Very new to detailing

[Ghostassassian]

Hello,

Im pretty new to wax etc of my vehicle.

As long as i ve had the car (2 and half years)
Ive never waxed only washed it
over this past weekend i decided to give it a go
I started off by washing my car really good
Then clayed it completely except the windows
After that i used meguires #7 glaze and then #26
after wards i was very suprised at how smooth to the touch it was i assume from the claying but the shine or "reflection" wasnt what i thought it could have been.
On the glaze are you supposed to let it set up or stay on for a certain amount of time? or buff it off right away. Same with the wax
Im not sure
One thing i did notice is how the water beads off my hood after going through a sprinkler on accident.
Thanks guys
btw my car is silver

[FloridaNative]

Do you have swirls in the paint? That could be a reason for it not shining as much as you expect. Swirls detract the light and don't give good clear reflections. Another thing you might want to try is a paint sealant. They give off very nice reflections and shine.

[Ghostassassian]

No no swirls that i can see
any idea bout my glaze wax question?

[Meghan]

I will have killerwheels help you out with your glaze question, he should be online in a couple of hours. Glaze is one product I don't use, so I am of no help! I will PM him this thread.

[supercharged]

Meguiar's recommend let it dry to a haze, then buff it off. Same goes for glaze and wax(liquid or paste).
High end paste waxes, like Pinnacle, recommends their paste waxes(signatutre series, souveran) buffing it right away.

By the way, you may think you don't have any swirls, but in 2 years you will achive them no matter what kind of washing tools you use. If you are Meguiar's user - give a try to #83, folled by #9.

Hope this helps.

[FloridaNative]

No no swirls that i can see
any idea bout my glaze wax question?

I'm sorry honey, i didn't even see that glaze question nestled in there. #7 needs to be topped right away. I've heard that it dissipates as soon as an hour under the sun if not topped. With #7 you must top with a wax and not a sealant. Hope this helps you.

[justin_murphy]

I never let #7 haze. Takes forever to get off. I do one panel at a time though. By the time I get back around, it's ready to wax. You also got to "massage" it into the paint. Low speeds and moderate pressure till it starts to dry out.
As for #26, you have to let it dry. I let it dry for about an hour while I do the interior. Makes it very easy to remove and bonds better in my opinion.

[ScottB]

I have wiped off glazes while damp and also while dry. Never found that either looked all that better than some of the wetter looking carnuaba's alone. Since glazes have no real protection (in general) , I really dont see the need to use them.

Silver cars are the easiest cars to keep up. Problem is bringing the metallic flakes out. My favorite combo was a good clay, a good polish, and a great wax. I would seriously consider Clearkote Vanilla Moose Glaze (it is a like hand polish with some fillers to hide swirls) and then Pinnacle Sig Series, Souveran, or DP Max Wax. That is unless you are getting a buffer, if so theres a couple dedicated polishes.

One hint .... waxes that are hard to remove, can be removed easily with a little damp towel. Using water, or better yet a qd'er like Crystal Mist goes along way on those stubborn spots. Of course, using some of the examples I provided above will show you just how easy a good carnuaba comes off and well looks. #26 ... has them in durability, but it looks like a cheaper wax.