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Mike Phillips
08-26-2010, 10:38 AM
How to break open a coating of wax and remove it by creeping out... (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/28204-how-break-open-coating-wax-remove-creeping-out.html)

The most important factor for removing any wax or paint sealant is to apply a thin, uniform coating, this usually takes a little practice and in my opinion is best done using a DA Polisher.

Once you have a thin coating of whatever it is you're applying, for example a pure polish or glaze, or a wax or paint sealant, the job is to remove it without struggling and without inducing toweling marks back into the paint.

The words toweling marks are a nice way of saying light or shallow swirls and scratches from pushing too hard with your wiping cloth or in other words struggling with your wiping cloth against the paint as you're trying to remove something that's not coming off easily.

Let me share with you the technique I call

Breaking open a coat of wax and then creeping out...

Kind of a weird title but it's all I can come up with that describes what you do using this technique.

First let me share the problem, most people try to wipe off large or huge swaths of product with each wipe and for some products this works well because the product is very easy to wipe off no matter how you wipe. But for a lot of products, wipe off requires a little more work because of the product itself.



From TheFreeDictionary.com

Swath: the width of one sweep of a scythe or of the blade of a mowing machine

In the context of this article and topic it's the width of one sweep of your hand on a microfiber polishing towel. :D



When a product wipes off hard, trying to take huge chunks of it off in a single stroke doesn't work very well and usually what happens is you place your polishing towel on a panel, push on the towel and try to move it forward to remove the coating of product in that area; what usually happens is the towel stays in place and your hand moves forward emptyhand... so to speak... :laughing:

The reason for this is because when you try to take off huge amounts of product, the surface tension between the layer of glaze, wax or paint sealant is greater by the shear volume of surface area as compared to what your hand and a wiping cloth can convince to release and pull away.

If that makes sense... :confused:


Take little bites!
Now if you try to take the same product off but instead just take little bites of product off using a gentle, circular motion with your hand and polishing towel, then taking off any product is easy. This is because when you only try to remove a small amount of product at one time your wiping cloth has more removing or lifting-off power than the product has grip strength onto the paint.

Little Bites
With little bites any wax or paint sealant is easy to remove and you reduce the potential for inflicting any toweling marks...


Breaking Open A Coating of Wax
(Or breaking open a coating of anything, Glaze, Pure Polish, Wax or Paint Sealant)

If you have applied a coating of something to an entire car, then before you can remove the coating taking little bites of product off with your polishing towel, you must first have a place to start from that has no product.


You need a starting point, you need a shiny spot
You need to break open the coating of wax. You can do this anyway you like, I usually show placing a microfiber towel folded 4-ways placed flat on a panel and then place your hand on top of the folded towel, and then gently but with firm pressure twist the microfiber in a circle, this will usually remove most of the wax in that area and create a "shiny spot". This is called, "breaking open a coating of wax" .

The way this works is when you apply pressure to your microfiber polishing towel, the weave or nap of the microfiber is slicing into this continuous layer of product and gently breaking it up so you can remove it off the surface.

Now that you've broken open the coating of wax and have a shiny spot to start from you can start taking small bites of wax off the paint by making small circular swipes and creeping out from the shiny spot.

Now when I say creeping out... I don't mean get weird on me... I mean using your folded microfiber towel, gently and methodically begin moving outward from the shiny spot taking wax off in little bites in tight little circular motions.

This is called breaking a coating of wax open and then creeping out...


Creeping out from the shiny spot by taking little swipes with gentle circular motions truly does work and the reason it works is because when you only try to take a little portion of wax or paint sealant off at one time your wiping cloth has more leverage over the grip-strength or surface adhesion between the coating and the paint than the coating can resist.


I've been using and teaching this technique for going on 2 decades and developed the technique from years of using M07 Show Car Glaze and M16 Professional Paste Wax and anyone that's used either of these old school products understands the grip strength they have over the paint. Thus I needed an effective technique that could duplicated over and over again from car to car that would enable me to remove these two products off the paint without instilling swirls and scratches back into the paint at the same time.


