Damaged new car by waxing?

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aaradia

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I just bought a brand new Honda Fit. I waxed it with Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax because I heard it was one of the safest and easiest and best products out there. My sister and I waxed it in the evening, to avoid bright sun. It looked beautiful. But several hours later home at night, and the roof looked awful! All cloudy and swirly in the night condensation. I live in San Diego, Ca. One of the mildest climates in the world.. So I wiped it down and it was all well like there was still wax on it and not dried. Although it seemed perfectly dry right after doing it earlier in the evening.

I rubbed hard all over. It looked like I wiped up the extra, but as the dew came back, so did the cloudy look. Now I an worried that trying to fix it by wiping it off at night did some sort of damage. I rubbed with some strength to get it to look clear, but I used microfiber towels. I did this like 5 times before giving up. Now I am reading about curing for twelve hours, but the how to video on Amazon didn't mention this before. Nor did other videos on waxing a car. The isntructions just said "better to not use in bright sunlight." Nothing about not doing it in the evening. It is a BRAND new car and I was trying to take care of it. I researched and used the right cloths and stayed out of the sun. My sister seemed aware of not applying the product too thickly and guided me. Please tell me what is going on!

I am freaking out!

Sorry for this being my first question, before an intro even.
 
It's just condensation you're seeing. No big deal. Don't rub the paint unless it's totally clean or you'll mar it.
 
Thanks, it doesn't look like regular condensation though. And it didn't look like that the last week that I have had the car before tonight when I waxed it when condensation occurred. It looked nice and shiny with damp spots, not cloudy.

The car was cleaned a couple of hours ago. But I was worried that if this wax was somehow, someway still damp- or damp again - rubbing it with the condensation would cause damage.

Sorry if I sound dumb, I am new to car waxing.
 
It's perfectly fine happens all the time.If you wax your finish in the morning that night you will see wipe patterns .Its all do to condensation.If you sprayed tire silicone dressing and overspray got on to paint then you wax it,that night would look worse.give it a full hot or warm day in the sun and it will disappear .
 
You could use some detail spray (not spray wax) and go over the car **AS LONG AS IT'S CLEAN** to see if that helps. You could also try washing & drying the car again using a good mf towel or towels to dry the car. The *defects* you are seeing are only skin (wax) deep ... NOT in the paint.

At WORST, a light polishing (just enough to remove the current wax) perhaps a mild cleaner wax even, and careful rewax will make things right.
 
IMO:
•A person would really have to go out of
their way to damage a clean vehicle by
Waxing it—especially if the Manufacturer's
application/removal recommendations are
faithfully followed.

•The condensation is caused by the ambient
temperature changing between daytime and
nighttime hours; the differences between the
vehicle's panel temperature and the surrounding
ambient temperature; relative humidity; the
"dew point"; etc.

-And...Due to natural Wax's hygroscopic nature:
The condensation is likely to now be
more pronounced; more noticeable.

-Best to: Let it run its course.



Bob
 
I don't think he used natural wax, isn't Megs Ultimate Wax a Sealant? I don't think anything is ruined, but do wonder if the sealant was wet from condensation while applying it? If in the day it still looks cloudy I would get a bottle of ultimate polish. Wash the car, polish it, then reseal (your Ultimate Wax) it. Dont do it in the evening, but day. I would start mid morning and do the work in the shade.
 
Coopers ST said:
I don't think he used natural wax,
isn't Megs Ultimate Wax a Sealant?
Click to expand...
Modified polymers of many olefins:..(such as
those having a carbon number greater than 20)...
have wax-like properties; and, more often than
not: meet the performance characteristics of
animal and vegetable Waxes. Hygroscopicity is
one such performance characteristic.

These are sold as Synthetic Waxes (Sealants).


Bob
 
Condensation occurs due to the moisture in the ambient air contacting a colder panel and condensing into visible water. Once wiped away it will almost immediately reappear until either there is no longer enough moisture in the air OR the panel warms up to prevent condensing at or below the dew point.
 
I'm sorry to say this, but I disagree with everyone else's reply. I believe that you have completely and totally ruined your car. I think that you should call insurance immediately and then go buy yourself a Fiat 500 Abarth. There is a thread in the off topic section right now, you can read up all you want on them.😂 i kid, i kid... can you snap some pictures so that we know exactly what you're talking about
 
Coopers ST said:
I don't think he used natural wax, isn't Megs Ultimate Wax a Sealant?
Click to expand...

I believe it's purely synthetic not really a "wax" as the name implies. My guess is the condensation is forming due to the hydrophobic properties whereas without it, the moister probably spread out very thin as to either go unnoticed or evaporated more quickly.
 
Thanks for the help everyone.To answer all the questions asked.

My sister and I washed it with one of the Meguiar's car soaps and dried it before waxing. It felt pretty smooth, so I did not clay bar it. From what I have read on learning to detail, I will clay bar once or twice a year. (?)

