Mustang Club of Maryland

Hi Everyone!
How you had a pleasant Memorial Day! I wanted to ask those of you who attended the show in Ocean City and used/purchased the Wax Dady products. I could not attend this event but last week Bob introduced me to the Wax Daddy spray-on wax. I used on my black 2000 GT (RStang) and she looked great! However, today I had a problem and wanted to know if any of you may have this problem as well.

As we all know, a Black Stang is gorgeous when clean and polished – and that’s the way I keep RStang. I have been using FW1 High Performance Cleaning Wax with Carnauba and it works really well. In fact, so well that a microfiber cloth slides and glides over the car with just a light toss. Ordinarily, I clean and polish RStang every other weekend and planned on doing so this evening when it cooled off. Around 7:30, the car was cool to the touch so I started with the interior and cleaned her chrome wheels which took an hour. At 8:30, I sprayed FW1 on the hood allowing it to dry; usually this takes less than 60 seconds. However, 3 minutes later the wax was sticky and cloudy and did not dry. This is TOTALLY uncharacteristic of FW1. I buffed and buffed and all it did was smear into a cloudy mess! I used 3 different microfiber polishing cloths to try and remove the sticky build-up but was not successful. My husband said that the air temperature may well be too warm for waxing and to try either later or get up earlier and try before it gets hot.

Around 9:30, I went back outside and buffed the hood to a point where it was less sticky. As I moved the cloth over the driver side door, I noted it was more stickly than the hood. As I moved the cloth around the car, the entire finish was tacky and moist. RStang was so sticky that I experienced resistance under the cloth as I moved it over the car.

So, I was wondering if anyone else using Wax Daddy has this problem. Perhaps the ingredients in the spray-on Wax Daddy wax are reacting to the hot and humid Maryland summer weather; or the polymers in Wax Daddy are not compatible with FW1 – both under and over it. I welcome your comments and thoughts Thanks! Skane0508 for RStang

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R Stang
"00 Supercharged GT

Hi RStang,

Mixing carnauba and silicone based products could cause some of the problems you are experiencing. Waxing your car with the recent heat and especially the humidity could also be playing havoc with your waxing.

As a rule it is better to stay with the same type of wax product such as silicone or synthetic or carnauba waxes without mixing them. The chemistry is different and could cause drying and sealing problems.

I would suggest using a clay bar to remove all of the wax on your car and start over again with either the synthetic or carnauba based product and staying with that type of product. Changing brands of carnauba or brands of synthetic are fine as long as you stay with the same type of product.

Midnight Blue
MCOM Historian

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The Red Baron

Hi Midnight Blue!

Thank you for the response! I was suspect of this possibility and additional researched proved it. At the last MCOM meeting, a few members as well as Bob and Chris suggested that I wash RStang with Dawn to remove all the wax and start again. Using Dawn dish liquid for many years, I know well what it can do and still fear putting on my car. I did, however, use it on the wheels and it did remove all buildup PLUS all the road goop that stuck to the gooey mess. My son bought me McGuires car wash which I've been gently using weekly to get the buildup off - I am really afraid of ruining the finish. She should be ready to start waxing again. Definetely a lesson learned about slathering products on my car - even really good products - without thinking what might happen!

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R Stang
"00 Supercharged GT

Your welcome R Stang!

While the Dawn dishwashing soap would definitely take off your wax I'm afraid it would also dull your paint as well.

Using a Clay Bar, available from Mothers, Meguiars, etc. would be a better solution. The clay bar removes dirt, wax build up and other contaminants from your paint leaving it smooth as glass.

The clay bar will not however remove any oxidation or scratches or paint swirls from the paint. They need to be polished out before waxing.

It sounds like you enjoy washing and waxing the car yourself. Depending on the condition of your paint I would suggest using a good polish to cleanup any scratches and swirl marks and than use a quality liquid or paste wax to seal the finish.

After that you can use spray on wax or spray detailer to keep the car looking good until it is time to wax again. While it is time consuming and a lot more work, most professional detailers recommend clay barring the car before applying a polish or wax.

The difference is truly noticeable! The paint is truly clean and gives you that deep shine that we all admire.

I'm now using a Griot's Garage orbital polisher to clay bar, polish, wax and even apply paint sealant to my personal cars and those of family and friends.

Now that I'm retired I can devote time to detailing cars which I enjoy. Here are some photos of my car, a 2002 V-6 Mustang after I clay barred and waxed it. My car was repainted last year so I did not need to polish it at this time as it has no swirl marks or oxidation.

My wife's 2008 Mercury Mariner is next to be detailed and I'll clay that and use paint sealant to protect the finish and offer a high gloss shine.

You can send me a PM if you have any other questions.

Midnight Blue
MCOM Historian

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The Red Baron