How long before waxing

Take it out at night and look at the paint under flourescent lighting. You'll really see the swirls!

All those swirls are teenie tiny fine scratches in your paint.

Basically the only thing that'll get 'em out is a little elbow grease with a high quality polish. A buffer, in the wrong hands, can be detrimental in more ways than one.

Car washes (mechanical) net the same result. I don't care if they're "touchless" or not. The quickest way to destroy the factory shine on your paint is to take it to a car wash. Period. End of story.

Do it by hand.

 

Every time the snow melts it looks just fine.
Berore I got the roo guard with police push bars I found out that the fenders are plastic. Don`t nudge a gate with them.
The dealer fixed the sratch, No problem.
It won`t happen again.
The push bars have about paid for themselves.
I helped a lot of people.
Good will is beyond price.

 

In my opinion, water beading up on an unprotected car and drying is bad. Because when it dries, I see a crust of mnerals and it's hard to get rid of. Paint looks and feels damaged and visable roughness.

But, water beading up on a protected car is a good sign that the was is still working. When it dries, it's easy to remove with no apparent damage. Feels smooth and looks the same.

On a protected vehicle, beading leads to sheeting.

I'm sure you can debate the virtues of beading vs sheeting, but in either case, I feel it's just the particular qualities of the wax exhibiting themselves, but in either or both cases, it's a good thing that indicated the stuff's working.