How to remove existing wax?

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gulfcoaster

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Hey all,

I'm new to detailing and have not yet found info on how and whether I need to strip the existing wax off before doing a paint correction. I bought the following products:

1. DA polisher (Harbor Freight with 6" flexible backing plate)
2. Meguiars Ultimate Compound
3. 3" Lake Country DA Flexible Backing Plate
4. 3 1/4" Lake Country Ultra-Fiber DA microfiber pads
5. 5 1/4" Lake Country Ultra-Fiber DA Microfiber pads (I think I ordered the wrong size here for the 6" backing plate)

I guess I needed to order pads slightly larger than the backing plate, right?

And when using a cutting agent like Meg UC, do I need to remove the existing wax first or will the UC remove the wax simultaneously? If I need to remove it first, what are the options and recommendations?

Similarly, will using UC mean I do not need to use a clay bar beforehand?

--If it's not obvious, I'm a bit overwhelmed by all of the product options out there!

Thanks for the guidance on these questions. :-)
 
I would order a 5" backing plate to go with your 5 1/4" pads. I prefer using 5" pads with a DA. Easier to work with.

UC will remove the wax, but at minimum you should wash and clay first. You may want to consider an Iron X type product depending on the paint condition. How old is the car? What is the current condition of the paint?

The cleaner the paint is prior to polishing the better your results will be. Yes, the UC will remove the contaminants on the paint but guess where they end up, on the pad, so anything it picks up has the potential to unnecessarily gum up the pad and potentially scratch the paint you are trying to correct.
 
Ok, 1st of all, you need to replace the backing plate that your HF DA came with.. Long story short it's unusable and known to destroy 6" pads during use. Don't use it. Buy a Lake Country 5" Backing Plate.

As far as not needing to clay if you're going to compound? That would be wrong. You should clay if you desire the best results. Not only will it prep the paint and leave it smooth, but it'll help remove the wax you're interested in removing prior to compounding.

I recommend you buy a couple of 5" Lake Country Flat Foam Polishing Pads while you're at it. [the white ones] Also get yourself some Meguiars Ultimate Polish to go with them to follow up the compound step in case you need to polish out any bit of haze. It'll make your paint look even better. Good luck.
 
Gentlemen, thanks for the advice. I'll order 5" LC pads and some Ultimate Polish before starting in. Likely get a Nanoskin Autoscrub DA pad and hand pad.

I have a newer 08 BMW with silver paint in very good condition. And a 98 Jeep Wrangler with good but aged white paint.

I expect I should start with the white jeep--it appears to hide blemishes very well due to the brighter color. So it should be more forgiving for s first time practice job.
 
You might also find that all you need is Ultimate Polish to remove whatever defects are in your paint. It does contain a light abrasive load. I love it paired with a blue buff and shine, and green ccs. Finishing with UP on a blue ccs was impressive too, but didn't yield the same correction.
 
What's the best way to remove wax or sealent with out buffing/polishing? I was thinking if my car passes the baggie test, I could just use IPA and Wolfgang Paint prep. Good enough?
 
Mike Honcho said:
Doesn't D114 at higher strengths remove wax and clean panels?
Click to expand...


I once did an experiment to try that out.^

Here's a before shot of my hood. Plenty of beading.

View attachment 39615

Then I taped down the middle, and sprayed the drivers side w/[email protected]

View attachment 39616

View attachment 39618

Next I sprayed the passenger side w/[email protected]

View attachment 39617

I wiped down both sides with separate clean microfiber towels...

And here's how the beading looked afterwards

View attachment 39619

View attachment 39620
 
Mike Honcho said:
How'd it feel with your hand? Did it feel wax free? Grabby?
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Umm I don't remember touching it. But then again I'm pretty extreme OCD so I don't really like touching my paint. I even cringe when I have to do a baggy test. Lol.

But it did look a bit dry afterwards. Kinda like skin in need of lotion.. That didn't last too long though, because I followed up with a coat of Meguiars Black Wax.

View attachment 39621
 
dlc95 said:
You might also find that all you need is Ultimate Polish to remove whatever defects are in your paint. It does contain a light abrasive load. I love it paired with a blue buff and shine, and green ccs. Finishing with UP on a blue ccs was impressive too, but didn't yield the same correction.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the added suggestions here, I can certainly try the lighter polishing out first. Since I don't have any other products to play around with for a bit, I'll probably pick up a bottle of polishing liquid and another clay bar locally and do some test areas on at least the older Jeep with water spots, oxidation, discolorations, low shine, etc. Then move on to the MEG UC as a comparison. I'll be doing it outdoors so I don't' know what sort of pictures will come out particularly on a white car. I'll still post photos with descriptive results either way.

-- This is going to be an experiment/self-teaching process for me, that I'll share with ya'll. Intentionally starting out with some less-than ideal products to compare to the better stuff a week or so later. I'm going to start out with the products I have in hand this weekend (hopefully), meaning the HF 6 inch pad that came with the tool, and whatever polish (or just the UC) that I have on hand. Light hand, will focus on not letting the pad heat up.

I've been enjoying doing half a hood at a time for experiment sake, I'll reduce that down to a 2'x2' test square this time.