In the below two videos, I demonstrate how to break open a coating of wax and then creep out, I even look into the camera and make a joke about it just like I do in all my classes.

Because these videos are longer than 10 minutes they are loaded onto YouTube in segments as they have a 10 minute maximum length rule.

I've only included the last segments of each video that have the creeping out technique for your viewing pleasure. At the end of this thread you can find links to the full videos if you want to watch the first segments...



Here's the videos, the first one goes right into the technique... watch for the funny part...


Part 3 - How to apply a synthetic paint sealant by hand without instilling swirls

- ‪Part 3 - How to apply a synthetic paint sealant by hand without instilling swirls‬‎



In this video, about 2 minutes into I show how to make the shiny spot and then the technique...


Part 2 - How to apply a Carnauba Wax by Hand using the Straightline Technique

- ‪Part 2 - How to apply a Carnauba Wax using the Straightline Technique‬‎

At the end of the above video I go over "The Final Wipe Technique"

I mess up my words and don't get the idea of how doing a slow wipe enables you to go faster by slowing down so I'll explain it here...

If the goal is to remove all the polish, wax or paint sealant to leave a streak free finish, then the ultimate goal besides removing all trace residues is getting to the point where you are in fact... finished. As in you don't need to touch the paint any longer.

The Final Wipe technique is a technique that enables you to remove all trace residues out of all the microscopic surface imperfections that the human eye cannot see but where product residue can accumulate.

If you think about it...streaks left in the paint is un-removed product... (what else could it be?)

If you ever watch people wipe wax off their car they usually look like what we call "The Wild Man Technique", which is actually a bad thing and it's a description of someone moving their hand at the speed of light like some kind of frantic crazy person trying to wipe wax off their car.

Think about it... if you're moving a polishing cloth over the paint at light speed, how much time is there for product or trace residues to transfer from the surface to the cloth moving overhead?

Nanoseconds?

Now think about this... if you s-l-o-w... d-o-w-n... if you purposefully move a clean, soft microfiber slowly over the paint you give the trace residues plenty of time to transfer from the paint to the fibers of the cloth...

If in fact you successfully remove all the product including the trace residues off the surface then you reach your goal, you finish. You reach your goal faster by slowing down...

Pushing a microfiber polishing cloth over the paint at light speed makes you look like you're moving fast but you're not getting the job done... you're not finishing. You're spinning your wheels and probably inflicting toweling marks back into the paint...

So slow down to speed up...




Links to the full versions of the above two videos...

Show Car Garage Video: How To Apply A Synthetic Paint Sealant By Hand With The Straight-Line Technique (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-videos/24344-video-how-apply-synthetic-paint-sealant-hand.html)

Show Car Garage Video: How To Apply A Carnauba Finishing Wax By Hand Using The Straight-Line Technique (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-videos/24328-show-car-garage-video-how-apply-carnauba-finishing-wax-hand-straight-line-technique.html)


:)

Showroom Shine
08-26-2010, 09:22 PM
Mike,You are the MAN! Detailing GURU! I really appreciate the knowledge you share with us all!

Christopher
08-26-2010, 09:53 PM
Great article! Thanks a ton, Mike! :props::props::props:
Hey, question: Why is it that you apply wax in straight lines, but remove it in a circular fashion? I always thought that it was straight on, straight off.

Mike Phillips
08-27-2010, 07:36 AM
Hey, question: Why is it that you apply wax in straight lines, but remove it in a circular fashion? I always thought that it was straight on, straight off.


There's no hard set rules for applying or wiping anything off... personal preference...

The above is just a technique I use that works for me so I share it in classes now in an article...


No matter how you wipe off a polish, wax or paint sealant, here's where it's important... after you've done all the previous steps to work a finish up to a swirl-free, scratch-free finish, you don't want to work backwards by putting swirls and scratches back into the paint when you wipe off your last step products...

Keep this in mind too...

