A little paint rubbing off

[sean]

Today I was waxing my red Volvo with Meguiar's Deep Crystal System Carnauba Wax when I noticed that the pad I was using to apply it on was red from the car's finish. That scared the heck out of me so I stopped. Is this normal or was I doing something wrong to cause damage? The area I waxed looks really glossy, not damaged so I thought maybe it's okay.
It was a hot day, but I waxed in the shade (my garage).

Any help would be great. Thanks

[SpoiledMan]

Sean, first, welcome to Meguiar's Online! Second, what you are seeing is the "dead" red pigment coming off of you car. This is normal to see in the polishing step or anytime you use something on your paint that has cleaners in it.

Go back to what you were doing and enjoy the results when you're done!

[sean]

ok that's good to know. Thanks! Another question, I continued to wax the car, but there's just so much of that build up I had to keep using new applicator pads
and some areas the wax didn't go on very well. Should I use a clay bar? In other words, what can I do to get rid of all the dead pigment?

[Mike Phillips]

Hi Sean,

Sounds like you're working on an oxidized singel stage paint finish, if so, you need to use a dedicated paint cleaner, or a strong cleaner/wax.

ScratchX is a dedicated paint cleaner
ColorX is a strong cleaner/wax

Use either of these first, then feel the surface, if you feel little bumps on the paint, then you need to clay the finish. After this you can apply your choices of LSP.