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waxing the3, And also removing it from black plastics

4K views 20 replies 11 participants last post by  hau101 
#1 ·
Giving my new baby her first wax job..lol
I wax all my cars about 4 times per year. I try to wax pre winter and pre summer and than try to wax once in between both so through the years I have spread and buffed a ton of waxing on vehicles. I must say for a smaller car there seems to be a lot of real-estate here..lol (Im tired). Another thing is that there also seems to be a lot of areas where you have to worry about getting the wax on the black plastics. Overall waxing this car is a fairly daunting task vs others and Ive done alot.

What to do with any wax that stays on the black plastics? In the past Ive tried many products and they all seem to work but only a very short time after the white film appears again. I was really carefull today but in the middle of doing the wax-on I got a phone call and got distracted and got wax on the rear bottom near the hatch rear exhaust pipe black plastic. I used alcohol and a tooth brush and got a lot off and to be honest you wont really notice by normally looking but I can still see what Im not liking at all on my new car.

What do you do for clearing up the black plastics of mistaken wax residue?

In the future I may just use masking tape cause there is a lot on this car but that turns into quite the darn project as if waxing all the real-estate isn't enough already...lol.

Any suggestions? other than the obvious of simply being more careful? What products seem to work best and not just temporarily?
 
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#2 ·
Peanut butter, non crunchy. Best thing I've found for getting dried carnauba off of textured black plastic. Klasse All in One also works well to remove anything on trim, but it smells horrifying and as with most detailing products, I'd strongly recommend wearing gloves when using it.

I do tend to use 3M masking tape when using a carnauba wax though. But since I have a sealant on the paint and plastics, wax doesn't stick to anything. Synthetics are so much more durable, a sealant is "lifetime" and can be topped with either a synthetic or carnauba wax. I used Optimum OptiCoat 2.0 and use Dodo Juice hard waxes on both of our cars in the winter. Carnauba burns off at about 140 F, so doesn't really last more than a few days in our Texas summers, so I don't bother except in the cooler months, when it adds noticeable depth to the somewhat sterile look of a sealant, especially on the wife's black car.
 
#3 ·
thanks, I am shocked to hear peanut butter honestly.lol but hey stranger things have worked on many things for different purposes.

Im no detailer nor very informed of the best products. I simply keep my cars clean and wax them what I feel is an adequate amount of times per year. My normal favorite wax is "Nu-Finish" liquid. I think it does a good job. My existing dark blue 2010 elantra with 150,000 miles has been through everything nature can throw at it and aside from the chips and scratches the car still has nice deep shine for a car used that much.

However I denied a dealer offering of about $590 bucks for a Xzilon coating. I don't know if its worthwhile. I put a lot of mileage and I am concerned that after just a couple years and having mileage most average people do in 5 years, that I will have issues with this stuff. Things like what happens when I want to touch up chips and scratches? what happens when the stuff possibly fades and/or needs to be removed? What happens if any body work needs to get done and then whatever is new at the time will not have the coating? I just see potential pain in the neck issues one may have to deal with due to my own honest ignorance and the unknown, what can I say? It is what it is so I just figure I will clean and wax as normally as I always did.
 
#6 ·
Great sealant, currently have a few layers on my deep crystal blue hatchback. Hoping for 5 months protection out of it, time will tell
 
#8 ·
Which one? There are two available and seem the same description, one in a balck/white checker bottle and one blue bottle with white lettering except the red X?

And do you recommend waxing over Rejex as extra protection? Plan to purchase right away and have it shipped over.
 
#9 ·
Rejex (as ive searched) seems a good product. But to be honest and when searching for reviews/info on waxes and protectors the field is just so very cluttered. Not only in product but also in opinions. Even the better more reliable reviews of products at more professional levels is subjective at best. There is just simply no hard facts out there to really put all the different products in any firm order of quality, longevity, and overall greatness. Its all subjective opinion. Not knocking the product at all but just like many others its suppose to be the best. The only way to know for certain is to try for ourselves.

That said, I think I will get some cause it seems good enough and try it next time I wax the car and then I'll see what I think.
 
#12 ·
I've come to the conclusion of just having the exterior plastics painted piano black it will last longer and look nicer haven't gotten around to it yet but it is definitely in my plans for the future. I wish they would have them painted from factory or have the pieces for purchase if your model didn't come with it same for the chrome trimming yuck! Gonna paint that too.
 
#13 · (Edited)
peanut butter, wd40,pencil eraser. And yet more unexpected but expected remedies lol. I suppose whatever works works and so be it.

fwiw WD40 can do wonders on several things for cleaning. But wd40 itself leaves a coating behind and is why it lubricates things. Not so sure if that is so good or bad for the plastics.

