I just had my truck repainted and was told to hand wash it only for the first 90 days then apply a wax. Can anyone give me a recommendation on a good "First Time" post re-painting wax to use? Much appreciated.

 

Here are my recommendations...
Megs, etc. are not bad products but they just don't hold up or work as well as commercial/professional grade products (that actual cost the same or less). You have to remember, everyone uses the same substances to formulate their products, what is different is the purity/concentration & price.....typical retail names are much more expensive per ounce than commercial lines.

1. The absolute best washing device known to man is a long boar hair brush....yeah it's stiff when dry but when wet, it is softer than any cotton towel you could find & because of the tips only touching the paint, the swirl marks are almost 100% eliminated. Available at griots garage or Erie Brush & Manufacturing Corp, 860 W. Fletcher, Chicago (but you need to have a company name to purchase, no individual sales) .

The next best option, 100% cotton diaper (Babies r' us has em- about $20 for a bag). Doubled or tripled up, wash them 2-3 times with fabric softener before using them for washing & drying. For washing, without contact dirt on the vehicle, use the open butt of a garden hose, on low to apply water just ahead of the wash diaper....it almost makes the towel float and the remaining dirt float off the paint without touching.

2. Soap...I recommend: No7 Car Wash Concentrate
Available at any True Value Hardware; Mfg by RainDance/ArmorAll Corp. It has been around for 40+ years, is a powder, very inexpensive and us about 1 tablespoon per 3 gallons. It also has anti-water spotting agents which until you try it the first time, you would not believe the advantage of drying a black car.

3. General paint maintenance (you won't need this for a new paint job...but for the future)
General paint cleaning (if required) - use a 50/50 mix of denatured alcohol & water (denatured is available at any hardware store & is oil free). It will remove any wax/polish and most all environmental contamination & ensure you are starting with a very clean surface.

For specific swirl mark issues I use BAF/Pro Car Care Beauty Products P21 Swirl Eliminator & Polish- although for 30 years I used 3M products specifically, I have not been as pleased with the quality of 3M’s hand glaze for the past few years. I typically do not like "combination" type products but P21 is very, very impressive & effective from end result, ease of use & overall effectiveness.

Wax/polish...

The absolute best ($ for $) IMHO is "Satin Cream" (for dark colors), it is made by BAF & distributed through Pro Car Care products. It is very easy to work with either by hand, orbital or buffer. It has the same acrylic hardener as the high dollar paint sealants but it has 30% German imported carnauba....no, your arm will not fall off putting it on or taking it off & it has a very mild polish in it as well. Even parking the vehicle outside, the MFG gives a 6 months warranty before another application is required. I use this personally on my toys & daily drivers (which include a 1997 black Cougar sport) and all I can tell you are not even bugs like to stick to the paint- most of the time when water is applied they just float off- bird poop is just as easy. No smeary look either- very clean clear deep look. On my toys, I give them a fresh coat about every 2 years (literally, even for a show), my daily drivers (I have one that sits outside), I apply to the entire vehicle every 6 months, and do the hood, roof and trunk every 3 months (probably overkill, but I know it is well protected from the elements including industrial fallout).

For light colored cars I use Profection Paint Sealant (P-73-Q)…it is the same product as “Satin Crème” but without the carnauba….it brings up a much higher shine which on light colored cars looks better IMHO (although it has less depth of shine that carnauba gives) and it has a much higher level of polish in it.….I also use this on all my chrome, stainless, etc…it not only shines it up like new but it is sealed from the elements as well……it works very nice on the poly carbonate headlamp lenses as well- cleaning up the lighter haze that happens over time.
BAF Industries 1910 S. Yale Street Santa Ana, CA 92704 800-437-9893

An excellent alternate product is 3M Perfect It Show Car Liquid Wax- a silicone wax/polish but excellent results as well, just maybe about 90% of the quality of the satin cream....available at NAPA auto parts, or online from 3M or most autobody supply stores have it as well.

These are all oem paint that we have owned since new....



The haze you see on the nose is clear bra....

 

AWESOME info...Thank You very much!!

 

For newly painted cars or panel. I suggest not to wax or seal it for at least 90 days. To add some protection just wash it with a dish washing liquid soap and apply some polishing compound. The reason for this is that the fresh paint needs to breath in order to totally cure. Wax and sealers will prevent this. If you really want to add some better protection try Optimum car wax. Its fresh paint safe.

 

Whoooaaa...I was told dish washing soap is THE LAST THING you wash an auto with due to the detergents will actually draw the petroleum's out of the paint. The body shop said ONLY soap meant for car washing only. (?)

 

I use much of the Pro Car products mentioned along with this car wash soap

PRO Car Beauty Products: C-60 SUPER CAR WASH LIQUID

The only time I use dish washing detergent is when I am starting to prep a panel prior to sanding/bodywork and then before paint. At that time I break out my bottle of Dawn Liquid.

 

Agree!!!!!!!!! FYI- it is important to use a dishsoap that does not have chlorine in it...Dawn is a good one to use...ensures all oil/grease, etc are gone.

 

In the old says (1980's and back) - yes, definitely needed to wait for 90 days to allow off-gassing, but today, you have to remember, even with the re-paints, the cars are polished & waxed prior to customer delivery.....today, basically as soon as they come out of the booth, you can polish it, wet-sand, etc...of course that's assuming it was cured in a paint booth!

 

I would agree with wet sanding and polishing, but not sealing nor waxing even though its oven baked.

 

Agree!!!! Best to let fresh paint sit but, sometimes it's a risk mgt thing....

 

That is true Beechkid. Well it is all because of cost and demand thingy.

 

I agree on staying away from dish soap unless it is pre-paint. A good alternative if you don't have a actual auto soap is baby shampoo. It cleans well and you can pour it in a babies eyes so it must be gentle. And while on the infant product list, baby wipes can even remove road tar....go figure..