Waxing your busa

[Justyntym]

Seems to me like when you look at anything new on the showroom floor it's gorgeous. Then you take it home and wax it etc., then spend the rest of life trying to eliminate those darn swirl marks.

Now I've always used a quality wax, nothing less than turtle wax but still swirls persist.

How do you care for your Busa to keep it as flawless as possible. I hate no wax it all...what do you guys recommend for the paint??

 

[BA BUSA]

What color do you have

 

[Warputer]

Same here , black paint .......with the swirls .

 

[Turbo-Torch]

If it's black there isn't much you can do for perfection. While in the showroom you have overhead fluorescent lighting and things will look good. Outside in the middle of the afternoon the bike will look like the ultimate in perfection. When evening rolls around and the sun is setting in the west and hitting the bike at an angle with an orange hue every swirl mark is going to come crawling out of the woodwork. Don't care if it's a Busa or a $250,000 Ferrari with 50 coats of Zaino...if it's black you're going to see some imprefections when lights hits the paint at an angle.

Use 100% cotton baby diapers to wash and wax the bike. Run new diapers through the washing machine a few times (without fabric softener) before using them.
Ditch any cheap waxes like Turtle Wax and get yourself some high end stuff like Zaino and the bike will stay looking sweet for years.

 

[JDookie]

It takes a lot more than just waxing a painted finish to make it look good. The "wax" is nothing more than a protectant, but every time you take the bike out, you are subjecting the paint to the elements, and small imperfections are impossible to prevent, but that doesn't mean you can't make it look like it did the day you bought it. All it takes is a little polishing, and the swirls will go away. The above member suggested diapers, but if you want one step better than that, get some microfiber towels. Microfiber towels are the absolute best thing to detail any painted surface with for multiple reasons.

If you really want to get serious about detailing your bike, visit a detailing forum like autopia.org (I happen to be a mod. there), or detailcity.com. Both are great sources for detailing, but I'm partial to the one I'm a part of, of course.

With a little effort, knowledge, and the right tools, there's no reason why you can't get your finish to look like this: (FYI, this detail took me two 8 hour sessions to complete)

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[jch364]

I have found that zymol is the best and will not leave swirl marks. Consumer reports even rated it the best wax. It works even better to spray it with a little water after the first coat is applied and buffed out. just buff the water in as well. it really sets the wax and gives it a deep shine

 

[1127 TO 1299]

I use pledge for a quick shine

 

[JDookie]

Keep in mind guys that the swirl marks, are actually very fine scratches called micromarring. It has nothing to do with what wax or sealant you use. Some protectans have glazes in them, which will temporarily "fill in" the scratches (swirls), but will eventually come back. The only way to get rid of them is to polish them out. A very good polish that's very easy to attain is Meguiar's #80 polish. It's a very fine polish for light duty jobs, and works quite well by hand. I suggest using a foam applicator to "work" the polish, and a microfiber towel to buff the residual polish left over. Just remember that polishes aren't "applied" but are worked in until they disappear. After the paint is fully polished smooth, you can then apply whatever protectant you want (Zaino, Zymol which is made by Turtle Wax by the way, Meguiar's, etc.)

Another good polish is 3M Perfect It III Machine Glaze. This name is deceiving because it says "Glaze" but it doesn't contain any fillers of any kind. Pure polish, and very good stuff.



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[Justyntym]

Great info guys and yeah....I got black.

One thing though about spray wax...I had a mustang and i got wax on the headlights and UGH...screwed em up. What about the busa light and windshield...keep the wax off or what?? Be kinda hard with a spraywax.

BTW-That car looks incredible.



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[GSXRFANN]

Don't beleive in washing and waxing myself...
Seriously, I just wipe mine down with water on a damp rag then dry it and use a really good wax afterwards. You will never get perfect, but this method sure does look good and is quick and easy!

 

[1127 TO 1299]

I said PLEDGE!

and it smell like citrus!



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[bigdr]

Washing and waxing...

Just couldn't be arsed...Gonna rain the next day and ruin all my effort.

Will wait till summer..Rumour has it only a couple of months to go..

 

[rybraun]

I use Race Glaze polish.

 

[BulletTrain]

Zaino, and it didn't take me two 8 hour sessions to achieve this. Maybe 20 minutes per coat...

The trick with black is not to get the swirls in the first place, which means nothing but Made in USA 100% white cotton towels and applicators, wash rags, and NO abrasives, period unless you're using them to remove defects from the paint.

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[BulletTrain]

With a little effort, knowledge, and the right tools, there's no reason why you can't get your finish to look like this: (FYI, this detail took me two 8 hour sessions to complete)

Slick!

 

[BulletTrain]

Lastly, be forewarned that SOME microfiber cloths will leave swirls.

 

[Busa_05]

What steps do you do for the Meguiars or Zaino? Wash, dry, polish, then wax? Zaino has about a million different products...

 

[DAZZ]

Washing and waxing...

Just couldn't be arsed...Gonna rain the next day and ruin all my effort.

Will wait till summer..Rumour has it only a couple of months to go..

+1......

 

[Fugly]

Beginning and End of season Maguire’s Red bottle Cleaner wax after a good wash to get a good coat of wax on her. The rest of the season I use Honda Pro Clean spray cleaner/Wax. Honda pro clean is incredible stuff. Spray it on (even a dirty bike but not muddy, Duh!) and wipe it off. Then use a second clean dry cloth to buff her up. Best stuff out there and easy. Takes about 20mins to do the entire bike (including wheels if up on the front and rear Pitbulls).

 

[Higgs]

I wash my bike with s100 bike wash, the wheels with s100 wheel cleaner and wax it with s100 wax. (carnuba wax) The carnuba wax doesn't leave any white spots in all the cracks and on the alum. Sounds like if you use a polish you can get the swirls out then us a good wax. If you use carnuba wax you'll need to make sure it works with the polish. I have a spray on detailer for my 350z called Buffalo wax and it removes carnuba wax. I don't use carnuba wax on the car. This is the fastest process I've found to protect my bike without spending hours detailing it.