is there such thing as leaving wax on too long?

[brendan1234]

I was waxing my car (2011 mazda 3 hatchback) yesterday when i noticed as always the Tech 2.0 wax i was using did take a long time for the SWIPE TEST to work. It would always smudge even after half hour...

so I left it on for almost 3 hours! (it was around 73 degrees outside and not too humid)

i noticed that it really hardened a lot and took more work to take off...it would also "flake" into dry particles (the car had been waxed once before, was it because I was taking off the last layer of wax before this?

Because I noticed that when I waxed the rear bumper (I haven’t waxed this part of the car before, it went on EASY…PASSED the swipe test in only 20 minutes and came of clean without “flaking”)

Although the bumper is "plastic" with clearcoat black finish, is it easier to wipe off on plastic surfaces? but it should be the same because it's the same paint and clearcoat as on metal surface


Did I leave the wax on for too long??

[Carolina08]

Re: is there such thing as leaving wax on too long?

Yeah, unfortunately it sounds like you waited way to long. Your prior layer of wax was probably gone anyway, so it's definitely not that. Next time, I would say leave the wax on for the whole duration of waxing the car and that should be more than enough. Also, try to apply a thinner layer, there may have been too much. Sometimes I do one panel, and have to wipe it off before the whole car is done.

Did you do this in the sun or the shade? Maybe you were applying the wax to thick? Sometimes that can also have an impact on how the wax takes to your vehicle, and you always want to be sure to be in a shady area.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: is there such thing as leaving wax on too long?

Time and humidity play a role here, as does thickness of application.

Usually, with a properly thin application (and most people tend to way over use wax) NXT 2.0 should be dry in 15 - 30 minutes, depending on humidity. A thicker application will take longer to dry, higher humidity will also extend drying time.

Here in dry SoCal, with a very thin application, we know of several people who've left NXT 2.0 on the paint for 2 to 6 hours and wipe off was a breeze. But we also know that it was applied very, very thin. In New York you're bound to have higher humidity, and a prolonged dry time will start to draw moisture out of the air and into the hazed product, making wipe off less easy..... or even flat out difficult. Again, how thick or thin it's applied will impact this.

You really only need an ounce of product to cover a full sized car. We used barely over half an ounce to cover a 2002 Camaro last fall at a Thursday Night Open Garage, just to prove the point.

[brendan1234]

Re: is there such thing as leaving wax on too long?

Time and humidity play a role here, as does thickness of application.

Usually, with a properly thin application (and most people tend to way over use wax) NXT 2.0 should be dry in 15 - 30 minutes, depending on humidity. A thicker application will take longer to dry, higher humidity will also extend drying time.

Here in dry SoCal, with a very thin application, we know of several people who've left NXT 2.0 on the paint for 2 to 6 hours and wipe off was a breeze. But we also know that it was applied very, very thin. In New York you're bound to have higher humidity, and a prolonged dry time will start to draw moisture out of the air and into the hazed product, making wipe off less easy..... or even flat out difficult. Again, how thick or thin it's applied will impact this.

You really only need an ounce of product to cover a full sized car. We used barely over half an ounce to cover a 2002 Camaro last fall at a Thursday Night Open Garage, just to prove the point.

thanks for the reply!

but the thing is, even after an hour and a half, it didn't pass the swipe test...it would smudge instead of coming off clean...so i wasn't sure if it was ready to be wiped

[k3ith]

Re: is there such thing as leaving wax on too long?

thanks for the reply!

but the thing is, even after an hour and a half, it didn't pass the swipe test...it would smudge instead of coming off clean...so i wasn't sure if it was ready to be wiped

Do you have greasy fingers? Just kidding. I hardly ever get the swipe test to work well with synthetics. Don't worry so much about it "being ready". Even if you begin removal immediately after you apply to the whole car, your still going to get good appearance and protection. With NXT 2.0 I usually wait about 20-30 after full application and remove regardless of what I find in the swipe test.

Also, as everyone has said here, the likely problem you had was putting it on too thick. I suffer from too thick waxing syndrome myself, which is likely why swipe test doesn't work well for me.

[Mark58]

Re: is there such thing as leaving wax on too long?

thanks for the reply!

but the thing is, even after an hour and a half, it didn't pass the swipe test...it would smudge instead of coming off clean...so i wasn't sure if it was ready to be wiped

Sounds like you applied it little to heavy.
my 2 cents

[BlackScreaminMachine]

Re: is there such thing as leaving wax on too long?

I am a heavy handed waxer and for me using a cheap orbital wax spreader has helped a great deal. I will mention comparing NXT 2.0 and Ult. Wax is that Ult. wax for the most part comes off easier. I still have a nearly new bottle of liquid 2.0 so I will have to use it but something to think about.