How warm does everyone wait for it to get before waxing their cars? It was in the mid-40s in Boston yesterday, and I was tempted to give it a shot after I went to the self-serve car wash, but then I thought better of it.

I've got the Griot's Best in Show wax, in case that makes any difference...

Thanks,
Chris

 

Depends on the type of wax you use. I don't know the makeup of the Griot's; I use Zymol (caranuba). They state ambient should be above 60F for application, hence, heated garage

 

As a ballpark safety value, I'd say 55*F+.

R

 

I Never Knew It Had To Be A Certain Temp For Waxing.

 

50 degrees for zaino.....if the temp is too low, it effects the the drying/curing time for synthetics...temps supposed to be mid 60's and turning sunny way out west of you here in Milford mass....crazy 'winter'!

 

one of the many things i like about BofS is that it works in colder temps with no issues.
curing time, i would give it 1hr.

have fun you your garage! lol

 

I use Griot's Best in Show. Although you can wax in the 40's, I (and Richard) would not recommend it. But if you are gonna do it, use something like a small heater to get your wax, red applicator pad, and buffing cloths hot. Work in a very small area, and have Speed Shine ready. Even with the heated wax, it will still dry very quickly. Use the Speedy Shine to get the wax "wet" and buff with the heated clothes.

If you can, get to a garage, and use something like a kerosene heater to bring the temp into the low 60's. But if that's not an option, it still can be done, just be quick, and not. Don't try under 40. It just won't work.

By the way, good for you keeping you MINI waxed even in the winter !

 

so no curing time's needed? that means i got to wash my pads
REAL fast.

 

griots is fine at 45 degrees. Bring it indoors somewhere (great if you own your own garage which I do not) and then let it sit for a few hours. 1 hour looked fine with my griot's paste wax. 3-4 hours later it looked the same. HOWEVER! When i removed it, it was candy coating of wax, moreso than ever before in this cold weather.

Synths take time to cure. Octane says drying in an hour in cold, curing in 24 hours above 55 degrees, more in colder obviously. Also note that he said to not get it wet until like a day and a half went by for me. Worked well on my mother's car when I did synth sealant.

BoS dries faster than my paste. I still would bring it indoors to dry in those temps. You could wind up getting a better shell like I did. I bring them indoors so that no outside objects get blow onto the surface before I rub off the wax. I also do this all at night. Sux.

 

the lowest i used BofS was about 50F to do the car.

when i spot waxed (after i had to scratch-x some light bird crap etching)
in the 40F's, i didn't seem like it was any different from when it was 70F+.
turned out real nice. etching wasn't deep at all so no issues.

 

Regardless of time, I still use the "swipe test" to determine whether it's ready to wipe off. There is no time table that says at 55 degrees it will take X number of minutes to cure. Just wait 30 minutes, do a swipe, and if not, wait another 30 minutes, etc... I like to put on the wax, the work on other parts of the car--cleaning glass, interior, tires, whatever I may have missed to bide the time.

 

^^ yah, humidity plays a big part too, so i usually just swipe too lately.

 

I think its a personal choice. If its snowing wait a day or so. Honestly if its not mid 70's out, then Its too cold for me. I guess Im spolied living in California.

 

oh shush up and go play with your little G35C.
(we're getting snow tonight, tomorrow, tues).

 

Why don't you go play with YOUR G35C!!!!

 

it hasnt snowed here yet actually.

people that live in CA are wusses.

I want to make this a tropical paradise so I guess I should vote for more govt officials who uphold the destroying of my environment! woot!
global warning = pwnz

 

Thats funny because I heard people that live in New York are wusses. hmmm... jk.

 

i already did this morning! blahahaha!!

 

Yeah, If i lived in CA I would be like partying a lot, keeping my car amazingly clean and like checking out all of the healthy looking people

 

My experience is if you let it sit too long, then you will need so much speed shine to get it off, that it wasn't worth doing to begin with.

 

Wonders if those would be men or women ... hmm.

 

huh... is that because you used too much? i only use very little
wax and just spread it far and evenly as possible.

the first time i tried BofS i used too much. it was a BIOTCH! to
remove. the 2nd time i used probably 1/3 or maybe even less.

it literally came off very easily. the only time i used distilled water
was where i accidentally overlapped too much. no elbow grease.

 

My experience with Gold Class (carnuba-based) and Prima Epic (synthetic), is that once it's cured it's very easy to get off. It's much harder in my experience trying to get it off when it's still "wet" - it just smears around then.

I'd consider Kenchan's words here about too much product. Prima, for example, recommends only using a few teaspoons of product for an ENTIRE CAR. Ideally, you should go for a very thin, EVEN coat.

The test Octane talked about (the "swipe test") is, in my experience, a wonderful indicator of a wax's cured status - if the surface looks chalky and a fingertip dragged thruogh the wax leaves a smooth, bright streak behind (i.e - does NOT smear) then you're ready to wipe off. If it's still greasy, keep waiting - patience is a virtue and will save you work in the long run. I do the test on every panel before I wipe the cured wax off, just in case some areas are more cured than others, and my removal is always super easy.

 

Good advice! I also call the "streak test" the "swipe test" but doesn't matter really.


Edit: OOOOh you edited it...lol. Good eye.

 

I use the Scotch test.

I wash, claybar then paste wax the car. Then I go inside and put some 12 year old or 7 year old (if that month wasnt that profitable) in a short glass with some ice. Once I am done with that and feel like going to the garage, the car is ready to be waxed.