I just bought a brand new Honda Fit. I have had it for 9 days I waxed it with Meguiair's Ultimate Liquid Wax because I heard it was one of the safest and easiest and best products out there. My sister and I waxed it in the evening, to avoid bright sun. It looked beautiful and clear of wax residue. But several hours later home at night, and the roof looked awful! All cloudy and swirly in the night condensation. I live in San Diego, Ca. One of the mildest climates in the world.. So I wiped it down and it was all well like there was still wax on it and not dried. Although it seemed perfectly dry right after doing it earlier in the evening. I rubbed hard all over. It looked like I wiped up the extra and looked good, but as the dew came back, so did the cloudy look all over again- with the swirls matching the bigger circles I was just making. But the stuff is supposed to dry and be able to wipe off with little time. And we did that originally. This makes no sense.

Now I an worried that trying to fix it by wiping it off at night did some sort of damage. I used microfiber towels. Now I am reading about curing for twelve hours, but the video on Amazon didn't mention this before. It is a BRAND new car and I was trying to take care of it. Did trying to wipe it down at night now cause damage? I wiped hard, but I used microfiber towels. I wiped it like five times over before giving up./ I researched and used the right cloths and stayed out of the sun. My sister seemed aware of not applying the product too thickly and guided me.

Can someone please tell me what is going on! I am freaking out about this!

 

You never wax a car until paint has had time to harden bro. They may take care of it as your one time fix but you never do that bro... NEVER... Paint is still soft for 30 days + or -. I cant wait what is said from Honda...

 

Ok, but I read up on many forums and articles and they said that by the time you received a car, it had hardened enough. And that damage could be done by waiting too long. And that waiting was from days when paint technology was older............now I am confused.

And REALLY upset!

:-(

 

Don't panic. Most likely what you are seeing is a weird effect of dew mixed with oily wax. It's unlikely you damaged the paint as your car was probably manufactured way long ago - enough for pain to dry.

What I would recommend is to thoroughly wash the car with auto shampoo and let it air dry. Examine the paint.

You probably won't see anything.

To wax, I use turtle wax (and have been using for years, with great results), apply a thin layer to a clean and dry surface, during the day, on a dry day. Yes, It would be nice to do it in shade.

Let dry until the wax is crispy. Then wipe off with fur or micro towels. All of this needs to be done when the surface and everything is dry. Evening does not work. (ask me how I know).


Good luck. Enjoy your Fit.

 

So the wax is still oily for a period of time? So this effect - if this is what it is - will go away the next night or two?

Next time, I will do it in the early morning instead of the evening. I don't have a shady place.

So I am asking how do you know? And why did the directions say nothing about not doing it in the evening. I mean, it was still daylight when we did it. Not even sunset yet.

Do you think rubbing it down extensively in the evening robustly a few times, but with clean microfiber towels could do damage?

I was enjoying it until this. After much stress and drama with my old car dying unexpectedly at an early age even though I maintained it well.


I appreciate your and others responses! I really do!

 

I wouldn't worry about this. More than likely your Honda was built many months ago even if you bought it recently. Open up your driver door and there is a sticker on your door jamb with the built date.

 

FYI, I bought a new '16 Fit EX-L (silver) on 16 Nov '15 with a 10/15 build date built in Mexico. Two days later I waxed it "Meguiar's Cleaner Wax" (a paste-type wax). Have used this on previous new cars right after taking delivery. No issue whatsoever. Maybe get some paste wax and go over the area of concern. On the can is a phone number...1-800-347-5700 called "RX Hotline...free expert car care advice." Think they're based in Irvine, CA. Also, got mine at Walmart several years ago...recently looked for replacement and couldn't locate the exact product, but several Meguiar paste options. Hope this helps...

 

I've seen the swirl effect the OP had, after using some waxes.

Don't panic, it's not the paint. It's just differing thicknesses of wax.

The swirl effect in condensation will go away after the next time you wash the car...

 

Look at the manufacture date on the door jam . That should help ease the anxiety . Doubt it has been 30 days or less .

 

I checked this morning. The car was manufactured December 2015. And I found out it was made in Japan, not Mexico. Which actually surprised me as I live right on the border of Mexico.

It looks clear this morning. The dew seems to be like a fine mist instead of larger beads like past mornings though.

I wonder if wiping it down vigorously last night may have compromised the wax I just put on?

I think I will wash and wax just the roof this weekend. But in the morning so that the wax has all day before the evening condensation we get here in San Diego.

I think I will call that number just to be sure.

I appreciate everyone's responses. The thought that I damaged my new car before even making the first payment was really freaking me out!

 

First relax. What's swirly isn't the paint it's just the wax, because there are just differences in the layers of the wax.

As far as trying to wipe it off, esp just with water, you will have trouble because the whole point of wax is it's a protective layer.

There's a chemistry saying that like removes like.
So in situations like this, what you do is use Meguiars ultimate quick detailer, or actually moisten your MF towel with a little bit of new wax, in order to get the excess wax off (or put on a thin even coat).

If it comes to it, you can just use Dawn to wash your car and start over.

Keep in mind, the more you wash though (especially) you will inevitably put some micro scratches into your car from random dust or particles you miss.
So don't make the cure worse than the disease.

 

Judging from responses, it sounds like all's well that ends well, but keep in mind that some very attentive (to their cars) Fitfreaks have reported denting their roof with an elbow lean while waxing, so take care with that too. Apparently many manufacturers are going light-weight for better mileage by installing "thin skin". Enjoy the new ride!

