Wax Removal

[BTRSS]

So I last waxed my 2011 Camaro SS back in Feb of 2014 and would like to run through a paint correction this spring and I'm wondering what is the best approach to removing the wax (I don't take out the WildSS too often, car shows, cruise nights, a cruise every now and then) . The finish is still very nice but it's definitely time for the paint correction. The picture below was from the Boston World of Wheels, 2014.

[egott_91]

Strip wash. Add a few ounces of APC to your soap bucket and proceed with your normal wash technique.

[BTRSS]

Strip wash. Add a few ounces of APC to your soap bucket and proceed with your normal wash technique.

Excellent, easy enough. Thanks.

[Chris@Adams]

Don't forget to clay afterwards......

[Beemer]

I also use a little spritz of isopropyl alcohol to make sure the wax is gone before polishing. 

[07stanggt]

Hey Tom, good to hear from you again !! Hope to see you at a local car show soon . All great suggestions listed above and I will add a product called Prep Sol by Dupont which is a step above the 50/50 isoprophyl alchol treatment. Your car might not need it considering you have been using Adams products, but other hard to remove waxes like the "Z" brand which requires a lot of prep and layers, it works great on !!

[BTRSS]

Hey Tom, good to hear from you again !! Hope to see you at a local car show soon . All great suggestions listed above and I will add a product called Prep Sol by Dupont which is a step above the 50/50 isoprophyl alchol treatment. Your car might not need it considering you have been using Adams products, but other hard to remove waxes like the "Z" brand which requires a lot of prep and layers, it works great on !!

Jimmy, hope to see you this summer. If you get a chance come on down to Foxboro Stadium on Thursdays for the Masscruisers Cruise night. First one is the 16th then every other Thursday after. Keep that Mustang shinning!

[2quikta]

After over a year, there really shouldn't be any wax left

[BTRSS]

After over a year, there really shouldn't be any wax left

Well, when I'm not at a show or a cruise night it's in the garage under a nice warm cover. Water still beads like it was waxed yesterday. Americana wax, just awesome stuff !

[czdetailing]

I strip with dawn and then use a 20% IPA wipedown (nothing more aggressive than 20% is needed), this does it well.

 

If you question if the wax is still there just spray down a test spot that you think is clean with water, if it beads or sheets perfectly off then there is wax still!

[BTRSS]

All great advise guys, thanks. As soon as the weather cooperates here in MASS, I'm going to start. I'll post pictures during and when I'm done.

[The Guz]

If you polish, the polish will remove the existing wax.

[BitterGreg]

I am not sure the Kosherness of this so delete if not acceptable. This is in reference to using Meg's D114 as an "Eraser" type product. Since Adams doesnt specifically sell something like that, I figured It would be ok. I would not use this as a Waterless or Rinseless wash over Adams at all. I will be trying it in 2 weeks, but have tried eraser, and if it works as good for pennies on the dollar, im stoked.

 

Over on MOL there have been discussions of using it straight, or up to 8:1 saying it could indeed strip LSP (be that wax, sealant, etc.). I've never used it that strong, never. But when comparing Eraser to it, looking at what.... 30% alcohol solution, then it's possible to figure that somewhere, either 128/156/192 would be a decent solution to mix with alcohol and make a panel wipe. I've tried it at 192, but generally go in the middle.

For figuring the alcohol solution I use this website. http://homedistiller.org/distill/dilute/calc Go to the second box and just change the drop down(s) to ounces. So if you want to make 36oz of 30% alcohol solution using 91% alcohol you'd use 11.868 ounces of alcohol and 24.132 ounces of water. (In this instance the water quotient would be your D114solution.)

Whether or not it's exactly the same as Eraser, who knows (not a chemist). But being as Meguiar's and everyone at Autogeek has said it both cleans, AND it leaves nothing behind it's a fair assumption that once you add the alcohol you're getting darned close. 

I have noticed that the stronger D114 is, if you allow it to dry, the worse it spots. 

I've used Eraser by itself with Cquartz, used the D114 mixture with everything else, including Cquartz. That being said, if the specific coating has some sort of 'pre' product then I will also use that. Although I've never seen any coating failure due specifically to the 'mixture'. Have one customer that never bothered to 'boost' his PBL and part of his was cleaned only with the 'mixture', the rest with the PBL paint cleansing product. You couldn't tell via water beading which was which 6 months down the road. The only thing he's ever used is Megs Ultimate spray when drying and it's held up well. 

