WAX WAX WAX - I'm confused
 

<searching yielded limited info for my issues so here it goes>

I've had my second Mini for a few months now. My first one was DS and honesty I never waxed it, other than using Hydro on it after every other wash.

My new Mini is Astro Black, so it's requiring a little more attention to the paint.

1st Wash: with Dawn, followed by Prima Epic
2nd Wash(7 days later): with Prima Mystique , followed by Prima Epic
3rd Wash: with Prima Mystique , followed by Prima Epic
4th Wash: with Prima Mystique , followed by Prima Hydro
5th Wash: with Prima Mystique , followed by Prima Hydro
...and so on

I was told to get a thick coat of wax on this color. Even with all that wax on the car it still seams to pick up clear coat scratches with ease. One clear coat scratch I cleaned with Prima Finish and it even scratched the clear coat.

First off what should I use to polish out the clear coat scratches? Are the clear coat scratch kits as the local auto parts stores any good? If so which ones?

Second, what kind of wax should I put on this car to protect the clear coat? I hate messing with the white residue left by some waxes. Are there good thick waxes that won't leave white residue? If I truly need a good thick coat I prefer not to have to tape the molding for the next 4 weekends. Yup, I tried Black-Wow'ing first...still get some white reside off Prima Epic.

Help me with some good solutions. Thanks!!!

Hydro Hydro Hydro

Seriously? Is that creating a thick layer to protect my clear coat? Acts more like Rain-X for paint to me.

definitely try it for yourself then. it is amazing. you can also use it on glass, plastics, rubber, no whitening what so ever. :) they have the trial quart size versions now if you cant commit to a gallon.

i just buy at the gallons.

Not sure if you got all the way through my post. I have been using Hydro for a while. I just think it washes off easy and is not solving my "thick coat" issues I have with this color.

I don't think it's really about getting a "thick" coat so much as a durable coat. Synthetics are REALLY durable.

In your case, I'd take a day, strip it all off (Dawn wash, whatever) and then do 2 coats of Epic (just to make sure no spots are missed...has nothing to do with thickness, it's more about bonding and adherence), let it cure 24 hours, then do a coat of Banana Gloss. Then Hydro with every wash. Then your rewax intervals would be Banana Gloss every 4-6 weeks, and Epic every 4-6 months.

I feel your pain!

Amigo, Epic, Banana Gloss and regular topping off with Hydro keeps our AB/AB in tip top condition.

Great reply! I just read up on BG...looks perfect for AB paint color. Any thoughts on the clear coat scratch repair?

Now if BG was not so darn expensive. Can't order with current 15% off because the cart says it's out of stock.

New Schedule:

• Epic twice a year
• Banana Gloss once a month
• Hydro once a week

As with most high end detailing products, very little goes a long way.

Mark
:popcorn:

+1 :nod: + ML's post.

hense my Hydro post. HYDRO HYDRO HYDRO.

you dont need a lot of Hydro to get good protection...

Well if you have the NAM calendar, today is the last day of my Sponsorship month, and BG is 15% off, and I have plenty in stock.

www.showcarsupplies.com

If you think BG is expensive, then you really haven't seen the $1,500 to $10,000 carnaubas, lol.

Check out my Jet Black paint. I applied Amigo, then Banana Gloss, 3 weeks ago. I've got over 110,000 miles. The paint is far from perfect, but this combo works great for dark colors.
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._7227482_n.jpg

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._4429020_n.jpg

http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._1439617_n.jpg

As for dealing with scratches, get yourself a random orbital buffer like this
http://www.showcarsupplies.com/shopexd.asp?id=115&bc=no

and my DVD

http://www.showcarsupplies.com/shopexd.asp?id=62&bc=no

Best thing to do is learn to avoid putting scratches in your paint though. I've got a solution for that on the way!

Richard

yet another commercial...

buy one BG and get your free $500 sewing set absolutely free!

call in the next 5min and get not one by 10 sewing sets valued at $5000! :lol:

:wink:

You might want to try Zaino.

I changed back after using the Prima products and I couldn't be happier. Much less overall work for a longer lasting deeper finish.

http://www.zainostore.com/

:lol:

Hey, I just ordered the BG from Richard. I was also lazy enough to pay shipping cuz I just don't feel like driving out to Orange County.. oh and there's the little problem with my MINI being back in the shop and my having to rely on public transportation at the moment..

Bigshot.....what were the differences in Prima vs Zaino?

Leslie- oh noes... Not for the sunvisor you broke, right? :lol: :wink:


Umberto, its easy:
Prima = deep gloss (1 bottle)
Zaino = super shiney (many confusing numbers)

But if your getting white spots on your arches and complaining about it, just use Hydro. No more issues with stains. :)

Plus, DP has the quart bottles for loosers who can't commit to the winning gallons. :lol: :wink:

Thanks for your support Leslie!!! You should come see my new shop though. It's REALLY nice. Much nicer than the last time you visited the one by the freeway.

I'm sorry about your MINI woes. I've read about your problems including the accident awhile back. I think or hope I just finished the last of my problems..got my MINI back yesterday from MINICorsa. :thumbsup:

Richard

I use zaino and while the numbers are confusing, it works fantastic. At first I did a dawn wash, then followed it up with zaino clay bar, wash with zaino car wash, then Z2 and Z5 with Z6 spray in between each coat. I did 2 coats of each and now when I wash with the zaino car wash it always (always always) beads up and looks freshly waxed.

