Polished to satisfation but wax streaked horribly

[Oni]

Pretty much topic. I polished my hood over the weekend to how i wanted it ( checked in hallogens and direct sunlight) and then i applied a thin layer of megs hi tech yellow wax ( its in a tin) i used a freash foam applicator and applied in small circular motions.
Left it about 15min and did a swipe test and it appeared glossy and didnt streak. i removed the residue with some microfibers ( one of the megs one cant remember the name ) and it looked great in my garage. this morning when i backed it put into the sun it was very streaky. It almost looked like someone had used a squigy to dry it sort of. Any ideas? what would be the best way to remove the wax and try again? Thanks everyone

[Murr1525]

Re: Polished to satisfation but wax streaked horribly

Maybe it wasnt quite as ready to remove as it seemed.

You can try using a Quick Detailer type product to wipe an area and see if it helps, and/or apply a second coat to an area, and let it dry longer before removing.

I would do those before removing the wax....

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Polished to satisfation but wax streaked horribly

In this situation, a streak or streaks are simply product residue not removed yet. (Make sense?)

If you've performed an exhaustive paint polishing regimen on your car's paint with multiple products you've especially our cleaner/polishes and pure polishes, you've introduced a lot of polishing oils to the paint, not a problem just point this out.

Next you've applied a pure wax, a great one as a matter of fact and one that's been around for a long time creating show car quality finishes, so we know the wax is a time-proven winner and all we have to do now is tweak your technique a little...

First, streaking is sometimes caused by too much product applied and being wiped off before it's completely dried. I understand you've read the Swipe Test thread and performed this but again, you've applied a lot of polishing oils to the paint plus the wax so sometimes just a little more drying time can help.

A thin coating of wax is really hard to show in a picture because a thin coating of wax is really hard to capture with a camera. Not saying you applied too thick of a coating but hundreds of posts on this forum and others often times reflect, (no pun intended), as a person is learning the craft of polishing paint that when they start out they may be applying a thin coat but are still applying too much wax.

Here's some suggestions, first, Meguiar's recommends two applications of wax for 2 reasons,

• Uniform coverage
• Uniform appearance

Sometimes the second coating will even out the overall appearance.

Another thing to look into is your wiping technique. You should try to use a premium quality microfiber polishing cloth and always use it folded 4-ways as this gives you 8 wiping sides per cloth but just as important and sometimes more important is the thickness created by folding a cloth 4 times helps to provide cushion and helps to spread out the pressure from your hand over a larger area.

I point this out because so often our our Saturday classes when students are asked to wipe anything off without instruction, you'll often see people crumpling up a polishing cloth instead of folding it 4-ways, or simply laying a polishing cloth flat over the paint with no folding at all. So this is just ans observation of known bad techniques for everyone that will read this into the future, not specifically reference at you but you can check your own technique to what's written here and make sure you're using a premium microfiber polishing cloth folded 4 ways for plenty of cushion.

Besides all of the above, give this a read,

Final Wiping Techniques

Removing trace residues of previously applied product means giving the trace residues time to transfer from the paint to the cloth and sometimes simply slowing the speed of how fast the fibers are moving over the paint will give the residues a chance to move off of the paint and onto the cloth.

[Oni]

Re: Polished to satisfation but wax streaked horribly

Thanks for the replies, great read . I think you guys have hit it on the head, i applied it WAY to thick it was quite hard to remove. Im glad to hear that its likly left over residue. Where it wasnt streaked it looks great so i cant wait to have it all that way. Thanks a bunch

[Wilco]

Re: Polished to satisfation but wax streaked horribly

You know, streaking still occurs with those who are not professionals at detailing, but know mmm moderately about the art. So its also all about experience.

I detailed a car today with dark green metallic paint. used scratch x 1.0 with my DA and it produced fine results. i applied a very thin layer of tech wax 2.0 to follow up, and i still have streaking issues after waiting 20mins for it to dry.

its funny because what i thought was a thin application could have been a tad too much, and esp with the amount of drying time i allowed with the air and temperature conditions i was detailing it, the occurrence streaking was the last thing on my mind. .

is it possible that different paint types/codes will require different amounts of wax? cuz i was sure as heaven that i applied such a thin coating. my applicator was NOT drowned in wax at all.

i did however, find that 2 small drops of tech 2.0 went about 1/4 of a bonnet, whereas on other cars i needed 5-7 small drops of tech 2.0 to evenly cover 1/4 of the bonnet. my applicators are always 90% clean and refreshed from old product.

[Don]

Re: Polished to satisfation but wax streaked horribly

I have found that when I get 'splotches' on the finish, taking a microfiber towel and folding it into a thick pad. Then I use it like a foam pad on the PC at 2 or a 3. It doesn't take much pressure and you don't have to move it very fast.

After a couple of passes, the blotching is gone and the paint has an even, deep finish.

[AeroCleanse]

Re: Polished to satisfation but wax streaked horribly

Sounds like you might have missed some during removal. You should be able to take a clean microfiber and remove the streaks.