I purchased a 2002 TL-S about a Month ago, I want to remove the wax that the dealer uses on the car and use a better brand, and also place multiple coats. I don't know what kind of wax they use though. Can anyone recommend a good wax remover. I read a bunch of the other threads and they were talking about agressive and non-aggressive wax removers and I got lost

 

A - Call dealer and ask them what they use

B - Start with the mildest solution

1 - Wet the car down - does the water bead? Yes, goto step 2 else step 5
2 - Wash the car with Dawn - does the water still bead? Yes, goto step 3 else step 5
3 - Wipe car down with isopropyl alcohol - does water still bead? Yes, goto step 4 else step 5
4 - Use an abrasive, 3M Swirl Mark Remover or Meguiars Scratch-X to remove the wax/polymer - goto step 5
5 - Wax car

 

I was under the impression from other posts that Dawn is bad for the paint?

Also, the isopropyl alchol where do I get that from? do I clean it with pure Isopropyl Alcohol or do I water it down?

 

Dawn is fine for your car. It's very mild.

Buy the iso at any drug store. Use it straight. Pour it onto a rag and wipe the car down. I would rewash the car with a good car soap before you wax. My assumption for #3 is that they used a polymer like Zaino or Blackfire.

 

Dawn is not very mild - it's a strong degreaser. Do not use ISO Alcohol straight!! - You should use a 50/50 solution of water/Iso Alcohol...

You don't need either though - Wash the car with a car wash (one meant for washing a car not getting chicken grease off plates!) Use a good chemical cleaner..AIO is Fantastic but expensive, Meguiar's Deep Crystal Step 1 is great too and easy to get at any pep boys or the like...

That will get off any wax or sealant off the car. Then you can apply what ever you want

 

Your wax or sealant of choice should be selected by the type of maintenance you perform on your car. If you seldom care to wax your TL, spend some $ and get some long lasting product, like Klasse AIO and SG. Very good product without "Zaino" hype. If your a hands on type of person, and like to spend some time on the TL monthly, go for something like Meg's NXT, or Mothers Reflection, maybe some Eagle One Nano Wax.....Good waxes, a good 4-6 weeks worth of daily driver protection. All three have gentle cleaners in them, not enough to make a visual difference, but striclty for bonding. You should really go for a cleaner as Groebuck suggested, and Megs deep crystal polish is a good choice, it really cleanes fairly deep for a consumer line product.....Any previously applied wax or sealant, will be removed with a gentle polish anyway, stay away from the Dawn, it really is a useless product for car care, with the exception of stripping valuable oils, natural and synthetic ones, from rubber and plastic trim, and vinyl surfaces. I wouldnt even use it on tires.....

 

See this is when I get confused? When people contradict other people... I don't know who to believe.

 

Believe what you want, BUT if you wanna know the truth, read what the experts say. A quick Yahoo Search found a bunch of sites all prasing Dawn for it's mildness and ability to prep a car for it's first application of polish/wax.

I'm not abducating you wash your car everytime with it, hell no. But in order to prep a car for a polymer like Zaino, or that matter for any initial application, the paint needs to be very clean, free of oils and contaminents.

Would you take advice from a professional showcar painter/detailer that's been doing it since the 70s? I sure as hell would.

 

Another non-Dawn believer here. The only thing I use dawn for these days is cleaning my applicators, pads, towels, etc. I vote cleaner or 50/50 alcohol.
FWIW, I've applied Zaino right after a paint cleaner, which is a Zaino "no-no", and didn't find any problems. I was able to get 6 good months coverage. If anything, if I were to wash the car again after the cleaner, I'd probably be able to stretch the life on the Zaino.

 

Not going to go down this road again (if you really look at all the pro advice though it stems from Zaino applications) other than to say this - the makers of Dawn say THIS


Ok to wash car?

Question
Can I wash my car with dishwashing detergent?

Answer
Your car surface and the dirt that gets on it are a lot different from the food soils and dishes that dishwashing liquids clean effectively. We don't recommend them for cleaning your car.


AIO and SG are an excellent combo.

 

I wanted to use Meg's Wax is there just a simple wax remover soap, that I can use? what is AIO and SG exactly?

I was going to wash the car with : NXT Generation Car Wash
Then wax the car with: NXT Generation Tech Wax

but I am not sure what to remove the old wax with. I am sooo confused

 

Clay the Car...that will remove the wax.

 

You should be just fine as NXT has some cleaners in it - just wash with NxT wash then apply NXT as directed and your good to go.

 

AIO and SG are both products from Klasse.

AIO = Klasse All-In-One. A cleaner and synthetic car wax (acrylic)
SG = Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze car wax is a companion product to Klasse All-In-One. Unlike AIO, SG has no cleaners.

Both products can be found HERE (along with some additonal info).

 

Do you know whats on your car now ? NXT has very slight cleaning ability....You may be ok with that if it has been some time since its last waxing....But if you have done a polymer, within the last few months, you really should polish. Also, keep in mind, its not the wax that give the visual satisfaction, it the cleaner and polishing prior to sealing that wins the awards........But then again, im not a Dawn user, so take my advice with a grain of salt......

 

A good washing with car wash solution should do the job. If you clay bar first, then this should remove any wax on top of the paint and prep it for your application of whatever product you prefer.

I used to use Liquid Glass. The shine was great but not phenomenal. I started to get annoyed by the white powder residue and the static it generated. Tried Klasse AIO applied with an orbital buffer, then hand applied Klasse SG and the shine is AWESOME.

I took some very good advice from these here good folks and used SG as a "wipe on- wipe off" product. That is using 2 MF rags one to apply and one to buff and the results are amazing! I'm on my second coat of SG and I believe the shine gets even better. I get praises at the gas pumps 'coz the lights reflects so much shine from the silver paint and the metallic seems to "glow".