Caught driving in rain the day after I waxed my car. Rewax? Wax washed off?

[LastStep]

Is the wax all gone? Or can it withstand one rain?
What exactly does it take for the wax to wash off?
How do you know its time to rewax?

I keep getting caught in the damn rain.
Do I rewax every time the car gets wet?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Caught driving in rain the day after I waxed my car. Rewax? Wax washed off?

While prolonged, heavy rain can and will greatly shorten the lifespan of any wax (synthetics will hold up much longer than carnaubas, by the way) a fresh coat exposed to a bit of rain the next day should be no big deal. In fact, it should actually make cleaning the car a bit easier! If you didn't spend a lot of time on a freeway in a massive downpour, getting dumped on by a bunch of semi trucks kicking up all the crud from the road surface, you should be able to easily clean the car using a rinseless or waterless wash instead of pulling out the hose and bucket. That, however, is a decision only you can make.

You don't need to rewax every time you get rained on, but keep in mind that there is a difference in how tenacious a wax will hold depending on how old it is. In your current situation a fresh coat of wax is going to be fine but if you hadn't waxed in many months and the wax you did was a carnauba, odds are there wouldn't be much left anyway and a good rain will deplete the remaining. Remember, carnauba waxes degrade naturally over time, they don't simply suddenly disappear one day. Synthetics behave the same way, they just tend to be much more durable. You can, however, quickly kill any fresh coat of wax by using a truly "touchless" car wash, like the ones often found at gas stations. These tend to use a very low pH wash followed by a very high pH wash, then a neutralizing rinse. It's those two extreme pH washes that will strip wax off in one go. It's nice that they're truly touchless because they can't inflict any swirl marks, but they'll take your wax off very quickly.

Since you've got a fresh coat of wax on your car get a feel for how a quick detail spray feels on it - how the towel glides across the paint; how quickly it picks up the quick detailer; how easily the quick detailer dries from the surface. When that ease fades and you find yourself wiping a bit more or the towel starts to drag, that's a good indicator that your wax has depleted and it's time for a fresh application.

[LastStep]

Re: Caught driving in rain the day after I waxed my car. Rewax? Wax washed off?

Ok, so I will just W&WA to get it clean again, and assume the sythn. wax I applied is still good.

[Top Gear]

Re: Caught driving in rain the day after I waxed my car. Rewax? Wax washed off?

I too have been rained on within hours after doing a long correction and waxing. It's demoralizing While the wax may technically still be still active, that velvety just-waxed look, feel, and smell is gone. One time the rain was intense enough over two days my fresh wax was indeed gone. So, I've either decided to re-apply fully with the DA, which only takes a short time compared to a correction, or to just boost it with a spray wax. I'm usually pretty good about checking the weather, but storms can form out of nothing and you just have to go with it. It does help if the wax can cure for at least a full day or more before getting wet.

Another trick is to regularly use a waterless wash product, like Ultimate Wash & Wax Anywhere (UWWA), along with a spray wax product, like Gold Class Quik Wax. I use them to react to the rain afterward, but also to pre-seal and pre-wax before a forecast storm comes, particularly on the top surfaces (hood, roof, trunk) - maybe it's just me, but UWWA seems to work like a sealant, though it is also mixed with carnauba. So, followed with GCQW, I've added at least a couple of sacrificial layers in minutes.

I also try my best to avoid driving in the rain, especially in traffic or on the interstates. I don't usually mind the car getting rained on when parked (unless I've just done a DA wax job, in which case I look for temporary cover), because at least that cleans out dust and pollen if I haven't bucket washed in a while, but if I have to drive on wet, oily roads after the rain, that's just as bad and so I'll find a way to wait until they dry a bit. This has all gotten a lot easier to deal with since I discovered UWWA, though.

Anyway, armed with my spray products in the trunk, I can usually roll with the punches

[jwrsxts]

Re: Caught driving in rain the day after I waxed my car. Rewax? Wax washed off?

Is rain water more harmful to wax than tap water?
I ask this question since a waxed car can withstand many car washes and just one exposure to rain will shorten the lifespan of the wax?

[3xzsucof]

Re: Caught driving in rain the day after I waxed my car. Rewax? Wax washed off?

I would think it is definitely worse than tap water. There is potential of acid rain, and what ever else could be trapped in the rain.

[Top Gear]

Re: Caught driving in rain the day after I waxed my car. Rewax? Wax washed off?

Well, where I am, the rain seems clean, but is probably acidic by some technical measure. The city water is said to be clean by similar technical measures, but sure doesn't seem so when you see all the deposits it leaves behind. Where I am, the rain itself does not leave spots on my car, while city water does big time, even filtered. Might be different where you are.

We live in a thoroughly polluted world, and sadly, there's no such thing as pure water or pure air anymore, not around cities, farms, cars, and industries. Here's one of the lesser exaggerated maps via Google. Consider pure water would have a pH of 7:

Maybe one day Americans will believe in Science

[ffboy]

Re: Caught driving in rain the day after I waxed my car. Rewax? Wax washed off?

I may be tempted to rewax the car again if I'm feeling a bit too eager or if I'm in the mood, or depending on how long it's been since I last applied wax. However, I found that in many cases, a booster wax is just enough for these "unscheduled" rain showers.

[thedoc46]

Re: Caught driving in rain the day after I waxed my car. Rewax? Wax washed off?

I live in SW Florida, where it torrential rains every afternoon during the summer months, often on my way home while on the interstate.

I synthetic wax probably every three months. (possibly doing a preclay depending on how i'm feeling) either using ULW or recently the new PP365, and i do my waterless wipedowns using D115 @ 8:1 well, every other day, as i like a perfectly clean car...

My rain water just beads right off everytime, and my hand glides over the paintwork, like its glass. It takes me no more than 10mins to do the entire car with a quick D115 waterless.

[LastStep]

Re: Caught driving in rain the day after I waxed my car. Rewax? Wax washed off?

I did UWWA again, and the car looks great again.
Didn't bother to wax.

[LastStep]

Re: Caught driving in rain the day after I waxed my car. Rewax? Wax washed off?

UWWA truly is a game changer, and really WHIPS THE LLAMA'S *** !

[mcleod52]

Re: Caught driving in rain the day after I waxed my car. Rewax? Wax washed off?

Get yourself some Megs D156 and apply after every wash and even after a quick detail spray. Heck even after you wax (which I did the other night).

[Top Gear]

Re: Caught driving in rain the day after I waxed my car. Rewax? Wax washed off?

Note that D156 is essentially the same as Ultimate Quick Wax, and vice-versa, and a lot people already use UQW. Both have a bit of carnauba, but are mainly synthetic sprays. GC is more carnauba-based and waxy, which is my thing.

Anyway, I've discovered the power of "keep 'em separated" Now that I have UWWA, which also has a bit of carnauba, I use detailer (GCQD) mainly for dressing, as a clay lube, and pre-cleaner or wipe-down before doing something else. I use UWWA as we all do, of course. Finally, I use spray wax (GCQW) not as a cleaner, but as a carnauba-based re-wax after a wash (either GC or UWW or UWWA). It's like having all three legs of the stool, with the three different sprays, a dedicated detailer, washer, and waxer. Sure makes trying to stay clean and protected so much easier

Now that I've happily adjusted to this rhythm, I really only have to re-wax with the DA in order to get swirl-free again and restore the very sexy blueish dark look of D301 on my black paint. I only wish there were a version of UWWA and GCQW to perfectly match the DAMF look, rather than the typical silver and/or glossy look.