Hey Kitatech,
You said,
The Toyota finish/clearcoat is staying smooth and the spray wax seems enough for now...I do expect in a couple of years (it will be 10 years old by then) it will need refinishing...and by then the car will be paid for so it will get a new "coat" for going out on the town...
And you previously said,
ubiquitous tan, has started to lose its clear-coat in some areas, and some spots in the paint underneath are starting to oxidize...
My thoughts.
( with all respect to you, we focusing on a situation that affects a lot of new guys in the same situation, has started to lose its clear-coat in some areas, and some spots in the paint underneath are starting to oxidize...)
I agree, and suggest any further waxing will continue to do as you say, that is lead to A expensive or cheap risky recoating the clear coat, or even more expensive repaint with clear coat, much safer it the whole car is repainted by a expert with mega bucks equipment, as you say,
I further suggest the cause for further lose its clear-coat in some areas, and some spots in the paint underneath are starting to oxidize... is the or most wax can make a good shine, for a short to a reasonable time period, but they are soft, and have no or give little UV protection to the actual clear coat or paint surface under the clear coat, ,
So, please consider my lines of thought about soft and little UV protection. And collateral effects,
Soft meaning wax will readily absorb or impact and retain micro fine particles and dust from other vehicles in front of your car, and vehicles coming at you from the opposite direction,
New Guys please consider this line of thought, to sand blast a car or metal, it is sprayed under high to med pressure with a sand size particles of heavy Specific gravity Ilminite,7,SG, or other similar size abrasive materials, most called sand blasting materials, driving you car at speed through dust is similar to sand but just dust blasting your car, also seen as small and bigger stone chips on the bonnet paint and stone pitting in the plastic head light lenses,
Most of this dust is in a chemically active state, POLUTION< most oxidizing in themselves,and with each other, in some manner, and most UV radiation sensitive, some slightly, some very acidic,
Wax having no real UV protection tech knowledge , or acidic protection, so the deeper the oxidizing pollutes sink or are impacted into the wax, the UV radiation can and is still causing them to react, and react with the wax, causing the wax to oxidize or break down,
Perhaps another scenario is yes what you see and say is true, the clear coat after all these years is starting to oxidize due to UV exposure, , despite all your attempts to protect it with wax, that has little UV protection, and allows UV radiation to easily pass through the wax, directly on to pollutes and further into the clear coat,
So, I agree, you are right in a few years you will need a complete respray, so may I play the devils advocate, ( and please understand I have no wish to offend you, or force you to do anything, I simply wish to make you aware of my experience and the facts, that I do not see as common information on this forum, ),
That is, please consider I applied Nu-finish to my Caldina in 1007, A very new looking import from Japan, 1998 model, original paint, I applied Nu-finish again in 2009, and you can see in the pictures of the bonnet, in 2013 I can clean off the oxidizing dirt and grime that has settled on the car, , and then buff with a s/s scourers pad, sorry fluffy pad, to a perfect shine, simply because Nu-finish cures harder and harder as the years go by, the paint on this car is original, and 15 years old, and no sign of oxidizing under high magnification,
So if you apply 2 coats Nu-Finish to your Toyota now, and a further coat in 3 months, then at intervals at 1 or 2 or 3 year intervals, there will be no need for a respray, Nu Finish will not allow UV radiation through its it Zinc based technology clear coating to further oxidize you existing oxidized areas, so they are sealed, and no further subjected to UV radiation,
Nu -finish cures to a very hard surface, much harder the wax, or Acrylic, or Urethane surfaces, actually acid resistant, as noted in the speciation information,
I would really like to hear you say in 6 years that the current level of oxidization has improved or less visible and maintained over the last 6 years leading you to believe that with 1 or 2 more application, it with last a further 6 years, not only last, but look better then when you purchased it,
Hurricanes permitting, ??>
You said,
My neighbor got a $30 wash-and-(hand)wax special and is VERY pleased....he's past doing such work himself and paying $30 three times a year is just fine with him....
His lights are crystal clear and he's done nothing to them...I am jealous though of the cool silver I see there...my warm-tone reflective surface looks "dull" in comparison, but the lenses are clear and that's as good as I can expect after 8 years....
Looking at your friends head lights, I see what looks to me to be ( blue lines,) stone chip pitting appear a white dots,, also 3 red arrows show recent deposits of what looks to be dry white buffing compound on the outer case, commonly called a over buff deposits
I note that your friends, the lens surface is clean and crystal clear all over the lens especially around the orange blinker lens area,
Looking at your headlight lens I think, I see 3 small white stone chips, may a few more, from this angle and light I see some smearing ( 3 yellow arrows )and some smeared or lightly greasy scratches, ( black arrows ) show slightly greasy lens surface over orange colour, not as clear as your friends who I suggest only just had his 15 second buffed, leaving the stone chips,
Please also note, the above pic of your car with the lights on,
Ihere I see a defused and confused light and vision of the headlights components, the orange colour is also defused from yellow to defuse slightly dirty orange, my line of thought is a quick machine buff of your lens would quickly make them comparable to your friends clean and bright lens, ,
So then,I would suggest from these observations, your friend got 2 x 15 second head light buffs for his $30 car wash, as you said before, his lights were pretty faded before the wash, and quickie lens buffs from faded to shiny are common car wash activity, a trick of the trade to make the car look cleaner, or they can clean your car cleaner than anyone else, ,