Issue with wax going on clear, and then turning white a few days later around cracks, crevices, and decals

Own a mobile auto detailing business.
One of the more pervasive problems we have is that after we apply the wax, everything looks great. But then a few days later, there is often white residue from the wax around cracks, decals, and edges. The reason this happens is because in those areas, the wax was not completely wiped or buffed off.
The problem is that its really easy to miss at least a few small areas, and when checking over the car, since the wax goes on clear, the missed arts don`t become apparent until a few days later, long after we`ve left.
Anyone have a solution for this?

DutrowLLC- Some sorta-random thoughts follow:

-Use a LSP that doesn`t dry white
-Use (probably a lot) less product
-Fog the surface with your breath when buffing off, the added moisture is often beneficial
-Always move the applicator *away* from problematic surfaces like decals
-Do a final wipe-down with some kind of Detailing Spray that`s compatible with your LSP

Did I suggest to use a lot less product? Sorry, couldn`t resist ;) IMO that`s the #1 cause of all LSP-related issues and most people, even those with lots of experience, use a *LOT* more product than is necessary...or desirable. e.g., one oz. of a liquid LSP is *MUCH* more than I`d ever use on a Suburban, including the jambs/etc. With a paste, an amount the size of my thumbnail would also be plenty for a really big vehicle. It can be harder to do it that way (gotta go by feel and work methodically as you`re not applying enough to actually see it clearly on the paint; if you can see it that`s *WAY* too much), but you`re trying to trade one hassle for a less-serious one.

Come to think of it, I had that problem myself! The UPP I use (used?) on the S8 would do that in a few areas even with my uber-thin applications.

What wax are you using? I would start by finding a different wax/sealant.

There are certainly many products available today that won`t "dry white". What product are you currently using? Is there a "perception" issue with your customers that the wax is an upsell and they need to perceive it as a "substantial" product, which prevents you from using one of the excellent spray waxes or sealants available today? I`ll throw out a few ideas that are fairly foolproof in the regard of "drying white". Of course also listen to Accumulator as he makes great points.

Some spray sealants:

https://www.autopia-carcare.com/dura...l#.XcID8EZKi70

https://www.autopia-carcare.com/megu...l#.XcIEdEZKi70

And some "WOWA" sealants:

https://www.autopia-carcare.com/opti...l#.XcIEokZKi70

https://www.autopia-carcare.com/spra...t-sealant.html

https://www.autopia-carcare.com/ult-...l#.XcIFRkZKi70

I`m sure there`s some others too, this was just a quick sampler.

Setec Astronomy- Do any of those products last longer than, say...the D156/UQW or OCW/etc. ? The few Spray Sealants I`ve used (the UPP stuff that`s probably off the market now; Garry Dean`s Beyond Infinity Sealant) were both, uhm...unimpressive to say the (very) least, and the UQW/OCW both need refreshed quite frequently (maybe not after every wash, but I do that with the UQW and always think I oughta with the OCW too).

DutrowLLC, you are not along with this wax (or any Last-Step Product or LSP as Autopians refer to it) "left behind" syndrome and what complicated matters is that it makes you appear as a less-than professional detailer in the eyes of your customers/clients.
I think everyone here agrees it is sign of a newbie or amateur detailer and we have seem this "left behind" wax on emblems, panel seams, cracks and crevasses, and along trim pieces.
I think Accumulator`s suggestion is a good one is to apply an LSP thin, as most novice or hobbyist detailers, including myself, apply WAY too much LSP on an exterior surface.
How I avoid this is to use a good wax on-wax off (WOWO) LSP and my preference for this is Collinite 915 Marque D`Elegance wax. I also inspect carefully with a LED work light over the entire vehicle after wiping off the LSP and look for left behind traces of a wax. I use soft bristle tooth brushes around emblems and a lot of cotton swaps (Q-Tips) in seams and cracks , and if necessary, I use round tooth picks to dig out wax that may be hard to remove by any other method.

