applying wax with fingers?
 

i was looking online and on this beamer site, it said for best results use your fingers to apply wax cause pads could have lil particles that'll scratch the surface. just wondering if this is true...

I wouldn't trust that cause the pads or applicators you use are supposed to be clean before you apply the wax, therefore no scratching will occur. As for your fingers, you're just gonna make a mess, not apply to wax evenly, and/or you could also have moisture from your hands (sweat) that will affect the wax resulting in a crappy wax job. Why would they sell applicators if your could use your hands?? Everything that I've read and learned uses some sort of applicator. Hope this helps clear some things up.

I agree with JSWhaler. I have never heard of using your hands or fingers to apply wax. I could only think that the oil in your fingers or the moisture in your hand will make it harder to remove the wax. Also it has to be really messy. I have heard of people using leather conditioner with their hand instead of using an applicator. I have done that before.

well I cant say I agree with BMW on this one.you can do it but as long as you keep your wax pad off the floor and wash it out when your done so that the wax does not allow contaminets to stick to the pad . you should be fine if you follow this and make sure that you dont put two differnt waxes on one pad .. very important . as far as wax on your finger some waxes are not recmended to do that some have chemicals that can irritate the skin if your in contact with them to long

After 3 weeks of owning my car, I applied my second waxing. The applicators had tiny particles I couldn't get off when I washed it... and it scratched up my car. Now I have swirls =(

not sure about the particles but ya i have alot of swirl marks...
also it became harder to apply the show glaze, i'm thinking it because of a chemical reaction. not sure why cause i have to different applicators... maybe its the wax thats left on the car? and read somewhere that the show glaze is only good for a couple days... it is only a filler and just hides the swirls, it will "wash" away or will evaporate after a short while. i've heard 3m swirl remover works pretty well, its a mild abrasive that will wear out the swirls and level it with the rest of the clear coat... sounds kinda harsh on the car but heard it wasn't that bad just as long as you dont use it twice a month.

I have found that if you use a foam applicator instead of a terry applincator while applying wax you get less or no swirls...

civic dude is right foam applicatiors have less chance of swirls becaue the terry pads get hard and thenwhe you re use them they dont work well on paint . foam should be rinsed out everytime as well .

Do most of you with swirls have black paint??

Isn't there that one wax that you need to put in your hand to warm it up enough to use? I remember some site was talking about it and that it was really expensive too.
-Ed

i'm sure everyone has swirlmarks, its just very noticable on dark colored cars compared to light

Just use a new app every time you wax. I used to use the foam apps and would simply throw them away after one use. They are cheap and it's not worth the chance of having leftover particles on the pad. I use the terry towels now for everything. Each towel is used once and not used again until washed and dryed.

Or you can machine wash them after each use. I usually end up washing all my towels after I detail a car....and the foam pads dont get messed up if you wash them

Who on earth waxes their car twice within 3 weeks?[IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG] Once a month max man.....in between waxings, just use some quick detail spray:tup:

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