The higher the quality finish you produce, for example if you create a flawless finish, that is you're removed all the swirls and scratches... then ANY scratching is going to be visible to the eye... so it's vitally important that you use a very high quality microfiber polishing towel and you carefully remove whatever it is you're trying to remove...

When you first start out on a car, assuming you're doing a multiple-step process, after the correction step it's not vital that you wipe the compound off carefully because you're going to re-polish with a less aggressive product an if you should instill any toweling marks, the polishing process will remove them because toweling marks are not deep, they are very shallow... but after you've wiped of the residue from your first correction step... from this moment forward you have to continually bring UP your level of carefulness as you wipe anything off the finish, this means you bring up your level of skill and expertise and switch over to your best polishing towels.

This is working forward in the process... instilling scratches due to shoddy wiping technique would be working backwards...


As for wiping off in circular motions, here's the deal...

Theoretically, if the towel you're using is non-abrasive, that is it isn't putting scratches into the paint then it doesn't matter which direction you move your hand... wipe in circles, wipe in straight lines, freestyle...


:xyxthumbs:

Christopher
08-27-2010, 01:22 PM
Thanks, Mike.
:urtheman:

Mike Phillips
06-13-2011, 09:58 AM
***Bump***

Bump for my friend in the U.K. polishing and waxing their Black Lamborghini Murcielago.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/BlackLamborghiniMurcielago.jpg


First, be sure everything that touches the paint is clean and soft including your wax applicators, your own hands, your microfiber towels, etc. Black paint shows everything.


Using the products you already have, apply the Poorboy's Black Hole Show Glaze by hand, don’t use your rotary buffer.

Apply to a small section at a time, work into paint kind of like a hand lotion onto dry skin and then immediately wipe it off. Don’t let it dry. Do the entire car and this should be done in a fairly short amount of time, at this step you’re not trying to get the show car look, just get the product applied and wiped off. It will tend to make the paint look darker and more clear.

Next apply a very thin coat of the Collinite 476S If you have never used this wax before, start by applying it only to a small section, about a foot squared, let it dry to a haze, (about 10 to 15 minutes), and then carefully wipe it off. Get a feel for how the wax wipes off as this will teach to to apply a thin coating.

Now wax the entire car by hand using a clean, soft foam wax applicator pad. Let this coating dry to a haze and then very carefully wipe it off using the technique I shared above in this thread. The two videos both demonstrate and explain this technique.


Pay attention to the portion in the above article about only taking little bites of the wax off with each wipe/swipe of your soft microfiber towel. I explain why in the article.

Before you start wiping the wax off, read this article,

How to correctly fold and use a Microfiber Towel (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/29230-how-correctly-fold-use-microfiber-towel.html)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/930/MicrofiberTowel004.jpg


If you have them... use them...

Increase Your Grip Strength with Microfiber Gloves (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/tricks-tips-techniques/33009-increase-your-grip-strength-microfiber-gloves.html)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/GripStrenght003.jpg


After you remove 98% of the wax, then get your softest, microfiber towel and give the paint a final wipe as explained here,

The Final Wipe – Tips for creating a streak-free, show car finish (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/19956-final-wipe.html)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/719/detail-196.jpg





Comments...
Putting a coat of wax on a black car has to be done carefully but just as important is carefully wiping it off.



Here's a few bonus articles that are related....

How many microfiber polishing cloths do I need to detail my car? (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot-topics-frequently-asked-questions/23084-how-many-microfiber-polishing-cloths-do-i-need-detail-my-car.html)

The 4 minimum categories of wiping cloths (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/tricks-tips-techniques/21944-4-minimum-categories-wiping-cloths.html)


Hope that helps... when you get ready to machine polish the paint let me know and I'll help you remove any swirls and create a finish worthy of the car's marque...


:xyxthumbs:

WRXINXS
03-05-2013, 09:20 AM
Mike, I take it you would not use this method with compound/polish residue because of rubbing the abrasives in a circular motion? How would you recommend the removal of polish residue? Straight line?

WRXINXS
03-25-2013, 07:33 AM
Mike, I take it you would not use this method with compound/polish residue because of rubbing the abrasives in a circular motion? How would you recommend the removal of polish residue? Straight line?

