post wax swirl

[phantom-civic]

so waxed my civic this weekend, used brand new mguires gold class, the car was very clean when applied, although i did not clay bar. When i removed the wax, i think i had left it on for about 15 min, i was just starting to get foggy. The car is really shinny but u can still see the swirll marks from where the wax was applied, what am i doing wrong? how do i get a just clear shinny finish? i used the proper applicator and removal tools.

for the record i also applied scratch X to see if i could dull down a scratch i have, didn't work, gonna try again next time but my hopes are not high. Used Mothers wheel cleaner, amazing, would recomend, might switch to mothers soon.

[kenchan]

how cold or humid was it outside? sometimes you need to cure it much longer...

for example my G35C was recently waxed and i let the first coat cure 2hrs
and the 2nd coat 12hrs. it was 60F 74RH with the dehumidifier running
inside the garage.

on a dry day i would let the carnauba cure for about 1hr on both coats.

[kenchan]

ps: if you're in a high humdity area, skip wax and go directly to Hydro.
seriously, this polymer spraywax can out last most off-the-shelf polymers
like NXT, ICE.

www.detailersparadise.com

after you wash your car, just mist and wipe while the car is still damp.
that's it. no need to buff and it dries clear. no issues with plastics, rubber,
or even glass. i use Hydro on my commuters.

[phantom-civic]

it wasn't humid at all, prob around 65-70 pretty dry, the car was in the sun for a while but not really direct. I'll try and do it again this weekend or next, leave it on longer. Pardon if this sounds stupid but just a couple of washes take off the present wax right? no way to expedite it.

[Special Ringpop]

Originally Posted by phantom-civic

it wasn't humid at all, prob around 65-70 pretty dry, the car was in the sun for a while but not really direct. I'll try and do it again this weekend or next, leave it on longer. Pardon if this sounds stupid but just a couple of washes take off the present wax right? no way to expedite it.

I don't recommend doing this regularly, but if you do it once or twice a year, it won't kill the car.

Fill up a bucket of water with Dawn dishwash soap. Wash your car using that. That will remove all the current wax that is on it, so make sure if you use this you wax your car before you drive it, as you won't have any wax protection on it afterwards.

Do not use Dawn regularly; it will dull your finish and suck a lot of the natural oils out of the car.

That was how I was always taught to remove a coat of wax. If you have beaded water when teh car is wet, you have a good coat of wax. If the water just sheets off and doesn't bead up, you have little to no wax.

EDIT: To tset if your wax is "cured" long enough, do the spot check test. Lightly put your finger on the paint. and move it. If the wax is removed and is chalky like, it is dry. If it smears or is cake like or wet, it is not done yet.

And it goes without saying (almost) to not do this in the sun.

[klumzypinoy]

The finger swipe test that SPecial Ringpop mentioned helps.
You can also use a claybar to remove previous layers of wax, unless you've already claybarred recently.

[etml12]

Another way to remove old wax is to do a quick wipe down with a 1:1 mix of rubbing alcohol and water (after you wash the vehicle of course).

[K20z3 Civic Si [PHONG]]

So its bad to wax my car everytime I wash it? I wash my car about every 2 weeks and every time i wash, I wax. I clay bar every other wash. Is this bad then?

[FG*SQUAD Nick]

yeah I wouldnt wax it everytime I washed if you wash twice a month which is once every 2 weeks I would wax every 3 to 4 months it last a good while but the more you wash your car the more you wash the wax off too.. wax after washing maybe 6 to 8 times you really cant wax to much but thats just to much work..

[Special Ringpop]

Originally Posted by K20z3 Civic Si [PHONG]

So its bad to wax my car everytime I wash it? I wash my car about every 2 weeks and every time i wash, I wax. I clay bar every other wash. Is this bad then?

I'm not really 100% sure on that, but I wax my car (full detail) and clay it several times thorough the summer. I'll actually clay the car, wax it, wait 24 hours, wash it and dry it, then wax again, and wait another 24 hours and repeat for three coats.

Meguiar's says any more than that and its just overkill. It's nice to have it on there though so you know you havent missed a spot.

Most people I know dont even bother to wax their cars, let alone wash them, so you could even get away waxing every 3-6 months.

[kenchan]

Originally Posted by phantom-civic

it wasn't humid at all, prob around 65-70 pretty dry, the car was in the sun for a while but not really direct. I'll try and do it again this weekend or next, leave it on longer. Pardon if this sounds stupid but just a couple of washes take off the present wax right? no way to expedite it.

yah, try some detailer spray and a plush MF towel to remove some of that
excess haze you got remaining.

