How often do I need to wax or polish?

[Jimp]

I'm starting to get into doing my own detailing. Previously I left a friend of the family who does detailing give the car a good clean up once a year but now that the daily looks decent I want to keep it clean all of the time. My mate did one of these big clean ups about three weeks ago with wax, polish, sealant etc. Today I washed any dirt off with a hose, dried the car and used some Chemical Guys quick detailer and Autoglym window polish to restore the shine to the paint. I'm wondering though, when will I need to redo the wax, the polish and the sealant? Is there a way of telling or a general time that it lasts? Also, I've bought a clay bar kit, when is it appropriate to use the clay bar? Must I wait for the wax and sealant to wear off before I use it?

[Ninj]

Today I washed any dirt off with a hose, dried the car and used some Chemical Guys quick detailer and Autoglym window polish to restore the shine to the paint.

Hi mate,

I'm assuming you meant you used the quick detailer on the paint and the window polish on the glass?

You can keep topping up the finish of a decent wax by using your QD but there comes a point where your'e wasting your time and a new coat needs to be applied.

Personally I go for a wax every 2-3 months or so when I see the beading starting to go and a de tar/de iron/clay type job every 6 months.  There are waxes which last longer though, some guys get 6-9 months out of things like Collinite 476 but I enjoy it to be honest so it's not really a chore!

Are you talking about machine polishing it or just doing it by hand?  Depending on the product, most polishing will remove the protectant layers and you'll be back down ready to re-apply them and you really need to be free of waxes and stuff if you are claying, otherwise your'e not going to have the desired effect. 

The reasoning for my 6 month routine is that the detaring removes the grimey layer allowing the deiron product to work better.  Then it's as clean as can be and the clay is also able to work properly and remove anything thats left (in reality, little).  If any correction needs doing, the polishing step will sort it and my protection then gets layered up for another 6 months with top ups as above.

[Andy!]

I wash and wax at least once a week weather permitting but thats probably a tad ott to be honest.

[SI74]

When the beading is starting to drop off you might want to start thinking about doing it again. This could be 2 months 6months all down to what wax you use. every other wash I go over the car with the likes of DD Red Mist.

[DMT_Edition30]

I'm not saying my routine is correct but when i got my Edition 30, (In black) it was only a year old and the previous owner had obviously never thought to do more than probably chuck a bucket of water over it, and there was tree sap bonded to the paint.

I found the clay bar kit removed all the tree sap, and brough the paint up like glass, really smooth and shiney. I now do this every 4-6 months depending on the time of year and weather.

Other than that i wash the car once a week, and polish with Autoglym super resin polish as i find it gives the car a deep shine on top of the clayed paintwork. I also use meguiar's ultimate compound every now and again which works wonders in removing and light surface marks and swirls. Normally i just rely on the Autoglym polish as a sealant as i wash the car every week and there is always beading, but i recently opted for a carnauba wax as well. WHilst i can't say the shine was anymore than with just the polish I thought why not.

[Guy]

I'm not saying my routine is correct but when i got my Edition 30, (In black) it was only a year old and the previous owner had obviously never thought to do more than probably chuck a bucket of water over it, and there was tree sap bonded to the paint.

I found the clay bar kit removed all the tree sap, and brough the paint up like glass, really smooth and shiney. I now do this every 4-6 months depending on the time of year and weather.

Other than that i wash the car once a week, and polish with Autoglym super resin polish as i find it gives the car a deep shine on top of the clayed paintwork. I also use meguiar's ultimate compound every now and again which works wonders in removing and light surface marks and swirls. Normally i just rely on the Autoglym polish as a sealant as i wash the car every week and there is always beading, but i recently opted for a carnauba wax as well. WHilst i can't say the shine was anymore than with just the polish I thought why not.

AG SRP will not act as a sealant in anyway.. you are spending excessive amounts of time with that polish if you are doing it every week

use a decent sealant like CG 109 and then wax with a decent hard wax x2 coats ... which will act as your sacrificial layer... you will then only need to polish and wax once every 3-4 months (depending upon usage and weather conditions etc)

[S4twiggy]

if the job is done correctly then you should need to polish a car twice a year and wax top up every 3 months.

its all about doing the job properly the first time and then all you have to do is maintain the finish.

no need to wax every week as its a waste of time and product. in theory all you need is 3 coats of wax, any more than that and your just taking the layer off which you have just put on so it will only have around 3 coats anyway.

SRP has lots of filling properties in ti so masks the swirls and defects but it isnt the best product by far. there are lots of products out there that will blow AG out the water.

CG black light is a good sealant also so check it out aswel as 109

[Jimp]

Thanks for the info everyone  Looks like I shouldn't need to get any wax for another two months or so. Once the wax has worn off I'll give claying a try.
One more question, what is de-tarring? I've seen tar remover in the shop but thought it was only for lumps of tar stuck to the paint. Is de-tarring just going over the whole car finding and removing any tar spots?

[SI74]

Yes before you clay the car it good to go round it with the likes of Tardis.