As I waxed my car today I put on a second coat and I started to think that maybe I was over doing it. How many coats of wax do you need to apply?
Is it OK to apply multiple coats?

HoldTight...

 

You can apply as many coats as you want but most waxes contain cleaners that will remove the first layer. The additional layers just serve to cover up any spots that you may have missed the first time. If you want to build layers, you have two options. 1) Use pure carnuba wax without cleaners or 2) Use a sealant I chose to go with the latter and have been building many layers of Zaino.

 

THT, that's not necessarily true.

Meguiar's makes a line of waxes especially for this purpose. They refer to it as teh "three- step wax" consisting of 1) Paint Cleaner 2) Polish and 3) Carnauba Wax (you can use whatever for step 3). I promise you that this will give you the best shine possible, excluding the 53 step wax process available. At about $5 for each of the three bottles, its def. worth it, especially if you enjoy using 6 hours of your Sundays to detail the max...

o yea, precede everything by a clay bar session...

 

I used that exact process and believe me, they do not add onto one another. Even if the wax you chose didn't have a cleaning agent in it, the first step, the paint cleaner, would remove any wax it came on contact with.

 

the first 2 steps aren't waxes, either.

I'm not sure how true it is, but autopia goes a bit into detail about how you can use an acrylic seal then a carnuba wax to get a great shine. I just use the synthetic stuff though.

 

Be careful when layering different products as one can compromise the other. Klasse AIO and Poorboy's (I think that's the name...) are two that come to mind that are safe to use with something like Zaino.

 

No problem layering. Many do it with a sealant for longevity and a carnuba for looks. I wouldn't say that most waxes are cleaner waxes, but as THT mentioned if the one you have is then there's not a whole lot of sense in layering.

 

I am using Meguires nxt tech wax.

Is this good to use for layering?

should i use a sealant? if so do you use it after the wax? or would you just wax, seal, wax, seal, wax, seal etc?


Thanks for your help and guidance

HoldTight...

 

well, the purpose of the paint cleaner/clay bar is to start your layering over again. the paint cleaner pretty much removes everything, thats its purpose. the polish removes the hairline swirls, and the carnauba protects it all, however i prefer the tech wax in the place of it. from there on out for the next 6-7 months you need to keep up the protection through either fresh wax coats or at least frequent quick detail hits.

i detail cars for a living... these are the processes i use...

 

tech wax especially is great for layering.

 

NXT does have cleaners, you can layer, but as THT said you'll be removing some of the last one you put on.

 

Klasse is a GREAT product for layering...just make sure you wait between layers and the car comes out amazing.

I did it once so far, cause its alot of work, in the spring...and since then I did two coats of wax on top of it....another few weeks and ill clay bar, Klasse, Klasse, Klasse, and a coat of the P21S at the end.
That Klasse is good stuff and its very durable
-matt

 

The clay bar removes the wax, IIRC. I only clay the car after it's first wash of the year.

 

I do it twice considering the Klasse is good for 6 months outa the year...

Plus, when I am CLaying the car, all the Wax is practically off the car anyway

-matt

 

NXT actully is a sealant...a sealant is just a synthetic rather than natural wax. It does have some cleaning ability from what I've heard, but when applied be hand probably not enough to make layering pointless.

With a sealant you generally want a clean surface so you'd apply as many layers of sealant as you want (waiting 24hrs or more between layers) and then move on to your carnuba.

THT, the claybar removes the wax, but it's main objective is to remove contaminates...tar, brake dust, rail dust, crap from factories, etc.

Matty, I would be skepticle (sp?) about klasse SG actually lasting 6 months...that's the advertised longevity, but there are many factors that will lower that (time outside, sun, heat, salt, rain, industrial fallout, god knows what else). I'd just go by the beading. Besides, who wants to wait 6 months to reapply their LSP?

 

So what I here you saying is that Maguires NXT is a sealant and I can layer it then I need to finish up with carnuba. Is this correct?
So I can NXT then carnuba every weekend if I want?

Thanks for your patients.

HoldTight...

 

yeah, just remember to layer carnuba on top of sythetic wax and you'll be set!!

 

Thanks, this is really coming together here. If I am using Maguires NXT what would you recommend for the carnuba wax? I don't even know if maguires makes a carnuba wax.

HoldTight...

 

meg's #26

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You don't have to. Just if you want a different look. Trying waxes is fun anyway. I haven't used the same wax twice yet this summer.

Megs #26 would be good. So would S100 from a harley store.

 

In a nutshell, the process is the thing that is most critical when detailing. What I mean by the process is illustrated in THT's post (wash, clay, polish, sealant, wax). For example, I have used AIO+SG+Souveran on my previous 3rd Gen and many folks were floored.

Another thing is that many people use the terms polish and wax interchangably when they are actually two different parts of the process. A polish usually has some kind of abrasive that is used to correct paint defects. Good examples of polishes include:

- Meguiar's #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish
- Poorboys SSR 1, 2, and 3
- P21S Paintwork Cleanser
- Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover
- Sonus SFX 1, 2, 3
- Menzerna Intensive and Final Polishes (Look @ Bluesbrekr's car for reference)
- Klasse All In One

Waxes have no abrasives whatsoever and are used as a LSP (Last Step Product) to add gloss and depth to a finish. Sealants add a layer of protection to the paint and many people, myself included, use a sealant and then top off with a carnuba wax (e.g. S100).