Removing wax ?'s

[01sapphirebob]

So...I am doing a paint correcting on my '01 sapphire rt/10 and long story short I put wax on the panels that I polished to protect them over the winter. If I wanted to go about removing tha wax, what would be the best method? I was not 100% satisfied with how I left the panels and may want another crack at them in the spring.

 

[cfiiman]

2 ways are best, either a wash in dawn detergent or claying it. You could also use rubbing alcohol, or just go for it, swirl and haze polish will strip it as well but I would wash or clay it first.

 

[TowDawg]

I just use some Dawn dishwashing liquid to wash the car. That stuff will strip off your old wax with no problem.
I make a strong mix of it with water and wash the car thoroughly before I put put a new coat on (or clay or polish).

 

[ACR_VP]

I've always used dawn

 

[ACR_Matt]

Just like everybody else has said: Dawn and clay bar. I like to do both.

 

[NHL2133]

If you are thinking about re-doing one panel at a time, mix some Isopropyl Alcohol and water (50/50) in a spray bottle. Spray the panel you want to focus on and wipe down with a microfiber towel.

 

[agentf1]

Any of the above methods will work but if you are going to polish the paint again there is no real need to remove the wax first. Sapphire is a ***** to get perfect.

 

[Tito Tw]

I like to take this opportunity and share some information regarding the usage of Dish-washing Soap- the usage of Dish washing soap within the detail industry seems to be accepted/endorsed and promote by many people including top notch professional detailers, at the same time for some reason it appears that is a dead debate and no end on site to it;

Is almost like if you don’t use it you don’t know anything about detailing, at least that is the general impression that some of us perceive.

First; lets analyze why is this product used by so many people within the automobile detailing industry, the “Main” objective to used dish detergent to remove any old waxes or sealants" prior to a new application of waxes/sealants.

From our research we have found two easy ways to obtain such results (but there’s other alternative as well not to mention car care products made especially for this task)

1- Via a oxidation block or Via Clay bar

2- Isotropy Alcohol (rubbing alcohol) a 50/50 mix of water and isopropyl alcohol

This procedure must be done by an experienced person.

Those are just two examples, as we continue we can mention that dish washing detergents are designed to strip grease and grime. In the automobile world it seems that the brand “Dawn” is the one particular brand that everyone referees too, maybe that particular brand of dish washing soap is stronger or is just the branding, I suspect the second one.

With that we will concentrate on that brand.

We can write pages on this subject, what we post are things based on our experience but to make it fair, why don’t we ask the product manufacture? I'm not into the dish washing soap business so it only makes sense to ask them. So we did some research and our finding were;

This is posted on Dawn's site in their customer support section

Question

Can I wash my car with dish washing detergent?

Answer

your car surface and the dirt that gets on it are a lot different from the food soils and dishes that dish washing liquids clean effectively. We don't recommend them for cleaning your car.

"Can I use Dawn to clean things other than dishes?

Dawn is so effective in cutting grease on dishes that over the years, consumers have used Dawn on other greasy messes around their homes, from cleaning kitchen messes like grease build up on the stove range hood to oily spots in the garage. Dawn is not recommended for window cleaning, car washing, body wash or washing hair.

This is coming from the product manufacture not from Me, just in case here is the source directly from them.

http://www.dawn-dish.com/en_US/questionsaboutdawn.do

So the main question reminds, WHY go against the product manufacture recommendations?

I hope some of you will find this information useful.

 

[PDCjonny]

Totally agree with Tito above.
This is an old wives tale handed down for generations.
Claybar and/or a high quality (Menzerna type) POLISH will remove exisitng wax.
What does "Dawn" do to the rubber seals you are pouring it all over?

Wax your car with a good wax barehanded.
Then go see how HARD it is to get that wax residue off your hands washing them with Dawn.
You have to scrub and scrub. So if you think just gently washing your car with Dawn has stripped all wax you're wrong.

 

[Tito Tw]

Thank you John, is nice to see that I’m not the only one that follows the recommendation of a product manufacture. You also bring another interesting observation. How many people apply rubber conditioner to their vehicle seals?

Not that many I’m afraid.

 

[agentf1]

Thank you John, is nice to see that I’m not the only one that follows the recommendation of a product manufacture. You also bring another interesting observation. How many people apply rubber conditioner to their vehicle seals?

