Hello

Washed my 1 week old car for the second time today.  The original car was prepped by me and a lsp of bilt double speed wax was used as per instructions. It's looked great all week and now it looks terrible. I washed it with Zymol and expected that I only needed to dry it off. There are loads of smears appearing all over the bodywork that weren't there before. It's just like a wet cloth has been wiped all over it. I have used some sonax bsd over the top to try and help and it looks a bit better but not much. 

 

Is is it because I have washed my car in the sun and it has started to melt the wax? Is there anything I can due to rescue it apart from waiting for a dull day and stripping it all down again :-( 

 

thanks

Edited 8 April, 20179 yr by tigermad

Maybe you didn't buff the wax off fully or applied too much and now the sun is out its highlighting some holograms from the wax.  Try giving the car a wipe down with a q/d and a clean microfibre.

4 minutes ago, pee81 said:

Maybe you didn't buff the wax off fully or applied too much and now the sun is out its highlighting some holograms from the wax.  Try giving the car a wipe down with a q/d and a clean microfibre.

Hi. It's ok now. I let the panels cool down and then put some more bsd on it. I think it was just to hot on one side. The side away from the sun was ok. As far as I know I applied the wax ok and buffed it off enough. I guess wax goes like this in very hot sun? I was hoping to just have wax for the next few months but now I will topup with bsd every few weeks. I will make sure the panels are not red hot next time. 

13 minutes ago, tigermad said:

Hi. It's ok now. I let the panels cool down and then put some more bsd on it. I think it was just to hot on one side. The side away from the sun was ok. As far as I know I applied the wax ok and buffed it off enough. I guess wax goes like this in very hot sun? I was hoping to just have wax for the next few months but now I will topup with bsd every few weeks. I will make sure the panels are not red hot next time. 

Yeah it's always best to make sure the panels are fairly cool just to make life easier when applying waxes or polishes. I've had a few nightmare scenarios where I've struggled to remove a wax or I've been left with loads of holograms 

1 hour ago, pee81 said:

Yeah it's always best to make sure the panels are fairly cool just to make life easier when applying waxes or polishes. I've had a few nightmare scenarios where I've struggled to remove a wax or I've been left with loads of holograms 

I applied the wax a week ago though and it buffed off fine. Didn't expect it to smear hologram just from a snow foam, shampoo and rinse. 

@tigermad I had the same problem this afternoon, washing the car in full sunlight. I wondered if there was still wax or detailing spray impregnated in the microfibre cloths, which I wash and reuse? Or if I was using too much of the AutoGlym shampoo? In any case, I used my Meguiars detailing spray after the wash and the swirls disappeared. Then, the OCD overpowered me and this evening (in shade) I gave the big red shiny thing yet another coat of BSD, knowing how good it would look after I finished.

 

I'm starting to wash the car less often, because I know how much work I'm going to make for myself! Can you have too much wax on a car? I thought the shine got deeper the more layers you had, but maybe I'm over-egging the pudding...

Hey Mandy - seems you got the same comments above.

 

I had similar "smearing" on some hot panels when i washed the car on Saturday.

After the car cooled down i gave it a wipe down with KAVD-QD1 and all sorted!

 

Just now, samuir1974 said:

Hey Mandy - seems you got the same comments above.

 

I had similar "smearing" on some hot panels when i washed the car on Saturday.

After the car cooled down i gave it a wipe down with KAVD-QD1 and all sorted!

 

Thanks. I didn't want to use BSD on my car. I wanted the wax to be the final layer but I had no choice but to use it when car cooled.  Looks nice and shiny now though. :-) 

Washed the car again today and made sure the panels were not hot this time. Some smearing still happened so I guess there is definately something wrong with the speed wax underneath. Added some sonax bsd again to get rid if it. Next time I wash I will have to remove all the wax etc and start from scratch. Can i use diluted IPA to do this removal?

18 hours ago, tigermad said:

Washed the car again today and made sure the panels were not hot this time. Some smearing still happened so I guess there is definately something wrong with the speed wax underneath. Added some sonax bsd again to get rid if it. Next time I wash I will have to remove all the wax etc and start from scratch. Can i use diluted IPA to do this removal?

It might be that the speed wax was over applied? A little wax can go a long way so definitely use it thinly as possible  or do you use a microfiber drying towel? it could be that when you are drying the car with the towel, you are wiping with the towel rather than patting? I use both ways to be honest depending what part/area of the car I'm drying! Also good to use a bit of BSD or any other QD to help dry the car, apply the BSD or QD just after rinsing, watch the water run off straightaway & then use the towel to dry.

 

With the IPA (depending on the strength) I have used 300ml-350ml water, 100ml of IPA & if you want too, you could add 10-20ml of a citrus wash (all purpose cleaner) to the mix bottle, spray on the panel & wipe with a microfiber cloth.

 

Edit: Best to add the water first, then the desired strength (60-100ml) of IPA. 

 

Edited 17 April, 20179 yr by BATVANVRS

29 minutes ago, BATVANVRS said:

It might be that the speed wax was over applied? A little wax can go a long way so definitely use it thinly as possible  or do you use a microfiber drying towel? it could be that when you are drying the car with the towel, you are wiping with the towel rather than patting? I use both ways to be honest depending what part/area of the car I'm drying! Also good to use a bit of BSD or any other QD to help dry the car, apply the BSD or QD just after rinsing, watch the water run off straightaway & then use the towel to dry.

 

With the IPA (depending on the strength) I have used 300ml-350ml water, 100ml of IPA & if you want too, you could add 10-20ml of a citrus wash (all purpose cleaner) to the mix bottle, spray on the panel & wipe with a microfiber cloth.

