removing wax with QD

[thatick]

I read that some people use a QD to remove their wax after it has hazed. My question is would this compromise the layer of wax or possibly remove it? I thought about trying it but i wanted to get some expert opinions first

[agpatel]

I never like to use anything to remove wax; water of QD, as I feel as if it can compromise the wax film layer and bonding with paint surface.

Some will say no it does not matter, but way I see it...i dont want anything on the surface of the wax while it is curing that can mix with the film layer to disturb it while out gassing and curing.

[tuscarora dave]

I have used Poorboy's Spray and Gloss while removing Natty's red and it does look fantastic!! Then again Natty's Red looks fantastic by itself too. I normally wax my car more than needed so I don't care about durability. I have heard that using it cold (out of the freezer) between coats of wax will mute the solvents so that the second coat of wax will layer over the first coat. I believe that process is called "spit shining"

[MobolWerks]

Not sure how everyone feels about Paul Dalton and his skill level....but... I have seen videos of him running a stream of water over a freshly waxed car to show how great his wax is....

...with that said, if water on freash wax doesn't hurt the wax, then I think it would be fairly safe to say that quality QD wouldn't hurt it either...

QD isn't a typical "cleaner" but rather a mixture of waxes and lubricants... so in a sense I think Dave may have a point about the "layered look"

[Mike Phillips]

...with that said, if water on fresh wax doesn't hurt the wax, then I think it would be fairly safe to say that quality QD wouldn't hurt it either...

I never know how in-depth you guys want to get but here's something to consider...

There's a HUGE difference between running water over the finish and wiping paint with a liquid.

Running water doesn't include any type of extra material coming into contact with the paint and physically rubbing against it.

Wiping paint with a quick detailer or spray detailer usually includes spreading the product out and then removing it with some type of application material, in most cases a microfiber polishing cloth.

Anytime you "rub" a freshly waxed surface or a freshly paint sealanted surface, (is sealanted a word?), you disrupt the protection ingredients before they have fully set-up, in simple terms, you're moving them around from where they were deposited and removing them off the surface and onto the microfiber.

I won't pass judgment as to whether wiping a freshly waxed or paint sealanted surface is good or bad, that' up to you to decided, but IF the goal is to leave behind the greatest amount of protection possible then touching the paint less after initial wipe-off would be from a common sense point of view, going to help you attain that goal better than wiping the finish with anything.


In my list of articles here, Articles by Mike Phillips there's an article called

The Final Wipe – Tips for creating a streak-free, show car finish

And this discusses how microfiber technology is very good, if not superior to other types of cloth, for removing trace residues off painted surfaces.

If this is true, that is if microfibers, the actual microscopic fibers themselves are superior at REMOVING trace elements and even larger residues than trace residues off the surface then put the discussion into extremes..

• Will wiping more and more leave more wax on the surface?
• Will wiping more and more leave less wax on the surface?

Take it a step further, if you spray on a liquid that in some cases offers some lubrication and cleaning ability, and now you wipe this over the surface,

• Is it adding more wax or paint sealant to the paint?
• Is it removing some wax or paint sealant from off the paint?

Now if you're just into the beauty aspect of waxing your car's paint or applying a paint sealant to your car's paint then the goal is beauty, not leaving behind the maximum potential of protection ingredients and none of the above deeper thoughts on this topic really matter. This would be more targeted at Garage Queens and other toys, not daily drivers where in most cases people want maximum protection to preserve the paint from deterioration as it is exposed to the outdoor elements and wear-and-tear more so than a garage queen.

[Mike Phillips]

Just to note...

Running water over a freshly waxed surface and capturing that on film probably looks cool... I'm not sure if there's any other purpose though? Kind of like how water beading looks cool, but most people agree that while water beading looks cool, if you don't wipe the beads of water off the paint it's possible each little cool looking bead of water can leave behind either a Type I or a Type II water spot that doesn't look very cool, like this...

Tracers Tracers - RIDS - Pigtails - Cobweb Swirls - Rotary Buffer Swirls - Holograms - Water Spots - Bird Drooping Etchings - Micro-Marring

Type I and Type II Water Spots





Now, in the old days, after waxing a car with a traditional old-time wax like Excalibur, Simonize, Blue Coral or M16, if it was a warm or hot day, some old-times would park the freshly waxed car, (single stage paint, remember this would be back in the old day, pre-clear coats), and dump a bucket of ice water over the waxed panels to cool the panels down and thus harden the previously soft wax coating.

Good thing or bad thing I don't know, I've never done this or thought too deeply about it, just sharing in this thread a tidbit of information from yesteryear since MobolWerks posted about running water over a freshly waxed car.

Not sure if that was the goal of the other guy, that is running "COLD" water over his freshly waxed paint to harden up the wax but I thought I would share the "Why" part of why ice water out of a bucket was poured onto paint long before any of us reading this forum were born.

[MobolWerks]

Thanks for discrediting me Mike!! Just kidding.. That makes sense

[Mike Phillips]

Thanks for discrediting me Mike!! Just kidding.. That makes sense

One thing I've learned about detailing discussion forums is that there's always a segment of forum members that like to dissect and analyze a topic to death, and that's alright with me... but what it's taught me is to do my best to break-down simple processes so that people can understand not only what to do but why they're doing it or in some cases why they're not doing something.

If that makes sense...

Also just to note, I try to never target any comments at anyone personally but instead look at the really big picture and that is it's completely possible hundreds, if not thousands of people will be reading the information on a forum like this long into the future, so when posting an answer, or comment or explanation, I try to do it in a way that reaches the widest spectrum of people, (readers), and never just the people involved in the conversation.

[SgtDeckard]

Right so somehow we got off topic.

Mike you seem to be talking more about using QD on a freshly waxed car and how that effects the wax.

The question was - will using QD during INITIAL wipe-off compromise or remove the wax.

I do this quite a bit and am curious if this is a bad idea. (really helps remove stubborn wax)