The wax I used was Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax. It says "Pure synthetic Polymer" on the bottle. Also says "our most advanced hydrophobic wax." I picked it because reseach on the Internet (forums- reviews etc) said it was easy to use, a good brand, but if it got on the plastic of the car, it was forgiving. Some polymer's were unforgiving if you didn't apply it just right, so I thought this would be better.

I did not apply the wax when condensation was going on. The condensation started after nightfall- about 2 to 3 hours later.

It looks fine this morning It isn't cloudy. but isn't beading up as good as it did before the wax job. It was set larger beads, where this morning the beads look like a fine mist. I think I saw some beading differences where I wiped the car more last night. I.e. different parts of the roof. but I think that also might be that it looks different where I wiped my hand lightly over parts of the top last night. But maybe not. I have moderate OCD, which makes it hard to evaluate properly as exaggerate things in my head. But the effect I saw last night was definitely real!

I think wiping it down vigorously last night several times may have undone some of the waxing? I rubbed it down with a microfiber towel - several- making sure I used only clean parts of towels. It was only a couple hours after cleaning and waxing it. It would look cleared up, but clouded up as soon as the condensation began again. I did this like 5 times before giving up. Yeah, I know I should have stopped earlier, but I blame that on the OCD.

I am mostly worried about my wiping down the car several times last night causing damage now. My neighbor said that I would not have hurt the clear coat, just compromised the wax I had just put on.

The sides and hood of the car are just fine- no problems last night and none this morning.

I think I may redo the wash and wax on the roof this weekend, but in the early morning so it has hours before the condensation. Good idea or bad?

I really appreciate all the advice. I went through a very stressful time because my old car broke down repeatedly unexpectedly. It only had 86,000 miles on it and I had done all the maintenance.I thought I wouldn't need a new car for a couple more years. So the thought of damaging my new car before I had even made my first payment was really upsetting! I didn't sleep well last night at all.

I don't have a smart phone. I was thinking of getting one this year, but now I have new car payments, so that isn't going to happen for awhile now. So, no pics.

BTW, I am female. I am guessing far more guys pay attention to waxing and detailing. That also seems to be my experience in talking to people at my work and martial arts school and other avenues of life.
 
If climate/heat is a concern, you might want to look into the Poorboy's World brand (available in the Store section here) products. They are designed in Florida, and designed for use in any climate, and regardless of sun level. I've used them before based on that (Sealants, waxes, and tire gels) - never had a problem with them - and I have used them mid-day on sunny summer days in Washington, DC. They give a solid shine and are very easy to use.
 
Mrs aaradia,

Welcome to the forum. I am thinking you simply applied the synthetic sealant too thickly which is common for anyone not particularly familiar with proper paint sealant protection. Thinner is better. The sealant will perform better the thinner you apply it.

'High spots' will attract condensation as you described, do not be concerned about it, no damage has been done. It looks like you did a fine job of prepping the paint, yes you can clay once a year on average, hopefully no more assuming the paint system is maintained well.

Synthetic sealants are tenacious, slim chance you 'compromised the wax', and no chance of damaging the clear-coat in any significant way unless you were using sandpaper, even then it would take a little work to be concerned about that.

Now frequently touching the paint will eventually cause 'spider-webbing' and minor scratches which can be unsightly so I would recommend minimizing that activity and let the sealant do its job of protecting the paint system from the environment which should be at least 1 month.

The 12 hour cure time you are reading about is in regards to applying a second layer on top of the existing one and how to do that properly.

You can wash the vehicle but the current application of the Ultimate Wax wont be going anywhere, you would require a far more aggressive approach than just a shampoo. Sealants are designed to protect and it will do just that whether it be dirt, grime, bug strikes or shampoo.

One of the more difficult aspects of car care is knowing how to back off and leave it alone, you know, the whole OCD thing and all :)


Steve
 
Don't get bent out of shape over it. I think steve said it best. you just used too much product.
You did not ruin your new car. for future reference just make sure you always use a good microfiber towel
to remove sealant or wax.and find one that is easy to remove.
 
A few points come to mind.

1. Possible contamination of the applicator.

2. Paint that needed to be prepper, or cleaned with a paint cleaner, or polish, as well as clayed. This helps your wax better adhere to the paint.

3. Like previously mentioned, overapplication. Ultimate Wax needs to be applied "whisper thin".
 
Now that I know it was Ultimate Wax, I can concur with everyone else about the moisture. I had similar problems using the Ultimate Quik Wax as a drying agent ... there was still too much water on the car and it clouded up like you wouldn't believe. Like already said ... apply it THIN and avoid WATER during application and removal.

Also every time you wash, rub or wipe the surface, even with the softest microfiber cloth, you are removing a little wax, so try to touch the finish as little as possible. This last bit was per Mike Phillips
 
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