 

Edit: Best to add the water first, then the desired strength (60-100ml) of IPA. 

 

Thanks for the reply. I drag the drying towel over the surface of the roof and bonnet and then pat down the doors etc. I used this method for 3 years on my octy and didn't smear once. But I didn't have wax on it. Just BSD. 

I think I will try the double speed wax again. Maybe it was too thick or I didn't let it cure for long enough. I hope it was ok to use wax on fresh paint. The car was only built just over 2 weeks before I waxed it. 

31 minutes ago, tigermad said:

Thanks for the reply. I drag the drying towel over the surface of the roof and bonnet and then pat down the doors etc. I used this method for 3 years on my octy and didn't smear once. But I didn't have wax on it. Just BSD. 

I think I will try the double speed wax again. Maybe it was too thick or I didn't let it cure for long enough. I hope it was ok to use wax on fresh paint. The car was only built just over 2 weeks before I waxed it. 

 

I do drag the towel also but only on certain parts, (roof & rear-end, sometimes bonnet) but I try most of the time to use the patting method, it might take a little longer to dry & a QD will also help to aid with drying  It could be the wax was too thick? or it didn't cure long enough? It is ok to use wax on fresh paint (just not freshly painted surfaces) your car would of been sitting for a while etc especially as it goes through a process with the dealer before it is actually handed over to you, so the paint would be new but not newly painted! (I would of thought)  

 

But even with a new vehicle, I would of still used a decontamination stage/method before applying any polish,sealant or wax etc...

 

For now you can try the IPA & see if that actually helps you out, if not! Then I would basically start from scratch, use this video as a guideline, I'm not a fully pledged proper detailer, more of a hobby/weekend warrior type of guy  so if any of the professional guys can offer you advise I would go with what they say, as they are far more experienced, I can just point out what works or has worked for me... 

 

 

Forgot to mention: With the iron fallout & De-tar stage, I prefer to rinse with the pressure washer rather than just wipe away & with the clay stage too, after all that has been done, I re-wash & dry with no QD, polish & then wax & then add a QD on top of the wax if you wish too.

Edited 17 April, 20179 yr by BATVANVRS
forgot info:

1 hour ago, BATVANVRS said:

 

I do drag the towel also but only on certain parts, (roof & rear-end, sometimes bonnet) but I try most of the time to use the patting method, it might take a little longer to dry & a QD will also help to aid with drying  It could be the wax was too thick? or it didn't cure long enough? It is ok to use wax on fresh paint (just not freshly painted surfaces) your car would of been sitting for a while etc especially as it goes through a process with the dealer before it is actually handed over to you, so the paint would be new but not newly painted! (I would of thought)  

 

But even with a new vehicle, I would of still used a decontamination stage/method before applying any polish,sealant or wax etc...

 

For now you can try the IPA & see if that actually helps you out, if not! Then I would basically start from scratch, use this video as a guideline, I'm not a fully pledged proper detailer, more of a hobby/weekend warrior type of guy  so if any of the professional guys can offer you advise I would go with what they say, as they are far more experienced, I can just point out what works or has worked for me... 

 

 

Forgot to mention: With the iron fallout & De-tar stage, I prefer to rinse with the pressure washer rather than just wipe away & with the clay stage too, after all that has been done, I re-wash & dry with no QD, polish & then wax & then add a QD on top of the wax if you wish too.

Thanks. I did all the decon when I prepped the new car. Used korrosol etc and Bilt Hamber cleaning fluid before I waxed. So it was definately a good surface prep. I will just tell the IPA and wax method next time I wash the car and see if it makes any difference. 

On 4/8/2017 at 21:10, freelunch said:

... but maybe I'm over-egging the pudding... (and I should have said DSW, instead of BSD – useful, abbreviations, unless you forget what they stand for!)

I think this is the nub of my streaking problem. After reading the above posts, I think I've applied too much DSW and not let it cure long enough before buffing it off.

 

This time when I washed the car, I could see the start of streaking, but just buffed longer with a new microfibre towel until the streaking disappeared. Too much wax, I figure, but it looks good now. Next time I use the DSW, I will do what the instructions say and let it cure for five minutes before buffing it off. I've previously been too impatient to wait that long. Too bad I quit smoking, though if you were measuring curing time with fags, you'd go through a pack of ten every time you waxed your car. 'Cough'

2 minutes ago, freelunch said:

I think this is the nub of my streaking problem. After reading the above posts, I think I've applied too much DSW and not let it cure long enough before buffing it off.

 

This time when I washed the car, I could see the start of streaking, but just buffed longer with a new microfibre towel until the streaking disappeared. Too much wax, I figure, but it looks good now. Next time I use the DSW, I will do what the instructions say and let it cure for five minutes before buffing it off. I've previously been too impatient to wait that long. Too bad I quit smoking, though if you were measuring curing time with fags, you'd go through a pack of ten every time you waxed your car. 'Cough'

When you saw the streaking did you just buff the car without using any product, I.e dry towel? I tried it but didn't help. 

what I don't understand is that my car was only washed last weekend and I topped it off with Bsd which normally beads for a good few weeks. So when I washed yesterday I assumed I would get no smearing because the bsd should still have been protecting the car. So how can the wax be smearing under the layer of bsd? Or have they just melted together?

Yeah, just a dry, clean towel. And the buffing was light, not rubbing. Can't answer the scientific part of your question, but I'm guessing you can have too much of a good thing. Detailing overkill! Obsessive OCD!