Tools of the trade
“The proud wish God would agree with them. They are not interested in changing their opinions to agree with God’s” -Ezra Taft Benson
Are you a waxer? I suppose waxing the car was never hugely popular with the masses; here follow some real honest to God quotes about car waxing that I did not make up:
“Foresooth, I cannot be bothered to wax, tis a bane!” -Benjamin Franklin
“Rubbing wax on automobiles in little circles is the sign of an infantile mind.” -Albert Einstein
“The waxer doth neglect that which is critical for that which is vanity, he shall receive but perdition for his labour.” -St. Francis
“A car waxing man exhibits an unresolved childhood sexual neurosis.” -Sigmund Freud
I confess freely before men that I am a waxer.
Oops…
Today was my annual wax the truck day. Used to be, in my flaming youth, I waxed every three months. Then, as paints improved (or perhaps age crept up) my waxing slowed to twice a year. Now, in these Latter Daze™, I wax once each time around the sun. Perhaps I’m a Plinker now, slacking off.
Harbor Freight is my co-waxer.
When the day came this year I followed my usual procedure, wash the truck the night before, buy new wax and rubbing compound and bonnets, rise early.
Oh and you need tape…
These days I always do a double dose day, rubbing compound first then wax second. Long ago I gave up doing it all by hand, too old for that sheet. A Harbor Freight buffer, $19.95, and Turtle Wax Rubbing Compound and Turtle Wax do the job. The Wax Guru Guys™ on the Internetz will tell you that you must use clay bars from the mud of the sacred Indus River, compounds formulated by Tibetan monks made from the tears of Bodhisattvas, and only natural, gluten free, non GMO waxes created on planetary alignment days by Hobbits centuries ago before modern pollution and atomic testing and Barry Manilow ruined everything.
Rub rub rub
Bah. I’ve used cheap waxing crap for nigh on forty years and it’s just fine.
A friend once asked me why I wax the roof of the cab when none but God can see it.
But each time I wax, doubts plague me. Am I too old to be doing this? Isn’t this just pure unadulterated vanity? Shouldn’t I have grown up and left this sort of pridefulness behind?
Using a hand towel to remove the rubbing compound before the buffer is unleashed.
Isn’t this sort of thing, worrying about a shiny car, for teenagers? And why, in the name of YHWH, am I still doing this myself? If I insist on wax then ought I to be paying someone to do this now? But there’s the rub, I don’t trust anyone else to do it, they aren’t good enough. No one else is worthy to rub my paint. So I do it.
“He understood well enough how a man with a choice between pride and responsibility will almost always choose pride.” -Stephen King
Hand work on the rimz
Who am I doing this for? To impress others certainly, no denying that factoid. I could couch it in more clever lingo, that it’s to “protect my investment”, for “longterm maintenance and sustainability”, and such, and maybe some people wax for those reasons. Of course it makes me feel darn good to have a freshly shined whip, and I like to assure myself that if it never left the garage and no one saw it but me it’d still be worth it. But again that doubt nags at me that I ought to be more grow’ed up than this.
None of my friends wax their cars. Moved on. In my youth we’d all gather our cars in a circle on someone’s lawn and wax them together. Good times. Laughing, joking, mocking, talking about cars and girls, “Karen doesn’t like you because you, unlike me, got no personality!”, listening to Depeche Mode, the Eagles and Styx. One by one they all fell away, marriage then kids then golf games and the office, until it’s just me now, waxing along in the garage, nothing but the sound of a fan and the buffer to interrupt the silence.
Ahhh….
Chrome is my favorite color. The more the better.
“Humility is nothing but truth, and pride is nothing but lying.” -St. Vincent de Paul
Tire black!?
Yeah, uh, I, uh, still black the tires. I know I know, juvenile. Should an elderly man of my advanced years be blacking his tires like he’s 17 and about to Cruise Chester Ave.
“Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.” -C.S. Lewis
Back in black
As we come to the end I black all the black because it makes me happy. Or does it? Well, yeah it does actually. Silly though, not something I go around telling people about, not in this climate. “Hey guess what?? I like to black my tires!” Yeah, that’ll go over well at the watercooler.
It is finished…
And so it is done for another year. And so I ask again, dost thou wax?
