Swissvax wax

aristotle25

Hi,

I bought some swissvax wax and the instructions say its best to leave the car in the sun for about 3 hours after you apply it and buff it down.

Given that we are not going to have much sun is it a waste of time using this? Or will it cure\dry properly without the sun beaming down on it?

Thanks

vectra

aristotle25 wrote: »

Hi,

I bought some swissvax wax and the instructions say its best to leave the car in the sun for about 3 hours after you apply it and buff it down.

Given that we are not going to have much sun is it a waste of time using this? Or will it cure\dry properly without the sun beaming down on it?

Thanks

If you can park the car indoors and let it cure I would say you are fine.
If not then it could possibly be too cold/damp for it to cure properly

aristotle25

Thanks, I might stick with the Meguiars so unless we get some nice weather this weekend.

The only indoors I have would be a fairly cold shed.

BanzaiBk

What wax did you get? I have BOS and when i do use it I leave it cure/buff it off in a garage. Just hand apply it and it should cure alright in the middle of the day, don't leave it stand out in the dewy time of day.

aristotle25

I got the Mirage one which itself was mental money. £135 for 250ml !!

I got it out of curiosty more than anything to see if its any better than Meguiars.

Yeah I read about applying it by hand. I have some foam applicators too so I am going to try that first. The only problem I have with leaving the car in the shed overnight is that the roof is really dusty for some reason so the car get covered it dust very quickly in there.

vectra

aristotle25 wrote: »

I got the Mirage one which itself was mental money. £135 for 250ml !!

I got it out of curiosty more than anything to see if its any better than Meguiars.

Yeah I read about applying it by hand. I have some foam applicators too so I am going to try that first. The only problem I have with leaving the car in the shed overnight is that the roof is really dusty for some reason so the car get covered it dust very quickly in there.

I wouldn't leave it overnight
I would attack early in the morning..Get it good and dry and indoors. Apply wax at no later than 11 A.M and leave it until around 2 P.M or so.Then remove it before the afternoon dew arrives

BanzaiBk

The only benefit I find with hand applying with any sw I've used is that it's just easier to work with, cures faster and buffs easier. It could all be in my head tho'. I'd normally just use a qd misted dodo finger mitt for thin layers.

aristotle25

BanzaiBk wrote: »

What wax did you get? I have BOS and when i do use it I leave it cure/buff it off in a garage. Just hand apply it and it should cure alright in the middle of the day, don't leave it stand out in the dewy time of day.

How many coats do you get out of that 250ml jar of wax?

Also, have you used the swissvax pre-wax paint cleaner?

mondeo

Please let us know if this €250 Jar of wax is any better then meguiars. I'm itching to know if your investment was a wise one:)

166man

mondeo wrote: »

Please let us know if this €250 Jar of wax is any better then meguiars. I'm itching to know if your investment was a wise one:)

Where you getting €250 euro?Last time I checked the currency 135 pounds would have been about €160. Regardless that's quite a large amount of money for some wax.

mondeo

166man wrote: »

Where you getting €250 euro?Last time I checked the currency 135 pounds would have been about €160. Regardless that's quite a large amount of money for some wax.

Haha sorry, I didn't realise I wrote that. Too many long nights!

€160 is still alot of banannas for a jar of wax no doubt about it.

Northern Monkey

I have best of show and apply it with a foam applictor without any issues. If the weather is cold you might be better applying by hand as it softens the wax a bit and leaves it easier to apply (you could also run your finger around the pot before dipping the sponge in it for a similar effect. I would generally just leave it on as long as I can before buffing off, but would rarely leave it three hours (if I'm in a rush I would apply it to the car and buff off the first area I applied it to straight after working round in the same direction as I applied)

Cleaner fluid makes a difference to the application as well, the wax seems to grip the paint better if cleaner fluid has been applied. As for how long a tub lasts... I had onyx before best of show and I got about 5 years out of the tub applying every 8 weeks or so (ended up giving the tub away recently and there was still a good few applications left in it.


This is my car after applying best of show to give you an idea of the gloss.

TomMc

I think some folk (not the OP) may be confusing leaving the wax for three hours between application and buffing off the residue. You apply and buff off within 10 minutes or thereabouts. In warmer climates they recommend leaving the waxed vehicle in the sun for three hours not only to improve optics and bonding, but because it also allows any (excess) wax to soften slightly. Any streaks left behind after the first buffing can then be removed more easily, especially in conjunction with a detailing spray. As part of a final (light) buffing. The level of preparation and cleanliness of the surface before application of any wax is the most important criteria of all.

TomMc

There you go - lots of bedtime reading!

The necessity of paintwork pre-treatment
It is essential to pre-treat paintwork with one of our Cleaner Fluid’s prior to the wax application as this is required in order to ensure that the paintwork surface is 100% clean and the wax may successfully adhere to the paintwork surface.

