most people.

i plan to use Epic when it starts getting colder there though cause
i wont be able to wash the car as frequently in the winter time.

 

But can you use Hydro on a new car where you don't know what's on the surface? I figure that the dealer is using carnauba.

 

if you are into your car, you will remove whatever they put on it and start from scratch; claybarring, polishing dealer induced swirls (they are there dealers are morons), then your own wax and then hydro

 

As El Jefe said, you could just strip whatever is on there and that way be sure that you're not trying to use Hydro on a carnauba. However, if you don't want to do that and you think the dealer is using a carnauba, then I wouldn't recommend using Hydro. Although it won't hurt anything to do so, it will be smeary over the carnauba and will not last either. Hydro and carnauba waxes don't play well together.

-Heather