Wax/sealant problem: need advice.

[Ernie Ball]

This is my first post here.

I've got a small problem. I just spent quite a lot of time and effort on my black MR2 Roadster to try to get rid of some swirls/cobwebs and generally polish it up for the summer. Here's a pic:

http://homepage.mac.com/bupkis/.Pictures/MR2/IMG_3737.jpg

Here's what I did:

1) Wash & Dry
2) Clay with Meguiar's Bar + Quik Detailer
3) Menzerna Intensive Polish using PC 7424 and orange light cutting pad
4) Menzerna Final Polish II using PC and white pad
5) Wash & Dry
6) Klasse All-in-One (hand applied)

Now here's where the problems arise. After the Klasse, I put Wolfgang Deep Gloss Sealant on the car: 3 layers of it over the course of a few days. I knew that the Wolfgang had to sit on the car for 12 hours or so between coats.

After the three layers I topped with P21s.

What I didn't know (because the Wolfgang bottle has no instructions at all--bad Wolfgang!) but have since learned is that the Deep Gloss sealant needs to be left on the car for 30 to 45 minutes at each application. I was just wiping it on and wiping it off. D'oh!

So now I'm guessing I don't have the sealant protection I thought I did and just have the P21s over the Klasse (and maybe a little Wolfgang). Also, as it was my first time using the PC polisher, I realize now that I didn't do as good a job with the swirls as I might have.

What would you do to rectify this?

Would you:

1) Start over from scratch (no pun intended), including clay bar, intensive and final polish, etc.?

2) Wait until the wax stops beading water and then start from scratch?

3) Wash it with some sort of wax-stripping shampoo (which one?) and then start again beginning with the polish?

4) Something not mentioned?

I assume that putting Wolfgang Sealant on over the P21s is a no-no.

Thanks for all advice.

[abrcrombe]

You are correct, do not put the sealant over the wax. Something you could do is Klasse AIO. That would strip the old wax off, and then you could go back to perfecting your polished surface. Remember to spend 3-5 minutes on each section @ a high speed (5.5-6). Your car looks great, and hopefully it all works out for you.

BTW, welcome to the forums!

[Ernie Ball]

You are correct, do not put the sealant over the wax. Something you could do is use a cleaner wax. That would strip the old wax off, and then you could go back to perfecting your polished surface.

Thanks! Can you recommend a cleaner wax?

Is the idea that I apply the cleaner wax and then:

1) polish
2) sealant
3) wax?

[supercharged]

If you want to best of the best, and have time to do it - start over.
Start with Final Polish II. If finish looks fine already - skip AIO, and go to straight to Wolfgang sealant. Let it dry to a haze, how long - will depend on where you live in. Be sure to let sealant cure for 12 hours between each coat.

[abrcrombe]

My mistake, cleaner waxes are more of a 1 step process than a cleansing tool.

You could remove the wax using AIO, then finish polishing, wash (if you are obsessive compulsive), then sealant and wax

[Ernie Ball]

Hmmm. OK, so is there any harm in starting over from scratch the way supercharged recommends? In other words, beginning with a re-clay? Isn't frequent claying going to mess things up?

Also, I didn't realize that AIO would strip away other waxes and sealants. Is it certain that after AIO and can just recommence polishing?

[supercharged]

What kind of clay are you using? Pinnacle Ultra poly clay can be used as aften as nessesary...be sure to use a lot of lube.

[FloridaNative]

If you just clayed the car I don't see why you would need to do it again. You could just repolish and then seal and after it is fully cured and you have all the coats you want applied then you could top with a wax if you choose or just leave it with the sealant. BTW where is that pic taken?? It looks like Scotland or someplace in the UK. Welcome to the forums Ernie Ball. Is that your real name or did you take it from the guitar strings? lol

[abrcrombe]

I don't think you will need to clay again. I mean if you have the Pinnacle Ultra Poly, you can give it a whirl if you would like. Doubt any contaminants have adhered to the surface in this short amount of time.
Klasse All In One Polish changed everything about the way people polished cars. Klasse All In One Polish will remove oxidation, minor swirls, old wax, and other surface blemishes; leaving a beautiful and deep acrylic shine.
http://www.autogeek.net/klasseallinone.html
I think polishing will also help remove wax if AIO doesn't get it all.

[Ernie Ball]

If you just clayed the car I don't see why you would need to do it again. You could just repolish and then seal and after it is fully cured and you have all the coats you want applied then you could top with a wax if you choose or just leave it with the sealant. BTW where is that pic taken?? It looks like Scotland or someplace in the UK. Welcome to the forums Ernie Ball. Is that your real name or did you take it from the guitar strings? lol

Not my real name.:D

The pic was taken in the Wicklow Mountains, about 20 minutes from where I live in Dublin, Ireland.

Basically, I'd clay to get rid of all the stuff I just spent days putting on the car!

Think I'll get some of the Ultra Poly clay and do this:

1) AIO
2) Clay
3) Polish
4) Sealant

Should I apply more AIO after the polish or not?

[abrcrombe]

clay first. You can do AIO after the polish if you want. You don't need to, but you can to make sure the surface is VERY clean for the sealant to adhere to.

[FloridaNative]

OOOOOOOOOh Ireland! I've always wanted to go there. I'm a big U2 fan! You know Meghan is half Irish! lol

Honey, the clay would be to remove the embedded junk which you already did the first time. If I'm hearing you correctly I think you're looking for something to remove the products that you just put on, no? In that case you can just use a paint cleaner such as AIO, or the WG one since your using that sealant or whichever one you want as long as it's a pure cleaner and doesn't add any kind of wax it will remove the products that you just applied and give you a clean surface to work with. Of course if you were planning on polishing again then that too would remove what you have on. It's up to you how many steps you want to make of it, but there's really no reason to clay again unless you absolutely want to. If you're going to polish and use AIO then the clay is really superfluous. Just my 2cents.

[Ernie Ball]

OOOOOOOOOh Ireland! I've always wanted to go there. I'm a big U2 fan! You know Meghan is half Irish! lol

A friend of mine works for them. I sometimes see Bono tooling around town in his Maserati Quattroporte...


Honey, the clay would be to remove the embedded junk which you already did the first time. If I'm hearing you correctly I think you're looking for something to remove the products that you just put on, no? In that case you can just use a paint cleaner such as AIO, or the WG one since your using that sealant or whichever one you want as long as it's a pure cleaner and doesn't add any kind of wax it will remove the products that you just applied and give you a clean surface to work with. Of course if you were planning on polishing again then that too would remove what you have on. It's up to you how many steps you want to make of it, but there's really no reason to clay again unless you absolutely want to. If you're going to polish and use AIO then the clay is really superfluous. Just my 2cents.

A very helpful 2 cents. I didn't realize that I could just polish all the existing products off. Of course it makes sense, but I guess I thought I'd be just pushing the old stuff around.

So, OK, no reclaying. I'll just redo what I did before, starting with washing, then polishing, then AIO, then sealant, then wax.

To be honest, I'm looking forward to taking another crack at the scratch removal and being more thorough about it.

[abrcrombe]

Just take your time. Let the polish break down and the wipe it off. Should take about 3-5 minutes.

[ScottB]

I really dont see where you truly need to worry. Each application of Wolfgang left some paint sealant on the finish. While it is suggested to allow it to cure for 15-30 minutes, each level likely is intact. Durability (length of protection) would be the only issue and I doubt it harmed to much. Lets look:

Klasse (Acrylic Protection) ---- Wolfgang (poly sealant)x3 ---- P21S (carnuaba) = pretty darn good finish protection !!