Do All-In-One's Apply Like Standard Wax?

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mark2dx

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Hello all! Long time reader, third time poster.

I did a basic exterior detail (by hand) on my Nissan 300ZX and performed the following steps:

1. Wash with DP Rinseless
2. Dried with Cobra Guzzlers
3. Waxed with Poorboy’s World Polish with Carnauba (BLUE) using the red CSS applicators.

I also did the glass and the wheels, but this question is about paint.

I know Mike Phillips advocates applying Carnuba Wax in a vertical motion in the same path air would travel across the car, but does this apply to AIO's as well? I ask because the particular AIO I used recommends applying in a circular motion and I'm not sure why.

I also ask because I noticed some pretty extensive swirling on my paint after the product was used. Granted the car is my daily and in dire need of a multi-step polish, but the swirls seem to stand out quite a bit more. Some of these "swirls" also appear to travel in a linear path (along the same path I applied the AIO), but this result is not consistent across the entire car.

Perhaps I'm just noticing them more because I used a product with a polish component? Any input is appreciated :buffing:

[video=youtube_share;-MIWmHJxJQw&feature=player_embedded"]Autogeek on Two Guy's Garage - How to apply a Carnauba wax by hand - YouTube[/video]
 
What type of all in one do you have?

From the AIO"s I have used all have mild abrasives and they usually clean the paint, polish the paint and protect the paint. I believe the main reason they say to work in a circular fashion is to work the abrasives until they dissapear. IMO you might not have worked the AIO too long for the abrasives to dissapear, thus you might have induced some marring. I would try to work the polish some more, in a circular motion.
 
I used Poorboy's World Polish with Carnuba. I was thinking the same thing too - with the abrasives it might be better to work them in a bit.
 
Try to work a panel for a bit longer and see if the results fix up. Just note that All in one polishes do have their limitations as well. The cut on them is not enough to remove heavy swirls or RIDS but my customers still ask for the AIO's often. Right now I have been using Poli-Seal on my orbital and that polish you have to work until it literally dissapears.
 
Absolutely. I had no expectation that the product would leave my finish swirl-free, I just wanted to know the correct application method so I can avoid putting swirls into the paint in future applications.

Would you recommend working the product in the next time I wash the car, or did you mean apply it on top of the current layer of wax and try to work it in to the areas that appear to be marred?
 
While I am a machine polish type of person I have rarely polished or compounded by hand. It might just take some practice and getting used to, for circular hand appications.

It is up to you if you want to redo the whole car again. If it were me I would just wait until the wax starts to wear off a bit this way you can see more of the marring. And by doing this you would also save product. But this is entirely up to you! :xyxthumbs:
 
I think I'll wait until the next wash, and add in a clay step to boot.

I'll soon be a machine type of person as well, holding off until Friday's sale to see what kind of kits show up :props:
 
Update on this topic: I sent an e-mail directly to Poor Boy's inquiring about application method for this product. While I'll be trying the circular application method next time around, I think it would be helpful to get an official word on any potential dangers of applying this stuff in a straight up and down fashion.

Once I get a response I'll be sure to post it in the thread :dblthumb2:
 
Thanks for the update Mark. Let us know what they end up saying :xyxthumbs:
 
You can always go over your paint with a swirl mark remover. There are many products available for this. I prefer 3M's professional line, but Sonus and others also have good products for this task.
 
I believe There are two reasons to apply wax in the direction wind would blow:
1) prevents fine circular scratches if somehow there is a mishap (stone in the pad, poor quality applicator, etc). Straight scratch in the direction you are looking from is less visible I presume?

2) looks better. Ive heard this one but I dont buy it as much. Again, goes back to the angle you view a car from.

But that only goes for waxes and sealants. If you are polishing I think you would want a circular motion. Theres a reason orbitals move in a circle (and oscillate too!).

The traditional way is to always use a circular motion for everything, but with hand waxing/sealing, direction of wind is often helpful to prevent possible swirl scratches and possibly improve reflection.
My guess is you have had swirls the whole time and the polishing made it more visible when you removed some surface defects above the swirls... Im thinking the swirls are deeper than your AIO can handle.
You probably need a buffer to remove them.
One thing I do know is that regardless of what you are doing it cant hurt to try a small test area first before proceeding with the whole car. This way you could directly observe the effect and go from there.
This is just all stuff Ive picked up in the past from reading and doing my own cars. Im not a pro, just tryin to help.
 
