Canadian Maintenance & Correction Procedure

[KrisDetails]

Hey Mike/Everyone,

I wanted to get your feedback on how to properly do a maintenance wash on my vehicles in the summer & winter months up here in Canada.
I have a Daily and a car that sometimes parks outside or in my garage (depending if there is room) during the summer and winter months.
Living in Canada I cant keep my cars completely clean at all times. WINTER SUCKS! But I am always looking to improve the products that I use on my vehicles to extend the protection.
Maintenance washes is my #1 concern. Not sure which product to use during the drying time etc. and the CORRECT ORDER on what to apply first for the best and longest protection.

My Yearly/Bi Weekly Schedule goes something like this:
(Everything used with Chemical Guys TorqX DA)

Every 6 Months: Winter & Spring Prep

1. Iron X & Clay (Decontaminate)
2. IPA (50/50) in spray to clean and remove residue
3. Medium Polish (Meguiars Ultimate Comp) w/ CG Hex Orange Pad if needed
4. Light Polish (Meguiars Ultimate Polish) w/ CG Hex White Pad
5. Klasse Sealant (2 coats 12 hours apart)
6. Meguiars Paste Wax (Right after 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] coat of Klasse Sealant)
7. Extra
   1. RustCure3000 for Wheel wells, prevent rust
   2. Grease all Hinges & Windows
   3. Coat Rims w/ Wax/Sealant

Maintenance Washes weekly/bi-weekly: (Done at a Coin Op, and dependent on the weather/busyness)

1. Poor boys Bug Wash (If needed)
2. CG Wheel Cleaner / Meguairs Wheel Cleaner
3. Coin op Power Rinse or Soap first
4. 2 Bucket Method w/ Wash Mitt and CG Citrus Wash
5. Rinse
6. Meguiars Xpress Wax sprayed WHILE WET and Dry with Microfiber as a drying aid
7. Apply Mix of Klasse Spray Wax Mix (1/4 cup Klasse Sealant Glaze & 8oz Meguiars QD)
8. Apply Meguiars Xpress Wax
9. Extra
   1. Degrease and Rinse Engine Bay (When its really dirty)
   2. Rims and Tire clean

Ive heard great things and longevity about the Turtle Wax Ice Seal & Shine, I need something to protect my vehicle over the winter months without having to re-apply so many times.
Can I replace the Meguiars Xpress Wax at the end with the TW Ice Seal & Shine to layer on top of that Klasse Spray wax? Or what do you guys recommend i should change up for best protection?
Thanks in advanced guys!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Hi Kris,

Welcome to AutogeekOnline! :welcome:


Just to point out, your first two posts went into the "Moderation Queue".

I'm not sure why? I don't see any red flags in the above post?

Regardless, when I checked the Moderation Queue this morning I found your two posts awaiting approval so I approved them once I determined you were not a spammer.


You should be good to post without any of your posts going into moderation moving forward.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Hey Mike/Everyone,

I wanted to get your feedback on how to properly do a maintenance wash on my vehicles in the summer & winter months up here in Canada.

Ive heard great things and longevity about the Turtle Wax Ice Seal & Shine, I need something to protect my vehicle over the winter months without having to re-apply so many times.


Can I replace the Meguiars Xpress Wax at the end with the TW Ice Seal & Shine to layer on top of that Klasse Spray wax?

Or what do you guys recommend i should change up for best protection?


Thanks in advanced guys!

Good question. I have not used the Turtle Wax Ice Seal & Shine, we don't sell on the AG store so I don't have company access to the product. I could go buy a bottle and test it out but I'm not really that interested in it even though it does seem to have quite the stir among a few people on this forum.

So I'd recommend getting a bottle and test it out then make up your own mind.

 

[Calendyr]

Welcome to the forum.

First, doing a compound twice a year is overkill and is not good for the durability of your paint. Every time you compound the paint, you remove a small layer of it. Modern paints are extremelly thin, and if you remove say 2% of your clearcoat twice a year, you are speeding up the paint failure time instead of helping protect the paint.

I suggest you only compound when needed. That means, if you see scratches or swirl marks that annoy you. You could also switch to Meguiars Ultimate Polish if you want to do a yearly freshning up of the paint. It is much less aggressive than the compound and would remove any oxydation accumulated during the year and also remove some of the swirl marks if any are present.

For protection, don't over think it. Most of the products on the market are good. Turtle Wax Ice Spray Wax and also their seal and shine is a very good product. In many independant tests it destroyed it's competitors costing 4 to 6 times more both on the chemical resistance aspect and the durability aspect. Some of the tests I have seen had it last 11 months compared to 2-6 months for other similar products. It doesn't offer the best shine but it is still enhancing the appearance. Most of the shine comes from having paint in good condition, so in your case that should be perfectly fine. I would not use either of the Turtle Wax sealants as a drying aid or topper for other products. They don't play well other layers of waxes or sealants. I guess it's the solvants that Turtle Wax uses, it makes their product very streaky if the paint is not bare. So if you decide to layer this product, try laying it with itself only, or use Meguiar's Spray wax as a drying aid on top of the Turtle wax sealant and see how that goes.

