Over the years, we’ve gotten to know a lot of people who show their cars. We’ve known folks who own or take care of great collections, and they’ve shared some excellent tips with us over a few pints. One of these fellas used to take care of a leading car manufacturer’s museum collection, and this was a tip he gave us. It really works well and produces some next level shine.
His comments started like this: “A car’s shine is all about refracting light, and the flatter the surface, the more light it reflects, and the more it shines. Therefore, after I properly prep the surface and wax it, I take a bucket of cold water (I usually add some ice) and dunk a clean microfiber towel into the ice water and rub down the entire car then dry it. The cold water and rub down both flattens and hardens the wax. Not to mention, it’ll clean out some of the wax residue from the little nooks and crannies. Sure. it takes a bit of extra work, but the results are well worth it.”
Yes, we ended up picking up the tab that night.
We have used this technique for years, and he was right, it really does harden the wax and make it last longer, and the shine is insane. However, we found if you do this just one body panel at a time, drying as you go, it is much easier to manage. Bam! What a look.
