[BIF]

I got swarmed by love-bugs today! Theeeyyyrrreee heeerrrrreeee!!!

For those of you who live in central Florida, you'll know what I'm referring to. For everybody else...love bugs are these little black and red bugs that appear every April/May and September/October.

We call them "love bugs" because they're ...um.. "joined" when they fly. ...then they smack your windshield and bumper. Yeeechhh! :x

Another strange thing about love bugs. Their little squishy bug-bodies are acidic. You have to wash them off your paint within a couple of days, or else you run the risk of losing little bits of paint from the acid!

So here's my question: When my Prius arrives this week, can I immediately wax it?

Having several thick coats of wax between the bugs and the paint won't really prevent paint damage, but it does make it easier to wash them off.

So does anybody know anything about new cars and factory paint and waxing? Can I wax my Prius right away? If it's safe to do, I'd like to drive it straight home (or to a nearby parking lot) and wax it before I go anyplace else.

Thanks in advance!

 

[moocatdog]

Re: Aaarrgghhh! Love Bugs in the Air! Can I wax right away

I got swarmed by love-bugs today! Theeeyyyrrreee heeerrrrreeee!!!

For those of you who live in central Florida, you'll know what I'm referring to. For everybody else...love bugs are these little black and red bugs that appear every April/May and September/October.

We call them "love bugs" because they're ...um.. "joined" when they fly. ...then they smack your windshield and bumper. Yeeechhh! :x

Another strange thing about love bugs. Their little squishy bug-bodies are acidic. You have to wash them off your paint within a couple of days, or else you run the risk of losing little bits of paint from the acid!

So here's my question: When my Prius arrives this week, can I immediately wax it?

Having several thick coats of wax between the bugs and the paint won't really prevent paint damage, but it does make it easier to wash them off.

So does anybody know anything about new cars and factory paint and waxing? Can I wax my Prius right away? If it's safe to do, I'd like to drive it straight home (or to a nearby parking lot) and wax it before I go anyplace else.

Thanks in advance!

I'm not sure what Toyota or a paint specialist would tell you but I waxed my Prius soon after purchase and everything seems to be fine.
Drive happy,
Moo

 

[nsfbr]

I'm just curious as to why you would want to wait. I know that you have to wait for an after market paint job to fully cure before waxing, but new car paint is oven cured during the build process, so there is no need for that as far as I know.

 

[BIF]

Status Update: I picked up my car last Thursday (a week ago, as I write this). On Saturday, I waxed it. I decided not to wait, and just go for it. It took me over an hour, but looked great.

Another question about waxing: One of my friends insists that regular and frequent waxing (like doing it every week) will "build up" on the finish, and that if done often enough, you can build the wax up to 1/8" or thicker, and it'll be glossy and protective.

I think this is hogwash, and told him so. My impression is that wax "fills in" the porous surface that it's being applied to (and that's why water will bead), but that it doesn't really "build up" layer after layer if you're wiping off excess like you're supposed to.

But I have no proof, only my own conjecture. So what's the real story? Thanks!

 

[fugitiveALiEN]

you can "build-up" wax on the finish, but not like it's going to be an 8th of an inch thick or anything. check these guys out for "deep" beautiful finishes

http://www.zainostore.com/

http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/mer ... ode=PHOTOS

 

[cmorozco]

Re: Aaarrgghhh! Love Bugs in the Air! Can I wax right away

Bought the zaino polish. It's not really a wax so the Zaino brothers say. Work great. The bugs wash off easily. But I didn't polish the headlamps, so I got a couple of stains on them already. I'm looking into the clear bra products (paint protectants) like 3M's scotchcal. I understand this stuff was created for hellicopter blades for use in the mid-east theatre to reduce sand blasting effect on the blades so it's designed to be quite strong. I got some stuff from http://www.vehicleprotectionfilms.com. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Bob Allen]

The ditty about wax buildup of an eighth of an inch sounds ridiculous. Think about it: an eighth of an inch is substantial; your car would look like it was encased in Vaseline and it would probably rub off on your clothes or fingers. On the other hand, according to Tom and Ray Magliozzi, if the water beads up on your car, you have sufficient wax. I think some folks are going overboard on waxing their cars. They are designed for being outside after all. For years, I taken my cars to the self serve wash and wax places and my car finishes have held up extremely well. Every 6 months, though, I'll do a hand wax on my car.
I installed a set of headlight covers made of that plastic stuff. I ordered them from " X-pel" and the set cost me about 75 bucks. They were a bear to install and you need to do it in warm weather with a hair dryer to keep them warm and pliable. Once on, though, they are invisible and I assume will protect the lenses from gravel.
The airflow over the car is such that I only saw a few bugs on my windshield when other folks at the rest stops were Interesting; I wonder if small gravel is carried over the car as well.