How to tell if your wax is dry - The Swipe Test

[Ravi_1992]

Re: How to tell if your wax is dry - The Swipe Test

This is very informative. For a very long time, I went about applying products in a much less...informed way, to say the least. I used to use Turtle Wax Ice (my mistake), and I had absolutely no idea of what to do after the fact. I would try and wipe it off, but it got really smeared around, and so then I thought I'd made a mistake. For a short time, I didn't wipe it off at all. Granted, this is ICE we're talking about here. It doesn't dry white. It just sits there like baby oil.

But alas, Meguiars did come along and help me out. I learned from my errors. Although I was discouraged after my time with Black Magic Wet Shine Car Wax (to be fair, I only tried it once. And only on my roof. I didn't really give it much chance. It was just way too hard to take off for a 16 year old), I kept on trying.

Eventually, I found my favorite. A girl I knew in high school new how badly I wanted to try it, and so she got me the paste version of NXT 2.0 Wax. Now, I am not fond of pastes, but it works phenomenally. But it has made me somewhat lazy. See, I've stopped counting the time it takes to dry. I'll wait a half an hour before I go back out there and take it off. Why? Because I can. With NXT, it just doesn't seem to matter.

Maybe I am wrong, but it seems to work out fairly well in the case of the legend.

I didn't like TW ice polish/wax either ( was slippery and baby oil like ) , it was hard to remove and not durable at all. It works great on the trim though

[Michael Stoops]

Re: How to tell if your wax is dry - The Swipe Test

Isn't the wax on the left applied a little too thick as well. Was this just so the camera could pick it up? Normally, I apply an ultra thin coat, that's just barely visible. Very little white is showing in my wax, when I apply it.

It's more a function of the lighting - look at the top of the image and the left side looks thinner up top than toward the bottom. But I can assure you, it's actually uniform top to bottom but the panel was at a sharp angle to the light so it appears to change as you look closer to the bottom of the image.

How about the image below, looking at the freshly applied wax in the lower right quadrant as defined by the tape? Does that look better? Because that's how we teach proper D/A applied wax in our Saturday Classes (this image was taken during a recent class).

[TFSweet]

Re: How to tell if your wax is dry - The Swipe Test

Great post, thanks for the useful information!

[stamford]

Re: How to tell if your wax is dry - The Swipe Test

Excellent. I was quite confused about the swipe test but not anymore. Also, do you think a brand new Black car needs a 5 step process?

[l SIC l]

Re: How to tell if your wax is dry - The Swipe Test

Questions:

1) Because those coats are so thin, is it 'necessary' to apply a second coat, and would there be a significant difference by applying that second coat?

2) Is it OK if I apply the wax to the entire car before I start wiping off? (assume this is applied in a garage at around 16-20 degrees Celsius), so what I mean is, if wax was sitting on a panel for around 30-35 minutes before wiping off even though it may have dried in 10-15 minutes, could it become difficult to remove/ cause any sort of hazing in the paint, etc.?

Cheers!

[Murr1525]

Re: How to tell if your wax is dry - The Swipe Test

1) Nothing is 'needed', we can always do what we feel like. The idea is that by trying to keep the coat thin so it looks good, removes easily, you may miss a spot. So the chance of missing the same spot twice is pretty low, and if it adds a little more wax to the surface, even better.

2) Usually you will want to apply to the whole car, then wait the 10-15 etc minutes from when you finished.

[l SIC l]

Re: How to tell if your wax is dry - The Swipe Test

Noted, cheers!

[Michael Stoops]

Re: How to tell if your wax is dry - The Swipe Test

Questions:

1) Because those coats are so thin, is it 'necessary' to apply a second coat, and would there be a significant difference by applying that second coat?

It's really because the coats are so thin that we recommend applying two coats, just to ensure uniform coverage and appearance. Keep in mind this practice has nothing to do with the concept of layering, far from it. Especially on lighter colored vehicles, a very thin application of wax can be difficult to see, so a second light coat helps to ensure that uniform coverage. You may be thinking that a single heavy coat would be equivalent but it really isn't. That single heavy coat will take longer to dry and could promote smearing or difficult removal. And if you still miss a spot, what then?

2) Is it OK if I apply the wax to the entire car before I start wiping off? (assume this is applied in a garage at around 16-20 degrees Celsius), so what I mean is, if wax was sitting on a panel for around 30-35 minutes before wiping off even though it may have dried in 10-15 minutes, could it become difficult to remove/ cause any sort of hazing in the paint, etc.?

Cheers!

