waxes

[guiwee]

i hear a lot of people talk about waxing their model after you polish..my questiona are as follows
1. i use tamiyas coarse fine and finish ...do i even need to wax?
2.if i dont clear my decals will they mess up with the wax?
3.do i wax before decaling?(can i wax over decals

4.what wax to use (never seen tamiya at my lhs)

[Serioga]

1. It's preferable.
2. Yes, you better apply a clear coat over decals before polishing and waxing.
3 Waxing is finishing process. So you better do this after decals and clear coat. But if your decals will not be cleared, you better wax the model before decals.

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

1. i use tamiyas coarse fine and finish ...do i even need to wax?

No, you don't. I have many models I have only used compound, in fact some just the coarse, it makes paint very shiny, lighter colors don't need a lot of extra buffing. The only wax I will use is the Tamiya stuff, and it's just a nice "detailer" that seems to make darker colors especially appear a bit more rich.

2.if i dont clear my decals will they mess up with the wax?

Polish the body w/compound before applying decals, don't apply decals over wax. After the decals are permanently in place, you may carefully apply Tamiya wax or compound (fine or finish) over the decals if you are careful not to be too aggressive, and the decals are thoroughly bonded to the model. A little Tamiya compound will gloss them up rather nicely. I prefer this look vs. buried under clear. Decals generally are coated w/a clear carrier, which is usually safe to do mild polishing over. Whether or not you clear over decals is your choice. It opens up a lot of danger with ruining not only decals, but the entire paint job.

3.do i wax before decaling?(can i wax over decals)

No wax before. Okay after (if careful). If you use coarse/fine/finish you are okay to apply decals over that. Wax is only a final detail that should be done after the body is finished and dry. If you already use Tamiya compound, you will like their wax. It's a thick liquid, and you apply it w/a special applicator sheet that comes with it that is safe to rub over paint w/o causing scratches.

[racer917]

Don't wax before decaling, the decals may not stick to surface, wax over the decals once they are applied and throughly dry. You may want to wait at least a couple of days before waxing. I use Meguiar's.