To Wax, or Not To Wax -- How long should I wait?

[minidew]

In my still brief sojourn into MINI-dom, you could say I've been raised in the Zaino tradition, and when it comes time to wax my new car for the first time, that's what I'll use. But regarding when to wax, I'm a little confused. I've been told by many that the original wax put on one's MINI is excellent and will last quite a while, maybe even up to a year. However, according to Zaino, one's new car could already have metal shavings or "rail dust" on it, which can already begin to damage the finish, and hence one should do the first wax process (using Dawn for washing, etc.) as soon as possible.

What do you all think? Should I do it immediately or should I wait, and if so for how long?

[Neil the Hat]

I would agree with what Zaino says.

Especially as your car has been shipped from the UK, transit dirt and dust will have built up already on your bodywork.

I would avoid washing up detergent, not designed for car bodywork and could be quite harsh on very new bodywork. I've read elsewhere about Dawn but at the end of the day it is for dishes not cars!

My advice would be to thoroughly wash then clay your bodywork, polish, seal then wax.

This will give you a nice long lasting finish and you will only need to reapply some wax maybe every 2 months unless your more keen to wash, polish and wax more often.

[British SD]

well said Neil. Use a car wash detergent not dish soap. Clay bars are awesome and a good wax. If you only want to wax twice a year, use a decent polymer based wax since it lasts up to a year. If you want the showroom shine like many, use a Carnauba wax every 2-3 months. Everyone has personal preferences but off the shelf Meguiar's or Mothers does well from my experience.

[PW/B_JCW210]

I wouldn't hang around if I were you.

I am also a Zaino nut and would follow the full Zaino process, I have done that on my MINI and it is looking fantastic.

Seeing as yours is brand new I am not sure whether it will be necessary to clay the paint, but try a small inconspicuous piece and see what you find on the clay bar.

I have 2 coats of Z5, and 2 coats of Z2 on mine with numerous intermediate coats of Z8.

Every time I wash the car I give it a light coat of Z8. I use Z6 on the wheels (it is cheaper than the Z8) and it stops the brake dust etc from sticking to the alloys.

Post some pics when you have it Zaino'ed!

[PW/B_JCW210]

Just noticed the other posts about not using Dawn

This is recommended by the Zaino camp as a way of stripping everything off the car so that there are no polishes etc on the paint when you start applying the Zaino treatment. You only do it once, before starting the Zaino process.

I did it on some of my previous cars and it had no detrimental effect on the paint.

[British SD]

Bow to the Zaino gods? Professional car detailers never use dish soap on cars.

Why would you want to strip off any of the factory coatings when its new? I can understand if its a aged finish but my street smart logic is you get rid of the shipping contaminents etc and apply your finish.

[PW/B_JCW210]

Well that is what is recommended by Zaino as a pre treatment.

I have seen it written up quite a few times on Autopia as well as a recommended first step in the Zaino process, probably not by professional detailers though.

As a one off process before applying loads of other polish it seems unlikely to me that it would have a huge detrimental effect on the paint.

Just following the suggested process....

[minidew]

Thanks for all your thoughts. I will definitely do the whole wash & wax process sooner rather than later, and I'll post pictures as well.

I'm curious to hear what anyone else thinks about the Dawn question.

I helped my boyfriend clay his MINI, and it was almost addictive...so satisfying to get all of the scruffy bits off!

[PW/B_JCW210]

Have a look at this search I did on Autopia:

http://autopia.org/forum/search.php?searchid=622921

picking one of the results out:

http://autopia.org/forum/showthread....highlight=dawn

seems to be by somone who does detailing as a business... a few of the others also appear to be by either professional or semi professional detailers.

[Neil the Hat]

I have read a few times about Dawn use on cars...

It is just a personal thing really, I find the shampoo I have leaves a really good finish so have never felt the need to use anything more aggressive.

[PW/B_JCW210]

I would never use dish washing liquid on a regular basis, there are loads of very good specialist detergents for use on cars, and those are what should be used on a regular basis.

The only time that the dishwashing liquid wash should be used is if you want to remove everything (in terms of polishes) that is on the cars paint, eg: before changing the polish type if you want to try out a new system.

[White325]

A bit off topic here but can you use clay bar on alloys? Before applying wax to stop dust sticking.

[PW/B_JCW210]

I have seen that process used in some posts on Autopia, never used it myself so cannot really comment on how well it works.

I have found that washing the alloys with a good quality auto shampoo, followed by cleaning with something like Klasse AIO, then polishing is quite sufficient.