The days of applying Carnauba wax onto lacquer car paint is long gone. However, even when it comes to the clear coat era of car maintenance, wax still has its place. It specifically protects the clear coat that has allowed motorists to merely wash their cars and still end up with a glossy vehicle without the need for wax. With that said, how should you go about applying wax? By hand or by machine?
Applying Wax by Hand
- Apply Wax Through Rags: After washing your car and completely drying it off with rags or microfiber towels, then you can apply wax like KevianClean Quick Wax. Just put a thin layer of it instead of caking it in order to get the best possible results.
- Buff Away Haze with Microfiber: Microfiber towels make it easy to buff the haze left by your wax in order to reveal the shine underneath. Its tiny, manmade fibers polish the paint as you buff by hand. This is because these towels have the finest threads on them that are literally finer than silk and super-absorbent to boot.
- Use Only a Quality Microfiber Towel: Get a good microfiber towel like KevianClean Microfiber Towel in order to get a stunning shine and complete removal of wax residue. A good microfiber towel should have static-charged woven fibers that grab the wax right off so there's less dusting for you to do afterwards. It should also net shed lint at all.
Applying Wax by Machine
- Find a Foam Finishing Pad for Your Dual Action Polisher: You should find a soft and absorbent pad you can use in tandem with your dual action polisher or the machine you'll be using to wax your car automatically rather than manually. Use a microfiber pad or terry cloth bonnet over a lambswool cushioning pad for buffing.
- Things of Note about Paste Wax: If you're using wax paste, you should spread it onto your pad like buttering toast. Turn the wax jar upside down and slide the wax into a sandwich bag. Afterwards, rub it onto the pad. You can also use a clean putty knife. Afterwards, just apply the wax through your polisher.
- Things of Note about Liquid Wax: If you're using sealant or liquid wax, press the polisher to the paint then spread the wax over the panel before turning your device on. This will mitigate splatter. You should also dispense three three-inch wax lines around the pad edge.
- Using the Dual Action Polisher: Set your polisher to 3, which is the maximum speed for such devices. Check your wax product's label for specific instructions, but usually you need to apply the wax with your fastest polisher speed. Make sure your panels are evenly covered. Turn off the machine before lifting it off the paint.