Am I use Aquawax wrong?

[olenderc]

So I ordered Aquawax (951) to top with after car washes when I seal my car for the winter with Duragloss 601/105 later this season. I decided to try just the Aquawax a little early.

I ordered a bottle of ONR as well so I decided to do my first ever rinse-free car wash this morning. Using a two bucket method, I washed one panel at a time starting with the roof. After washing one panel I would dry with a Cobra Guzzler Waffle Weave Drying Towel.

Then, using the same towel I dried with I would spray a panel with Aquawax and spread it in. Originally, I tried using a brand new, never used, pre-washed microfiber towel. The microfiber towel seemed to "lint" very excessively to the point where the only combination that worked for spreading/buffing the Aquawax was the damp guzzler drying towel from drying and a separate mini guzzler waffle weave towel for buffing the wax. Anyway, I finished the car using only waffle weave towels for drying/waxing/buffing since that's the only thing that seemed to not lint.

Later that evening I tried touching up a few spots on my front bumper from driving with a different microfiber and Aquawax, same thing. It seems like the microfiber towels drag excessively in combination with the Aquawax lending themselves to the heavy linting. I thought I got crap towels (microfiber buffing towel, polishing clothes (http://www.autogeek.net/green-microfiber-towel.html)) but I can't seem to convince myself that it's the towels' fault, but maybe?

Am I doing something wrong, what gives?

[Rsurfer]

Using AW with a mf towel should not leave lint on your paint. Do you have other MF's that you can try?

[olenderc]

Using AW with a mf towel should not leave lint on your paint. Do you have other MF's that you can try?

I tried two different types of microfiber towels with the same effect. I'm pretty sure I'd consider it lint. It's like tiny microfiber hairs being left behind when wiping. I thought it was because the microfiber was new and had to be "broken in" but I tried a well used microfiber that's been washed multiple times before, same thing.

[dad07]

What kind of mf towels are you using?

[dpk20x]

Never tried aquawax before but it seems like people prefer to use it more as a drying aid ... meaning its better to spray it on the car while its still wet.

What you might want to do next time is wash the car like you already did. Then take a microfiber towel, soak it in the ONR solution, and pretty much wring it completely dry. Use this towel to dry the car. Try spraying the aquawax either on that towel or on the wet panel .. I have a feeling either way should work better then what you were trying today. This is pretty much what I do but I use Chemical guys V7 in place of Aquawax and I spray the V7 on the damp towel rather then on the panel.

After that you might have to give a final buff with a new dry microfiber.

Good luck!

[KillaCam]

It's your towels.. Did you dry them with dryer sheets?

[cleanmycorolla]

Sounds like your towels aren't cleaned properly, but yeah that's the towels fault.

[Rayaz_XL]

Could you try to spray product on a waxing pad, spread it on body then wipe off with mf towel? The product may be saturated on sealant appied paint, I have heard of such behavior before applying waxes over heavy duty paint sealants, even spray waxes. Goodluck olenderc

[Rsurfer]

It's your towels.. Did you dry them with dryer sheets?
If he did use dryer sheets wouldn't that just repel water and not lint?Feed back please

[davey g-force]

What did you wash your towels with? Just other MF towels?

[olenderc]

It's your towels.. Did you dry them with dryer sheets?

Towels were washed with Micro Restore detergent only (Micro-Restore doesn’t just clean microfiber, it restores microfiber! (http://www.autogeek.net/mr32.html)) and were dried on very very low heat/air dry with no dryer sheets. I thought it was the towels but other towels that I've had forever were doing the same thing.


Sounds like your towels aren't cleaned properly, but yeah that's the towels fault.

I used the above-mentioned Micro Restore, figured that was a quality product to wash my microfibers with.


Never tried aquawax before but it seems like people prefer to use it more as a drying aid ... meaning its better to spray it on the car while its still wet.

What you might want to do next time is wash the car like you already did. Then take a microfiber towel, soak it in the ONR solution, and pretty much wring it completely dry. Use this towel to dry the car. Try spraying the aquawax either on that towel or on the wet panel .. I have a feeling either way should work better then what you were trying today. This is pretty much what I do but I use Chemical guys V7 in place of Aquawax and I spray the V7 on the damp towel rather then on the panel.

After that you might have to give a final buff with a new dry microfiber.

Good luck!

I'll have to give the wet/damp microfiber thing a try next time.

[olenderc]

What did you wash your towels with? Just other MF towels?

Yes, microfiber towels were only washed with other microfiber towels use only Micro Restore MF detergent.

[olenderc]

Could you try to spray product on a waxing pad, spread it on body then wipe off with mf towel? The product may be saturated on sealant appied paint, I have heard of such behavior before applying waxes over heavy duty paint sealants, even spray waxes. Goodluck olenderc

If I had to go through the trouble of having to machine wax my car after washing, I'd rather just go with a more durable/longer-lasting product than Aquawax. I just wanted to incorporate the Aquawax into my drying step as a little added protection that might last maybe a month at the most. Just seemed a little finicky to apply with certain towels. I had no problem with the waffle weave towels and I'm guessing because the nap was much shorter/non-existent.

[Rsurfer]

I just hate mf that lint. I have mf that I can use on glass without a trace of lint. I think it's time for you to get some good quality non linting towels.

[olenderc]

I just hate mf that lint. I have mf that I can use on glass without a trace of lint. I think it's time for you to get some good quality non linting towels.

These are the micro fibers I bought: Super Soft Deluxe Green Microfiber Towels with Rolled Edges, microfiber buffing towels, micro fiber (http://www.autogeek.net/green-rolled-edge-towels-3.html)

I figured they can't be that bad. The only thing that strikes me as odd, is I had the same linting problem with the Aquawax and a different type/set of microfibers. The other MF I tried using was a MF which I've used to apply a variety of quick detailers with no problems ever. I'm wondering if it had anything to do with the product being a wax?