I got my G two weeks ago and last weekend I spent 2 hours washing, using a paint cleaner, and mothers wax to get her lookin nice. However, I looked at her in the sunlight, and it looks like the wax is smearing?! If I take a cloth and wipe the car, the smear goes with the direction of the wipe, so I know its not just sratches. It looks kinda like there is an oily film or something on there that I can get rid of. I washed her again today and they are still there. Any thoughts? Think the dealer could have applied some funky "wax" type thing to the paint before I bought it and is messing with the wax finish? I'm affraid I might have to remove all the wax and start over . If I do, what might be the best way... use some Dawn dish soap and then rewax? Think I should use a cleaner wax/swirl remover type product between was and wax?

thanks

Joe Mac

<a href="http://joemac.homeunix.com:427/car/geraldine/geraldine1.htm" >JoeMcDaniel.net - Geraldine</a> p.s.: these pics were BEFORE all the washing and AFTER a 100 mile road trip, so please ignore the bugs

Dawn, Clay bar, and ZAINO it!

Thanks... was affraid of that. Is dish soap the best thing to use... cheap yet effective?

Joe Mac

Yes, only use original Dawn, unscented to remove all wax on the car. Then clay. Then you can either Zaino, or apply any other products such as Klasse AIO and SG.

Search the forum.
There is a lot of talk about detailing. Try Zaino as your keyword.
From what I have read. Regular Dawn works best. If you really want it to look good, get out the clay bar and use some elbow grease.

I highly encourage you not to use Dawn, especially regularly. One use probably will not show much damage but with prolonged use you will definitely notice some subtle damage. Dawn is a powerful stripping agent, hence its use on dishes that are often very greasy. These stripping agents will also remove essential oils from rubber, plastic and vinyl surfaces as well as the clear coat. If you want to remove the old wax you can use clay bar, abrasive (Poorboy's World SSRs) or chemical polish (Poorboy's World Pro Polish, Klasse AIO). Hope this helps.

I don't think it's the wax that's smearing, it's the paint cleaner. Waxes dry over time, they don't remain oily. Paint cleaners and polishes however have many oils and if you don't wipe them off completely before applying a wax or sealant you're stuck with the holograms until you remove it all. The best way to remove this oily residue after using the cleaner is to fill a spray bottle with rubbing alcohol mixed 50:50 with water - spray each panel and buff it off, make sure to be very thorough (get all spots). This will leave the paint absolutely naked and ready for wax.

Regarding future wax removal - Punchit is right, using dawn on a regular basis is a bad idea if only because it can dry out trim. You're better off stripping wax/sealants with the alcohol/water mix, then washing with a good automotive soap.

Alcohol/water mix? Can you elaborate on this or maybe point us to somewhere with more info? Do you mix this with your automotive soap? Or do you do a rundown with the water mixture first and then soap?

All you do is mix rubbing alcohol (the regular store bought 70% variety) with water, 50:50 in a spray bottle. If your intention is to stip then re-apply waxes just wash with automotive soap to remove all dirt, spray a panel with the alcohol/water mix and wipe off with an mf cloth, repeat on each panel and you'll have removed your sealant/wax. You can then re-apply whatever sealant/wax you choose.

If you're going to be claying or polishing you can skip this since the clay and/or polish with remove any sealant wax. However I recommend doing the alcohol/water rubdown after polishing every time since it will remove any polish residue - which I believe was the issue the OP was having (polish residue left on before waxing).

Cheers.