A couple waxing questions.

[neonXonXsteroids]

Hey all. I just have a couple questions I need answered please.

1. I'm getting stripes on my car soon. Can you just wax over them, or does it gunk up the edges? Does it make them shiney?

2. I have stock tail and headlights. If I wax them will it give them a shiney, freshly polished look? I'm just wondering cause in professional pics of cars the lights look extremely clear, with a good reflection.

Thanks for any insight you can give.

[Main_Event]

i don't think you can wax vinyl stripes

[montanasrt]

im pretty sure you can wax about every spot on you car except for the trim and weather stripping... as for the strips, it depends on what kind they are I guess, but my buddy waxes the ones on his mach1 all the time and they turn out looking good

[chuckclements]

I wax the stripes on my commemorative. They look great everytime.

-Chuck

[neonXonXsteroids]

Ok good. Thanks for the input.

[nor_jers_srt]

if theyre vinyl stripes then no, i would not wax over them .. it may work, but i doubt it ..

what sum ppl do is get a coat or 2 of clear coat over the stripes so they dont peel and what-not .. then you can wax over them

[STUDLEE]

Also depends on the type of wax your using. I use ICE Paste Polish from Turtle Wax and I can wax everything on my car without residue (Trim, lights, etc.)

[neonXonXsteroids]

Quote: Originally Posted by nor_jers_srt

if theyre vinyl stripes then no, i would not wax over them .. it may work, but i doubt it ..

what sum ppl do is get a coat or 2 of clear coat over the stripes so they dont peel and what-not .. then you can wax over them

I was actually thinking about doing that. I just wasn't sure if other people did it. Thanks for the idea.

[raul-01]

On the same subject... Is it a good idea to wash and WAX the area that will be getting vinyls? Or JUST a wash would be good enough?

[STUDLEE]

If I were you, I would wash, clay bar, and wax the area. You don't want to lock any contaminants under the paint that may: a) Cause the paint underneath to corrode, or b) give the vinyl something other than the paint to stick to. Especially if you end up pulling the vinyl off in a few years.

[neonXonXsteroids]

Why would you wax the area getting the vinyl? Wouldn't that make it not stick very good? I just figured wash and clay bar.

[STUDLEE]

My opinion would be that it would protect the paint from the adhesive in the vinyl; but that is a good question.

[neonXonXsteroids]

I always thought vinyl protected the paint underneath. I was doing some work on an old 84 ranger that had some vinyl pinstriping on it. Well the paint was old and faded, but when I removed the stripes the paint under it looked almost new. I may be wrong, but I don't think the adhesion ruins the paint. As long as it is removed properly I don't think it affects the paint. I may be wrong though.

[sirensong]

I was a professional detailer for several years and ran a shop, personally i wouldnt wax over anything that isnt painted or cleared. Over time it can get under the edges and look like crap as well as potentially lift it.

DO NOT WAX THE AREA BEFORE YOU GET THE VINYL APPLIED!!! Wash it and clay it very good before but DO NOT WAX. You want the paint to be as clean and as contaminent free as possible and wax could affect how the vinyl sticks.

[neonXonXsteroids]

Thats what I figured. So I'm guessing my best bet to make them as shiney as my paint is to put some clear over them and wax away... So say I put them on and I'm ready to spray my clear, would I clear my whole hood (just an example), or just enough to cover the vinyl? Would you be able to see a differance if I just sprayed over the vinyl? I'm thinking that new clear would freshen up the paint and make where I cleared look newer than any other place I didn't spray, so I'm thinking that I would need to just coat over the whole panel. Right?