Edited April 9, 2015 by BitterGreg

[Ricky Bobby]

^^^Greg, if you are looking to strip polishing oils, just take RTU Waterless, and add about 1 oz of IPA to the bottle, that should do all the cleaning and stripping you need.

 

Or just do the same, with distilled water, and a "splash" of Rinseless for color and lubricity.  The IPA will cancel out the wax additive in Rinseless and you'll be good to go.

 

If you read the MSDS on D114 you'll know why it strips, its because main ingredient is propylene glycol and alcohols, and lets be honest, if you actually pay money for Eraser, you aren't the sharpest knife. It's literally a splash of soap, 60% DI water and 30% IPA

 

Do what I said above with Distilled, IPA from CVS, and a splash of Rinseless and you can make gallons of your own "Eraser" for about $3 a gallon at the most.  Use 80% distilled, 20% of 91% IPA, and about 1/2 oz of Rinseless for color and lubricity.

 

I used D114 ONCE and never again, not having the slick feeling while cleaning really bothered me, and I don't like the glycols and alcohols on the MSDS. 

 

ERASER

Isopropyl Alcohol < 30% 67-63-0

Dionized water > 60% 7732-18-5

Sodium lauryl ether sulfate 1%-3% 685-34-2

odor additive 1% pro prietary

 

D114

PROPYLENE GLYCOL 57-55-6 3 - 7

ETHOXYLATED ALCOHOLS 68991-48-0 3 - 7

LINEAR ALKYL QUATERNARY AMMONIUM COMPOUND Trade Secret 1 - 5

Edited April 9, 2015 by Ricky Bobby

[BitterGreg]

Well alright then. Luckily I got the eraser in the sample pack with IronX and TarX.

 

I did drop about $25 on the D114, so hopefully I can atleast get a use out of it.

Edited April 9, 2015 by BitterGreg

[Ricky Bobby]

Well alright then. Luckily I got the eraser in the sample pack with IronX and TarX.

 

I did drop about $25 on the D114, so hopefully I can atleast get a use out of it.

 

It makes a very cheap pre-soaking solution at 1 oz per gallon prior to doing rinseless washes, I mean you could really saturate the surface with a garden sprayer and break up grime with it and at that dilution I wouldn't mind using a gallon as a pre-soak if the car was really soiled.  Then just follow with your normal rinseless bucket as usual.

 

Unfortunately I didn't like it enough to recommend any other uses for it, got a small sample a year ago.  Slick polymers get me every time.

 

Not recommended, Adam's Rinseless is 10x better.

Edited April 9, 2015 by Ricky Bobby

[The Guz]

Well alright then. Luckily I got the eraser in the sample pack with IronX and TarX.

 

I did drop about $25 on the D114, so hopefully I can atleast get a use out of it.

 

D114 is fine if used at the proper dilution ratio for a rinseless wash.  It's been mentioned that at 6:1 it can be a full IPA replacement when removing polishing oils.  It will strip wax at that dilution ratio.  I do like the fact that it doesn't leave anything behind unlike the Adams rinseless wash.  If I need some slickness I'll follow up with a QD or spray wax.

 

I have used IPA and that doesn't always work.   

 

You will be fine.  We all have different tastes when it comes to detailing products.  If you don't want it.  I'll take it off your hands   

[ledger64]

Michael how can isopropyl alcohol not work but d114 does work which is mostly alcohol ?

[The Guz]

IPA tends to feel grabby for me.  I have used it at 15% to remove polish and I had to go over the area a couple times as it was not completely removed after one pass.  That is just my experience. 

[Beemer]

I use 50% IPA.  If the paint is clean and clayed I've never had it be "grabby".  I use a blue waffle-weave.

 

Works fantastic for me.  Your mileage may vary...

[ledger64]

^^^ yes this is how I have done it. Jason's ideas in post #14 with adding waterless wash or a bit of rinsless sounds like a great idea, what I will try in the future.  Why buy more products if you don't need to.  more cost effective

Edited April 10, 2015 by ledger64

[BitterGreg]

^^^ yes this is how I have done it. Jason's ideas in post #14 with adding waterless wash or a bit of rinsless sounds like a great idea, what I will try in the future.  Why buy more products if you don't need to.  more cost effective

 

If you dilute the D114 as mentioned 1-15, without taking the distilled water into account, you will pay about $.01 an oz. You pick up a $2 bottle of 91% at Walgreens and you pay about $.06 an oz. Now that is still a very good price, but if you go through a bunch of the stuff, that can 600% increase can start to add up.

 

Once again no clue if this stuff actually works or not. I will try all methods and figure out which works best for me.