The answer is "no"


If you're using a cleaner/wax, or all-in-one, (same thing), usually it's because you're working on a neglected finish and you only want to do one step but get amazing results.

If that's the case then you want to work the product in and over the paint a lot more aggressively than you would "apply" a finishing wax which is what I demonstrated in the videos...

You also normally use a cleaner/wax heavy or wet when working on a neglected finish because you want plenty of chemical cleaning agents, (liquids), working for you whereas with a finishing wax, since the paint is supposed to be in excellent condition, you're using the product sparingly...

Make sense?


Totally different techniques for working with cleaner/waxes and finishing waxes. I think I talk about it here,

The Difference Between a Cleaner/Wax and a Finishing Wax



And I address this in my first e-book too...


:)
 
That link has the complete information on different approaches for car finish care. If you print that, you are good for future reference in your detailing adventures.

As already stated, the all in one or cleaner waxes do the job when you don't have time to do more steps. Most of us work for a living and have normal lives that don't include doting over a car finish on one or in my case several cars, a boat, three motorcycles and a custom painted truck. We just want it shiny to drive it when we do have disposable time.

Most of the time, for a daily use car, a cleaner wax will clean the junk off the paint and shine it up nicely, as long as you first go over the panel with detailing/overspray clay.

:buffing:
 
Yep, that is indeed a great article - it's actually how I came to my decision on the Poor Boy's product in the first place. The solution matched the condition of my paint as well as the result I was going for. However, it seems like I forgot about this part of the article entirely once I started the detail process...

Mike Phillips said:
Application Method
In most cases, a cleaner/wax type product needs to be worked over and into the surface. Cleaner/waxes are not wipe on, wipe off products. Part of the cleaning action comes from you either working the product over the surface and engaging the cleaning ingredients with the paint or you running an electric polisher and the polisher is engaging the cleaning ingredients against the paint. The worse condition the paint, the more you'll need to work the product.
Click to expand...

:bash:

Here's the response that I got from Steve @ Poor Boy's:

Steve @ Poor Boy's said:
it can go either way .. back and forth or circles ... I don't think you worked the product in enough and you are seeing refraction of light through the leftover product. You might try using a QD, it might even everything off...


Best Regards,
Steve
Poorboy's World Products
poorboysworld.com =site
PoorboysWorld.net "Let's Talk Detailing" =forum
Click to expand...

So the consensus is...I didn't work the product in by applying it up and down, and I'll need to clean that up either via a QD wipedown or proper application of the product next time it's due for a wash. Makes sense to me! :buffing:
 
When I use a cleaner/wax by hand, I use it heavy and match my application material to the paint and the condition of the finish.

For neglected clear coats I'll stick with soft foam or soft microfiber applicator pads.

For neglected single stage paints I'll use something that's more aggressive, like either a piece of terry cloth or a terry cloth applicator pad.

I'll tackle a section about 16" squarish or so, depends upon what I'm trying to do, and use an overlapping circular motion to spread the product out over the area I'm going to wok and then switch to a back and forth straightline motion to really work the product over that area. The harder the paint, the worse the defects the smaller the area you work.

When moving to a new section I'll overlap into the previous section for a uniform appearance via uniform work done to 100% of the paint.


I think this article has some tips on working by hand...

Man versus Machine



Here's some related articles from my section on working by hand...


Polishing Paint by Hand

New - Foam Applicator Pads at Autogeek.net

Priming your pad when working by hand

New - Removing Scratches By Hand

How to use a hand applied abrasive polish or paint cleaner by hand



I prefer to always work by hand but there are always places on a car that you simply cannot machine polish that's why it's important to possess both machine skills and hand skills.


:)
 
Mike,

Your write ups are awesome :props:!

And as much as I love working by hand, a DA is definitely the next investment I plan on making. You just can't argue with the results and the time saved. Hopefully I can snag a deal on one when Friday's sale rolls around, maybe even a kit if I'm lucky!
 
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