Anyone?

Fishincricket
03-25-2013, 09:20 AM
Anyone?

Well he does say in his post above:


As for wiping off in circular motions, here's the deal...

Theoretically, if the towel you're using is non-abrasive, that is it isn't putting scratches into the paint then it doesn't matter which direction you move your hand... wipe in circles, wipe in straight lines, freestyle...

He also says:


When you first start out on a car, assuming you're doing a multiple-step process, after the correction step it's not vital that you wipe the compound off carefully because you're going to re-polish with a less aggressive product an if you should instill any toweling marks, the polishing process will remove them because toweling marks are not deep, they are very shallow...
And:

There's no hard set rules for applying or wiping anything off... personal preference...


Dunno if that answers your question, but this prolly sums it up:


after you've wiped of the residue from your first correction step... from this moment forward you have to continually bring UP your level of carefulness as you wipe anything off the finish, this means you bring up your level of skill and expertise and switch over to your best polishing towels.

Mike Phillips
03-25-2013, 09:45 AM
Dunno if that answers your question, but this prolly sums it up:



Hey Cricket, thank you for chiming in and helping out... :bowdown:







Anyone?




Sorry that I missed your questions, looks like you posted this the week before I took off to get married and that was the week I had to have all my areas of responsibilities caught up for Detail Fest before I left. So I wasn't posting much the entire week before Detail Fest.







Mike, I take it you would not use this method with compound/polish residue because of rubbing the abrasives in a circular motion?



I tend to use overlapping circular motions for wiping off compounds and polishes just because it's easier to remove them in this manner. Kind of like how I explain to take off wax by creeping out from a starting point in that by doing this and by taking ONLY small bites at a time your towel has more leverage over the grip strength of the residue so you can remove the residue easily without fight it of or inducing more swirls and scratches.

When it comes to compounds, although I'm always careful how I wipe paint I'm much less concerned about inducing toweling marks when wiping off compound residues because I know the polishing step will remove any of these marks. It's when you get to the last machine polishing step that you really need to bring up your level of carefulness as well as the increase the quality of your microfiber towel.






How would you recommend the removal of polish residue? Straight line?



Careful, overlapping circular motions.

I think I show how in this video plus a TON of tips and techniques all the way through the video...






How to remove shallow RIDS and how to machine
apply both a paint sealant and a finishing wax

How to remove shallow RIDS and how to machine...



This how-to video also covers,



RIDS - Random Isolated Deeper Scratches
Removing watches and any jewelery
Using a DA Polisher without the handle
Placing cord over shoulder
Priming the pad on a DA Polisher
Speed settings for removing isolated defects
Downward pressure needed for removing isolated defects
How to clean a pad on the fly
Where and why to mark your backing plate with a black mark
Rotating the body of the tool to keep the pad flat to a panel
Why to allow the pad to stop spinning before lifting the pad off the paint
How to swap backing plates from a 3.5" to a 5"
Machine waxing using 5.5" Hydro-Tech Crimson Finishing pads with Menzerna Power Lock
The "Kissing the Finish" Technique
How to do the Swipe Test to check if a wax or paint sealant is dry
How to remove dried paint sealant using a microfiber bonnet on a dry pad on a DA Polisher
How to clean a microfiber bonnet on the fly with your fingernails
How to apply a paste wax by machine - Souveran Paste Wax
How to carefully wipe a WOWO wax off by hand using Microfiber Gloves and plush Microfiber Towels
How and why to fold a microfiber towel 4-ways to wipe wax off
How to break-open a coat of wax and then creep out to carefully wipe off a coating of wax
How to do the "Final Wipe"
Screenshots

WRXINXS
03-25-2013, 10:13 AM
Thanks Cricket and Mike. And Mike, congratualation on getting married!!

BTW I especially liked your article about the "Final Wipe" technique and have been using it lately instead of "Speed Wiping" at the end. I am seeing much better results and it is much more relaxing and satisfying!