Cleaning paint before waxing

[brihvac]

I have a couple newer small suv's. I want to get a good coat of wax on them but was wondering if I should put some kind of paint prep on before. I do not want to use an abrasive because from what I have read you do not want to keep buffing off the clear. Also I have seen some YouTube videos of detail guys spraying and wiping the car down with with a 50/50 mix of rubbing alcohol and water. Thoughts?

Here is what I plan to do:

Wash with Dawn and maybe some Simple Green to strip off wax and grease.

Adams clay mitt

Paint prep???

50/50 rubbing alcohol water mix??

Butter wax

Edited August 15, 2019 by brihvac

[falcaineer]

After you clay you'll want to remove the residue, especially if you aren't polishing. You can use the Surface Prep or isopropyl alcohol 50/50 to wipe down the paint. Some just do another wash, which might very well be sufficient. So you know, to get the best results, polish is really what makes paint shine. Wax adds depth, gloss and protection, but it's the polish that really makes paint pop. Just something to consider...but I know you just put a lot of effort into coating.

[falcaineer]

Oh, and since you're using the mitt...which I LOVE...also go in knowing it runs a greater chance of marring the paint than traditional clay. So you may add a bit of irregularities or small swirls to the paint by using the mitt and not polishing. It's faster, but it has some potential drawbacks.

[RayS]

If the vehicle is in really good condition, basically no marring or swirls, Revive Hand Polish is an excellent choice to bring out the luster.  The rule of thumb is to always start with the least aggressive method possible and the best results I've had with Revive is to follow the directions on the bottle to the letter.  If you need to go to the next level, it would be Finishing Polish or One Step Polish which you can use by hand.  The only way to know which one to use for the vehicle is the condition of the paint and by doing a test spot.

 

When it comes to whether or not to Clay, I recommend you start with the baggie test.  If the vehicle does not need to be clayed, then don't do it.  I'm also an advocate of the Mitt, the same as @falcaineer but it comes down to how much additional marring will it cause.  If I know I'm going to polish the vehicle, I go straight to the Mitt, if the vehicle doesn't have much marring and now swirls, then I go to the regular Clay and Detail Spray as the lube. 

 

Of note, the Buttery will look great and smells fantastic, but it doesn't last very long.  In the south, we can get a month during the summer and 2+ months during the winter.  The one benefit with Buttery is that is very easy to work with and in an hour you can have a entire Car or SUV done.  I always keep some Buttery on hand for the person who comes by and wants a quick wash and wax.

 

To keep the Buttery wax looking good, go over the vehicle on the regular basis with Detail Spray. If you have a special weekend that you really want the car to Pop, go over it with Brilliant Glaze, just remember that Brilliant Glaze will only last a couple of days, but it will give it that Wow factor.

[Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin]

I second both @RayS and @falcaineer 

 

Ray made some good suggestions regarding wax, and I also agree with the use of Clay, then Revive Hand Polish. Revive hand polish acts as a paint cleaner so you may be able to skip the surface prep step, and go straight to wax after Revive Hand Polish. I like to do the surface prep step anyways just to be sure there's nothing left on the paint before I apply the protection.

[brihvac]

I do not think I am going to need the clay mitt then. I know about the marring because I did it on my truck in 2 places but it quickly came off when I ran the buffer over it. After reading it looks like I should use the revive hand polish then wax

[RayS]

8 hours ago, brihvac said:

I do not think I am going to need the clay mitt then. I know about the marring because I did it on my truck in 2 places but it quickly came off when I ran the buffer over it. After reading it looks like I should use the revive hand polish then wax

Please remember to share the before and after pictures.