Wax gone after a week

[jdgamble]

So I'm very new to this. Last weekend I compounded a little bit, then cleaned up with Maguairs ultimate polish, and then put on a coat of Maguiars ultimate liquid wax. I'm not even close to done and I'm gonna take another shot at this but the paint feels like the wax is totally gone after one week. Do need to do something after polishing to prep the surface so the wax sticks?

Thanks in advance.

[jdgamble]

Follow on question... will the ultimate polish on a green pad actually remove any swirls? I wanted to avoid the third step on the areas I already worked on.

[The Guz]

Yes ultimate polish on a polishing pad will remove light to moderate swirls depending on the hardness of the paint.

You will lose some of the slickness after the first wash. The important thing is that it is still protecting the paint. You have the option to use a spray wax such as ultimate quik wax or D156 to maintain ULW. This will add some slickness back onto the surface.

No need to use anything to prep the surface prior to applying ULW since you stuck with the same product family.

[392hemi]

Welcome to the forum.

What are you basing your guess on the wax being gone?

[FUNX650]

Last weekend
I compounded a little bit,

then cleaned up with Maguairs
ultimate polish, and then

put on a coat of Maguiars ultimate
liquid wax.

I'm not even close to done

You're not? What other detailing
steps are you planning on doing?


Bob

[AeroCleanse]

Sounds about right. You need some higher end products if you want it to last.

[392hemi]

Sounds about right. You need some higher end products if you want it to last.

What do you define as "higher end" so it last more than a week?

At the minimum Megs ULW should last well over a week.

[jdgamble]

Regarding done... I didn't correct enough, so I had to make another pass with light compound. I did it this morning and it came out pretty good.

The reason I felt the wax was gone is because it didn't feel slick anymore. I park my car outside every day. I was thinking that maybe because of the polish, the wax just evaporated off the surface or something. It just didn't feel like a car that had been waxed a week before. I have some Wolfgang Sealant coming so I'm going to put that on after the next wash.

[392hemi]

Regarding done... I didn't correct enough, so I had to make another pass with light compound. I did it this morning and it came out pretty good.

The reason I felt the wax was gone is because it didn't feel slick anymore. I park my car outside every day. I was thinking that maybe because of the polish, the wax just evaporated off the surface or something. It just didn't feel like a car that had been waxed a week before. I have some Wolfgang Sealant coming so I'm going to put that on after the next wash.

Slickness isn't an indication of protection. Since it's been sitting outside, wash the car using a car wash that doesn't contain wax or gloss enhancers and see if it still has beading or sheeting and slickness comes back?

My cars will look like crap after being driven in rain or parked outside, a was returns it's back to its previous glossy look.

Meguairs wax should play fine with meguairs polishes and not "evaporate". If the wash doesn't help, call the Meguiars number on back of bottle and speak to someone there. You could also try posting on the Meguiars forums to see if the reps there can help?

I've used ULW previously once and had it last at least a month (never saw car after that) on a friend's car.

[briarpatch]

I use ULW, but never really got a super-slick feel from it, as it's a polymer-based sealant and not really a wax. I've topped it it Pinnacle Souveran Signature Series II and been very happy with the results.