Ok I have waxed my truck before and when i cleaned it last time I waxed it again and it looked like crap. I guess all the old wax didn't come off.
Well after last night and makin a fire wood run and gettin stuck in a small ditch..that was exreamly wet.. its time for a wash.
I want to get all the wax off this time.. but what to use.
I have heard that I should use just some dawn dish soap.. will that work..any other products?

 

yeap, dishwasher soap should take lotsoff, use warm water

how did u wax it>? u can wax over wax.....

?!?!

 

I recommend using dawn dish detergent to remove the old wax. You can also use a clay bar.

 

Why do you need to remove the old wax? Most of us are able to do a good wash with plain water or mild car soap and then wax over the old wax with excellent results.

Is your old wax going white or leaving a noticable film? Maybe the wax you are using is poor quality? Go with the good quality paste or some liquid waxes. They should go on easily and smoothly. They should wipe off real easy if the paint, old wax is in good condition, cheap wax can be a beach to wipe off. A dish soap should cut old wax, but it may also "dry out" the paint so I wouldn't use it frequently.

I use a good paste wax for my 2 or 3 times yearly cleanup/wax job. Then I use liquid for inbetween touchups. I use Classic Wax paste and liquid, but I think they are out of business and I am almost out so I will need to find a good paste/liquid combo for the future.

If the old wax job still looks great, then I would just wash gently and wax as needed. Usually I wax my cars a minimum of 2 times a year and maybe as much as 6. A long time ago I used to wash and wax my car every week. I wore out the paint in a few years doing that so now I wax when the water doesn't bead up as nice as it used to.

Dusting your car every day is also a decent idea. I use a California Duster dust mop, big red thing. I dust the car every day after coming home, but only in dry weather of course. Seems to keep the car clean a long long time in the summer and helps keep the wax coat from getting grimey and lessens the need for washing which may weaken the wax coat. Takes maybe 1-2 minutes and gives you a good chance to do a quick eyeball inspection.

Clay bars are great for getting rid of those tiny little specks that you can't see but can feel.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

The Wax I am using is BlackMagic. Before I waxed it the last time it looked great after I washed it. Then when I waxed it you could see all the film and stuff. I wouldnt say teh stuff is high quality for sure.. it was like 7 bucks for a bottle of this stuff. It is a liquid wax.

But then also I have noticed.. other than the obvious rusts spots that I have... the paint seems to have spots all over it and on the chrome trim... it looks like the guy must have like put soap on it and left it in the sun for a while before he rinced it? Or maybe its just the impurities in the paint comin out... after all it is like 16 years old.

Any ideas on that one?

 

I have used a California duster a couple times and have noticed after I've driven it, my truck seems to attract twice the dust it did before, then ends up looking worse. Maybe my duster just needs to be cleaned, I don't know. I always just shake it out real good when I'm done.

 

I dought I will go into dustin it all the time... but I need to know about the spots and if they can be take care off... becasue i need to wash it today.. its going to get really cold the rest of the week.

 

If you want to remove the old wax for whatever reason, all you have to do is use a cleaner wax. Got to Wally world and get some Meguire's Cleaner Wax! I've always had great results using it.
Cleans off the old wax and leaves a fresh waxed finish.

JT

 

Even though Im a novice at wax jobs, i think it is the wax. I tried to do my moms truck. A 98' GMC seirra. Its emaral green and looks great so I tried to wax it and it looked like crap. I dont know if it is me or the wax. I used a lint free polish applicator pad to put it on and a different one to buff it off. Looked like poo.

THe dish soap idea worked it seems to have taken alot of the wax off but then i noticed how it dries leaving water spots so I had to re wash the truck using car wash formula stuff.

 

Spots on paint could be all kinds of things. Since you mention rust I might guess your paint is in bad condition so spots could be all kinds of things. Hard to diagnose paint without looking.

You might go with a good wash and good wax job and see if that helps. Use a clean applicator and use a large COTTON towel to remove the wax dust. Use a clean surface of the towel for ecery panel. Don't grind the dust wax back into the finish.

If your paint is really bad you may have delamination of the clearcoat which makes the paint look like it has blisters all over it. Only a repaint can help that.

If you have spots of dirt and sap on the paint, a clay bar may do the trick. For really bad paint you migth try a finish restorer and a buffer to grind off the oxidized paint and then put a good coat of wax over it. Note that finish restorer is not good for clearcoat in most cases, but then if your paint is shot, the clear coat probably is too. Don't know what year you have and whether you have clear coat.

If you get sap on the paint I find a car wash using hot water works great, especially if you have a good coat of wax under the sap.

As far as a dusted car seeming to attract dirt more often, that is because the car is cleaner and dirt shows up easier on a shiney surface. When my car gets a light dirt film on it, dust doesn't even show up. When it is freshly waxed and clean, a fly speck leaps out from the finish. The duster works only on a clean well waxed car. Never grind the heavy dirt into the paint with the dust. Dust will just brush off, dirt sticks.

I have used the same duster since 1997 and it gets better with use, just like the instructions said it would. I shake it hard and twirl it after each use. My car is a dark chery color and the duster keeps it sparkly for several weeks between washes in the summer. I don't use it in the winter since either it is wet or there is road film on the paint which you don't want to tranfer to the duster or grind into the paint.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

Jim Henderson

 

I just use NuFinish twice a year. It lasts about six months through many washings and it is extremely easy to apply. You don't need to remove the old wax.

 

never use dishsoap. if you want a really nice shine polish first. it looks and gooes on the same as wax but only shines. you then wax over it to protect.

 

I've been using Meguiar's Deep Crystal System. It's a Cleaner, a Polish and a Wax (three bottles). I usually do a full 3 stepper 2-3 times a year, and apply a new coat of wax every 2 months. I've had no problem with wax buildup (doing the full process removes it all wax without fail, and doesn't dry the paint out). However, I wouldn't recomend doing the full process more than 2-3 times a year, if only becuase it's an all day affair (which, btw, I just did today1!) =)

 

I've used lots of waxes, but the spray on Rain-X wax is great because its quick and simple. Yea, I may wax more often, but even then, not as long and drawn out.
If it werent for that, it would still be all Blue Coral.

 

spray on wax isn't really waxing your vehicle. its basicly like selecting the wax on a drive thru car wash. it gives it a temporary shine but it doesn't do the same as hand waxing.