1st Official Waxing of our New 21C

[WillyB]

Our 21C is now 6 months new and it's time for its 1st Official Waxing.

Knowing how much I hate the dreaded "Wax On / Wax Off" effort I purchased this product to make my life easier. FYI, next week or the next it is on sale for $20 off. I will go back and get the credit then.
https://www.harborfreight.com/75-amp...her-56367.html

I will be using Maguiar's Flagship Premium Marine Wax based of suggestions here. But since I didn't want to experiment on our new 21C I decided to wax my black 2012 Honda Accord Coup. It's my work car with 130K miles of sun and road rash so I wasn't worried about making any mistakes on it. I pulled out my bottle of Mother's Brazilian Carnauba Liquid Wax and proceeded with the test.

Findings on the test:
** Fast
** Super easy
** Very very little effort
** No sore shoulder this morning
** Smooth shiny black car
** Should have bought one of these "years" ago

[Suregrip391]

Great to hear! I too was thinking of buying one of these. I just did not have any experience so scratching was always on my mind. Which pads did you use?

[Mike G]

A dozen years ago, Red Max (later re-named Zep) floor wax was all the rage on the fiberglass rv forum. I used it on my Burro before I sold it, and the shine was fabulous... plus no buffing was needed. I wonder why that stuff fell out of favor? It was so much easier to use than the vehicle waxes and people said it lasted for a good 2 to 3 years at least. Anyone besides me remember that stuff?

[Centex]

Originally Posted by Suregrip391

Great to hear! I too was thinking of buying one of these. I just did not have any experience so scratching was always on my mind. Which pads did you use?

Ditto, hoping WillyB comes back with more info on the pads.

Originally Posted by Mike G

.... Anyone besides me remember that stuff?

IIRC member Perry_Butler was a fan of ZEP on his (now gone) 5.0, maybe contact him to see if he has any updated thoughts.

[SageRpod]

I almost pulled the trigger on that Harbor Freight polisher and decided to go with this one for portability and ability to use with one hand. Plus I was already switching over my cordless tool collection to Baeur anyway.

https://www.harborfreight.com/20v-co...nly-56721.html

It worked great when we restored the finish on our Rpod. Used Maguires Gel Coat restorer followed by Maguires Mirror Glaze. We used the basic terry pads with no issues. We'll probably go with Mirror Glaze on the Escape in the next few weeks when it's are for its first wax.

[occer]

I would be hesitant to use the heavy duty polisher on a new vehicle. It’s a great tool for cutting through older vehicle paint with oxidized paint or fresh paint to remove orange peel.

But it is a little to heavy duty for a new vehicle.
I prefer this one for new vehicles.
https://www.harborfreight.com/07-amp...her-69487.html

I also like this polish for quick shines.
https://us.amazon.com/Eagle-One-E301.../dp/B07LGY5Q1H

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by Mike G

A dozen years ago, Red Max (later re-named Zep) floor wax was all the rage on the fiberglass rv forum. I used it on my Burro before I sold it, and the shine was fabulous... plus no buffing was needed. I wonder why that stuff fell out of favor? It was so much easier to use than the vehicle waxes and people said it lasted for a good 2 to 3 years at least. Anyone besides me remember that stuff?

Yes, I remember when Zep was the rage for polishing.....I wonder why it no longer is?

[JohnK]

Originally Posted by WillyB

Our 21C is now 6 months new and it's time for its 1st Official Waxing.

Knowing how much I hate the dreaded "Wax On / Wax Off" effort I purchased this product to make my life easier. FYI, next week or the next it is on sale for $20 off. I will go back and get the credit then.
https://www.harborfreight.com/75-amp...her-56367.html

I will be using Maguiar's Flagship Premium Marine Wax based of suggestions here. But since I didn't want to experiment on our new 21C I decided to wax my black 2012 Honda Accord Coup. It's my work car with 130K miles of sun and road rash so I wasn't worried about making any mistakes on it. I pulled out my bottle of Mother's Brazilian Carnauba Liquid Wax and proceeded with the test.

Findings on the test:
** Fast
** Super easy
** Very very little effort
** No sore shoulder this morning
** Smooth shiny black car
** Should have bought one of these "years" ago

Our 2020 already has two coats of the Flagship. Good stuff. I apply by hand and polish with an old T-shirt and a cheap random orbital polisher from Walmart. A good supply of Stella doesn't hurt either.

Ahem, WillyB, did you polish the roof as well?

John

[WillyB]

Originally Posted by Suregrip391

Great to hear! I too was thinking of buying one of these. I just did not have any experience so scratching was always on my mind. Which pads did you use?

I used the ultra fine on the Escape and the Fine on my car.

I did not do the roof today but when I do I will use the Medium on the roof and then fine and ultra fine. They don't polish the roof at Escape.

it was very easy to do. But because of needing to use a ladder for the upper sections I would recommend breaking it up over a day or so. That way you don't rush to finish at the end.

Our Escape is now very smooth and shiny.

[WillyB]

Here are some after photos.

No Stellas today but I would have been done much sooner had my neighbor not stopped by with a "bunch" of Natties in cans on ice.

She's washed, wax, de-winterized and ready for our next adventure.

[oldwave]

Originally Posted by WillyB

Here are some after photos.

