OCDetails
11-25-2009, 11:25 AM
I'm going to give you a very simple reason why this wipe on wipe off thing that people talk about is NOT going to save you any time. That is the reason people do it and it is absolutely flawed logic. If they aren't doing it to save time then they are doing it because it is easier to buff off, which is also flawed. Products streak when they are wet and they dust when they are dry. I'm not going to explain that one because it should be self explanatory, but I will explain why it doesn't save any time and actually may cause you to spend MORE time on the job.
I am all about processes. There is an order to doing things that makes them work. Take cooking for example. If you made cookies and forgot the salt but decided to sprinkle a little salt on top of each one to make up for it after they were baked, would they taste the same? No. It isn't about having the right ingredients. It is about the order. Here is another thought... What would a cheeseburger taste like if you put it in a blender and liquefied it? Would it still taste like a cheeseburger? I promise you that it wouldn't. (first hand knowledge on both of those) There is even a process that your taste buds go through to enjoy something and making it faster to eat doesn't get the same results.
So you are applying a wax and you are tempted to just wipe it off right afterwards. Let me give you the single best suggestion to why that is not necessary. Wax (or seal) your entire car and then when it is covered in wax, go around and dress the tires, trim, clean the glass, wiper cowl, chrome, etc. Any overspray from those processes will be wiped up when you buff off the wax. If you are able to do all of those things without getting a single drop on the paint, then you are too good for this world and should be expecting to get called home any minute now. lol I for one have never been able to dress the rubber around windows without getting something on the paint. Nor do I have much success perfectly dressing tires without getting something on a fender or bumper. Buffing the wax off as the final step enables me to complete the job with an absolutely perfect looking vehicle and no additional final detailing steps required. I think any detailer would agree that it is the final detailing that seems to take the most effort sometimes. I'll cut and buff all day long, but if I had my druthers then I'd have someone on staff to clean up anything I missed or caused by spraying something after I buffed the wax off.
You will use the same energy to buff the wax off right after you apply it as you will if you wait. The difference will be the energy you don't have to spend cleaning up overspray from final detail tasks like rubber, glass, and trim. Does that make sense? Forget the fact that some products actually NEED to dry on the paint before they will properly bond, and forget that wiping a wet wax off may just leave the oils on the surface and remove a lot of the protection you are trying to lay down. Think about the WOWO technique as something that will cause you more work at the end of the job. It is an enemy to an efficient process.
The only defense anyone married to this technique could give is that they do all that final detail stuff BEFORE they wax the car, so when they are done with the WOWO they are actually done with the car. If that is the case, then I give up. Whatever floats your boat I guess, but I just wanted to offer up the idea to anyone curious about process that they can actually save time at the end if they wait till after they have done everything that risks overspray before they buff the wax off. You'll be amazed at how much time it saves.
I am all about processes. There is an order to doing things that makes them work. Take cooking for example. If you made cookies and forgot the salt but decided to sprinkle a little salt on top of each one to make up for it after they were baked, would they taste the same? No. It isn't about having the right ingredients. It is about the order. Here is another thought... What would a cheeseburger taste like if you put it in a blender and liquefied it? Would it still taste like a cheeseburger? I promise you that it wouldn't. (first hand knowledge on both of those) There is even a process that your taste buds go through to enjoy something and making it faster to eat doesn't get the same results.
So you are applying a wax and you are tempted to just wipe it off right afterwards. Let me give you the single best suggestion to why that is not necessary. Wax (or seal) your entire car and then when it is covered in wax, go around and dress the tires, trim, clean the glass, wiper cowl, chrome, etc. Any overspray from those processes will be wiped up when you buff off the wax. If you are able to do all of those things without getting a single drop on the paint, then you are too good for this world and should be expecting to get called home any minute now. lol I for one have never been able to dress the rubber around windows without getting something on the paint. Nor do I have much success perfectly dressing tires without getting something on a fender or bumper. Buffing the wax off as the final step enables me to complete the job with an absolutely perfect looking vehicle and no additional final detailing steps required. I think any detailer would agree that it is the final detailing that seems to take the most effort sometimes. I'll cut and buff all day long, but if I had my druthers then I'd have someone on staff to clean up anything I missed or caused by spraying something after I buffed the wax off.
You will use the same energy to buff the wax off right after you apply it as you will if you wait. The difference will be the energy you don't have to spend cleaning up overspray from final detail tasks like rubber, glass, and trim. Does that make sense? Forget the fact that some products actually NEED to dry on the paint before they will properly bond, and forget that wiping a wet wax off may just leave the oils on the surface and remove a lot of the protection you are trying to lay down. Think about the WOWO technique as something that will cause you more work at the end of the job. It is an enemy to an efficient process.
The only defense anyone married to this technique could give is that they do all that final detail stuff BEFORE they wax the car, so when they are done with the WOWO they are actually done with the car. If that is the case, then I give up. Whatever floats your boat I guess, but I just wanted to offer up the idea to anyone curious about process that they can actually save time at the end if they wait till after they have done everything that risks overspray before they buff the wax off. You'll be amazed at how much time it saves.