Cleaning & DetailingA lot of Ford addicts are obsessed with the way their car look and how it stands out from other vehicles on the road. Cleaning and detailing go a long way to get your car looking top notch. Share you product experiences and let us know your recommendations.
Wax acts like a protectant. You should always wax last with what ever your doing.
Exactly. The polish is an ultra-light abrasive sometimes suspended in an oil. This is meant to remove the lightest amount of oxidation on the surface of the paint, also to restore oils to the paint that may have dried over time. Polish is what actually makes it shiny. Wax gives the shine depth and protection.
Waxing alone is fine, but polishing alone leaves your paint shiny but unprotected.
If it's a show car or classic that is garage kept, then a good polish is the way to go.
If it's a daily driver or a vehicle that is parked outside and exposed to the elements, then you definitely want to go with wax.
If the paint has been neglected, then the proper cleaning process would be:
1. wash
2. clay bar
3. polish( good polishing or rubbing compound can be used here, but be careful as some polishing and rubbing compounds can scratch modern clear coat paints)
4. wax
Usually I just wash my truck. No fancy polishes or wax. I had a bad experience with my 88 Ranger.
I had NEVER waxed or polished the truck, just used a good cleaner and elbow grease. Well, I decided after 10 years to give it a polish and wax. Within the year the clear coat failed and I ended up with a semi-gloss truck. From there the paint failed very quickly. All I can gather is the polish, which was supposed to be for a clear coat finish, damaged the clear coat (I had followed the instructions).
The 89 F-150 which I own now, has a Maaco $499 paint job (actually $1200 after all the "extras" ) on it, and I'm never going to wax or polish it. It looks great with just soap and water.
10 years and no wash and wax! I am guessing the clear coat was damaged already during the 10 years of no protection.
Polish is a ultra fine abrasive that "polishes" out the finish and that probably loosened up some clear coat and the wax sealed in any contaminants on the paint since it was neglected and not protected. I am guessing when you were done your polishing cloth was the same color as your vehicle?
Wax is proven to protect the paint and I cant see why anyone would spend so much on a paint job and never want to protect it, but hey it is your vehicle.
I have seen 30+ year old vehicles with original paint that have been protected by wax since new, these cars would have failed and or cracked paint if not protected.
__________________
Mark V
Look for me on the PS3 network, I am usually playing Uncharted 2 demo right now. My PS3 name is delorean6683
Mark v is exactly right! Most likely the reason that the clearcoat failed on your old Ranger is because it went so long without being waxed. I would strongly recommend waxing your 89 F150, especially since you just invested all of that money into a new paint job. You don't really need any fancy polishes or anything, some basic Turtle Wax or Meguiars paste wax will do the job. No matter how much you wash the truck, the paint job will not hold up to the elements unless you keep a good coat of wax on it.
Polish neglected paint and then wax. Polishing paint that is already clean and blemish free is not needed and remember when you polish you remove a fine layer of your paint. If you want the best, at least the best that I've found try Zaino. It's not cheap, but it is worth it.
Ok, doing the polish and then the wax seems like a lot of effort, obviously something one does to show off the car. Does the type of paint make a difference, ie base coat/clear coat, enamel, metallic. I have a metallic copper on my F350, do I really need to do the three step to make it pop?
__________________
2008 Ranger XLT
2005 F350 King Ranch
1991 F250
1989 Ranger (deceased, totaled by a stranger)
1978 F150 Ranger Lariat
1972 Courier (deceased, old age)
1970 C15 Chevy (deceased, old age)
1970 442 (sold)
1948 CJ 2A (still kicking)
I've always went along with what Mark, and a few other posters that followed him said here. Polish, which is an abrasive, gets down to the paint to bring it back, and therefore great for removing scuffs and such that have not gone down to the bare metal. Wax comes after the polish and gives this exposed paint protection along with a shine most polishes cannot achieve. A good job, depending on the size of your car, will take a couple of hours at least.
I read somewhere recently that peanut butter, yes peanut butter, is supposedly good for removing that wax that gets caught in the molding and emblems and such. Anyone know if this is true.
Shopping for new Ford can be a stressful experience especially if you don't have the right information. Our new car research center at CarEverything.com can help relieve this stress and bring the joy back to new car buying!
The Car Blog, or TCB for those who are acronymically inclined, is alive because some of today's top Web designers needed a place to drool and bitch about their motor vehicle obsessions.
Read the auto blog at Automotive.com to get the latest news and opinions, view the newest concept cars, and join discussions with auto experts from around the world.
) on it, and I'm never going to wax or polish it. It looks great with just soap and water.
Hybrid Mode