One thing to remember, it that sometimes "left over" wax may be there from some previous detailing en-devour before you started. I usually look for this before I start washing a vehicle and keep a mental note where I see it. There are professional wax/grease removers that body shop painters use, and I will resort to this on occasion before washing a vehicle if the build-up is bad enough. You just need to be diligent about it.

For myself, the time it takes to find and remove the "left behind" wax of my own detailing is one of my obsessive-compulsive detailing (OCD, as Autopians call it) "habits" that most find excessive and a "non-value added" step. It is time consuming. BUT, it is one of those "attention to details" that separates the so-so detailers from the very good ones and the customer "WOW" factor that exceeds their expectations while still being a good value of what they paid for, and they become repeat customers that tells others about your services and keeps you in business.

Do you have a problem with "left over" wax on vinyl or plastic trim pieces? I will clean them with an All-Purpose Cleaner (APC) and and apply a trim-specific protectant to them BEFORE I apply a wax. In my experience, if I do get wax on such pieces they clean up easier, but that is me. Other do just the opposite (IE; wax first and then apply trim protectant to the trim second) .

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rlmccarty2000

What wax are you using? I would start by finding a different wax/sealant.

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Stoners Polish and Seal

I spent an hour on the phone with a guy from Optimum. Sounds like their stuff might be really good.

I`m struggling a bit cause I haven`t studied auto detailing fro many years. For a long time I`ve been consumed by operations and marketing. Most of my time is spent improving the CRM software that coordinated everything.

So I don`t know very much at all about the latest ideas, trends, and best practices.

What you are applying isn’t just a “wax” but a cleaner “wax”... altho technically it is a cleaner sealant.

Anyway those type of products will dry white. So perhaps use more caution and care in removal or use some other product that won’t do so. Above some have been listed.

what it really boils down to is user error tho. Perhaps retraining your staff may be in order.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DutrowLLC

Stoners Polish and Seal

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Do you apply this by machine or by hand? Since, as noted, this is a "cleaner wax/sealant", are you using that to provide some correction or paint cleaning? If so, there may be some other products in that category which are less likely to stain or "dry white". If not, simply switch to something that`s more of a pure wax, which is less likely to have visible buildup, or one of the sealants, which is a little more complicated.

Is it you doing the work, or employees? If it`s employees, as noted, some more training may be in order, or the aforementioned switching to more forgiving products.

Since you mentioned speaking to Optimum, the recently departed Yvan came up with some pretty innovative time-saving steps...I think one of them was, after wash, using Optimum Car Wax (a spray wax) as the lubricant for clay substitute. I think he did this before drying the car, so, Optimum No-Rinse wash a section, spray it with OCW, rub it down with the clay substitute, then dry...and in a few seconds you`ve cleaned, clayed, and provided some protection.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Accumulator

Setec Astronomy- Do any of those products last longer than, say...the D156/UQW or OCW/etc. ? The few Spray Sealants I`ve used (the UPP stuff that`s probably off the market now; Garry Dean`s Beyond Infinity Sealant) were both, uhm...unimpressive to say the (very) least, and the UQW/OCW both need refreshed quite frequently (maybe not after every wash, but I do that with the UQW and always think I oughta with the OCW too).

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What do you mean, the WOWA sealants? I`ve only used the original-version Opti-Seal and the Zaino Clear Seal...I mean...are they as durable as your FK1000? I`m sure not. Are they more durable than AW or OCW? I think likely. But does it matter? (obviously it matters to you) It`s hard for me to say, because I`ve got so many cars in my orbit now, and so many other things going on...and I`ve been using a lot of washes like ONRWW, Wolfgang Uber, and Ech2O that leave something behind, so who`s to say?

It`s like the old days when we would argue about durability and someone on here would say "I get x months out of this product" and someone else would say how can you get that long? And they would say "I know it`s there because it`s still beading", and then someone would ask what his maint. process was, and he would say he washes and then uses some spray wax as a drying aid, and other members would point out that he couldn`t possibly know whether the "base" product was still doing its job when you`re putting a spray wax on every week.