I like what comebackgid says. If they (all makers) simply painted or gave the black plastics some sort of gloss coating this would never be a problem in the first place. In fact not only would we have to be careful to avoid getting care products on them, but would simply purposely do so. The whole process would be less tedious and more practical.

This got me thinking of something else. What and how in the world does one take care of matt finishes on cars. One of the new Camaro models has a matt black hood and Ive seen other vehicles with matt black finishes in part and even whole cars. Personally not a fan but regardless of that, what in the world do people do to clean and also protect a matt finish. That must be a teeth puling daunting task. Probably even far more of a love/hate relationship than one has with gloss black
 
#17 ·
This got me thinking of something else. What and how in the world does one take care of matt finishes on cars. One of the new Camaro models has a matt black hood and Ive seen other vehicles with matt black finishes in part and even whole cars. Personally not a fan but regardless of that, what in the world do people do to clean and also protect a matt finish. That must be a teeth puling daunting task. Probably even far more of a love/hate relationship than one has with gloss black
There are specific matte finish sealants and polishes, but the upkeep is certainly more trouble than a traditional finish. Hyundai offers a matte finish on a few of their cars and recommends only hand washes and no waxing. The Camaro is just a vinyl wrap on the hood, there's regular, shiny paint under there and it's easy enough to replace the wrap if necessary. You can also get a matte wrap on any car if you really want the look. The key is using very little or no abrasiveness to keep the finish matte and washing frequently to not allow too much dirt and grit to act like a polish.
 
#14 ·
For anyone trying Rejex for the first time... don't make the mistake of applying it like wax – no buffing is necessary as it is simply a dirt-rejecting coating. Apply it very evenly in very thin coats, let it dry for 15 minutes, and then wipe it off.

The big advantage of Rejex for me has been the reduction in abrasion contact during cleaning and drying the car. It works equally well on wheels, glass, etc.
 
#16 ·
as I investigate more about this "Rejex" product. I find mostly good reviews but to be fair I also find many that testify its no better than others products. As said earlier the opinions on waxes (and protectants) is just as many as there are products. What I don't like about rejex is the curing time nor the fact that above 85* is an issue. I mean I (and probably most people) wax their car when they can and also plan to drive it when they need. Now with Rejex's requirements one has to plan around weather and also for the next 12 hrs. Its just a bit of an inconvenience and perhaps adding a bit of being a pain in the butt. I will wax the car when I have the time and I dont really need nor desire to have to make sure I pick the perfect timing. But that said, I am going to try it. The Nu-finish that I been using for years imo does a nice job and always has. However the biggest difference for me would be the ability of rejex to supposedly allow for the easiest removal of things like bird droppings and other sticky stuff. If that holds true to be much better than Nufinish at doing then the product will probably be my new go-to car protectant.
 
#18 ·
And so I did end up with "Rejex" and I am liking it. I did thus far 3 of my families 4 cars over the past month. I cant yet speak of longevity of the product but I do like using it thus far.

I will compare it to "nu-Finish" which is what I been using for years. The Rejex doesn't look any better than NuFinish once applied. But it does feel better. The car feels a bit more slippery to the touch. As for application? I find it goes on about the same. The one benefit of the rejex is that it doesn't require the extra buffing to get the shine. Imo it doesn't come off any easier, but its juts that you don't have continue to work it afterwards. So there is less time involved due to not having to give the extra buffing efforts. You just have to make sure when you look back at the finished area that you got it all off. Similar to other waxes except you don't get the swirls that need to be buffed. You just make sure its all gone.

The last vehicle I did the other day is black one and nice results as the other cars I did.

As for anything coming off the car easier like bird droppings? I don't really know I can say for certain whether or not its been any easier. Its hard to say that at this time. Longevity vs NuFinish? again to early to tell.

But all said I like it, I have two bottles worth and will use it for every waxing till all gone and if I continue to be happy with it, It will be my go-to protectant from now on. And fwiw you get a lot more out of a bottle than they say. You don't have to put it on heavy but really just about the same as any wax product. And oh yea, one more thing. The longer you leave it on the harder to remove. Still better sionce no buffing but just pointing that out. They want 10 minutes and so don't wait longer than that or some more work will be involved.

Good stuff.. thus far imo.
 
#21 ·
In the long run, taping off the areas will save you time - I learned that the hard way with a Honda Fit. Taping it really doesn't add too much time if you have deft hands - minutes more. You don't need to be perfect, either. I wax my windows so I tape off even more.

If the plastic gets dull over time I plan on using Mother's Back to Black to shine it up again.
 
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