No Stellas today but I would have been done much sooner had my neighbor not stopped by with a "bunch" of Natties in cans on ice.

She's washed, wax, de-winterized and ready for our next adventure.

Nice
I had y 21 for 4.5 years and used that brand wax twice a year. When I sold it in2021 the gel coats looked new

[Suregrip391]

WillyB, how well did those harbor freight pads hold up? Reading the reviews online, some say they only lasted a very short time….

[WillyB]

Originally Posted by Suregrip391

WillyB, how well did those harbor freight pads hold up? Reading the reviews online, some say they only lasted a very short time….

So far so good.

I only used the Fine Pad once on my car as the paint was in dire needed of a waxing and only once with the Ultra Find Pad on the Escape. I did run the Ultra Fine Pad over one of the latches and put a couple of scores in the face on the pad. But all in all both seem to be holding up well.

These are the Bauer brand pads.

[Telescopist]

Originally Posted by WillyB

So far so good.

I only used the Fine Pad once on my car as the paint was in dire needed of a waxing and only once with the Ultra Find Pad on the Escape. I did run the Ultra Fine Pad over one of the latches and put a couple of scores in the face on the pad. But all in all both seem to be holding up well.

These are the Bauer brand pads.

I'd like to weigh in here. You don't really need to use a random orbital machine for waxing. Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax is a wipe on wipe off product. Some people prefer to use Mequiar's marine wax version. I suspect they are made in the same vat. I use my random orbital machine if I have to get aggressive. Aggressive like in using a compound in order to deal with oxidation, bugs, crap from trees, and road stuff. I pick pads based on the need. You may already know all of this so please don't consider it a lecture. I learned a few tricks watching some YouTube vids while smoking a cigar and drinking a beer. Here are a few of my favorite tutorials.

Paint Polishing Tutorial for Beginners

When to Polish vs Compound vs Wetsand

HOW TO POLISH YOUR CAR: For Beginners & Enthusiasts (Step by Step)

I decided to hang with the Mequiar family of stuff. Mothers is great too.

What about pads. As you probably know already, pads are color coded. With the caveat that various manufacturers have not come to a universal agreement about how the colors play out. Generally speaking,
1. Yellow / Orange Heavy Cut pad suitable for removing oxidation coating and moderate to light scratches.
2. Blue For Medium Cut Blue polishing pad for removing sun abuse and swirl mask.
3. White/Black For Light Cut or Finish Polish White/Black pad for finishing and waxing.
My source for pads.

I buy my micro fiber towels at Harbor Freight. Great prices. I use them exclusively during the wax phase.

[WillyB]

I hyperextended both shoulders 20+ years ago and I ran over my right shoulder with my old F150 about 10 years ago. Yep, that happened! So my shoulders no longer like to through curve balls, wax on/wax off or even put on a shirt most days.

Before winter I did a quick spray wax job on the 21C and I couldn't lift my arms for 3 days.

The Random Orbital Polisher will only be used for waxing to save my shoulders and I wanted the length of the unit of this unit for the added reach for the roof.

This morning after waxing my car on Friday and the Escape on Saturday my shoulders are it tip top shape.

[WillyB]

Originally Posted by Telescopist

I learned a few tricks watching some YouTube vids while smoking a cigar and drinking a beer.

What's the beer of choice in Lancaster?

[Perry Butler]

Originally Posted by Mike G

A dozen years ago, Red Max (later re-named Zep) floor wax was all the rage on the fiberglass rv forum. I used it on my Burro before I sold it, and the shine was fabulous... plus no buffing was needed. I wonder why that stuff fell out of favor? It was so much easier to use than the vehicle waxes and people said it lasted for a good 2 to 3 years at least. Anyone besides me remember that stuff?

Still use Zep. Won’t waste my time with Meguiars or any other standard wax, especially those requiring buffing. I have quite a few Meguiars products sitting on a shelf that I should sell.

Enjoy,

Perry

[Chasing Trials]

Originally Posted by occer

I would be hesitant to use the heavy duty polisher on a new vehicle. It’s a great tool for cutting through older vehicle paint with oxidized paint or fresh paint to remove orange peel.

But it is a little to heavy duty for a new vehicle.
I prefer this one for new vehicles.
https://www.harborfreight.com/07-amp...her-69487.html

I also like this polish for quick shines.
https://us.amazon.com/Eagle-One-E301.../dp/B07LGY5Q1H

Sounds a little better to use up on the roof too. I'll have to try it, & buff out a pretty bad rub done to my new to me real cream puff Prius V. Some old lady backing out did NOT look to her left, & started turning, only had the car 10 days!

[Telescopist]

Originally Posted by WillyB

What's the beer of choice in Lancaster?

Ask a dozen people you'll get a dozen different answers. That and some of them won't remember after their 8th beer or so.

Yuengling used to be brewed here. The claim is that its the oldest brewery in the US of A. 1828. I don't care for it but its on tap in every pub in town to be sure.

[Telescopist]

Originally Posted by Perry Butler

Still use Zep. Won’t waste my time with Meguiars or any other standard wax, especially those requiring buffing. I have quite a few Meguiars products sitting on a shelf that I should sell.
Perry

One of things that makes the world go round are preferences and choices.