Cosmo Kramer

Hi, I recently finished a paint restoration on my 928. I used Meguiers show car glaze and followed with Meguiers carnauba wax. It looked great right after I finished it, but now after a couple of weeks I am getting cloudy and blotchy paint. The car hasn't even been washed since, only gone over twice with QD.

Is this the oil in the glaze being trapped between the paint and the wax? If so, perhaps I should just use the glaze as the car is an occasional driver, sits in the garage, and never sees rain.

Any opinions would be appreciated.

Marine Blue

I would skip the glaze and use two coats of Carnauba.

Meguiars #7 has a very specific technique to make it look uniform and any variables can affect it. I would skip the glaze completely and use two coats of a high quality carnauba.

Cosmo Kramer

So go over it with a white pad/Optimum polish to take out the blotches and go straight to carnauba?

wellcraft290

Blak is very difficult. Also did you let the wax dry completely? I find that if I don't let it dry all teh way when you wipe it off looks great, but really leaves a coating of wax not rubbed out

Marine Blue

Exactly right. Two or three thing coats of carnauba is best to insure full coverage.

If you like the minor hiding affects of the glaze you may want to try P21S Shine Enhancing paint cleanser. Its easy to use by hand or orbital and provides a similar ability of hiding light swirls.

Cosmo Kramer

Thanks Afshin, I appreciate the help. I am going to tackle this on the weekend sometime.

I thought that I was going crazy when I saw the finish looking crappy after all the work I did LOL!

Cosmo Kramer

Yes put a really thin coat on with an orbital and took it off with a microfiber towel. Looked awesome after I did it and slowly deteriorated.

TOGWT

Hazing (Wax / Polymer Sealant)
Smearing or a dull look to the paint film surface after removing residue usually occurs when there is an excess of product applied in high humidity conditions and moisture is trapped between the fast drying top layer and the lower layer of the hydroscopic wax.

The paint films surface temperature being cooler than the outside air accelerates this process by allowing the top layer of wax to harden before the lower level. To avoid this allow more time for the wax to completely set-up (dry) before removal.

Alternatively lightly spray the surface with distilled water, the excess wax will adhere to the water droplets and can then be wiped away with 100% cotton micro fibre towel

TOGWT

Applying Paste Wax

1.Always apply wax in a thin, repeat, thin layer. Two coats will ensure complete coverage (for multi-layer application see Spit-shine)
2.Using a clean foam applicator pad, gently wipe it across the paste wax
3.Fold your applicator pad in half and rub the two halves together to evenly dispense the wax
4.Overlap each working area to ensure an even coverage, since your spreading the product as far as possible, it can be as large as a panel
5.Gently apply the sealant thinly and evenly over your working area
6.After a panel has been applied, remove the wax residue with a plush microfiber towel
7.Repeat steps 1 through 5 until your entire vehicle has been waxed

As a wax ‘sets-up’, it goes through a number of stages.

1.The first stage is the application of the liquid product; friction will cleanse the dirt, oxidization, old waxes etc. In effect you are lifting the dirt away from the paintwork and into the liquid wax and then into the applicator.

2.The next stage is that you leave the wax to haze. This is where the solvents and oils out gas (evaporate) and leave the resin and fillers behind to dry and set-up on the paint.

3.Next you remove the excess. Anything that is now not bonded to the paint will be wiped away with the buffing towel and as you wipe away you will end up giving the resin a slight buff to bring out its gloss

4.A good technique is to buff the wax with a 100% cotton micro fibre cloth and then spritz the paintwork with very cold distilled water and wipe down, this helps to set the wax and will add that little extra gloss. Allow the solvents to vaporize (outgas) in the sun’s heat and then buff to a gloss.

An extract from one of a series of in-depth detailing articles © TOGWT ™ Ltd Copyright 2002-2008, all rights reserved

Cosmo Kramer

OK, so I took compound/orbital to the car, got it shiny and just applied the carnauba no glaze. Same thing, got completely blotchy once the surface gets hot. Was a really warm day today and I took the car to work, it sat in the sun for about 7 - 8 hrs. Brought it into the garage and completely cloudy reflections, like the wax has softened or something. I am using Meguiers Deep Crystal Carnauba, maybe I need to try something else. My car is a repaint and it is single stage.

This is really pissing me off because I spent hours compounding the car only to have it look like crap not even 2 weeks later.

Marine Blue

I thought you were using #26 High Tech Wax from Meguiars for some reason.

Get rid of the Meguiars Deep Crystal and buy something better. Newer carnauba's are far superior and you will find that they are much easier to apply/remove and with better results.

I personally like Pinnacle Souveran but I've also heard good things about Swissvax and P21S.

If you don't want to switch I would try applying a second coat and spritz with water when you are removing it. This will help create an even spread of the product and complete removal. Do your best to apply a thin coat.

Cosmo Kramer

Hi Afshin

The first time I used #7 followed by Deep Crystal. Is there something I can use that isn't wax, maybe synthetic or a sealant that won't be affected so much by the heat? Black gets really hot, plus shows everything. My car is always in the garage and only goes out once in a while.

Marine Blue

What are you using to remove the wax? Are you using thin coats?

RL911

Wipe the car down with a 50/50 mix of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and water, that will remove any contaminants/wax. Use a spray bottle and use light sprays wiping it off with a MF.

After that and assuming your paint is clear, you can apply a polish, I use optimum. You should be applying it by machine such as PC at speed 3/4 and using a white pad.

After that apply synthetic sealant, I use Meguiars 2.0. Your finish should not be cloudy. Skip the carnuba or apply it over the sealant if you must.

If you compound the car and don't use a polish afterward, it will leave a hazy finish.

Cosmo Kramer

I used Optimum Hyper compound with an Orange pad, Optimum Polish 2 with white and finished with Carnauba. While compounding I used the 50/50 IPA to clean the areas as I went along. The first time it clouded over it was really tough to get good reflections again using the orbital. The cloudy finish doesn't come off with anything other then compound.

I have attached the best pics I could take.