[kenchan]

Originally Posted by etml12

Another way to remove old wax is to do a quick wipe down with a 1:1 mix of rubbing alcohol and water (after you wash the vehicle of course).

yep, i call it 50/50 with rubbing alcohol and distilled water, but that
or griot's PaintPrep will remove old wax very efficiently.

there's arguments that dawn soap does not completely remove all
old wax.

[KB798]

Originally Posted by phantom-civic

so waxed my civic this weekend, used brand new mguires gold class, the car was very clean when applied, although i did not clay bar. When i removed the wax, i think i had left it on for about 15 min, i was just starting to get foggy. The car is really shinny but u can still see the swirll marks from where the wax was applied, what am i doing wrong? how do i get a just clear shinny finish? i used the proper applicator and removal tools.

for the record i also applied scratch X to see if i could dull down a scratch i have, didn't work, gonna try again next time but my hopes are not high. Used Mothers wheel cleaner, amazing, would recomend, might switch to mothers soon.

The swirls aren't from the wax not curing long enough. Think about it, how does one induce swirls and marring? If they are caused through abrasions onto the surface, then how does uncured wax create it?

The swirls could have been there before and you didn't know it. They could have been caused because the surface was not clean. They could have been caused because the applicator got dirty. They could have been caused because the enviroment in which you waxed the car in had lots of stuff in the air. My guess is that your surface wasn't completely clean, and as you continued to wax your car your applicator pad got dirtier over time...thus the black/brown speckled stuff on your pad being dragged over your paint when you wax.

Did you clay your car well before applying the ScratchX? Use a 100% terry towel folded into 1/8ths and work the ScratchX in a linear fashion going in the direction of the wind flow over the car. Work in 1' x 1' sections, and wipe off with a expensive microfiber towel. Not being sarcastic about the expensive towel...don't cheap out on towels because the cheaper the towel, the more likely they'll induce marring. Why? Because microfiber towels are made up of thousands of little bundled up threads. The towel may feel plush, but the ends of these threads could still be sharp enough to induce marring on your car. Generally, the more expensive towels are processed in a more refined fashion thus making it safer.

Originally Posted by Special Ringpop

If you have beaded water when teh car is wet, you have a good coat of wax. If the water just sheets off and doesn't bead up, you have little to no wax.

Not necessarily true. Not all waxes are designed to bead water as a result of surface protection. Some waxes sheet water off the car more than beading it off. Therefore, beading and sheeting should not be the sole indicators of whether a wax is present on the surface.

I like to use a more hands-on approach with touching the surface of the car after washing it. Does the paint feel slippery to the touch? Does it have a slightly oily texture? Slipperiness can also be done through having a nicely prepped surface, but it should also be noted. Does the surface feel similar to the last time it was not waxed? Remember how the surface of the car feels pre and post waxing.
[quote=K20z3 Civic Si [PHONG]]So its bad to wax my car everytime I wash it? I wash my car about every 2 weeks and every time i wash, I wax. I clay bar every other wash. Is this bad then?[/QUOTE
NO. It is NOT bad for the car to wax everytime you wash. In fact, you should do it EVERYTIME you wash the car. Waxes will deterioate over time due to environmental factors as well as washing so it's even more important to continually protect the surface of your car through waxing it at every wash. Some waxes have cleaning properities in it which acts as a semi-clay in terms of partially removing sediments and such on the surface underneath it. So if you layer a wax with cleaning properities in it, each layer will remove the layer underneath it.

However, don't confuse what you should do with what's practical. Depending on the type of wax you use, some will last from a week to 6 months. If you wash your car every week, and you use a wax that's supposed to last for several months, then it would be more practical to use a booster wax in between washes. Something like a quick detailer or even spray waxes.

Originally Posted by FG*SQUAD Nick

yeah I wouldnt wax it everytime I washed if you wash twice a month which is once every 2 weeks I would wax every 3 to 4 months it last a good while but the more you wash your car the more you wash the wax off too.. wax after washing maybe 6 to 8 times you really cant wax to much but thats just to much work..

Not all waxes last 3 - 4 months. I don't know where you heard that, but that is incorrect. If you wax every 3 - 4 months with a product that doesn't last that long, you'll be accelerating oxidation in the clearcoat.

You can never wax too much. If you using something with cleaning properties in it then you'll be negating your previous work, but it will only help to continue to wax.