Problems with waxing

[mvanbv00]

I have been having problems with my wax on the lower half of my car. About a month and a half ago I clayed my car and put two layers of 845 on. After about two weeks the dirt build up on the bottom half of my car was terrible. When I washed the car I noticed that the hood, roof, trunk and the rest of the upper half of the car beaded water excellently, but the bottom half didn't bead at all. I decided to clay the bottom half again and do two coats of 845. It's about two weeks later and the bottom half is starting to load up with dirt and is not beading at all. Can someone help and give any suggestions for fixing this? I will show a photo of the beading on the hood/quarter panel and a photo of the bottom section of my car where it is not beading. You can clearly see a line where it stops beading.




(http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/../gallery/showphoto.php/photo/37155/ppuser/36934)

[Dr Oldz]

Are you judging the beading on a dirty panel or a clean(just washed) panel? Some dirty areas don't bead untill they are properly washed.

[mvanbv00]

The lower half didn't bead at all after I washed it. Now it's doing the same thing two weeks later, just like the first time. I had the same problem when I used NXT 2.0 over the summer also.

[Harleyguy]

Was the lower half of the car painted it shouldn't make a difference just wondering .Has there been a lot of rain in the past two weeks and between the rain and driving through large puddles I know this is all a shot in the dark .

[mvanbv00]

There was some light rain over the weekend, but this is a problem I have had all summer and fall. It seems like the lower half of my car won't respond to wax.

The rear bumper was repainted last winter. It doesn't have any issues with the wax as it beads well.

[Dr Oldz]

Interesting. Perhaps try cleaning very good with prep-Sol or something similar and try reapplying. It can also be where you drive. if you have a lot of dirt on the roads, that can actually act like a sandblaster and remove the LSP.

[rspayumo]

Or try applying a more durable wax, then see what happens....

[mvanbv00]

Or try applying a more durable wax, then see what happens....

I'm using Collinite 845. That is supposed to be one of the most durable. I thought the first time it could be a fluke but it happened again 2 weeks later.

[mvanbv00]

Interesting. Perhaps try cleaning very good with prep-Sol or something similar and try reapplying. It can also be where you drive. if you have a lot of dirt on the roads, that can actually act like a sandblaster and remove the LSP.

The first time I used Dawn to strip what was left of the NXT I used over the summer. Then I used Mothers clay kit and clayed the entire vehicle. I also clayed the vehicle when I noticed it was no longer beading then applied 845 again.

The idea that it was sandblasted away could be right. I did notice a lot of dirt/sand on the sides of my car lately.

[dtuna42]

Are you sure it's just not beading well because of the direction of the face of the lower panels? Beading is surface tension, and water doesn't really bead very well when on an upside-down, or downward facing panel. I think mostly just because of gravity.

[mvanbv00]

Are you sure it's just not beading well because of the direction of the face of the lower panels? Beading is surface tension, and water doesn't really bead very well when on an upside-down, or downward facing panel. I think mostly just because of gravity.

The tops of the door panels bead and the bottoms don't. Even when I wash the car it looks as if there is no wax on the bottom but there is on the top.

[dtuna42]

The tops of the door panels bead and the bottoms don't. Even when I wash the car it looks as if there is no wax on the bottom but there is on the top.

That's exactly what I'm saying / asking - are you sure the tops of everything does bead, and the bottoms of everything do not bead, simply because of the curve of the panels leaning in?

Basically, what I'm suggesting is water beads on flat surfaces because of the surface tension of water. If you put water on a hood (especially if clean, smooth, and/or freshly waxed), it will bead like crazy. Now, flip that hood on it's side, or even better, upside-down. The water loses it's surface tension, because of gravity, and it no longer looks like it's beading.

I'm suggesting this because you KNOW it's been prepped and waxed, because YOU did it. So I would think there needs to be another answer other than the possibility that there is no wax on there...

[mvanbv00]

I understand what you are saying but you can still tell a difference on a vertical panel if there is wax or not when you spray it with a hose. Its not exactly beading but more like sheeting since it is vertical but water will evacuate the surface at a different rate. Also my front bumper beads and sheds water (which is vertical) as well as my rear bumper and trunk lid. Its mainly on the vertical panels on the side of the car.

[TLMitchell]

This is pretty common, I notice it on lower panels on my truck as well as the tailgate. I've concluded these are generally the areas that bear the brunt of airborne crud and contaminents swirling out of the wheel wells and blasting the lower sides and rockers. In the case of vehicles with flat rear ends like pickups, SUVs, vans etc the rear gets blasted from the reverse slipstream coming off the underside. LSPs don't appear to perform as well in these areas.

When I dry I know the protection is still there by the feel. It doesn't stay as slick as long as horizontal areas but you can tell it's still there. I usually hit the lower panels and tailgate areas with clay and reapply once or twice between full details. Using DGAW when drying adds slickness to drying as well as boosting protection. If the lack of uniform beading really bothers you you might consider an occasional spot application of DGAW or 845 in those areas more frequently. Not much else you can do.

TL

[Dr Oldz]

The first time I used Dawn to strip what was left of the NXT I used over the summer. Then I used Mothers clay kit and clayed the entire vehicle. I also clayed the vehicle when I noticed it was no longer beading then applied 845 again.

The idea that it was sandblasted away could be right. I did notice a lot of dirt/sand on the sides of my car lately.

Dawn and claying will not totally clean you paint. You need to try a paintwork cleanser or Mineral Spirits. Dawn will break some waxes down quickly but will not TOTALLY remove them nor will claying. Also oils and road chemicals can be built up that you didn't remove from your previous process. So I would suggest that you try one of those two options than you can be assured that the 845 is properly bonded as a good starting point. There are some other interesting points in this thread to consider also.