Again, we recommend covering all the painted surfaces of the car and then starting your clock. A lot of people will wash and dry the car, pull it in the garage and apply a coat of wax. Then, while the wax is drying, they'll do all the rest of the processes involved in keeping up the appearance of their vehicle; vacuum the interior, clean the inside of the windows, dress the interior vinyl, plastic and leather, dress the tires and wheel wells and then put away all their detailing supplies. By the time all of that is done the wax has been drying for an hour or more and it will still wipe off with extreme ease.

While some people have experimented with leaving a coat of wax on the paint for many hours before removal and found it to still be very easy to wipe off, there are potential downsides to that. First, letting the wax sit too long in an area prone to dust (my old garage, for example ) means wiping off dried wax with a bunch of dust on it. Not good. Second, if you apply a slightly heavy coat of wax in a very high humidity area, the hazing product will start to pull moisture out of the air and wipe off can become quite difficult, and there is a very high probability of streaking. But there is nothing to gain by letting the wax sit on the car for, say, six hours before removal. Don't get caught up in the whole "if some is good, more is better" false line of thinking.

So, apply a thin layer to all the painted surfaces of the vehicle and let it dry fully before removal. You can take it off as soon as it's dry, but if you wait an hour or even two, it won't be any more difficult to wipe off. If you're going to err on one side or the other, let the wax dry a bit longer than you think it should rather than trying to remove it too soon.

[l SIC l]

Re: How to tell if your wax is dry - The Swipe Test

Thank you very much for that rundown Michael and trust me I am taking all these notes down. One thing though. I can now understand now how applying a uniform coat of wax that is too thick can prove to be unnecessary and be more hassle then it's worth... so would a 'light-medium' layer of wax (assuming I haven't missed an area of the paint) be alright and compensate for those two light layers? I mean, it's not as if I'm just blotching it on the paint, but to have a uniform 'light-medium' layer seems as if it would just make the process easier without too much repercussion... if there is slight streaking becoming apparent then I'm sure UQD/UQW would be able to sort it out?

I'm not trying to sound arrogant towards what you guys have been doing for years, I am just curious as I'm not sure how two thin layers would be more beneficial than a 'light-medium' coat :S

[Michael Stoops]

Re: How to tell if your wax is dry - The Swipe Test

Not taking this as arrogance at all, so don't sweat it.

And also don't overthink this process. As Murr pointed out, nothing is "needed". We make recommendations based on most common scenarios, and when most people are laying down a very thin coat of wax they find it hard to see where they have and haven't applied it, hence the recommendation for two thin coats. But the visual clues that tell you whether you've covered a spot or not are sort of an acquired skill - it really isn't that hard to see where you have and haven't applied wax to a silver car if you know what to look for.

Whether you're applying by hand or D/A, if you can indeed see where you've applied and are confident that you've got full coverage, then a second coat isn't going to gain you much. And we'd still rather see you do a single light coat rather than use any more than really necessary, just in case you start seeing drying issues as temperatures drop or humidity rises, depending on time of year. It's all about "best practices", really. That said, we are also firm believers that "if it works for you and you're happy with the results" we aren't going to chastise you for "doing it wrong".

[RubenG]

Re: How to tell if your wax is dry - The Swipe Test

Thanks, Im a Newbie and need all the info I can get.

[zbestwun2001]

Re: How to tell if your wax is dry - The Swipe Test

I'm sorry.. I was tired after I waxed my car...

[Dedy]

Re: How to tell if your wax is dry - The Swipe Test

Thanks Mike, this is my first time waxing, and I've got all the information how to wax my car.
Just 1 simple question Mike, since I'm using white car, which men its a light car , like you said, its very difficult to see the thin coat, I just wondering, how much the liquid wax(I'm using nxt2.0) should I apply to the applicator pad? Any suggestions? Thanks.

Dedy

[fcms*2012]

This also applies to paste wax especially with the thickness...

[jhhodges]

Re: How to tell if your wax is dry - The Swipe Test

Oh... I've been wasting my DeepCrystal Carnauba wax then >_<, I guess I'll apply wax to the whole car then I guess I'll wait 15 mins and start taking off the wax. Thanks!

Which got me to thinking.... Is there any kind of "drop dead" date/age beyond which a product should no longer be used and discarded. I have an almost full can of this wax that is at least 15 years old. It has been stored in its own tightly sealed container, in a horizontal position, and not exposed to any freezing temperatures. It has a crack across the middle and is just slightly loose in the can.

What do you think? Still Ok to use?