MBDiagMan

I saw something in a post about stripping wax with dish washing soap before puttin on a sealant. Is this a necessary step? I have ordered some sealant and want to get the sealant on before Winter sets in. Is it not a good idea to put it over wax?

Thanks for your help.

Juztang

You cannot put a sealant over a wax, it will not bond right. You can use the dish washing soap method or you could use a polish to remove the wax and get the paint clean.

MBDiagMan

Justang,

Thanks a bunch for the reply. Okay, one answer leads to another question.

I have only had the car less than a month and I have yet to wax it, BUT it seems to bead water quite nicely and feels like it has a little wax on it. Does the factory put on wax? Would the dealer have put on wax?

If I must do the dish washing soap thing, what do I do, just mix some dish washing soap in a bucket of water and wash it with cotton mitt followed by a thorough rinse?

Thanks greatly for your help.

Jim D.

I don't like to use dish soap unless the entire car is severely neglected. Dish soap, in my opinion, is a little harsh for all of the various finishes on the vehicle, and can dry out rubber trim and other delicate pieces.

If you've had it a month, I wouldn't worry much about what they put on it.

But I would wash it with a good car wash, detail the trim with a protectant, clay it, and then use whatever "wax/sealant" products you want.

MBDiagMan

Thanks for the replies guys!

I will do as you suggest: Hand wash with car wash soap mixed in a bucket of water, clay and then put on the Klasse Sealant. If I have any energy left after that, maybe I will follow it up with a coat of wax over that. If I were to add wax, will it make it more trouble to put on sealant the second time?

Thanks again.

Juztang

You can put on layers of sealant and follow with the wax. Once a layer of wax is on there you cannot put sealant back over it. You would have to polish the whole car before adding more sealant. Make sure you let the sealant fully cure before you put on the wax or even another layer of sealant. I like to put on a sealant and let it sit on there for about an hour. Then I come back and buff it off. I usually let it cure for about 24 hours before another coat of sealant or before adding a wax. Some people wait 4-8 hours for it to cure, I like to wait the full 24 just to be on the safe side. Let me know if you have anymore questions MGDiagMan.

markj

I got my GT/CS a little over a month ago. I've put on about 2 coats of good Carnuba wax. But recently switched to Turtle Wax ICE after reading so much about it. The nice thing is you can put it over an older wax job(they say at least a week) and it will remove it and replace it with a fantastic finish. The only thing is you need to get the car perfectly clean first since Ice won't clean any imperfections like bugs, ect. I washed and clay bared my car before applying. You won't believe the results. It looked better than when I picked it up from the dealer. I don't know how long the shine lasts but it's a hell of a lot easier to apply than paste wax.

It also can go on rubber and chrome unlike other polymer waxes. It even got rid of some of my paste overwax that got embedded in the rubber trim. I can't say enough about the stuff. I've always used good paste waxes but now I'm a full fledged convert.

MBDiagMan

Okay, since you guys are being so helpful here, I have two more questions:

My goal is not to have a show car shine. My goal is to keep the paint in its best condition under my circumstances. My wife and I work in the DFW area during the week and live in an apartment and then go home to the country on weekends. This is the first car in years that I have had to keep outside. Is there any problem with just continuing to use sealant instead of wax. I would like to be able to put on the sealant, wash the car at the car wash some and at home by hand on the weekends some. Could I get by with a good sealant application twice a year under these conditions?

Secondly, you say use protectant on trim before applying sealant. I have waxed enough cars to know why this is, to keep the wax from making marks on the trim. SOooo.... what is the best protectant. Is Armorall or Son of a gun okay for this purpose?

Thanks again.

markj

That's why ice is so easy to use. It's a polymer synthetic wax. It's easy to put on and looks great. Supposedly it provides good protection for trim too. It certianly cleans and shines it up nice.

I don't like Armor All that much. I have found that over time it leads to cracking on dashes and some rubber. I do like thier multi purpose cleaner for that stuff. It doesn't leave that fake shine and really gets plastic and rubber clean and like new looking. It also doesn't seem to degrade the material over time.

MBDiagMan

Well I guess that my biggest question is:

If I use a coat of sealant and then a coat of wax over that, and then wash it at the quarter car wash some and hand wash some, will I have to do anything six months from now when I use the sealant again? Does that fact that I want to use sealant every six months keep me from using wax over the sealant? Will I have to do something special in six months to reseal it since wax was put over it?

Thanks for your help.