With that said, what you are using right now for protection is good, no need to toss it to buy something else. Once you have gone through your bottle of sealant, that would be the time to try Turtle Wax ICE sealant. At 16$ for a bottle, it's very inexpensive and worth trying.

One thing I would suggest is to use a fabric protector for your carpets. One of the nastiest aspect of living here in Canada is the salt and calcium on the carpets. Using something like Scotch Guard, or 303 fabric guard or any other fabric protectant will make removing salt easier. So it is definatelly something you should do.

Last thing. You mention coin op car wash. Any reason you are not doing the washes at home? You can get a pressure washer on special at Canadian Tire about 10 times a year. Their usually have a bunch of them at half price about 25% of the time. Anything between 1500 to 2000 PSI will work well for car washing. The Simoniz machines are good quality, I use them profesionnally and mine has been going strong for 4 years now even if it is a consummer grade product not designed for commercial use. I use it 5 times a week during the spring to fall season, and for quite a long time each day between the snow-foam, pressure wash, decontamination rinse and wheel cleaning.

 

[KrisDetails]

Welcome to the forum.

First, doing a compound twice a year is overkill and is not good for the durability of your paint. Every time you compound the paint, you remove a small layer of it. Modern paints are extremelly thin, and if you remove say 2% of your clearcoat twice a year, you are speeding up the paint failure time instead of helping protect the paint.

I suggest you only compound when needed. That means, if you see scratches or swirl marks that annoy you. You could also switch to Meguiars Ultimate Polish if you want to do a yearly freshning up of the paint. It is much less aggressive than the compound and would remove any oxydation accumulated during the year and also remove some of the swirl marks if any are present.

For protection, don't over think it. Most of the products on the market are good. Turtle Wax Ice Spray Wax and also their seal and shine is a very good product. In many independant tests it destroyed it's competitors costing 4 to 6 times more both on the chemical resistance aspect and the durability aspect. Some of the tests I have seen had it last 11 months compared to 2-6 months for other similar products. It doesn't offer the best shine but it is still enhancing the appearance. Most of the shine comes from having paint in good condition, so in your case that should be perfectly fine. I would not use either of the Turtle Wax sealants as a drying aid or topper for other products. They don't play well other layers of waxes or sealants. I guess it's the solvants that Turtle Wax uses, it makes their product very streaky if the paint is not bare. So if you decide to layer this product, try laying it with itself only, or use Meguiar's Spray wax as a drying aid on top of the Turtle wax sealant and see how that goes.

With that said, what you are using right now for protection is good, no need to toss it to buy something else. Once you have gone through your bottle of sealant, that would be the time to try Turtle Wax ICE sealant. At 16$ for a bottle, it's very inexpensive and worth trying.

One thing I would suggest is to use a fabric protector for your carpets. One of the nastiest aspect of living here in Canada is the salt and calcium on the carpets. Using something like Scotch Guard, or 303 fabric guard or any other fabric protectant will make removing salt easier. So it is definatelly something you should do.

Last thing. You mention coin op car wash. Any reason you are not doing the washes at home? You can get a pressure washer on special at Canadian Tire about 10 times a year. Their usually have a bunch of them at half price about 25% of the time. Anything between 1500 to 2000 PSI will work well for car washing. The Simoniz machines are good quality, I use them profesionnally and mine has been going strong for 4 years now even if it is a consummer grade product not designed for commercial use. I use it 5 times a week during the spring to fall season, and for quite a long time each day between the snow-foam, pressure wash, decontamination rinse and wheel cleaning.

Thanks for the reply! I only use the compound if i really need to but i do use the Meguiars Ultimate Polish 1 or 2 times a year just to make the paint look better. I do have a feeling that i am over complicating things when i do a maintenance wash, but thats why it seems like im putting unnecessary layers on top of other waxes, hence why i wanted to clear it up and maybe change the procedure. Since I use Xpress Wax as a drying aid, THEN the Klasse Sealant w/ Meguiars QD mix THEN Xpress wax on top of that, i feel like im doing a bit too much for no reason.

One of the other reasons why i wanted to see if i can switch Xpress Wax with TW Ice Seal & Shine is cause I will have to buy another gallon of Xpress wax pretty soon here and was seeing any other alternatives i can use that provides a better/longer protection. Especially for one of my cars that sit outside during the winter for long periods of time, from the durability testings ive seen online it looks unmatched to many other brands, which would definitely help out with preventing rust with that car during the weeks that it sits outside covered in snow and dirt.

And where I currently live we are not allowed to wash our cars in our driveway which really blows since i spend so much in at the coin-op doing these maintenance washes. If only....