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 the size of the beading you are seeing is because you waxed it and that is an improvement. It may look a little different in some areas but you are seeing beading from condensation not rain so it will look a little different.
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.
Your neighbor is correct, you didn't hurt it by hand waxing it. You washed it first, some folks skip this and it is a bad idea. You cared enough about it to wax it in the first place, also great.
So unless you added sand to the waxing step you are fine, you are helping protect it.
If some waxes are applied to heavy, Collinite 845for example, they take some work to get smoothed out and looking good again but it can done, it just takes some more rubbing.
You can always add a second coat so go light when you apply it and wipe it off once it dries. you are doing this all by hand I take it, on new paint so you don't want or need to rub hard, lay it on smooth and light and take off the same way.
I have found (from this very site) coming back later, hours or a day, with some detailing spray will really smooth out any unevenness and make your paint look great.
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.
Great, some women don't want to mess with this kind of stuff (and some guys) but good for you wanting to keep what you just bought as nice as you can.
And that OCD thing, pretty much everyone here has some form of that. Some even call it their job.
Dig around in the forum you will learn a ton and the people here can clear up anything else.
Mike has tons of basic and advanced information, all of it good.
