Confused with wax removal

[Allan]

I'm confused with the need/reason to remove wax before detailing your car.

 

Do you need to remove wax before every major detailing of the paint?

 

Can you just apply more wax on top of already waxed paint on minor detailing?

 

Will the claying process and SH with orange pad remove it at the start of detailing?

 

Thanks ALL

[Team Adam's]

The reason to remove wax at the start is for getting your paint 'naked'.

 

Waxes and sealants serve to protect the surface so if you're going to fix scratches, swirls and defects you need that protective layer to be gone.

 

Clay and polish will remove it, but the problem there is you end up with a goopy claybar and a clogged up polishing pad. To prevent this a lot of guys will do a strip wash using dawn dish soap. This isn't recommended for regular washing (at max 1-2 times a year) b/c it will dry out your trim excessively. By doing the strip wash you get most of the old wax off and any remaining spots are knocked out in the clay & polish process.

[NightMare Silverado]

I suck it up and clay to remove wax for my "big" detail every 6 months or so.

[Rich]

Dylan got it right. Use the Dawn wash first before you clay and detail. Old wax will definitely build up in your clay and you'd end up defeating your purpose. The Dawn gets rid of any wax on the car and then you'll be starting with a clean slate.

 

And why would you add more wax on top of dirty wax? I guarantee you that there is dirt in any existing wax that has been on there for a while.

 

Dawn then Detail

[Chris@Adams]

The reason to remove wax at the start is for getting your paint 'naked'.

 

Waxes and sealants serve to protect the surface so if you're going to fix scratches, swirls and defects you need that protective layer to be gone.

 

Clay and polish will remove it, but the problem there is you end up with a goopy claybar and a clogged up polishing pad. To prevent this a lot of guys will do a strip wash using dawn dish soap. This isn't recommended for regular washing (at max 1-2 times a year) b/c it will dry out your trim excessively. By doing the strip wash you get most of the old wax off and any remaining spots are knocked out in the clay & polish process.

 

Dylan got it right. Use the Dawn wash first before you clay and detail. Old wax will definitely build up in your clay and you'd end up defeating your purpose. The Dawn gets rid of any wax on the car and then you'll be starting with a clean slate.

 

And why would you add more wax on top of dirty wax? I guarantee you that there is dirt in any existing wax that has been on there for a while.

 

Dawn then Detail

:iagree:

[694doorbird]

Ok, from reading through this thread I understand to use Dawn only once or twice a year. Mainly because it dries out the trim. My question is, How does it affect vinyl stripes over a period of time?

[johnb]

The reason to remove wax at the start is for getting your paint 'naked'.

 

Waxes and sealants serve to protect the surface so if you're going to fix scratches, swirls and defects you need that protective layer to be gone.

 

Clay and polish will remove it, but the problem there is you end up with a goopy claybar and a clogged up polishing pad. To prevent this a lot of guys will do a strip wash using dawn dish soap. This isn't recommended for regular washing (at max 1-2 times a year) b/c it will dry out your trim excessively. By doing the strip wash you get most of the old wax off and any remaining spots are knocked out in the clay & polish process.

 

i thought you could use the revive to remove old wax

[Chewy]

You can but it tends to clog up stuff and isn't as effective as doing it with Dawn followed by clay and then Revive.

 

Keep in mind this is only to be done like at the beginning of the season like April/May for us Iowan's and perhaps in the fall. I do it ONLY in the spring. I'm not correcting my paint before driving it in the winter. If you wax it today, and then want to wax it in a month then just wax it, but if you want to do some correcting, it's better to remove all the wax.

 

Chris