What Type of Wax After Buffing Original Paint?

Hi all. I finally took the plunge and wet sanded & buffed the original paint on my '47 Chevy. My goal was to get it to shine a little better and knock off some of the 'touchup' spots from years ago. There were also a few rust pock marks that I sanded down too.

Now that it's done, I don't want to have it oxidize (like my O/T 70's truck did 2 weeks after I buffed & waxed it with Meguiar's Gold Class). So, what kind of wax do you guys use to protect original paint? I've heard straight carnuba, and I've also heard stay away from polymer stuff. Does lacquer require different wax / protectant / maintnenance? Thanks for whatever advice anyone has.

Its only my second lacquer car so I'm learning how to work this stuff. I used 2000 grit 3M paper and then 3M Perfect-It compound on a crappy orbital buffer and followed it up with hand buffing in a few spots.

 

It's 1947 paint. Use a 1947 wax. Johnson's Paste Wax.

Bob

 

I use nothing but Meguiar's Tech Wax 2.0 on all my vehicles.

 

Carnuba wax. Its work but worth it.

 

Wizard Sealant will out last any wax by 2-3 months. Follow the instructions

 

Apply a good quality polish before you wax it. Same procedure as waxing. You will be stunned at the difference you will see in the paint by polishing it first. The wax will protect that polished surface. I've used that Meguiar's Tech wax (as mentioned) with great results, and I've used carnauba (as mentioned) also, but found it takes more elbow grease to remove the carnauba....

 

Thanks for the input everyone. I will likely try some hand glaze and probably try carnuba. Is it just harder to remove? Should I ditch the orbital and do that step by hand?

 

We use Nu Finish on our modern OT vehicles, works great -- but we haven't tried it on an old car.
It contains silicone so if you don't want that, don't use it... read the FAQ.
http://nufinish.com/products/car-polish

 

About 8 years ago I bought this 59 Ford from the origional owner. It had 68K on the clock and was all factory paint. It wasn't pretty but it was solid. I took it to a local detail guy everyone was raving about when it comes to Old Factory paint. He had it 2 days and when I went to pick it up it looked like it had been color sanded and clear coated. I was Blown away! I asked him what all he did to get that Shine. He said he just took off all the old build up and used Monkey Spit and a Hand Job. Then he handed me a can of Pink Carnauba #502 Beauty Shine car care. Then said follow the directions and it will look like this for ever. He was right.
The Wizzard

 

Ed
Thanks for the tip. I wasn't aware that polishing first would make much difference. I am going to try it on an old paint job I was thinking of trying to save. I like old paint.

 

I used zymol by hand on my '54 chevy original paint. It came out great and my forearms looked like popeye's when I was done!!

 

Glazes will give an even greater depth. But must be topped with sealant or wax to hold out the elements. Really, multiple coats of both are best. If your chrome and stainless are cleaned and polished out, top them too with wax or sealant. The bugs will not stick as easily.

 

Foam pad and slow speeds for the glazes and sealant/wax steps. To be sure you will have plenty of hand work. Bury the glass with coats of RainX between all this other rubbing.

 

Wow, she sure looks purty. I love that cream / white combo. Glad you could save it and get some shine back. I'll have to check into that 502 stuff. Looks like you can get a tin of it for $16.99 at The Detail Shoppe. The carnauba stuff I see locally is all Mother's Carnuba 'cleaner wax' or other name brand stuff with other BS in it. This looks like 100% straight wax. That's what I'd want, right? Cleaner wax would have a polish of some sort in it? Abrasive?

 

Yes, 502 is strait wax nothing added. One thing he did not share with me was how he removed all the old build up. Even my S.S. trim looked like new and the Alum. grill looked polished. I've been using the 502 on it all and so far so good. Sad to say this car will soon be for sale. The good part is I don't need to send it back for detail to have it look grate.
The Wizzard

 

I went to a daylong workshop at Meguiars some time ago and learned a lot about waxes and their properties. I posed the question about carnuba vs polymer and the guy said that it was up to the individual as to which suited their tastes better. Carnuba has long been the choice for those who want a deep shine and don't mind the extra work to put it on and doing it more often. Personally I like the NXT 2.0 product...very deep shine, durable, and it lasts at least twice as long as carnuba. Follow the directions and you will have a job that you can be proud of...

 

Charlie- thanks for the heads up. I tried the NXT spray wax (wife got it for a gift a while back) and it didn't seem too great when I used it on her green Jeep. But it was a spray-on not the liquid. Maybe that's better.

 

Monkey Spit and a Hand Job?

I think I met those two girls at a truck stop in Jersey....

 

As previously stated, I also polish my paint after cutting it, and then I use a wax over the polish.
The idea ( how I was taught ) is that you "cut" the paint, ( opening the pores ) which removes all the oxidation.

