How to remove wax ... IPA or Dish Soap?

[FIREdawg]

Whats the best way to remove wax? Seems counter-intuitive for the forums, I know; however there are some schools of thought, IPA (isopropyl alcohol) and kitchen dish detergent. Is there another way that works just as well? Claying the car?

Not to mention that being a fireman and using something as flammable as IPA makes me cringe at the thought of using on my daily driver (make that only driver. Did I mention that I'm sorta accident prone? Yeah, Id like to try to attempt to explain that to my insurance agent)

And I'm sure you're thinking, "Why in the world would you want to remove your wax?"

Well I've done a side by side comparison on many different waxes on various panels and would finally like to get everything on the same page. Some panels are GC Paste, NXT or ULW. And now the winter months are moving in and I have snagged some swag from another member on the forum; M16 and Collinite 476.

So in short to start fresh ...

[Murr1525]

Re: How to remove wax ... IPA or Dish Soap?

If you are going to do clay/clean steps first, that would take care of it, and generally be the best way.

If you wanted the wax off before that, Dawn would be the usual way, though no real way to check that it had perfectly removed everything.

[FIREdawg]

Re: How to remove wax ... IPA or Dish Soap?

So by that line of thinking ... why not do a double whammy and in keeping w/ the 5 step process use Dish Soap then Clay?

[PhantomMagician]

Re: How to remove wax ... IPA or Dish Soap?

you can use swirlsx or Ultimate Compound to remove it easily...

[Murr1525]

Re: How to remove wax ... IPA or Dish Soap?

So by that line of thinking ... why not do a double whammy and in keeping w/ the 5 step process use Dish Soap then Clay?

Kind of depends what your goals are.

If you wanted a bare paint surface to wax on, then you would just want the Dawn, and/or IPA. And then wax.

Even with claying after, the QD could/will leave some oils behind. So wouldnt be bare paint.

But that really isnt what you want, from how it sounds. You just want to apply new wax, and have it even.

So using Dawn, while it removes the wax, also removes the lubricating ability that a good car soap has, upping the chance of swirls. And then the clay, clean, etc steps will leave their own oils behind as well. So your wax wouldnt be applied to a bare surface anyway.

If you just do the regular wash, clay, clean or clean/polish, everything will be removed and even. And done the safest way possible for the paint.

[FIREdawg]

Re: How to remove wax ... IPA or Dish Soap?

Wow. Alright. I didn't want to go all the way to bare paint. And I didn't think of the polish leaving behind its own oils or the lubricity of the car wash for that matter.... See this is why MOL is awesome.

So as the case stands, going through the first few steps of the 5 Step Process, with proper product, will ensure that prior applications of wax will be removed as 'safe' as possible while establishing a proper baseline for the new application of wax.

Well, had I thought of that I'd wouldn't have asked the question in the first place.

Thanks gang!

[Shawn T.]

Re: How to remove wax ... IPA or Dish Soap?

For your winter wax, go with 476. It's bullet proof.

[FIREdawg]

I did go with it. UW paste topped with 476S. And boy I could tell where I laid it on thick by accident! Stuff is a pain to buff out.

[ethereal45]

Re: How to remove wax ... IPA or Dish Soap?

I would really avoid using dish soap, it can dry out the rubber weather stripping around windshields, windows, and doors. It's just not meant for the car. I don't know if IPA would remove wax honestly, but a light cleaner like swirlX would probably be great for removing the wax. You could always use ScratchX or UC if you weren't getting the results you wanted.

Alternatively, and easier, use something like ChemicalGuys Citrus Wash which strip off wax.

[Bosco]

Re: How to remove wax ... IPA or Dish Soap?

Griot's Garage Paint Prep