Hey all,

Any tips and tricks about refurbishing paint finishes while avoiding damage to stripes, IROC-Z decals, etc? This is my first car with abundant stickerage and I'd like to make sure I'm not damaging my decals. I'm guessing I should avoid any kind of abrasives on them, but are they safe to clay bar and wax over? What do you do to protect the decals?

Thanks!

 

You CAN wax over the decals. However, the wax build up around the edges of them is hard to get rid of. I don't wax over mine.

 

Before I sold my iroc I wouldn't wax the decals, but I would put a specific UV protectant on them

 

when I get near the decals, I use liquid wax, rather than paste. good idea on the UV protectant if it doesn't react with the decal. i have a clear bra on one of my cars and it seems to take wax just fine, but modern technology its made from.

 

As dagwood said, you definitely can wax over the decals, as that will protect them also. However, you don't want any wax that contains cleaners or abrasives. Regarding the edges of the decals, I've never had an issue because I buff the wax off before it turns white. If I do notice and residue build up on the edge of a decal, two options work. One is to use a sharp toothpick, carefully dragged along the edge. The other is my preferred method and it's to wax the area again and buff it out. The new wax refreshes the old wax and is easily removed with the rag.

Be careful with the toothpick option. It does a good job of removing wax, but it can easily cause damage to the edge of the decal by slightly lifting the edge.

 

As said above, wax is fine, but you might get that white powder built up around the edges and when the sun hits it you’ll notice. Some guy at a cruise in will definitely let you know you missed some wax...

Polish and compound you would never want to touch decals because the abrasives would scuff it up.

A really good way to avoid the wax build up is to use a spray coating. Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic spray coating will last a lot longer than wax, increase gloss and is extremely easy to apply following all the directions. Ceramic products are also fine if they get on plastic. I put it on my Tahoe that sits outside 7 months ago and just washed all the salt and crap off and it was still glossy and beading up...

I’m also now a huge fan of the Meguiars Synthetic X-Press Wax. Takes 5 min to get around my cars with it and it leaves nice gloss and slickness with no spots to buff out, etc... The first time I put it on my Vette at a car show people were asking me if it was ceramic coated. It works like a Quik Detailer so it won’t leave residue around the decals... You could even do a paste wax first avoiding trim and decals and follow up with Synthetic Spray Wax for an extra topper of protection that will also reach all the areas you avoid with paste wax.

the spray coatings/sealants/and waxes are just as good now or better than paste or liquid waxes.

 

I really like Meguiars products, usually a great bang for the buck. I use the detailer you posted after a wash to really shine it up. works great on my silver car. on the black one, I used a different one, Pro final inspection #34

Another good one is :Used it on rims between rim waxing, havent tried decals, but I'd bet it would work great. Another trick I learned here at 3rd Gen is to use a biz card to remove wax. great for crevices.

Meguiar's G18309 Ultimate Fast Finish