Ghost Wax?

Beemerboy

Beemerboy

Just One More Coat
I've talked about this once before but this continues to bother me more than anything....I have quite a few repeat customers that I have had for years...

This last Saturday I did three cars, one full detail and two wash / wax jobs...regular customers.

On the black MB that I had detailed about two weeks ago I noticed some wax in areas that I am 110% sure that I had gone over not once but a few times even with QD on one of those passes.

The only thing that I can come up with is the wax is not fully dried and is still transparent, not allowing me to see it...I've not had any customers say anything about this as its not that noticeable to them, but it is to me.


I call this ghost wax (my own term) I notice this on my black BMW at times where I am certain that its been covered but the next day or two residue appears in areas that I've covered.

Anyone else see this happen? (say yes here:D)
 
I have had that happen a few times, not sure what causes it or if it was just human error and me missing the area...

what type of wax were you using? And when you refer to residue, do you mean the white powdery look that wax gets after its been sitting for awhile?
 
Stephan said:
I have had that happen a few times, not sure what causes it or if it was just human error and me missing the area...

what type of wax were you using? And when you refer to residue, do you mean the white powdery look that wax gets after its been sitting for awhile?
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I am referring to the white powdery residue that wax creates once its real dry...its not really one area or the other, mainly I see it in cracks or edges that again I have gone over...I use all kinds of products so its hard to say one over the other
 
Beemerboy said:
I am referring to the white powdery residue that wax creates once its real dry...its not really one area or the other, mainly I see it in cracks or edges that again I have gone over...I use all kinds of products so its hard to say one over the other
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I always see it just on the top of the hood, near the windshield for some reason I always miss there...

by the way I call it phantom wax and I am off to patent it...:D
 
I have seen this and have no idea why it happens, but I have a solution...I just call Pockets incompetent :D

me>> Pockets how did you miss that spot?
Pockets>> Huh WuH:bubba
me>>:bonk::rant:
Pockets HUh wuh:scared:
me>>:horse:
Pockets:bubba
 
Poorboy said:
I have seen this and have no idea why it happens, but I have a solution...I just call Pockets incompetent :D

me>> Pockets how did you miss that spot?
Pockets>> Huh WuH:bubba
me>>:bonk::rant:
Pockets HUh wuh:scared:
me>>:horse:
Pockets:bubba
Click to expand...

We haven't heard from pockets in awhile...hmmm starting to wonder..:D
 
Funny that you should mention this Beemerboy, because I just had the same problem last weekend. One of the guys that I work with loves pointing out where I've missed a spot when wiping off the wax, and it bugs the heck out of me. So I was extra careful and went over the car several times. There was no wax to be seen anywhere, and he didn't find any either. Then several days later I noticed several spots where wax was showing. It has happened with several different brands of wax and I have no idea why. My car is red so it's pretty easy to see if you missed a spot.

Then again, I'm getting up there in age myself, so who knows? :D
 
I did a black Tahoe last friday and the customer called today and askked about the wax spots I missed.I went to have a look after my moring pressure washing job to see for myself.
There were 3 spots the size of my hand that I know I wiped over,but the residue showed up after I finished.
 
I think that is just bound to happen, while we try to be perfectionists, occasionally you are going to miss a spot...

Thats why maybe the use of Ultima Paint gaurd plus ends that with its wipe on walk away workings...
 
What's happening is your wax or sealant is not being wiped off completely. Once all of the silicones or other wetting agents have evaporated, the powders that were concealed by the "wetness" of the silicone become visible.

Quick Detailer may not take it off because the powders are now trapped within the cured wax or sealant. If your QD does take it off then most likely it has taken whatever wax or sealant that was there with it (which some quick detailers are capable of doing). The best way to fix the problem is to re-apply the sealant or wax to those areas and then wipe it off thoroughly.

You might want to try a different wax or sealant. It may not be your fault. It may be the wax or sealant is not performing the way it should.
 
Troy@DetailCity said:
What's happening is your wax or sealant is not being wiped off completely. Once all of the silicones or other wetting agents have evaporated, the powders that were concealed by the "wetness" of the silicone become visible.

Quick Detailer may not take it off because the powders are now trapped within the cured wax or sealant. If your QD does take it off then most likely it has taken whatever wax or sealant that was there with it (which some quick detailers are capable of doing). The best way to fix the problem is to re-apply the sealant or wax to those areas and then wipe it off thoroughly.

You might want to try a different wax or sealant. It may not be your fault. It may be the wax or sealant is not performing the way it should.
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Thanks Troy

That makes sense to me, (not much does these days:D) I wonder if a cold water wipe down would help this since the product has not fully cured / setup / dried the cold water would accelerate that process...I'm convinced of one thing this is not about me missing the area...some of the residue that pop's up a few days later is in the middle of a panel
 
Beemerboy said:
Thanks Troy

That makes sense to me, (not much does these days:D) I wonder if a cold water wipe down would help this since the product has not fully cured / setup / dried the cold water would accelerate that process...I'm convinced of one thing this is not about me missing the area...some of the residue that pop's up a few days later is in the middle of a panel
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You shouldn't need to go through any extra steps like that to get your wax or sealant to come off properly.

Your wax or sealant might have gotten dis-proportionate in it's formula (I'm guessing). Most waxes or sealants need to be shaken well before use. I can see the formula getting out of wack if you used some when it wasn't shaken well. That could cause this problem I would think.
 
Troy@DetailCity said:
You shouldn't need to go through any extra steps like that to get your wax or sealant to come off properly.

Your wax or sealant might have gotten dis-proportionate in it's formula (I'm guessing). Most waxes or sealants need to be shaken well before use. I can see the formula getting out of wack if you used some when it wasn't shaken well. That could cause this problem I would think.
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I think it also happens when people are in a hurry to remove the products and don't give them enough time to set-up before removing. Given there are so many variable like temperature, and humidity, i can see this happening once in a while. :hmmm:
 
Poorboy said:
I think it also happens when people are in a hurry to remove the products and don't give them enough time to set-up before removing. Given there are so many variable like temperature, and humidity, i can see this happening once in a while. :hmmm:
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I would think this is the most logical explanation.
 
Poorboy said:
I think it also happens when people are in a hurry to remove the products and don't give them enough time to set-up before removing. Given there are so many variable like temperature, and humidity, i can see this happening once in a while. :hmmm:
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In my case its not about me being in a hurry, I think its more of a cure time that is the culprit...lighting my also play into effect
 
Beemerboy said:
In my case its not about me being in a hurry, I think its more of a cure time that is the culprit...lighting my also play into effect
Click to expand...

I think lighting can be an issue, especially if its sunny out but you are in a shaded area, sometimes the wax gets drwoned out by the darkness of the shade...

What I usually do is put my head near the side of the car and then look down the length of the car, thats when I can tell if there is wax still remaining, sometimes looking dead on, just does not work.
 
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