Easiest way to remove wax?

[William_F]

I have a few scratches and rock chips that need touch up painting. I've got a kit that has the putty, primer and have bought matched paint etc. I understand how to use the stuff and am pretty sure I can handle it.

The one thing I am not clear on is how to remove the wax from the car prior to making the repair. Can anyone tell me how to best do this?

I doubt there is heavy wax on the car now because I wash it at at an automatic car wash and I don't have any place out of direct sun to hand wax it so I tend to use the spray on stuff at the car wash.

[Hooligan]

3 M used to offer a Wax and Oil Remover but I have used Rubbing Alcohol, that will work to remove wax, you might also try a clay bar first.

[William_F]

Do you mean clay it then use alcohol or does the clay take the wax off?

[Candyman]

Hey their Guys,

If I may ask, how bad is the damaged area? I have posted many times about Mobile Services that offer PDR (Paintless Dent Removal), who come to your house, or place of Business and professionally pull any and all small dings from your car for a small flat fee usually costing around $100.0 - $130 for the entire car. In addition, their are Mobile Air Brushing Services that do the same thing by way of coming out to your house, or place of Business and professionally clean, prep, computer color match your existing paint to get a dead on match, and air brush out any scratches that may be present in the entire car for a flat fee as well, and usually go for around the same basic price as the PDR guys. The Air Brush Services are extremely effective as once your Factory Paint left the spray booth at the Toluca Lake Assembly Plant, it has been exposed to the sun, and continuous other elements which change the chemical properties over time altering its color forever, as well as the Toluca Lake Assembly Plant was also well known for having inconsistent paint as sometimes they might mix a little of a certain color to paint one day, and the mix may be slightly different the next day. Both of these issues ,ake it impossible to get a dead on match using touch up paint which depending on the color of your PT will more than likely leave a very noticeable difference in the repairs made. So, for better or worse, I usually try to offer people this advice on having it done by professional PDR , and air brush guys as the overall cost is minimal, and your going to get a job done correctly in most cases to where it is almost impossible to tell where the repairs were made, as where the average consumer just can't match the quality, and by the time all the right materials to do the job from start to finish will often be close to the cost of having it done. As an example, depending on what kit you bought, and what it includes, you may have spent around $50.00 - $60.00 plus for the kit. Then you will need wax and silicon remover, masking tape and paper, wet/dry sandpaper ranging from 800 grit, 1000 grit, and 1500 grit finishing paper, primer surfacer if necessary, a good Liquid Compound, Glaze, an Wax or Paint Sealant, paint, and clear which all add up the cost involved. Then in order to work the compound to bring the finish to a high even gloss after you color sand, you will need the use of a high speed rotary buffer with a maximum 1000 RPM, and a wool mix pad. One last thing to consider, if you live in snow country, it it critical you get the paint done right or you could wind up with corrosion around that area which could then become a serious problem. I try to offer this information as often as possible as 9 times out of 10, the job comes out worse than before it was started and then the person winds up either really down with the overall result, or often times wind up bringing it in to a Professional to fix correctly. I have just seen this many, many times, and hate to see someone try to do a repair like this on their own without much experience, and wind up getting upset over the end result looking anything less than what it should be, which in my book should be as close to perfect as possible!

Now, moving on, Isobutyl, AKA Rubbing Compound is a great way to get wax residue off of the paints surface, but its not strong enough to penetrate to where you need to be for re-touching paint, and the clay bar is primarily used to remove parasitic contaminants from airborne brake dust, and other related materials in a safe non-intrusive manner, and unfortunately won't work well for this project either. Best thing to do would be to track down an Automotive Paint Supply Store and try to find some Wax and Silicon Remover. The next step I would do as a precaution would be to wash the area to be painted with warm water mixed with a good solution of Dish washing Liquid. The reason for this is the wash will help insure no outside contaminates go into where your going to paint, and the dish washing liquid holds a high PH level which will usually strip most chemical's and waxes off of the pain exposing the raw paint, which is why its never a good idea to wash your paint with dish washing liquid as part of a regular maintenance schedule as you wash off any and all protection you may have on your paint surface which will result in rapid oxidation, and eventually destroy the paint unless you re-glaze, and re-wax your car immediately afterward.

Anyways, look for Wax and Silicon Remover from a Paint and Supply Store in your area, or use dish washing liquid.

If you have any more questions, or if you decide to perform the repair and wind up needing some help, please feel free to drop me a lin either here, or my e-mail is at the bottom of this post under my sig.

Go easy, I wish you the best of luck on your project,and I will catch you later.

Candyman

[William_F]

Thanks for the input, Candyman.

The repairs I am needing are not extensive. Just few minor door dings. Eventually the car will get a new paint job. It's far from needing it at this point, but we will be doing some mods that will require paint, so eventually the whole car will be repainted by a pro.

At this point, my main objective is simply to repair the chips and scratches as well as I can so that the paint won't flake and the body doesn't start to rust.

[Windancer]

Originally Posted by William_F

The one thing I am not clear on is how to remove the wax from the car prior to making the repair. Can anyone tell me how to best do this?

Two words.......Dish Soap!

[Candyman]

Hey Guys,

As I had mentioned above, Dish Soap is alright for stripping wax, and other chemicals from paint. Just keep in mind that dish soap will not effectively remove all chemical properties in products containing higher levels of PTFE found in certain waxes, and a large majority of Paint Sealants which is why most professional body shops use Wax & Silicon Remover.

Anyways, always remember, weather you wash your PT with dish washing liquid, or another high PH Balanced product, any time you remove chemical, you need to replace it with more. Thus meaning you must re-glaze, and re-wax your ride, or if left unprotected will fade in a matter of weeks! So be careful, and keep that paint shiny!

[William_F]

Thanks again Candyman

Since I've had the parts to take care of this it hasn't stopped raining long enough for me get this done!