 

One more thing, the curing for 12 hours, doesn't mean you should leave the wax on for 12 hours.
Follow the instructions on the bottle, for megiars Ultimate liquid wax it says wipe it off in 3-5minutes, which is actually way SHORTER than the typical dry time of waxes.

What the 12 hours implies is that it will be fully hardened after 12hrs, before then you will be wasting your time trying to put on a "2nd coat".

 

Thanks again. You are all great!

My sister and I started at the top and applied the wax throughout the car, then started wiping it off - so it wasn't on a long time.

I called Meguiar's hotline a couple of times (second time because I forgot to tell them something the first time.) They said the same things said here.

Only thing that worries me is they said I could have possibly marred the top by wiping it down vigorously several times last night. The first guy said it was possible, but unlikely. The second guy said possible, but I would see scratching all over the top clearly. I don't see that. (Maybe one silvery line that could be a scratch? :-( - but just the one.)


It mostly looks clear, but one point during the day, it seemed a bit cloudy. I think my mind is just seeing things though and I am obsessing. The rest of the day it has looked fine.

They did say to maybe wash the top, which I can't do right now. To remove excess? As it is, I am worried I removed the wax by wiping so much. But then again, I don't think I still would have seen swirl cloudiness when I gave up last night.

So, yeah, I am still worried I "marred" the top with my overreaction last night of wiping it down over and over strongly. But I think it is ok. And the Meguiar's guys said there is stuff to fix marring. I want to not resort to that if I don't need to though.

One guy also said I should have washed the new towels first. But no one had said that, posted it in videos or on forums that I read, or had it in the instructions...........

One more - probably dumb - question. Could I have actually wiped off the clear coat by wiping it down with pressure 5 or so times last night? Again,with a microfiber towel.

And yes, I was mindful to not lean on the car as I wiped last night.But thanks for reiterating that as it was just a guess that was a bad idea. Now I have confirmation.

 

You wouldn't have wiped off the clearcoat though there is a strong possibility you scratched it. Research before doing.

 

That is the thing though, I did research it. Chose my wax, cloths cleaners through research. Watched various videos on how to apply wax. Decided when to clay bar or not, when to wax because of research. Chose to wax in the evening because research said not do do it in bright daylight. Read up on various different opinions on things like when to first wax, when to clay bar, how often to do these............etc.

What made it harder is that there are varying opinions, so one had to see the arguments for each side and make a decision.

I work in a library, I know how to do this. But so many things like the official how to use the product line just said do this and it is easy! They didn't talk about problems like this.

But research and google and car product videos never mentioned things like don't wax in the evening. I had to do a very specific search saying what my problem was before information about that popped up. How would I know to google "cloudy swirls with night condensation after waxing?" until it happened? That is what it took to read up on that problem.

I am a beginner at this.

Meguiar's phone line - one guy said to wash the microfiber towels before using. No videos or instructions on the product box said that. I researched the towels, I even read there are two grades, but decided the differences weren't enough to worry about. Talked to the car guy at the place where i bought a lot of the car stuff. He didn't say to wash the towels like I was told to later.

I also used a thinnner coat of the stuff on the parts I did- which did not cloud up. My sister, who is more experienced at waxing, did the roof. But she also did the hood and that didn't have this same issue. I trusted in her experience and appreciated the help. She kept telling me about not applying the stuff too thickly, so it seemed she knew what she was doing too. Maybe she was more used to carnuba wax vs polymer seals.............I don't know. She helped research selecting this car and helped me a lot through this old car breaking down and getting a new one ordeal. She also bought mats for me. So, I thought I was being smart in getting her help too.

At some point, one has to take the plunge and do the actual task. People said online that waiting could be very bad for a paint job too. By people I mean articles written by professional detailers about waxing new cars. One is stirred to procrastination and never get anything done. I did what the Meguair's video said to do. I am a beginner at this, how the heck is one expected to know all this other stuff? It is overwhelming.

Anyways, the point of this post is that I am just trying to present how this whole process can be daunting to a beginner. If one is experienced, this may seem easy and obvious, but to a beginner, it can be more complicated. And scary because a car is a big investment.

I do want to thank everyone who has posted on this thread for their assistance. I really do appreciate everyone help in sorting through this!

I don't think I scratched the clearcoat, except maybe one small scratch. It just doesn't look all scratched up when I look closely. I thought at certain angles in the daylight earlier it looked cloudy still- not like at night though. But most of the day it looked clear, so I think that was me just stressing out and imagining it.

Thanks again, I hope to post about more fun stuff with my new car in the future. I really do like the car a lot so far!

 

Your way over thinking this..

Chill,, go for a drive, You can always wax the car later..
My car has been through a drive through car wash more times than I can count,
good enough for me.. I do the sealer addon and it sheds water no swirls and I don't have to do it.. I do clean the wheels once in a while to get the dust the carwash can't get out of the grooves in the wheel.

 

I haven't waxed my car yet. I've washed it maybe 3 times. Still looks great.

 

Waxing a car is not rocket science. Quit over thinking this. You're not going wipe away the wax, the clear coat or the paint. The wax should be left on for about 10 minutes or so and will be ready to be removed.

Waxing a car should be relaxing and you're going about it all wrong. Breathe in. Breathe out.

Here's mine.


https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/gene...e-purrrty.html

 

Even though it says you can do the whole car have noticed the first time I used Meguiars Ultimate liquid wax it was a little streaky after wiping off, in that case I just gave it a good wash a day later then used Ultimate Quick Wax and the streaks disappeared.


Next time I used Meguiars UW I only waxed a panel at a time and had no streaking mind these days I also prefer using Sonax's excellent Premium class wax as first choice.