31 year old Black GM enamel. Was waxed fairly regularly by the original owner but when I bought it 4 years ago, that regimen had apparently been ignored for some time. Took some intense applications of polishing compound, and some MEquiars wax BNut the shine is still to be had. Black is a real problem child shows everything. and here in the Valley of the Sun, Phoenix, Az. It takes but a day and a fine layer of dust has covered it. Clear coats do hold there shines better and have improved gratly, however, “Ol’ Sol here takes that as a challenge and fair blasts the paint with as much UV havoc as can be had. Many cars develop cloudy scaly patches as the clear coat gives up. Frankly, I still wax the other vehicles, A Lincoln Sedan and an Edge daily drivers. However, this Black Buick , being a rare vehicle and a survivor may get 4 coats a year. All three are parked in the carport of my 1950s MCM None get polished in the summer, though, I may be crazy in my old age, but I ain’t stupid.
Hats off to you keeping up a black car in the desert! Looks great.
I detailed cars to get through school, and over years regardless of quality of my vehicles, or their mileage, theyve always looked their best. I can’t handle all things mechanical, but I can care for it appropriately….I have 2 cars and two trucks. 3 of those have at least 100k miles, but look loved. I detail them whenver I feel like it. I just cleaned this one….
Sweet truck! And do I detect a fellow tire blacker? Very nice indeed.
Totally i tire blacker! Thank you; I look forward to your posts.
Annual polisher (not waxer). Wash, dry w/ a chamois, then use a liquid polish with a sponge & microfiber. Avoids some of the toll on my shoulders. Maybe an orbital is in my future, based on what some of you have written.
The polish gives a nice, long-lasting shine and beading. Importantly, I can use it over the entire car (but not glass), w/ no worry abt residue.
I have thought about washing my car but wax nope and rubbing compound on a clearcoat is a definite no no, it brings up the colour on laquer or enamel just fine though. Maybe a quick hose down after winter for my beast will do?
Come brother kiwi, there is room at the altar of waxing for you too.
And what is that little old car lurking in the background?
I’ve polished my cars, but never waxed them. The Cortina used to get polished once a year – until I polished through the paint on the hood and got two spots which were never the same colour after. The Ford Laser (below) that replaced it as a DD got polish to try to get some shine into the dull blue paint, but that seemed to need doing more and more frequently, so I let it go. The Mazda 3 that replaced it just came up good with a wash, though my son waxed it before I sold it.
My son just about idolised the paint on his red Lancer, polishing and waxing it with the good stuff several times a year. it always looked like new – no mean feat for original paint on a sixteen-year-old car that wasn’t garaged.
Is that the red Lancer in the back? Purty.
Back in ye olden days I went through the paint on a couple of my cars polishing the bejesus out of them. I’ve since learned restraint…
Just finished waxing the ’82 Buick with my favourite wax, Autoglym, The paint is largely original and is getting faded/chalky, unfortunately….
Ah yes, “waxing the Buick” eh? Wink wink, nudge nudge…
What a nice car!
It becomes more of a problem in our long, hard, Winters….
Yes,I have to wax my NA Miata’s single stage paint. But in a way it’s like caressing
the curves of a woman,I’m not too old for that!
Hi my name is Vince and I am a wax-aholic…. Okay recovering…
Very timely topic Heath. I actually just spent some of today washing and waxing my wife’s Subaru. It was supposed to be a quick wash and wax and it was supposed to be done in the spring. The car had a boat load of tar on the sides from all the cold patch asphalt that was used over the winter months. I ended up claying the entire car, and then I still used some Meguiars Ultimate Compound to buff out some superficial damage, and then topped it off with a coat of Collinite 845. It ended up taking me a few hours in the blazing hot temperatures and humidity, but I enjoy it. I actually find it kind of therapeutic and it’s nice to see the results in the end.
I used to wax my cars often, when I was single. With a family, I try to do the daily drivers about three times a year, but twice is usually all they get. While I do think waxing does really improve the look of the car, my primary reason for doing so is for paint protection. I use long lasting waxes to ensure maximum protection.
One summer while I was still in school I worked at a detail shop at a dealer. I didn’t really care for the work, but I learned a lot. I also learned to work fast. I can wash and wax and quickly detail my exterior of my full-size truck in about 2 hours. I much prefer to work by hand, over machines, but I do have a buffer for using compounds to repair minor scratches and restore old paint. Working fast and vigorously by hand is actually not a bad exercise too.
Just waxed the wifes GMC acadia and our better suburban this weekend . I can’t stop
I’m 26 and wash/wax my cars at least once a month, even after 40-50 hour workweeks. I have five cars to keep up with (my 2013 200, 2006 Ram HD, 1993 Concorde, 1991 LeBaron convertible, and my wife’s 2015 Outback). All it takes is one weekend afternoon for all the cars, or sometimes I’ll just do one or two cars at a time. I’ll do the maintenance during this time as well. Five cars may sound like a lot, but it’s not. It’s actually fun and satisfying.
