Smearing after wax fades?

[Cs311]

Hi all !

This particular issue has been driving me nuts I find that there is no smearing or anything after the wax job but as it starts to wear off I notice a bunch of smears and I'm assuming it's just the last bits of the wax ? Can't see it unless you stare at it & move , & only in direct sunlight. It's extremely noticeable when you do this though. I am using meguiars tech wax.

I'm going to wash it with dish soap & see if that's the issue.

Tips ?

[ffboy]

In direct sunlight.. Hmm.. I'm just a bit curious and worried.. Since you mentioned "smears" as the wax wears off, it almost sounds like the fillers (the ingredient in some waxes that hide those very light scratches, spider webbing and light swirl marks), it almost sounds like the car's paint already had those not so good looking smears (correct me if I'm wrong).

Meguiar's Tech Wax. A nice synthetic polymer wax, nice depth, it does in my experience, a good job in hiding or filling in minor or light scratches and swirl marks. However, any wax with good filling properties will do that job nicely when new. As the wax wears out, so do the ingredients that help conceal the minor scratches.

You can do a small section to see if it is indeed the wax or the fillers in the wax wearing off, try a 50/50 isopropyl alcohol-water mix. The isopropyl alcohol content should remove any oils, fillers, waxes applied to the paint. If they are indeed swirls or spider webbing, the ultimate solution will be to do paint correction. If you have a d/a buffer, you can use mothers rubbing compound and polishing compound to remove the scratches. On a more consumer level product, you can use UWS Pure Polish by hand, with a microfiber applicator a few times to remove or to at least make the imperfections less visible, followed by UWS Micro polishing glaze to refine the initial results left by the Pure Polish, then apply the wax (ideally, cleaner free type) to complete the job. Again, Tech wax can be used as your final step.

[Cs311]

Thanks for your input.
I actually never noticed them when I bought it.

Was also thinking maybe the meguiars gold class soap was leaving a residue as the last time I washed was in a hurry & simply applied a few drops to the wash mitt, but I did rinse the hell out of it & spot dry.

That alcohol mix sounds scary. Dawn dish soap ?

[Forrest T.]

Dish soap is a worse choice than the isopropyl alcohol.

You need to remove everything that's on the paint - you can do that with a paint prep (like our Ultimate Wax System Pure Polish), isopropyl alcohol, or a clay bar.

IPA is the cheapest, at 99 cents at the drug store. I'd go for that.

Pix of the "smears" would help, if you can figure how to hold a camera to capture them.

[admin]

Try washing in cool weather and not rushing, then you know it's not the washing process.

A "wash with wax" can cause problems if you rush.

[Cs311]

I put some spray wax & quick detailer on it a few days ago which minimilized it but will post a video soon

[ffboy]

Spray wax and quick detailer.. some of them have the ability to fill in temporarily those (if indeed they are) scratches. Again, after a couple of washes, those imperfections might reappear.

Again, do a small area with the isopropyl-water mix, and if the marks reappear, then it could be imperfections in the paint. If the marks disappear, then it could be residue from the carwash.