Thinking about protecting your car with wax? You have come to the right place! The professional approach is not beyond your reach, but it requires the right actions and – of course – car care products. Check out our guide and find out how to give your car's paintwork a new lease of life!
1. PRE-WASH
If the car is very dirty with visible mud and sand, carry out a pre-wash with a pressure washer and active foam. The foam will soften the dirt and the pressure will allow you to safely get rid of sand particles that would scratch the paintwork if they weren’t removed.
For pre-washing choose:
30 saszetek Perfect Foam Shampoo Type S. Preparat do użycia w procesie mycia wstępnego jako oprysk, piana aktywna lub w formie klasycznego szamponu!
Super-concentrated shampoo for pre-wash, active foam or simply as a regular shampoo!
2. MAIN WASH
Above all, forget the touchless car wash – carry out a thorough manual washing! The pressurised water will only remove loose dirt, but a thin film of road grime will remain on the paintwork. Use a sponge or a washing glove to spread the shampoo foam and a brush to spread it into the nooks and crannies.
Shampooing is the first stage of paintwork preparation. Its goal is to clean your car from all the dirt laying on the surface. The shampoo itself is a very simple agent – just apply it onto a sponge or dilute it in water, then spread it evenly. The shampoo lifts and isolates the dirt, which is then rinsed off with water. It's as simple as it is pleasant to do.
When washing, use the brush to get into the nooks and crannies of the bodywork, apply the foam around emblems, the grill, aero elements and other inaccessible areas to remove all dirt. In case of stubborn dirt, use Stain Cleaner, Soft99’s all-purpose cleaning agent.
Our tip: professionals practice the "two bucket method”. One bucket is filled with water and shampoo solution, the other contains clean water for sponge or glove rinsing. This way there is less dirt on the paintwork and the risk of creating micro scratches and swirls is reduced. When you’re done, rinse the car thoroughly and dry it with a towel.
For main washing choose:
Neutral Creamy Shampoo provides fantastic glide, making the washing process quick and pleasant. No need to rush either, as the shampoo will always be super-easy to rinse out, with no streaks and stains, even if the foam dries out while washing.
he QJUTSU Ultrasoft Sponge is a Made in Japan, triple-layered sponge designed with detailer's needs in mind. A very gentle product that fully reflects the quality of the QJUTSU line.
With Stain Cleaner, all you need to do is spray it on and wipe it off! Its powerful formula can quickly break down and get rid of stubborn dirt, which normal car shampoo or conventional cleaners couldn't deal with.
MaxWash 4Pockets Format Cloth is a highly absorbent towel that can be used in a plethora of ways! When fully unfolded, it can help you dry large areas very quickly, but it can also be folded twice if you want more precision. Its design and structure make drying any surface a pleasant and simple task.
3. IRON REMOVING
Brake dust? Rust? Metallic deposits? If you associate this kind of contamination with dirty wheels, then you are right! But you should know that this type of dirt is just as likely to settle on the paintwork and is very difficult to see with the naked eye. This is the perfect job for an iron-removing agent. What is it and how does it work? It usually comes in a liquid or gel form which, on contact with metallic deposits, simply dissolves them, colouring them intensely purple. This is the so-called bleeding rim effect, but don't worry – this is an expected effect and no car elements will be damaged. Apply it after main washing onto the paintwork on the front of the car and around wheel arches, and onto the rims, wait a few minutes, in case of stubborn dirt use a detailing brush, rinse with pressurised water. All done! Let's go onto the next step.
For iron removal choose:
Iron Terminator is one of the strongest yet one of the safest agents of its kind on the market. Irreplaceable during the decontamination process, Iron Terminator will quickly and effectively deal with metallic deposits, brake dust, road film and dirt on your car's rims.
Iron Terminator is one of the strongest yet one of the safest agents of its kind on the market. Irreplaceable during the decontamination process, Iron Terminator will quickly and effectively deal with metallic deposits, brake dust, road film and dirt on your car's rims.
4. ASPHALT, SAP & BUG SPLATTER
Take a closer look at the paintwork, especially around the wheel arches and sides of the car. If you notice black dots or threads that can be clearly felt under your finger, you can be sure it's asphalt. On hot days, when the road surface becomes soft, the tyres, pick up the asphalt particles like Velcro, and throw them straight onto the paintwork. It's a very bad idea to scrub and remove these spots by force. You need an effective chemical solution. Try the New Pitch Cleaner, apply it onto the affected areas, wait a few minutes until dirt starts to dissolve and remove the residue with pressurised water or a soft microfiber.
New Pitch Cleaner will also remove stubborn insect residues from the front of the car or sticky tree sap and bird droppings.
For all-purpose decontamination choose:
New Pitch Cleaner is Soft99's recommended spray cleaner for all tough contaminations you may find on a car's body. Asphalt or tar dots, tree sap, bug splatter? Simply spray New Pitch Cleaner on stubborn stains and observe how quickly it dissolves all kinds of dirt.
