How important to strip off old wax/sealant?

[dboeren]

I've been reading and I don't see much about what products people use to remove old wax from their car. All the threads talk about "I use this wash, then this glaze, then this sealant, then this wax" but not about removal.

So is removal just not that important? Does everyone just use isopropyl alcohol solution and leave it out of their description because it's boring?

I've been going under the assumption that you should use something to strip the old wax but with the lack of talk about it maybe it's a pretty optional step...

 

[Coopers ST]

To remove the old stuff I clay and polish.

 

[dboeren]

How often do you clay and polish? Every time you're going to wax, or only sometimes? What do you for the in-between times (if any)?

 

[FUNX650]

I've been reading and I don't see much about what products people use to remove old wax from their car.

•Type either of these into this forum's Search function:
-"how to strip off old waxes and sealants"
Or:
-PiPUK

•This is your official invitation to:
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{BYOFFODBs (Bring Your Own Fist-Ful Of Dollar Bills)!}


Bob

 

[allenk4]

If you decide to Strip...please do it real slow like Jamie Lee Curtis in that Schwarzenegger movie...not fast like these young girls nowadays.

 

[beamerstrumpet]

clay and use PURE polish,,
Review: Mothers Step 1 Pure Polish/Pre-Wax Cleaner | mikertt

I use a pure polish on a white Buff and shine flat pad. it actually does a good light correction also!

 

[wytstang]

If you decide to Strip...please do it real slow like Jamie Lee Curtis in that Schwarzenegger movie...not fast like these young girls nowadays.

LOL
If you are stripping off wax and don't plan on polishing and you are going to reapply wax then Pinnacle Paint cleanser works really well. If you are using a sealant then Klasse AIO of Jeff Werkstat Prime:Strong would work very well.

 

[Charger12]

If you decide to Strip...please do it real slow like Jamie Lee Curtis in that Schwarzenegger movie...not fast like these young girls nowadays.

LOL ! Take it off! Take it all off!

 

[Desertnate]

I've been reading and I don't see much about what products people use to remove old wax from their car. All the threads talk about "I use this wash, then this glaze, then this sealant, then this wax" but not about removal.

So is removal just not that important? Does everyone just use isopropyl alcohol solution and leave it out of their description because it's boring?

I've been going under the assumption that you should use something to strip the old wax but with the lack of talk about it maybe it's a pretty optional step...

The reason you don't hear many people talking about it directly very often is because the actions they are talking about, specifically the claying and polishing, are removing the wax.

It is very important to keeping the finish looking as good as possible. Mike has a post/article talking about cleaning the surface where he demonstrated on a yellow hot rod. The car looks really good to start, but there is a picture after a test spot and the color difference is quite noticeable.

 

[dboeren]

The reason you don't hear many people talking about it directly very often is because the actions they are talking about, specifically the claying and polishing, are removing the wax.

OK, that makes sense - the wax removal is happening as a side effect of something else they're doing so it doesn't specifically get called out in the description.

I think then that I won't worry too much about buying a product for wax stripping then since I'm getting a clay bar soon and plan to pick up a Griot's 6" polisher in the future. Good, that keeps the process a bit more simple

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I've been reading and I don't see much about what products people use to remove old wax from their car.

Are you going to use any of the below as a part of this detailing project?

Use a compound?
Use a polish?
Use a paint cleaner or pre-wax cleaner?
Use a cleaner/wax?


If so, any of the above will remove and even obliterate any traces of any car wax or synthetic paint sealant previously applied so using some other product to first strip off any remnants of previously applied wax or sealant is not only redundant but working backwards in the process.


Let me put it this way... in my entire life I have never stripped wax or sealant off a car before using a compound, polish, paint cleaner or cleaner/wax.

Never.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Let me put it this way... in my entire life I have never stripped wax or sealant off a car before using a compound, polish, paint cleaner or cleaner/wax.

Never.

Thank you, Mike, for keeping it simple. I used to get so frustrated (before I started drinking half-decaf) by threads about how after washing and claying, remnants of the old LSP would interfere with the polishing process and had to be rigorously stripped off. And I'd be thinking to myself...people complain that the rain washed off their LSP but they're afraid it won't come off with their buffer...

 

[beamerstrumpet]

Clay only removes surface dirt and crap. The polishing takes the rest off. an aio is good for that,, but if you don't know how much old crap is on the car,, If you want to do it correctly, pure polish. didn't you read link I put on here with the article? Mike has stated the same thing before.