So you've waxed your car but it's already at the cusp of its lifespan prior to applying new wax (about 3-4 months) and you're wondering if it's about time you applied a new coat.
Or you live in a rainy area and you're wondering if the wax you've recently applied has already reached its limits. How can you tell if you need a fresh wax?
It's simple. Look at the size of the beading water on your car. If the diameter of the droplets is more than half an inch or if the beads themselves are visibly huge, then it's time for you to apply a fresh coat of wax.
Usually, cares require fresh wax every 3-4 months, but it can become more frequent if you regularly drive through snowy, rainy, and inclement climates where dark skies are a daily reality.
Waxing On and Off 101
- The Karate Kid and Waxing: Mr. Miyagi from the Karate Kid taught a whole generation of Generation X that you should "wax on, wax off". It doesn't only teach you how to block in karate by reflex. It also teaches you to wax your car properly. You should apply the wax in circular motions. Afterwards, you'll use the same motions to buff it dry. With that said, Miyagi-sensei never said, "Wax on, polish off" for good reason. Not only is that not as catchy; it's also wrong.
- Polishing and Waxing Are Different Things: Polishing and waxing are often used interchangeably, like they're synonyms. However, that's incorrect. You clean then polish your car. Afterwards, you seal the deal and your polished car with wax in order to keep that sheen. You don't wax then polish your car for the same reason you don't wax an unclean car. These things come in layers and steps that you should follow in the right order.
- Clean, Dry, Polish, and Wax: In order to make your car showroom new, you should clean, polish, and then wax them in that order. Polishing and waxing serve different purposes, actually and should always be done on a car that's already been cleaned with products like KevianClean Car Wash Shampoo or Wheel Cleaner. Polishing a car involves removal of small damages on your paint finish's top coat, which includes swirls, bird poop, and road gunk.
- Polishing and Waxing: Your polish is responsible for making your car shiny after it's been cleaned. Wax also makes your car shiny but it's not advisable for you to apply wax on a dirty car because it just makes the car dirtier. Polish preps the car so that when the protective wax is applied, it sheen is doubled by the sheen the car already has from underneath. You don't put the icing (wax) before the cake (the car that's been cleaned and polished).