Not that many I’m afraid.

While I too am not a big fan of washing my car with Dawn or any dish soap I do not think it is anybodies recommendation to use it all the time. While I feel there are better ways of removing the wax such as 50/50 mix of Alchohol or Prep Sol or even a good polish such as Menzerna. That said after using a good swirl remover some may still want to remove the polishing oils so their sealant will bond better to the paint and or not react to the oils and leave streaking. Point being, despite the fact I feel there are better ways to accomplish this I do not think an occasional wash with Dawn will cause any real damage. That said, I am also of the camp that conditions my rubber seals and tires etc with a good rubber conditioner routinely and like to think that most people that care enough to remove the swirls or know enough to remove the wax or polishing oils before applying a sealant also know enough to use a good rubber conditioner. JMHO

If you want my opinion and do enough detailing to warrant it I would pick up some Prep-Sol Wax and Grease remover for the task.

 

[cfiiman]

Yes, definitely just a once in a while thing, I know, hit the bat signal, "JUNKMAN!!!!!!!!!".

 

[TowDawg]

The main thing that is missing from Tito's point is that he is pointing out that Dawn does not recommend the use of their soap to wash cars. We know that. It will strip the wax off your car. Of course they don't recommend using it. Nobody is recommending to use it as your standard car-wash soap, but that seems to be the way the quesiton is asked to Dawn.

I am not at all arguing that Dawn may or may not remove all of the wax on the car, or that there are or aren't better ways to to do it. I just wanted to point out the difference in contexts between the OP's question and the question to Dawn.

 

[ACR_Matt]

Like others have said. I ONLY us Dawn before I'm about to do a full detail on my car. I do this one or two times a year. I pity the sap that uses dawn as their full time car wash soap. While there are other methods such as IPA, I've found that for me, a yearly dawn bath and clay bar treatment works great.

 

[Junkman2008]

Yes, definitely just a once in a while thing, I know, hit the bat signal, "JUNKMAN!!!!!!!!!".

You rang???

By the way, Dawn will DEFINITELY strip any and all wax from the painted surfaces of you car, no doubt about it. That is exactly how I remove a ton of glaze that a lazy detailer will use to cover up swirls in the paint. With that said, you never want to use Dawn as a regular car washing agent. If anything, you would probably need to strip the surface of your paint once a year if you create a wax residue buildup. The smarter thing to do is not to create that buildup.

You can look at using Dawn like doing something not so safe. You'll probably get away with it a few times, but constantly being stupid will definitely catch up with you eventually.

 

[viperdrummer]

The main thing that is missing from Tito's point is that he is pointing out that Dawn does not recommend the use of their soap to wash cars. We know that. It will strip the wax off your car. Of course they don't recommend using it. Nobody is recommending to use it as your standard car-wash soap, but that seems to be the way the quesiton is asked to Dawn.

I am not at all arguing that Dawn may or may not remove all of the wax on the car, or that there are or aren't better ways to to do it. I just wanted to point out the difference in contexts between the OP's question and the question to Dawn.

Exactly right as is Junkman.

 

[thompsonracing]

I keep Dawn away from my cars. If used too often, it can dry out all the plastic on your car; trim, bumpers, fender wells, etc. If I want to strip my car down for polishing, I mix 2oz of Adam's All Purpose Cleaner into my soap bucket and put 1oz in my Foam Gun.

This:

You must be registered for see images attach

In this:

You must be registered for see images attach

and this:

You must be registered for see images

I follow the wash with claybar. Clay will definitely remove your old wax, but I like to remove as much wax as possible, prior to claying, in order to increase the life of my clay. 2oz of APC is cheaper than 20g of clay.

You must be registered for see images attach

Remember, if you are going to correct the paint, a quality polish will remove any residual wax.

 

[PDCjonny]

Exactly my point, why use something even questionable when there are many alternatives.
Same old wives tales get repeated ad nauseum.

 

[Junkman2008]

Exactly my point, why use something even questionable when there are many alternatives.
Same old wives tales get repeated ad nauseum.

I personally have been doing this since the early 80's. If there was a problem, I would definitely know about it by now.

 

[PDCjonny]

Remember when original Armor-All was consider the best product to use on rubber and vinyl,
till people found out it actually dried the rubber out and made it weaken. People had their
vinyl dashboards cracking after using it over time. Tires were drying out.

