hey
some people have told me that it is bad to wax a car too much
i have been used turtle wax paste wax and wax my truck about every 2 months, i have also double waxed it sometimes on my hood and roof... is this bad???(i figured its only bad if u use a wax with compound to take off oxidation)

also is it bad to use polish to much?? i have only used it once on my 2003 f150

thanks in advance

John

 

In my opinion, you can wax too much because you can only achieve so much 'thickness' on the surface of your paint. Beyond that, you're simply removing some of the wax that was there prior to you applying another coat... and another. It's what many call 'diminishing returns'. In short, you'll put a coat on, and then another, and then another... the third or fourth coat may be removing the second and third respectively. You can't layer forever.

Over polishing is a problem (I'm assuming what you're using is slightly abrasive or chemically agressive). Only polish when you have a need for it. Some examples would be some oxidation, swirls, scratches, etc.

When you polish with a product that is slightly agressive, you remove clear-coat in order to achieve a more optically precise surface. Obviously, you only have a thin coat of it there in the first place and thus, you should maintain it as much as possible.

RP

 

If you wax every two months, then there is nothing to worry about. You can wax monthly if you want. If you're using a wax with no abrasives, then you could even wax weekly if you want.

The only thing you'd need to worry about is if you were compounding your vehicle often. You can eventually wear through the clear coat.

Even using a polish regularly (say every 3 months) by hand won't take off paint too fast and will help control cobweb marks and oxidation.

 

Interesting that we're on opposite ends of the spectrum here Intel. I was always taught and have always read that you can only accumulate so much surficial coating (mil) before it either simply doesn't adhere or removes the subsequent layer.

With your technique, one could wax until they are blue in the face and actually, theoretically, increase the size of their vehicle (make it larger by applying wax). I know that sounds silly and wouldn't happen considering the thickness of a typical coating of wax but, there has to be a point where you simply get no return. Right?

This is that whole 'diminishing returns' argument I guess.

RP

 

Johns03f150,

Frequenty waxings with a non-abraisve wax, or sealant is not a "bad" thing................... meaning it won't hurt the paint. As for the benefits, or lack of benefits from frequent waxings........... I'll let RP and Intel debate that one........... I'm staying out of it.

Now, as for frequent polishing (depending on what you mean by frequent)............... that can be a bad thing, depending on the "frequency", the "abrasiveness" of the product, and the manner in which they are applied (by hand, PC, or rotary).

Personally, I give my vehicles a good cleaning/polishing with the rotary, and PC in the spring, and then maybe one light polishing during the detailing season......... usually just to clean the surface, remove some very light swirls, and bring back some lost gloss. Of course, our detailing season up here is only 7 or 8 months long. If I lived where the detailing season was longer, I might add another light polishing to my yearly schedule.

To be honest, I'm more of an advocate of using the correct washing/drying techniques, tools, and products to mininze the need for frequent polishing. If you use the best car wash soap, mitts, and towels, and combine that with the correct washing/drying techniques you'll find that you don't need to do very frequent/severe polishing.

Just my 2 cents.

 

RP, that wasn't my point. It was that he doesn't need to worry about waxing a vehicle too much. As long as he's using a non-abrasive wax, there isn't a problem.

And with a pure carnauba waxing once a month for a truck that lives outside wouldn't be too much.

 

thanks for all the help
ive only polished it once with eagle one car polish and dont really plan on doin it again b/c i basically got the same turn out with just waxing it instead of polishing and then waxing it

i live in florida so and my truck is outside, so the heat and everthing combines usually causes my wax to last about a month or two i would guess, so then i just wax it again w/ turtle wax

just wanted to make sure that it doesnt harm my truck using turtle wax carnauba... im not to worried bout layering it.. as the heat and keeping it outdoors never really lets me get too many layers on it

i appreciate all the help

JOHN

 

Gotcha Intel. My misunderstanding.

Another 'dumb' question here... does Turtle make a pure carnauba?

 

No clue about turtle wax. I don't look at their products at all.

I'm somewhat assuming that in their consumer line they don't have a pure carnauba.

 

They have products that they claim have pure carnauba in them. Their newest product is touted as a "pure carnauba wax".