What's the cause of streaking?

[Ken_Allen]

I have this streaking going on, how can I get it to not streak? None of the other cars I have worked on have done this.



Thanks!

[Murr1525]

Re: What's the cause of streaking?

Is that while drying?

What all did you do so far?

[Ken_Allen]

Re: What's the cause of streaking?

It's just washed. I was using UQD...but it seems all water/product does that.

[Murr1525]

Re: What's the cause of streaking?

Hmm.

And it is cleaned/waxed I assume.

[cardriver]

Re: What's the cause of streaking?

Make sure your MFs, drying towels, applicator pads etc are completely free of residual detergent from the washer machine. That means sometimes (all the time in my case) running them through 1-2 additional water-only "rinse" cycles before drying them.

I have also experienced that strange phenomenon once while claying with Meg's Smooth Surface clay kit on a Black 06 Tundra. Don't know how to explain it, but it only happened that one time . I think it might have had something to do with the pre-existing coating of carnauba wax fromt the car wash liquid the guy used-- one of those "all in one" wash liquids that contained carnauba wax. (And of course NXT wash didn't remove the wash liquid b/c NXT wash is safe on waxes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hate to throw this out here because spend-money-at-all-costers will jump on my back and claw me, but whenever I want to get rid of (what I suspect are) leftover chemicals on the paint, which may be the case in your situation, I just wash with Dawn, and it does no harm. I'd give it a try. I only use Dawn like 2x/year, so no big deal.
Or you could purchase some of that Citrus Wash that other people use, which supposedly strips wax and other chemicals, so you can start anew.
Or you could wipe down with IPA (rubbing alcohol 50/50), but personally I hate that stuff and find that sanding Bugatti Veyrons with 100-grit sandpaper is more enjoyable than trying to work with instant-flashing IPA that makes MFs drag across the paint .

[Ken_Allen]

Re: What's the cause of streaking?

Make sure your MFs, drying towels, applicator pads etc are completely free of residual detergent from the washer machine. That means sometimes (all the time in my case) running them through 1-2 additional water-only "rinse" cycles before drying them.

I have also experienced that strange phenomenon once while claying with Meg's Smooth Surface clay kit on a Black 06 Tundra. Don't know how to explain it, but it only happened that one time . I think it might have had something to do with the pre-existing coating of carnauba wax fromt the car wash liquid the guy used-- one of those "all in one" wash liquids that contained carnauba wax. (And of course NXT wash didn't remove the wash liquid b/c NXT wash is safe on waxes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hate to throw this out here because spend-money-at-all-costers will jump on my back and claw me, but whenever I want to get rid of (what I suspect are) leftover chemicals on the paint, which may be the case in your situation, I just wash with Dawn, and it does no harm. I'd give it a try. I only use Dawn like 2x/year, so no big deal.
Or you could purchase some of that Citrus Wash that other people use, which supposedly strips wax and other chemicals, so you can start anew.
Or you could wipe down with IPA (rubbing alcohol 50/50), but personally I hate that stuff and find that sanding Bugatti Veyrons with 100-grit sandpaper is more enjoyable than trying to work with instant-flashing IPA that makes MFs drag across the paint .

I have had this problem on ALL of the body panels, so I'm guessing it's something pre-existing on the paint. That's what it looks like when I remove the wax too!

I will try washing with dawn tomorrow. I want to get this cars paint in good shiny, brilliant condition.

[cardriver]

Re: What's the cause of streaking?

Yeah, washing with Dawn once, honestly isn't going to damage your paint. Just make sure you wash very well...even wash once again with your normal wash liquid if need be, and make sure the car gets re-waxed or re-sealed .

[akimel]

Re: What's the cause of streaking?

If the Dawn doesn't work, you may need to use a non-abrasive pre-wax cleaner. Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner would be perfect for the job, if you can find it. You might also try Cleaner Wax, which is widely available. Do a TEST SPOT.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: What's the cause of streaking?

It certainly looks as though there is some sort of film on the vehicle. While we certainly don't recommend dish washing detergent for routine use, it does do a very good job of stripping the surface on those rare occasions when you really need to. Depending on what's actually causing the problem, however, even a dish washing detergent may not get it all but from the looks of things, you'd notice right away if that was the case. In the event that does happen and you still have some light streaking, then following up with a light duty paint cleaner or even ColorX would be the next step.

[Ken_Allen]

Re: What's the cause of streaking?

I washed with dish soap. It stipped most of it off, but I just bought a bottle of UC today so that SHOULD strip everything off

My paint smells like Pomegranate Mango now!

[Michael Stoops]

Re: What's the cause of streaking?

Oh yes, Ultimate Compound should quickly and easily remove whatever trace residue may still be there - just make sure to work small areas at a time for a few minutes, then wipe off before the product can dry.

When you go to apply your final wax/sealant, just make sure to apply it very thin (we can't stress that enough) to all the painted surfaces of the vehicle and let it dry completely before wiping off.

[Ken_Allen]

Re: What's the cause of streaking?

Yep, I tape off square sections and work it down for a few minutes until it's near transparent.

I used to use 80 and 83 with a buffer, but those are back in NY.

[Ken_Allen]

Re: What's the cause of streaking?

I was getting towards the hood being done, and then IT RAINS...HARD.