Waxing with a DA is Hard

[TheAverageMan]

I'm new to detailing, good at waterless washing my new car. Good at windows, good at tires, and good at using a spray wax.

Used a real wax last week, Meg's ULW. Took me a LONG time with their small hand applicator. Thought I'd buy a DA just to wax, since I don't need to do any paint correction.

Got a beastly deal on Ebay.
MT300 (Used on like one or two cars)
Megs 6 inch backing plate (oldish one)
LC 5 inch backing plate
Optimum Hyper Compound unopened
Chemical Guys Black Light almost full bottle
All new pads
1x Megs finishing pad (old version)
2x Megs polishing pad (old version)
1x LC CCS blue finessing pad
1x LC CCS black finishing pad

All for 200 dollars.

Anyways, enough with my bragging on snatching a good deal.

Got the DA two days ago, used it today with ULW.

I CANNOT see my wax trail, and my car is white, so that doesn't help.
I marked my backing plate, to make sure its rotating, had the speed at 3800-4800 like the instructions on the MT300. Used only a few dime size drops of wax.

After trying for an hour, struggling with pad rotation, seeing where I am waxing, going on curves (Honda Fit 2015), and all, I said FUDGE it, and unplugged it.

Took the wrench, and got the backing plate off, and hand waxed my tiny car using the 6 inch pad and backing plate as a handle.

SO much easier to wax by hand, especially with a 6 inch applicator.

So here I am, asking what is the trick to using a DA with wax? I did my research, read Mikes article about him and two other Mikes waxing a car with DAs. I can't figure it out honestly.

Am I supposed to not be able to see my wax trail? I know it's supposed to be thin, but is it supposed to be thin to the point where no matter what angle of light I look at the spot with, I can't see anything?

Anyone else prefer to wax by hand, over using a DA?

[2black1s]

Did you try priming the pad before you started? Starting with a dry pad, "... a few dime size drops...", may not be enough material to get started. As for seeing your wax trail, white can be tough.

[Loach]

ULW goes on clear and thin, on a white car it can be hard to see where it's going. If you're unsure, try taking the pad to the windshield and see if it's leaving anything behind. Having a good light source helps as well like a Brinkmann dual LED or Xenon (that isn't broken from heavy use yet). Shine on the paint and see how the light is behaving. As I recall, ULW doesn't absolutely have to be applied insanely thin, so if you're unsure just go ahead and apply more to the pad and even if you really apply too much to the pad, the DA will help you spread that out thin by design much better than if you applied it too heavily to a hand applicator.

[The Guz]

ULW should be applied thin. It will not haze like a traditional wax. It can be removed with 3-5 min of application.

You are not doing paint correction so the pad doesn't have to necessarily spin. All you are doing is spreading wax.

[TheAverageMan]

Yeah i primed the face of the pad with a spray of D156, then ULW, very light though, so not saturated, then went with drops.

Out of curiosity, another few Qs.

Is it okay to use just one pad to wax my car?
Should i wash the pad, if I plan to use the same wax on it month after month?

Also, thanks for the tips and replies.

[Don M]

I just had this issue with applying Ultimate Wax (paste and liquid). It turned out that the finishing pad I was using was too soft and absorbing the wax like a sponge and not releasing it onto the paint. I switched to a Meguiar's 5" yellow polishing pad and all my problems were solved. Here's a quote from my original post:



I've used both waxes now, the liquid and the paste and I can honestly say that neither of them play well for me with my PC. I tried the paste first, and I had to use a ton of product to even get any of the wax onto the paint that I went through a can much faster than I should have. So when I ran out of the paste, I bought the liquid. I took a new (relatively speaking) Lake Country black finishing pad and tried the standard "X" to prime the pad and subsequent 4 drops to reapply wax to the pad. It was worse than the paste. The wax absorbed into the pad and stayed there, it wouldn't come out and spread onto the paint. I decided not to waste any more liquid wax and used the supplied applicator and applied it by hand from that moment on, which BTW worked excellently, it spread thin and seemed to go forever.

Some other facts: The black pad I have for the PC is MUCH softer and more absorbent than the supplied hand pad and where the supplied hand pad feels like a yellow polishing pad, the black pad for the PC feels more like a soft bath sponge. Could this be the issue?

I'm not really complaining, I like getting up close and personal when applying a LSP to a car, but I just completed my father in law's 1500 Silverado (with a bed cap) and applying wax, even one as cooperative as Ultimate Liquid, was a bit of a chore. Even so, I still prefer to remove LSPs by hand.


Any thoughts?


And from when I figured it out:



IT WAS THE PADS!!

So like I mentioned earlier, I was going to use a Meguiar's yellow polishing pad to see if I had any better luck applying the Ult Liquid... MAN DID I EVER! 4 dime sized drops to prime the pad and that amount did the entire hood, 4 more drops, the entire roof and 2 drops the trunk lid. After that 4 drops would do two complete panels. I did have to go over each panel several times, because I couldn't really see for sure where it had been applied and where it hadn't.

For removal, there was no buffing involved, just an easy wipe with a clean microfiber, this is where I found out for sure I had covered every bit of the car, there was a light tug, then smoothness on the second pass. There were no oily swirls, streaks, dark patches, nothing but paint with a super high gloss ... I'm extremely pleased with the process and the results. My suggestion to anyone having trouble like I was ... switch to a slightly firmer pad, it makes a world of a difference

The polishing pad put the wax on micro thin, just the way you want it to. I did have to look at different angles to see that was on the car, but it WAS there.

[Don M]

Is it okay to use just one pad to wax my car?
Should i wash the pad, if I plan to use the same wax on it month after month?

Also, thanks for the tips and replies.


1) The car should be spotless before you wax so you shouldn't pick up any dirt or contaminates while waxing to dirty the pad, so my vote is yes.

2) Yes, wash the pad. You won't get ALL of the Ultimate Wax out of it, but you don't want it to build up and harden in and on the pad which could cause scratches when the particles rub against your paint during your next use. You should also do the same for any hand applicators.

[Calendyr]

Never had an issue. I use a Meguiars G110V2 with a 5.5 inch Buff&Shine red pad. I set the polisher at a speed of 3 or 3.5 and put very little product on the pad. I only apply the pressure of the machine for horizontal pannels. For vertical pannel I apply only very light pressure (1 to 2 pounds approx) just so the pad makes good contact with the paint.

It may depend on your wax. I use Collinite 845 most of the time.

[custmsprty]

When waxing I run at a speed of 1-2.

[af90]

When waxing I run at a speed of 1-2.


Yep agreed. Depending on the machine, my main tip is to understand you are not working it into the paint but merely spreading it.

[FUNX650]

Using a smaller-sized DA, like the Griot's 3", to spread
Waxes and other LSPs....is so much more effortless
(even more pleasant) than using a 6" DA...IMHO.


Bob

[conman1395]

That's what happens when you have a white car. When I use Duragloss 105, I cannot see it add I apply it. I do two coats to ensure even coverage.

I know it's there, though, because it's still beading and making cleaning easier 7-10 months later.

[Desertnate]

Visibility issues are not unique to white. I have found silver and even metallic gray hard to see the product when applying it very thin. Removal sometimes was difficult as well trying to make sure I didn't miss a spot.

Lighting, patience, luck, and a second coat always helped me.

[kevin_1981]

ULW should be applied thin. It will not haze like a traditional wax. It can be removed with 3-5 min of application.

You are not doing paint correction so the pad doesn't have to necessarily spin. All you are doing is spreading wax.


:iagree: I use my PC DA to apply collinite, on speed 1-2, and have no pad rotation, but it applies the product perfectly. I usually use a black CCS pad