Damaged new car by waxing?

[Eldorado2k]

Did it look something like this?



If so, it's completely normL. At least now you know it's really on there.



Btw, that 2nd pic^ is a 50/50 of a full liquid sealant vs. D156 Spray Wax to show the difference in the actual layer of protection after 24hrs. of application. Center strip has no protection.

[GSKR]

Perfectly normal for this to happen,deosnt have anything to do with thin layers or micros or the paint prep.you can spray wax your car during the day and get the same appearance at night.like I said it will disappear and it did.Its the solvents in the product that are reacting to the dew or condensation.you can spell your name with a wax or sealant on the hood with applicator and some product and you will see it a night with humidity.

[Capn Blackie]

It looks fine this morning It isn't cloudy. but isn't beading up as good as it did before the wax job. It was set larger beads, where this morning the beads look like a fine mist. I think I saw some beading differences where I wiped the car more last night. I.e. different parts of the roof. but I think that also might be that it looks different where I wiped my hand lightly over parts of the top last night. But maybe not. I have moderate OCD, which makes it hard to evaluate properly as exaggerate things in my head. But the effect I saw last night was definitely real!

I think the size of the beading you are seeing is because you waxed it and that is an improvement. It may look a little different in some areas but you are seeing beading from condensation not rain so it will look a little different.

I think wiping it down vigorously last night several times may have undone some of the waxing? I rubbed it down with a microfiber towel - several- making sure I used only clean parts of towels. It was only a couple hours after cleaning and waxing it. It would look cleared up, but clouded up as soon as the condensation began again. I did this like 5 times before giving up. Yeah, I know I should have stopped earlier, but I blame that on the OCD.

I am mostly worried about my wiping down the car several times last night causing damage now. My neighbor said that I would not have hurt the clear coat, just compromised the wax I had just put on.

The sides and hood of the car are just fine- no problems last night and none this morning.

I think I may redo the wash and wax on the roof this weekend, but in the early morning so it has hours before the condensation. Good idea or bad?

I really appreciate all the advice. I went through a very stressful time because my old car broke down repeatedly unexpectedly. It only had 86,000 miles on it and I had done all the maintenance.I thought I wouldn't need a new car for a couple more years. So the thought of damaging my new car before I had even made my first payment was really upsetting! I didn't sleep well last night at all.

I don't have a smart phone. I was thinking of getting one this year, but now I have new car payments, so that isn't going to happen for awhile now. So, no pics.

BTW, I am female. I am guessing far more guys pay attention to waxing and detailing. That also seems to be my experience in talking to people at my work and martial arts school and other avenues of life.

Your neighbor is correct, you didn't hurt it by hand waxing it. You washed it first, some folks skip this and it is a bad idea. You cared enough about it to wax it in the first place, also great.
So unless you added sand to the waxing step you are fine, you are helping protect it.

If some waxes are applied to heavy, Collinite 845for example, they take some work to get smoothed out and looking good again but it can done, it just takes some more rubbing.
You can always add a second coat so go light when you apply it and wipe it off once it dries. you are doing this all by hand I take it, on new paint so you don't want or need to rub hard, lay it on smooth and light and take off the same way.

I have found (from this very site) coming back later, hours or a day, with some detailing spray will really smooth out any unevenness and make your paint look great.

BTW, I am female. I am guessing far more guys pay attention to waxing and detailing. That also seems to be my experience in talking to people at my work and martial arts school and other avenues of life.

Great, some women don't want to mess with this kind of stuff (and some guys) but good for you wanting to keep what you just bought as nice as you can.

And that OCD thing, pretty much everyone here has some form of that. Some even call it their job.

Dig around in the forum you will learn a ton and the people here can clear up anything else.

Mike has tons of basic and advanced information, all of it good.

[Wheelzntoys]

Whereabouts in San Diego are you located?

[AutoApollo]

I just bought a brand new Honda Fit. I waxed it with Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax because I heard it was one of the safest and easiest and best products out there. My sister and I waxed it in the evening, to avoid bright sun. It looked beautiful. But several hours later home at night, and the roof looked awful! All cloudy and swirly in the night condensation. I live in San Diego, Ca. One of the mildest climates in the world.. So I wiped it down and it was all well like there was still wax on it and not dried. Although it seemed perfectly dry right after doing it earlier in the evening.

I rubbed hard all over. It looked like I wiped up the extra, but as the dew came back, so did the cloudy look. Now I an worried that trying to fix it by wiping it off at night did some sort of damage. I rubbed with some strength to get it to look clear, but I used microfiber towels. I did this like 5 times before giving up. Now I am reading about curing for twelve hours, but the how to video on Amazon didn't mention this before. Nor did other videos on waxing a car. The isntructions just said "better to not use in bright sunlight." Nothing about not doing it in the evening. It is a BRAND new car and I was trying to take care of it. I researched and used the right cloths and stayed out of the sun. My sister seemed aware of not applying the product too thickly and guided me. Please tell me what is going on!

I am freaking out!

Sorry for this being my first question, before an intro even.

I just made a post about this literally a week ago. I used the EXACT same product and the EXACT same thing happened to me. It looked exactly as you described it. However I just left it and let it cure over the past two days. Now it's fine and those pad marks from wax went away. Car looks amazing now! Don't worry about it!

[dlc95]

Perfectly normal for this to happen,deosnt have anything to do with thin layers or micros or the paint prep.you can spray wax your car during the day and get the same appearance at night.like I said it will disappear and it did.Its the solvents in the product that are reacting to the dew or condensation.you can spell your name with a wax or sealant on the hood with applicator and some product and you will see it a night with humidity.

I had this happen to a shower door, and DG501.

[glfnaz]

I had this happen to a shower door, and DG501.

Thanks for posting this. I feel better. I also use DG 501 on my shower doors.

[Coach Steve]

Megs Ultimate Wax is def not noob frendly. There are a couple of threads discussing the cloudiness and residue left behind after removing it. The key is to apply as thin a coat as humanly possible and allow lots of,time to dry. The,thicker the coat the harder it is to completely remove.
Easiest way to resolve this situation is to wash the car with a thick batch of Cream of Dawn wash mixture, rinse like a crazy person then challenge yourself to apply the thinnest coat possible. Let it dry then let it dry some more. Finally, allow it to dry a little, it,more then wipe the car down with clean towels. Make sure the towels you are using have not been rinsed wi5h fabric softener and that no dryer sheets were added to them in the dryer.
This solution has worked for many people who have gone down the same path. Good luck!