I think I mused a long time ago, when the WOWA products came out, that members could do worse than, and if I were starting over, might adopt, a regimen from when the car was new of just going over the whole thing (paint, glass, trim) with a WOWA sealant regularly, say once a month, and never using anything else. Anyway, I`m just saying that on some level, whether it`s me or the OP in his situation, if the car beads when it rains, whether that`s from a durable sealant, a "wash n` wax" product, or some drying aid or spray applied after washing, for a lot of people that`s achieving the goal. I know I`m over-simplifying things a bit, but I guess I`m just being pragmatic (for my own set of circumstances)...I wish I could get myself to at least use some of the countless LSP`s and spray products I have...but don`t.

Setec Astronomy- Heh heh, I did sorta ask an unaswerable Q there didn`t I?

I was wondering about the durability in the context of DutrowLLC`s being a Pro doing work for customers who will presumably have some expectations regarding durability...whatever those expectations may be.

Heh heh, nah..didn`t expect any such stuff to rival FK1000P, just wondered if they lasted longer than stuff like the D156. I`m doing that "just Spray[LSP] it" on my wife`s A8, and that wouldn`t be very good for DutrowLLC since I doubt his customers will want to do that every time the vehicle gets washed.

The UPP Spray, let alone the Garry Dean BIS, didn`t come close to lasting as long as OCW for me and I was curious about the ones you mentioned since I`ve never used them.

And yeah...I too have way too many products that I`ve, uhm...accumulated...that`re destined to just sit unused on the shelf. Sure wish somebody would take my M16 and (pre-VOC)476S off my hands before they completely dry out but ebaying `em really cheap only moved one tin of each.

Dr. Oldz- Hey, thanks for explaining that the Stoner`s is a Cleaner-Sealant.

Yeah, most products with cleaners do leave a white residue. And I`d sure be careful about using them on surfaces other than paint/metal.

DutrowLLC- Of course an Optimum Rep makes their lineup sound good ;)

I`m gonna go out on a limb here (because everybody at Optimum walks on water in the opinions of most people) and caution you to be, uhm...skeptical in the sense of Good Science...about anything any vendor says about the product he`s associated with. (NO, not flaming/etc. and I hope I`m just being paranoid feeling I have to post that.)

[rant]Using OCW as a Clay Lube?!? I for one utterly *DESPISE* using leaves-stuff-behind products, any of `em, as Clay Lube! It *always* compromises my Claying and makes for tougher wipe-clean. I won`t even use GG SpeedShine for it, or the Showtime that Mother`s sells in their Clay Kit; switching to a dedicated Clay Lube *always* improves the process for me, and even then I always benefit from rewashing...really WASHing... the area after claying. Must be one of those YMMV things if it works OK for somebody else, but when something categorically performs a certain way for me I take that as a clue, and it`s not like I haven`t had Claying figured out since forever.[/rant] No, again...that wasn`t an ad hominem slam at Yvan ;)

On a brighter, less contentious, note, this is a great time to get reacquainted with Detailing! There are a *scad* of new products that really are All That, and many more good options than there were a few years ago in the sense of stuff that works well without needing to be "mastered". The days of esoteric knowledge and endless experience being required to produce stellar results are long gone, and I bet you can not only sort out the "white artifacts" issue but also up your Co.`s game in other ways that you, and your clients, will really appreciate.

Optimum has promoted some time-saving ideas in the past, I think Scottwax promoted the idea of, when using the Optimum Compounds/Polishes, that you compound the car (bearing in mind the Optimum compound at the time was not a gritty one, I guess it was SMAT), don`t wipe off the residue, go over the car again with the polish, and then wipe off the residue with OCW--compound/polish/wax with one wipe-off. To be clear about the OCW/clay, they are using a clay-substitute towel or mitt, not conventional clay.

So mind you, these are not techniques recommended for us finicky amateurs, they are intended for pro detailers trying to get the job done on DD customer cars.

PS I don`t know if that was Scott`s idea, or if he was just passing that along...or maybe it wasn`t Scott at all.

Reminds me of how some folks (including Anthony O., whom I sure like/esteem/respect) saying to use one thing on one head of the Cyclo and another on the other head...I`ve heard that from a number of others too, but, uhm, uh...OK, whatever works for you :rolleyes: