Wash, polish, wax...when/how do I re-polish?

Ok, when I got the truck new, I washed it with dawn. Didn't do the clay due to lack of time and money. After washing, I polished with Nu-Finish followed by a coat of Gold Class carnauba paste. Two weeks later, I washed with Gold Class shampoo and applied another coat of the carnauba. My question is: When and how to I know when to re-polish with the nu-finish? Do I have to strip the 2 layers of carnauba off first? Do I do this with Dawn? Thanks!

 

Dawn will clean off the wax it is a grease cutter.
I go by feel. If it no longer feels slick I rewax but not always the full wax treatment. I use some of the quick waxes I.E. Turtle Quick Detail any other wipe on and wipe off just to make it fast.

 

My truck is parked outside during the day in a salt water environment. Will the wipe on stuff provide the same level of protection? Really want to make sure i do everything I can to protect from the salt air.

 

Yes and yes. As far as when and how it depends on the condition of your surface. If the surface is free of swirls, marks and debris then maintenance with a wax is satisfactory.

 

The spray on stuff is for something quick and easy, it does not offer the same protection as the carnauba paste as you used. You can polish as offten as you want as it offers shine but no real protection. I would be waxing in the spring and fall if I were you to keep it protected.

 

I:

Polish: twice a year; once in the spring and once in the fall.

Wax: once a month without using dawn; there is no need to remove the old wax if you're not polishing, especially because the old wax just wears off anyway.

Clay bar: this is the only treatment you can really go by feel, as this is the true contaminent remover and not a protectant. I do this at minimum whenever I polish, usually more.

 

I mostly agree, except I only polish when I am unhappy with the way the paint looks. Sometimes I go years between polishing.

Remember, every time you polish, you remove paint, so only do it when necessary.

 

Also, using a spray wax is super-easy and makes waxing once a month (or even once a week) a breeze. I disagree that it doesn't provide sufficient protection. It is all I use on my truck.

 

Thanks guys, all sound advice! Looks like I'll keep the wax up since I have no swirl marks. Then, at some point when the paint looks dull, ill strip it down with dawn and re-polish and start over . Thanks again guys!

 

Good point. I don't polish very often when I have cars, but I need to with my trucks because of scratches in the summer from camping in the woods, and I like to after all the rain in winter.

 

You can always try a cleaner wax

 

The wipe on stuff like Meguires spray on wax as such tell you on the bottle that when they become hard to wipe off, that is the your sign it is time to wax again.

I usually can tell by the amount of time since the last wax, (and depending on the season) and the feel of the back of my hand sliding across the surface.

If all else fails, read the bottle on some of the better ones. They will sometimes give up some clues.

 

once a month is good, but i only do it to the roof and hood where the sun hits it all the time