Please keep in mind, this took the better part of a weekend to do - I took my time, but the zaino curing agent helped speed it up a bit.

Nope. Dead fuel pump. :razz:

Perhaps Dave and I will stop by when he's in town again. It gets kinda lonely motoring solo when you're driving that far from the Westside. :lol:

Glad to hear that you got your MINI back. Mine should be ready for pick up at SB MINI when I get back into town on Monday. *fingers crossed*

Has anyone who is using the Prima Banana thing used S100 carnuba wax? Trying to find a comparison, as I have yet to find an easier to use wax than S100, but willing to give it a shot.

I just saw this thread and wanted to backup the advice given by MLPearson79. I have a PW MINI with a Black roof and the car always looks shiny after doing it this way. My black roof looks like glass and sometimes makes me with the entire car was black.

I just did my wife's Passat wagon and we'll she only gets 1 coat of Epic. :lol: She knew we were going to take care of her car this weekend and at last minute wanted to go hang with her friends. Not going to kill myself on this one, especially how big her car is. :lol: I will say it still looks amazing.

As for the hydro comment. I have washed my car a couple of times without using hydro (knew I was going to use Banana Gloss on it) and the paint still felt smooth like the car was freshly waxed when it had been 6 to 7 weeks.

Epic is a great product but be sure to let it cure. I have found, if you can, it seems to setup the best if the car an be left in a garage and not used for the period of time. When I did my MINI I let each of the 2 coats cure for 24hrs and then 2 coats to Banana Gloss to get everything going.

The thing to remember with me is I am not using a Porter Cable or any other buffer to apply or remove the product I have been doing all of this by hand. I plan on getting the Porter Cable from Richard but just have not got around to it.

Oh, I forgot to add, get Richard's Black Wow stuff for the black trim and use it as has been stated on these forums. Stuff is amazing and since I use it I only do the black trim every couple of months. Tiny bottle lasts a very long time.

Richard, any word on pre-Wow?

:popcorn:

Yes. (disclaimer: I sell both product lines... well, P21S rather than S100 but they are the same company, just different brand names; I've personally used Banana Gloss, S100 and P21S numerous times)

S100 Carnauba Wax (nearly identical to P21S Carnauba Wax, for those who know the P21S Brand instead) and Banana Gloss share alot of traits. Both are extremely easy to use (although differently so) and both have the richness of carnauba.

Again, it's so hard to do look comparisons in words between waxes, especially when comparing carnauba based waxes... so much is in the eye of the beholder. Here are my thoughts:

As BG is a blend of carnauba and a resin (resins are a type of synthetic wax base) it will have the richness effect of a carnauba but will also have a little more gloss than a straight carnauba like S100. S100 will have slightly more of that carnauba richness and warmth than BG. Both will tend to mellow out your paint color, in a way that I would call a traditional show car look.

Both will do some filling/concealing. S100 will fill/conceal due to the oils it contains while BG will fill/conceal due to a synthetic chemical designed to do so. In theory, BG should do a better job of this task but I haven't done a side-by-side of these two when trying to fill/conceal. So, it's hard to say for sure without testing it for this goal.

BG contains cleansers, which means you can wash then go straight to BG. For most traditional paste carnauba waxes, you really get much better results if you use a pre-wax cleanser of some kind, i.e. P21S Paintwork Cleanser (which is an EXCELLENT stand-alone paint cleanser, btw). I always use a paint cleanser prior to either the S100 or P21S carnauba waxes. With BG, I do not because it isn't necessary.

Despite their many similarities, BG and S100 carnauba apply very differently...
They are both, IMO, very easy to use but very differently so.
S100 is a paste wax. Some people don't like paste waxes but that's probably just because they're thinking of either low quality or old school paste waxes, which are terribly stiff and hard to work with. S100/P21S contains some wonderful (yes, wonderful) oils. (note that the P21S version contains slightly more of these wonderful oils than the S100 version, but it's a slight difference only). These oils, combined with their carnauba wax and other chemical goodies, help make using a paste wax smooth and silky.
BG is not a paste wax. In fact, it is so liquidy that you think you are applying cloudy water to your car! Don't worry though... you are not. Some people like that you just spread it on the car and you're done!

I have to admit, I do love to apply a high quality paste wax like S100 or P21S (P21S is my go-to paste wax). There's just something therapeutic about it! So, unless I really need additional filling/concealing and/or I don't want to do a prep step, I personally would grab P21S (or S100) paste wax... just because I like the way it goes on. Nick, by contrast, will always grab BG before he grabs P21S.

So, like most wax questions, it really depends on what YOU like... in this case mostly with regard to application, but also a little with regard to function and just a tad with regard to looks.

Hope that helps!

Heather

Interesting. I use Klasse All in One, followed by the Klasse sealant glaze, and finish it up with the S100. This combo has worked wonders for me so far, with the only sticking point for me being the fact that S100 lasts for a very short amount of time. I try to apply the Klasse products four times per year, and I end up waxing with S100 probably twice per month... but I am picky, lol. Might pick up some of the BG just to give it a whirl (hah, that was punny)! Thanks for the input.