redhotS4

This weekend, I used several products on my pickup as a test-bed for the Audi. First I used some Mequiars paint cleaner, then Meguiars polish and finally the Griot's Best of Show wax. Each successive step got harder to remove. The paint cleaner came off no problem. Then I did the polish and let it sit, it was tough to get off. Then I did the wax and it took forever to get off. Was it because I did the three steps too close together? How long should I have to let the wax dry? I let it sit about 20 minutes. It was about 40 degrees if that matters ... thanks in advance!

AlanL

I usually start at a specific end of the car and work my way around. By the time I am done, it is just about the right to grab a towel and start removing from the point I started from. I turn the towel over frequently and have never really had to struggle to get things off.

I have never used Griott's wax however, so I can't really say easy/hard that removel step should have been. It is also possible that using Griott's wax over the Meguiar's polish could make the wax more difficult to remove, although that is just a wild guess.

HDClown

With that temperature, you probably neede closer to 40 minutes for the wax to dry, or any of the other things you used, possibly more time.

Another possibility is applying the wax or other products to thick. It makes it excessively hard to get off.

RickM

Humidity is as important as temp. Hard to say, but sounds like you didn't allow enuf drying time.

Ted K

drying. I wouldn't even wait 5 minutes. You wax a pannel, and then wait a minute or two for it to haze over, and then wipe off. The longer you wait, the more elbow grease you need to use to remove it. redhotS4 waited WAY TOO LONG, and that's why it was so difficult to remove.

AlanL

I consider that length of time to be borderline of being too long. Needless to say, we have high humidity in the Pacific NW this time of the year too. I have always felt that waiting for an absolutely dry wax layer means serious work for the removal stage.

HDClown

So I guess my comments tend to be more relative to my environment. I live in central FL and it doesn't get very cold nor very dry. If I waited 5 minutes in my climate to buff off I'd be smearing the wax all over the place and making my buff off towel useless. I'm guessing the humidity has a lot to do with it as well, because it can be 90F out where 5 minutss is surely enough time to dry any wax, but when it's 99.5% humidity, it doesn't seem to setup right in that little time.

RickM

As I understand it, in any paste wax with carnauba in it, you've got x% of carnauba (as little as 5%, as much as 40%) with the rest consisting of other stuff that makes it soft enough to work with -- oils and such. When carnauba is dry, it's really hard, which is one reason why it's so good for protecting car finishes So if I understand the process correctly, the object of the game is to apply the wax and then give it enough time for that "other stuff" to evaporate, leaving behind a thin film of that <i>dry</i>, hard carnauba. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but if you aren't waiting long enough for what you applied to dry thoroughly, you're missing at least some of the benefit of the exercise. I always let Blitz wax dry <i>completely</i> before removing it. And it's always a cinch to remove, really easy. The key is to apply a very very thin layer, so that there isn't much to buff off.

I am aware that there are some products that must be applied and buffed out quickly (as car care specialties says in one of their articles, "If you allow Zymol/P21S to dry before
buffing, you will need a belt sander to remove them."). But I don't think those are carnauba-based products.

If you have a carnauba wax where the label says to apply it and let it haze over <i>"without drying"</i>, I'd be interested to know what product that is because I don't think I've ever seen that on a can of wax.

Not trying to be contentious here, but the idea of buffing off wax <i>before it's dry</i> is so contrary to everything I've always understood about carnauba-based waxes that I really am interested in knowing where I'm wrong in my understanding of the process.

Let me put it this way: If buffing wax off "without drying" is correct, then why wait any time at all between application and buffing? How does waiting for hazing help the process if immediately below that top haze the wax still isn't dry? And what's happening right next to the paint -- how is the wax forming a protective film -- if you're buffing it before the wax is dry there? I'm not really talking about easy or hard removal any more (altho I've never had any trouble removing Blitz or other quality waxes when they're completely dry); I'm talking about maximizing the wax's effectiveness in doing the job it's intended to do.

Rick

AlanL

without further elaboration. This is a can of Meguiar's #26 paste wax. My can of One Grand Blitz does specify to "let it dry to a frost".

Next time I do a wax coat I will try to record observations such as ambient temp in my garage (our typical outside winter daytime temps in the NW are in the 40's) and poke at the wax layer before I wipe it off to see just how dry I have been letting it get. I haven't really considered quantifying these things before.

JohnLZ7W

I have a container of it right here and their directions say "For best results, do not wait for wax to fully haze over." And yes, it is a carnauba based wax(yellow #1, unknown %). I haven't tried using the P21S but had been using Blitz and almost always let it dry completely. If I don't wait long enough with the Blitz it just smears all over the place. Only really had problems getting Blitz off if I used too much of it.