I've just bought a da car polisher which I want to use soon but my question is if I decontaminate and then polish and wax my car, how do I then clean it the next time in say a few weeks when its dirty again due to this weather. do i just wash normally, dry and then wax? As you cant polish often as its abrasive to the paint. I'll be using the da polisher to wax also so wasnt sure if this damages the paint unless you do a full decontamination each time?

Hope that makes sense lol

As to looking after your paintwork, it depends what you mean by "wash normally". Some people think that's a sponge, bucket and a chamois leather for drying. Others think it's snow foam, 2 bucket method using a wash mitt, then a nice plush towel for drying, making sure to pat the car rather than wipe.

I wouldn't use a machine polisher for applying wax. You don't need speed for waxing so it's no faster using it anyways. There's just too much risk of you burning the paint when buffing off the wax, you'll always have to go over with another cloth afterwords.

Using a decent wax/sealant and keeping ontop of washing it should mean you rarely have to decontaminate it and re-apply.

yeah by a normal wash I meant snow roam and 2 bucket method and dried. So it's fine to just wax after a wash

Not after every wash, it's just not necessary.

If you're just topping up the wax that's on there then i wouldn't decontaminate. Seems unnecessary to strip off good wax to just reapply the same stuff.

What wax are you going to use?

I thought a pressure washer would blast the wax off each time? ive got G13 I think it's called. was £30 so should be good

Wash the car, dry it, wipe over with a quick detailer. 

pressure  washing won’t take the wax off.

I assume you mean Farecla G3? I haven't had my hands on their waxes, but I used their compound and polish many times after I've resprayed body parts and it's really good. Most body shops i know use it.

I googled G13 and it's a strain of marajiuana haha.

Like i say, decent waxes are designed to be durable for months, it aint coming off with the jetwash.

haha yeah G3! that's the one. Ah that's ok then, so if in say a month its covered in dirt/salt I can just wash it and dry and wax should still be there. And after say 6 months when the wax has probably gone, do I just clay bar and then wax again? dont polish again do I?

26 minutes ago, Jason87 said:

I thought a pressure washer would blast the wax off each time? Ive got G13 I think it's called. was £30 so should be good

I'm guessing you mean this stuff: https://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-cleaning/car-wax/farecla-g3-super-gloss-paste-wax-200g-297494.html

As above, you don't need to wax the car every time you wash it. Only reapply when you see a lack of beading. You can rinse it with a pressure washer, as long as you're not too close. (reduce pressure if pos). Do not under any circumstance use the rotating circular nozzle which some have. These can damage/remove paint!

You don't need to clay/decontaminate every time you clean the car (I don't anyway), however, if/when you do, you will probably have to reapply the wax.

 

You'll be able to tell when the wax has gone, but you're right, don't polish it unless you have to. It is completely unnecessary to polish a car if there's no swirl marks or scratches (which should be minimal if you wash the car correctly).

I'd also try and avoid clay baring frequently as that can scratch the paint. Once you've done it this time and waxed it, any contamination should come off with a routine wash. Failing that then a decent tar remover and iron fallout remover should remove the remaining 99% of bonded contaminants (followed by another coat of wax if using these chemicals).

8 minutes ago, Luke4efc said:

You'll be able to tell when the wax has gone, but you're right, don't polish it unless you have to. It is completely unnecessary to polish a car if there's no swirl marks or scratches (which should be minimal if you wash the car correctly).

I'd also try and avoid clay baring frequently as that can scratch the paint. Once you've done it this time and waxed it, any contamination should come off with a routine wash. Failing that then a decent tar remover and iron fallout remover should remove the remaining 99% of bonded contaminants (followed by another coat of wax if using these chemicals).

thanks, that makes sense now.

Also slightly unrelated but ive got a scrape on the rear bumper from another car that I've always intended on getting fixed. but as theres marks on both ends of the bumper, wouldn't it be easier to have the whole bumper resprayed rather than what chips away and similair companies would do to fix it?

It all depends on the size and how much filling is required. As a general rule of thumb I blend the basecoat (colour), then lacquer the whole panel. Cut & buff and you'll never know.

Spraying a colour over a whole panel instead of blending usually makes the repair noticeable due to a slightly different shade of paint, or the paint on the car has faded over time.

To prep the car for machine polishing clean it, decontaminate it and clay bar it. 

Maintenance washes I just use a snow foam and contact wash with wax application every 3 months 

Here's how it looked about 2 years after machine polishing

I went and asked the managers at https://5starvaletingsolutions.co.uk/ about the polishing and when it would actually be needed.

So I suggest you find some detailing provider or professional valeting and simply ask them to help out with some info.

Before i came on here i was sponge and leather then read on here and advice was spot on,a good jetwash then snow foam and leave then go over with Lamb wool mitt if needed and rinse and dry,sounds long but a good 30mins to 1 hour and all done.