HOW TO USE UNIVERSAL AND SPECIAL WAXES

1. Apply Swissvax wax with a Swissvax Sponge-applicator (black) or with the palm of your hand to form an even wax film on the paintwork.

2. Let the wax work in for several minutes, but make sure that it does not dry.

3. Gently wipe the wax film with a Swissvax Wax Cloth (red) and then polish to a high gloss with a Swissvax MicroPolish microfibre cloth (blue). Keep turning the cloth to expose a clean surface.

4. Do not touch the paintwork for three hours and, at the next opportunity, position your automobile in thedirect sun after waxing. You will be able to observe how the lustre becomes deeper and more intense as the hours go by.

5. If necessary, buff the surface again quickly using a clean Swissvax Micro - Polish microfibre cloth (blue).


http://www.swissvaxhandbook.com/paint-work-handbook.htm

Northern Monkey

I was just about to post the same thing Tom!

Here is the pdf version:

http://www.swissvax.com/swissvax-handbook-download/swissvax-handbook.pdf

I know someone who did the Swissvax approved detailer course and he was saying the first thing they did on the course was apply wax to a car(think it was a ferrari) and then at the end of the course (think it was a 3-5 day course) they took the wax off again, so it will certainly do no harm to leave it longer than suggested (but might be harder to buff off).

BanzaiBk

aristotle25 wrote: »

How many coats do you get out of that 250ml jar of wax?

Also, have you used the swissvax pre-wax paint cleaner?

I used up the bottle I got in a gift set a few years back, I wouldn't call it a necessity but it's a good base alright for sw products obv An average 250ml pot lasts about 12 applications if you use thin coats. Back when I used waxes more often I used Lime Prime as a pre-wax cleanser and was always pleased with it.

TomMc wrote:

I think some folk (not the OP) may be confusing leaving the wax for three hours between application and buffing off the residue. You apply and buff off within 10 minutes or thereabouts.

The wax will take longer to cure in the current temps and with Swissvax waxes specifically you can leave them cure for long periods of time if you prefer given a safe environment. No point in attempting to buff off an uncured wax, waste of time applying it in the first place then.

As for if it is any better, prep is key no matter what wax you apply. There's a lot of snobbery in the area of high end waxes but I do admit BOS has a certain 'glow' about it on my NHBP paintwork. Of course the durability is absolutely rubbish but it's such a dream to apply/buff/admire. You'll get longer lasting protection out of a tin of Collie but it's not as e-penis boosting as some SW :pac:

TomMc

BanzaiBk wrote: »

The wax will take longer to cure in the current temps and with Swissvax waxes specifically you can leave them cure for long periods of time if you prefer given a safe environment. No point in attempting to buff off an uncured wax, waste of time applying it in the first place then.

It is important to choose your words carefully or people can get the wrong idea altogether. Most paste waxes are applied and removed within 10-15 minutes of application. Otherwise the excess residues can become more difficult to remove afterwards. That is why manufacturers will generally recommend that their waxes are buffed before they dry out fully. Although a detailing spray is handy for the removal of more stubborn residues. Most people will not apply a wax in a highly controlled environment (but outdoors), and quite a few will usually apply waxes too thick. Excess wax is wastage and the more there is, the harder it usually is to remove. Especially if residue is left to dry in direct sunshine. Waxes dry as hard as a brick!

Drying and curing are not the same. Two completely different things. A wax will dry out in minutes (depending on temperatures, humidity etc) but curing takes 24 hours plus. So when you remove the excess wax residue (after a few minutes), the underlying wax layer on paint will continue to cure over time (many hours). Most boutique or beauty waxes are best applied using a wipe on, wipe off approach with only a narrow time delay. Removing the excess sooner rather than later doesn't defeat the purpose as there will always be a layer of wax left behind. The thinner the better. It is far better to layer two or three extremely thin coats (days apart) than one thick one.

BanzaiBk

As I said I am specifically referring to Swissvax Waxes.

aristotle25

Thanks for all the info.

I have been reading the swissvax manuals as well so its beginning to make sense on the approach. Plus I have learned that paint prep (clay and pre-wax cleaner) is key as has been said.

Swissvax say to do the pre-wax clean twice a year and wax every 3 months. Although I will be waxing the car a bit more often than that.

aristotle25

Update:

I spent a good few hours at the weekend on the car. Wash, Clay and then I used a swissvax pre wax cleaner.

The idea was to get the paintwork as clean as possible before applying the wax.

So its incredibly easy to apply the swissvax wax. I used a foam applicator and you just apply the wax in a very thin layer. I only used about 3cm sq wax for the entire car (5 series).

Its a 250ml pot of wax so you would expect the pot to last for a very long time. At this rate I will get 50+ coats from the pot.

Initially I didn think much of the results but you need to let the car sit in the sun for 3 hours (thankfully actually had a bit of sun yesterday) for it to cure.

The end result compared to say Meguiars Wax is a deeper, thicker gloss compared to Meguiars more crisp, thinner type of finish.

I'll see how durable it is over next few weeks.