5. CLAY BAR TREATMENT
If the paintwork already seems perfectly clean at this stage, we suggest a little experiment. Try running the outer side of your hand over the car's body in several places. Is the paintwork NOT as smooth as glass? Time to get a clay bar! Clay acts like a magnet for dirt embedded in the paint. Give it better glide with a solution of water and shampoo and start to move it across the paint. You don't need to use force - just the pressure of your hand. Once the item is clean, you will feel the clay glide smoothly. Watch it carefully though - as soon as the usable part gets dirty, crumple it inwards and resume with the clean side. Make sure the clay always has the right slip and be careful not to let it fall to the ground. Such a piece will no longer be suitable for further work.
For clay bar treatment choose:
First introduced on the Japanese detailing scene, the clay bar is the essential tool during the process of decontaminating your car. Make your car's paintwork perfectly smooth, free from metallic residues, road dirt, tree sap and more. As a clay bar with low abrasiveness, the Smooth Egg Clay Bar will be an excellent choice when you want to carry out a precise and detailed cleaning of your car.
A high quality clay bar that will make your car's paintwork perfectly smooth, free from metallic residues, road dirt, tree sap and more.
6. CLEANER TREATMENT
The next step is the use of a cleaner, a special agent which is the penultimate stage of decontamination. To understand how it works, it's important to realise that the paintwork, although seemingly smooth, has a porous structure. It's in these pores that the road film and the remains of waxes and other coatings are embedded. Our Micro Liquid Compound Cleaner easily penetrates these hard-to-reach places and effectively removes even the most stubborn deposits. It also contains fine abrasive particles and fillers which effectively improve the condition of the paintwork by filling and masking smaller imperfections and micro scratches. Application of the Cleaner is very simple – apply the product onto the black side of the attached applicator and carefully rub it on the car's body, then wipe it all off with a towel or a microfiber. Keep in mind though, to work on small sections to not let the residue dry out. If you prefer, you can work on a wet surface – it makes things a little easier – and when you're finished, simply rinse the car with pressurised water and dry it with a towel.
For cleaner treatment choose:
During the decontamination process, you won't go far without Micro Liquid Compound, a versatile cleaner for a car's body that will help you remove remains of old waxes or coatings, road film, oxidation and other kinds of dirt that may be deeply-embedded in the paintwork. Additionally, you'll be easily able to get rid of minor scratches and swirls!
If you think that simply shampoo washing and using a clay bar will do the job, think again! During the decontamination process, you won't go far without Micro Liquid Compound, a versatile cleaner for a car's body that will help you remove remains of old waxes or coatings, road film, oxidation and other kinds of dirt that may be deeply-embedded in the paintwork.
7. DEGREASING
Last but not least, degreasing, which is the icing on the cake when it comes to paintwork preparation! Silicone Off, one of the strongest degreasers on the market, is responsible for removing oily road film and washing away remains of polishing pastes or glazes. The surface on which Silicone Off has been applied is completely decontaminated, which guarantees maximum bonding between wax and the paintwork. Simply apply the degreasing agent onto a microfiber and wipe the paintwork. It really does a big difference!
For degreasing choose:
Silicone Off's complex formula effectively deals with the most difficult oily contaminants and greasy road films. Recommended degreasing agent in G'zox studios all around the world, always used before application of quartz coatings.
8. WAX APPLICATION
We’re on the home straight! Your well decontaminated paintwork is ready for waxing. The most important rule which has to be mentioned at the beginning – more doesn’t mean better. On the contrary, the thinner the wax layer on the surface, the easier the polishing and better the final effect. Excess wax significantly increases the chances of streaks appearing on the paintwork and will make your work more difficult. With all that in mind, we can start the application process. Dampen the applicator by putting it in water and then squeezing it. Next, get a small amount of wax on the applicator by gently pressing and moving it in the can, then spread the wax in a criss-cross motion, as thinly and evenly as possible. After applying the product, wait a few minutes until a slight white residue appears and only then can you start polishing. If no residue is visible and you are not sure if you can polish, carry out the finger test. If after touching the paintwork with your finger the wax still spreads instead of being rubbed off, this is a sign that you still have to wait. Remember also to never apply the wax to the entire car at once. Work on smaller panels (we recommend working areas no bigger than quarter of a medium sized car’s bonnet) while watching what happens to the wax. Only move onto the next part when you’ve polished the previous one. The application process should be clear now, but which wax to choose? The answer differs from person to person – it depends on the effect you wish to achieve, the wax’s durability or your budget. Natural wax, hybrid, synthetic? We have it all, and the choice is yours.
Soft99's flagship car wax – most durable and simply unrivaled on the market. Choice of over 10 million car owners! The unsurpassed Fusso formula based on fluoropolymers breaks the boundaries between waxes and coatings. Fusso Coat is a guarantee of amazing shine and spectacular hydrophobicity!
Kiwami is a hybrid not only in terms of its formulation but also in its effect. The combination of a synthetic base with natural Carnauba gives the wax a glossy finish and long lasting protection. This is a great compromise for those looking for a spectacular finish that maintains good durability.
One of Soft99's most beloved car waxes, Authentic Premium is based on natural Carnauba wax. As a premium car care product, Authentic was created with two key aspects in mind: pleasant application and a stunningly shiny final effect.
Rain Drop is an instant solution for a shiny and comprehensively protected car. The RAS Technology formula allows you to apply the product onto any surface – paintwork, glass, trim, chrome, lights and even rims. You'll be able to boost their appearance, give them hydrophobic properties and protect them against dirt.