The polish shines up the paint more because it is a Micro abrasive, making your "cutting" abrasions less noticeable.

The wax Closes the pores and locks in the shine not allowing the outside to get in that causes oxidation and break down of paint.

Not sure how much is true, but it made sense to me.
The polish I use is Meguiars Scratch X, which can be purchased at any auto store. Works great and smells good also..

 

I have not tried the spray format so I can't comment on that product. What I can say is that these polymers use a different application technique than most of us are used to. Read the instructions carefully, the job will go much easier and the results will be fantastic. Another bit of trivia...I asked the rep about the difference between the NXT and the NXT 2.0, seemed like a short period of time between the release of version 2. He told me that the origianl formulation did not have the ingredient that causes water to bead up...most of us rate the effectiveness of a wax by how water beads up so they had to add this ingredient to "manage perceptions" of the user. He said that there is no real difference between the two other than that. One other thing I asked was what was the difference between the professional product line (anything with "Mirror Glaze" in the name) and the consumer line. In the case of the NXT 2.0 he said that this product was virtually the same as the Mirror Glaze 21 professional product with the exception of the name...NXT is called a "wax" and MG 21 is called a polymer sealant, and the fact that the professional grade has an ingredient that makes it work better with machine application. Interesting note about the name...they said that if they correctly called the NXT 2.0 a "sealant" that people wouldn't buy it because most people want a "wax". Gotta love the marketing guys...

 

I do paint correction and detailing as a side business and I'd love to give you the best advice possible, but it's tough to make a recommendation without seeing the paint in person. There are a ton of great products out there, even on the shelves of Autozone. Most of what we use are specialty boutique products, because that's what my customers expect, however I often use over the counter stuff because it works well and offers the best value. The thing to remember is that the wax won't have much to do with the final appearance. The shine and purity of the finish all comes from the correction and polishing work. From what I can see in the pictures, you've done a nice job. If you think that it need no other work, just protection, then, and only then, are you ready for wax. The Meguiars Tech wax is a great product and not too much of a 'plastic' appearance for a synthetic sealant. If the car is staying inside most of the time, I would recommend a good quality carnauba wax such as S100 which is available at most motorcycle shops for about $16, which is half the price of the identical P21S.

 

Most of the "good" carnuba waxes are pretty similar. Carnuba wax (which is, in natural form, hard as a brick!) dissolved in a solvent, with some oils and color and scent added.
The good ones are paste...think about it...the more "liquid" it is, the less wax you are buying and putting on your car. Just buy ones without any polishes, or cleaners, they are one step things for people who clean their cars once a year.
Personally, I like Zymol, but also use Pinnacle, and S-100. But I've seen the nicest wax jobs done buy guys who use "Butcher's Wax"...it's made for waxing bowling alleys!

 

On buffing a foam pad wont work.Use heavy duty compound ,Not the 3 m stuff ,Thats for new stuff ,,,Old fashioned wool pad and compound and I would use the caranuba,,,,

 

that car looks good.!i don't know what product to use,but i agree with the guy that said,don't wax it till you'sure it's really ready.i have a couple black cars[37 chevy,38 lasalle]that had been neglected for a long time.When i buffed them,it didn't get all the way to the best looking,still dirty looking.So i waited and buffed a couple more times,then wax.Now every time that we clean them they just get better.We used carnuba.

 

What a great looking Chevy. You have had a lot of confusing advise, so I will suggest just keeping after it and wiping it down daily if possible. Enjoy that sweet cruzer! ~sololobo~

 

This is not correct at all. Lacquer paint is soft compared to modern urethanes and buffs easily with foam pads. Wool and heavy compounds remove A LOT of paint, and chances are really good that the original paint on the '47 Chevy is pretty damn thin. The new microfiber buffing pads that Meguiars and Optimum have come out with might make foam pads obsolete. The only problem is that they cost a little more and wear out fairly quickly, but they can cut polishing time in half. Pretty much all I use anymore.

 

You guys are great, thanks again for the advice. This weekend I'll finish up with a polish and quality carbauba wax. I'll post up pics when I'm done. I appreciate the compliments too. "Oscar" will look better when he rolls back out of the garage.

 

damn that looks pretty good for old paint. i just wish my cars had paint on them when i got them. im so sick of body work and paint. and we do it for a living.but lately we have not been living very much lol almost forgot, ive tried asll the expensive waxes. well atleast close to all and all different klinds. the best ive had luck with is the old turtle wax paste. goes on easy and comes off pretty easy. seems to last as long as all the high dollar waxes. so i started just using that.

 

Meguiar's products exclusively and so far it has a mirror finish,
Normbc9

 

Outstanding Normbc9. What a beautiful deuce.