The interior detailing doesn’t take too long since my wife and I are clean freaks and have no children or pets. I just vacuum, clean and condition the leather (except for the Concorde, it’s cloth) and about once every two or three months I use my Hoover steam cleaner and shampoo the carpets. I’ve got WeatherTech in my 200 and my wife’s Outback so those don’t get shampooed as often. I wash the mats for the other cars in the washer and hang them to dry. I usually skip the windows and clean them every other session since there’s no need (no kids!). I use a handheld steamer to clean crevices.
The exteriors don’t get too bad but our cars get a light dusting real easily since there’s a long stretch of dirt road to get to our house (even though the road our house is on is paved) and most of Utah is dusty as it is. I will say that the waxing really does help to keep the finish cleaner, the dust just rolls off. I clay all the cars twice a year.
You sir are the hero of the waxing faith!! I am not worthy. Carry on! ?
Today, before reading this thread, I washed and waxed my 1998 Ford F150 Lariat pickup. She has 46,000 miles on her and is a keeper. I’m 74 years old and still like to take care of my cars and like driving a clean one!
Oh yes, very nice indeed. Of the three things that turn my head while driving, a sharply maintained and waxed older vehicle is one of them. Looks great.
The five old collector cars get waxed once a year as they live under covers and only need to be washed two-three times a year. The two daily drivers are washed every week and get waxed every 4-5 months. Clay bar, a light polish (never rubbing compound too aggressive), carnauba wax and then a 4-6 month paint sealant. Machine used is a Flex 3401 VRG. The two early 90’s with faded clear coat on upper surfaces never as it is too late for them and they weren’t my cars originally.
I own 10 cars and they all get waxed and detailed at every oil change. Its therapeutic, a good workout and a bonding experience with the cars. They are all drivers and either garaged or under a carport. I have it down about 3 hours to do the oil change, tire rotation, wash, wax, vacuum and the windows.
I waxed my wife’s 2002 Durango early in the spring. We bought it new and with just basic care and maintenance it still looks and runs great 16 years and 175K miles later.
Love your car and it will love you back.
LTDan, nice looking Durango. And congrats on the work to keep the fleet looking and running well!
Own 10 cars, eh? Why do I feel bad owning three? Maybe I should search out that 1965 Vette I dream of and used to own when I was young and carefree?
If a ’65 Corvette makes you happy and have the means, then absolutely, there should be a ’65 Corvette parked in your driveway.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/Cars-Trucks/6001/i.html?LH_ItemCondition=3000%7C1000%7C2500&_fosrp=1&_dcat=6001&_dmpt=US_Cars_Trucks&makeval=Chevrolet&modelval=Corvette&Model%2520Year=1965&_mtrvfc=1&_stpos=23072&_nkw=Chevrolet%20Corvette
The last car I waxed was my ‘71 Vega, probably in 1985 or so.
Yes. An afternoon well spent.
My Alfa has a Supagard finish, but I still intend to polish, if not wax, it. That red and the sunshine just makes you want to do it, never mind the subsequent ease of cleaning.
And your truck looks great
I do once a year, with NuFinish – it seems to last a while.
Fifty years ago, it was tradition that the GTA would be waxed on Memorial Day, during the festivities taking place in Indianapolis on radio (no televised action).
Remember the top speed in 1968 was about 150, so the race lasted…what 5 hours (?). Plenty of time to hand wax the flanks of the Fairlane.I remember using Liquid Glas or somesuch.
Great times.
Yes, I recall waxing cars with the race on the radio too. That is a tradition I should restart.
I have to confess that I wax my cars 4 or 5 times a year and treat the leather in the two that have it every 4 months. The vinyl top ( original) on my ’66 Mustang gets treated every time I clean it up, which is a couple of times a month in the warm months. I have always done that since I was a teenager.
My former brother in law used to say that it was too bad my cars didn’t run as good as they looked.
I’ve waxed only one car in my life. When I was 19 back in 1983 the warehouse manager had his ‘76 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser repainted in the original silver. The Florida sun was had been hard on his beloved 7 year old wagon, so he asked me to protect his newly resprayed ride. I did it by hand. It took a whole week of lunch hours to complete. That. Was. A. Lot. Of. Car. He was very satisfied. As for me, I said never again, and I’ve kept my word.
Not only do I wax my cars, I even polish & wax my lawn tractor.