The Dawn manufacturer themselves say not for automotive use, not recommended for use on rubber or plastic
and there are dozens of products on the market that do the same if not better job...
See ThompsonRacing post above...

but hey....it's your car.

 

[Junkman2008]

And again, as someone made very clear earlier in this thread, no one is advocating using Dawn on a regular basis. Anything used in excess is not good for you, be it alcohol or prescription drugs. However, these things used in amounts that are definitely not excessive (like once or twice a year), are not going to do any damage at all. I have had the cars to show for it. After doing this for 30 years, I'm sure I would have seen some bad effects from the practice by now. It didn't take Armor-All 30 years to show its bad effects. I'm going totally from first hand experience, not hearsay or something I read on the Internet.

 

[Matt M PA]

I'm sure no one, including the makers of Dawn...think it's good for regular washing of cars. Use before a detail is fine and I too have been doing these for likely 30 years. Does anyone really believe that Dawn will hurt rubber, etc, when it's on the surface for only minutes before being rinsed off? Seems to me that if it was so caustic one would need to wear gloves when doing the dishes. And, when doing dishes I'd argue that the concentration is higher than we use to wash a car.

We have lots of plastic bowls, cups, etc. at our house...and yes...they are washed with Dawn. I don;t see them self destructing, either.

This debate has been played over so many times on the detailing forums, and nobody's mind is ever changed. Nobody's mind is going to be changed here either.

 

[Junkman2008]

I'm sure no one, including the makers of Dawn...think it's good for regular washing of cars. Use before a detail is fine and I too have been doing these for likely 30 years. Does anyone really believe that Dawn will hurt rubber, etc, when it's on the surface for only minutes before being rinsed off? Seems to me that if it was so caustic one would need to wear gloves when doing the dishes. And, when doing dishes I'd argue that the concentration is higher than we use to wash a car.

We have lots of plastic bowls, cups, etc. at our house...and yes...they are washed with Dawn. I don;t see them self destructing, either.

This debate has been played over so many times on the detailing forums, and nobody's mind is ever changed. Nobody's mind is going to be changed here either.

You crawled straight out of my head with exactly what I was thinking, but too tired to post. One exception. This place is unlike a detailing forum and thus, minds can be changed and opinions reformed. Folks are a lot more open minded on these types of forums. Some detailing forums are a basket case unto themselves.

 

[viperdrummer]

And detailing is one of the simplest things that folks go out of their way to make complicated.

 

[Paul Hawker]

Dawn is a unique, grease cutting product that is fantastic for removing wax from your car. It, for the same reason it is a poor choice for regular car washing.

In addition, fish and game, and wildlife conservation groups use Dawn to scrub down critters contaminated with oil from spills. It really gets the oil off, while not hurting the ducks etc. You would not use it for regular duck washing as it also removes the natural, water resistant, oils naturally occuring in feathers and fur.

 

[Junkman2008]

And detailing is one of the simplest things that folks go out of their way to make complicated.

You must be registered for see images

Dawn is a unique, grease cutting product that is fantastic for removing wax from your car. It, for the same reason it is a poor choice for regular car washing.

In addition, fish and game, and wildlife conservation groups use Dawn to scrub down critters contaminated with oil from spills. It really gets the oil off, while not hurting the ducks etc. You would not use it for regular duck washing as it also removes the natural, water resistant, oils naturally occuring in feathers and fur.

Damn Paul, that's a very good reply! First time I've seen that example used. Good answer!

 

[TowDawg]

Dawn is a unique, grease cutting product that is fantastic for removing wax from your car. It, for the same reason it is a poor choice for regular car washing.

In addition, fish and game, and wildlife conservation groups use Dawn to scrub down critters contaminated with oil from spills. It really gets the oil off, while not hurting the ducks etc. You would not use it for regular duck washing as it also removes the natural, water resistant, oils naturally occuring in feathers and fur.

Paul,

If I need to stop washing my ducks regularly with Dawn, do you have a better soap to recommend that will not hurt them by removing their natural oils? I just want to make sure I keep them clean AND healthy.

 

[7TH_SIGN]

I used the blue dawn detergent. Took it right off. Just try not to use it so much. For example i only use it when the car is going to be detailed once every two years or so.