Thanks to the other comments, they are all either going into this process as well or will in the near future as part of another order.
 
gulfcoaster said:
-- This is going to be an experiment/self-teaching process for me, that I'll share with ya'll. Intentionally starting out with some less-than ideal products to compare to the better stuff a week or so later. I'm going to start out with the products I have in hand this weekend (hopefully), meaning the HF 6 inch pad that came with the tool, and whatever polish (or just the UC) that I have on hand. Light hand, will focus on not letting the pad heat up.
Click to expand...


FYI: It has nothing to do with the pad heating up.. The problem with using that backing plate Especially with those HF pads is the backing plate is too big, combined with the fact that the velcro on those pads doesn't extend all the way to the end of the already oversized backing plate, which results in the possibility of the pad disintegrating without warning and you digging your polisher full speed into your paint... But hey, "it's a self teaching process" lol. Smh.
 
Eldorado2k said:
I once did an experiment to try that out.^

Here's a before shot of my hood. Plenty of beading.

View attachment 39615

Then I taped down the middle, and sprayed the drivers side w/[email protected]

View attachment 39616

View attachment 39618

Next I sprayed the passenger side w/[email protected]

View attachment 39617

I wiped down both sides with separate clean microfiber towels...

And here's how the beading looked afterwards

View attachment 39619

View attachment 39620
Click to expand...

The APCs leave surfactants behind that make the water sheet. If you had given it an IPA wipe down after using the APCs you would see the beading return. The IPA removes the surfactants. Check out this thread: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/66896-lsp-stripping.html
 
ski2 said:
The APCs leave surfactants behind that make the water sheet. If you had given it an IPA wipe down after using the APCs you would see the beading return. The IPA removes the surfactants. Check out this thread: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/66896-lsp-stripping.html
Click to expand...


Yes I know. When I 1st posted a thread with that experiment a few months back on MOL I mentioned that.. But I chose not to overthink it, plus that was a spur of the moment experiment with the little time I had to play with before work that morning.😊
 
Eldorado2k said:
FYI: It has nothing to do with the pad heating up.. The problem with using that backing plate Especially with those HF pads is the backing plate is too big, combined with the fact that the velcro on those pads doesn't extend all the way to the end of the already oversized backing plate, which results in the possibility of the pad disintegrating without warning and you digging your polisher full speed into your paint... But hey, "it's a self teaching process" lol. Smh.
Click to expand...

Awesome, Eldorado!--just in time, I was about to head to the store! Money and frustration saved! -- I'll just make due with my 3" Lake Contry pad and backing plate then until the larger Lake Country Backing Plate arrives in a week or so.
 
Glad I could help👋🏼

And I know exactly how you feel about wanting to test out your new stuff.. Heck, I just recieved a new bottle of headlight restoring polish in the mail a few days ago and I'm thinking about which neighbor I can give a free bee to because I can't wait to try it! Lol.

Speaking of that 3" backing plate... If you have plastic headlights that have any yellow haze on them you can try using Ultimate Compound w/your 3" backing plate to help clear them up. It works well in most cases. Speed 5+
 
Eldorado2k said:
Glad I could help👋🏼

And I know exactly how you feel about wanting to test out your new stuff.. Heck, I just recieved a new bottle of headlight restoring polish in the mail a few days ago and I'm thinking about which neighbor I can give a free bee to because I can't wait to try it! Lol.

Speaking of that 3" backing plate... If you have plastic headlights that have any yellow haze on them you can try using Ultimate Compound w/your 3" backing plate to help clear them up. It works well in most cases. Speed 5+
Click to expand...

I remember using compounds and waxinging my headlights years years years ago before dedicated headlight restores came out. I need to restore a set of headlights. Is this method of using Compounds and waxing my headlights still good to do with decent results. I can not remember the results. It has been awhile. I have all the supplies now. I would like to save money and use what I got instead of buying a kit.
 
Progress Report: First time was a small success!

Well I tried to upload photos to an album to show the results inline, but AGO was unable to upload photos at this time-- I'll try that feature another time. Photos attached however.

Test subject: 17 year old white Jeep with some obvious scratches, discoloration patches, water spots, and general cloudiness to finish--not bad, but up close can see defects.

Did not notice a difference using the Meguiars #2 Fine Cut Cleaner, so moved on to the Meguiars Ultimate Compound-- got results with that, though did not seem to lighten a 3" long surface scratch--the scratch doesn't look deep; maybe foam pad would have been more effective than the microfiber pads?

Followed up with Meguiars Ultimate Liquid Wax. Removed tape and could see and feel a difference. Paint felt smoother, looked whiter, and reflection in paint was decidedly clearer.

Yay! Off to a good start :-) -- Boo! it was only a 2x2 square! :-(
But a learning experience nonetheless. See attached photos: 2nd photo shows discolorations, possibly the scratch is visible. 3rd photo is adjacent area uncorrected, showing cloudy reflection of pole and transformer (that's cloudiness in paint, not a blurry photo) . 4th photo is corrected test square, showing clearer reflection. 5th photo shows the original discoloration and scratch better.

I expect the paint correction to show better on a day that isn't overcast.
 
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