Removing Wax from Pock-Marked Hood

My beloved '99 has a seriously pock-marked hood and front fenders.
Meteorite damage, I am sure. I did not become truly aware of this until I
waxed the car and was left with white wax speckles all over these surfaces.
Any thoughts on how to remove them? Such as a wax stripper?

Most of the wax residue can be removed with a mild solvent used to
prep/clean surfaces for painting. Test anything you use in an area that is
not critical.
Having said that, there are waxes that have a color tint. these leave
residue that is hopefully less noticeable than the normal white residue.
(Or you might consider a White Miata!) <G>

"KKennedy" > wrote in message
. ..
> My beloved '99 has a seriously pock-marked hood and front fenders.
> Meteorite damage, I am sure. I did not become truly aware of this until I
> waxed the car and was left with white wax speckles all over these
surfaces.
> Any thoughts on how to remove them? Such as a wax stripper?
>
>

In article >,
"KKennedy" > wrote:

> I
> waxed the car and was left with white wax speckles all over these surfaces.
> Any thoughts on how to remove them? Such as a wax stripper?

Washing the car with Dawn should strip all the wax with little effort.
But have you tried just buffing them out? Those speckles are usually a
sign of having used too much wax, especially if the sheetmetal wasn't
cool.

"Chuck" > wrote:

>Most of the wax residue can be removed with a mild solvent used to
>prep/clean surfaces for painting. Test anything you use in an area that is
>not critical.
>Having said that, there are waxes that have a color tint. these leave
>residue that is hopefully less noticeable than the normal white residue.
>(Or you might consider a White Miata!) <G>

The benefits of white Miatas besides good looks are countless.

Leon

>"KKennedy" > wrote in message
...
>> My beloved '99 has a seriously pock-marked hood and front fenders.
>> Meteorite damage, I am sure. I did not become truly aware of this until I
>> waxed the car and was left with white wax speckles all over these
>surfaces.
>> Any thoughts on how to remove them? Such as a wax stripper?
>>
>>
>
--
Leon van Dommelen Bess, the Miata Bozo, the Miata
http://www.dommelen.net/miata
The only thing better than a white Miata is two white Miatas

> But have you tried just buffing them out? Those speckles are usually a
> sign of having used too much wax, especially if the sheetmetal wasn't
> cool.

I can tell you on a black car they are a sign of rock / sand chips in the
paint. At this point, the only wax I can really use on the nose / hood and
leading portion of front qtr panels, is black wax and thank goodness for it!

Here in Houston the problem is horrible. I avoid the big gravel / sand
hauling trucks like the plague but they drop so much that regular vehicles
pick it up and swirl it around till the next truck comes by and drops some
more (not too long!).

Chris
99BBB

In article >,
"Chris D'Agnolo" > wrote:

> I can tell you on a black car they are a sign of rock / sand chips in the
> paint.

That's not wax, it's the light-gray primer showing where the black is
chipped away. Hit them with a Sharpie.

Lanny Chambers wrote:

> That's not wax, it's the light-gray primer showing where the black is
> chipped away. Hit them with a Sharpie.

I tried this last night with a red Sharpie and had some color matching
issues, so I just kept going.

259 Sharpies and six hours later, the car looks brand-new!

Chris, be sure to use a Black Sharpie, very important. ;-)

Pat

> That's not wax, it's the light-gray primer showing where the black is
> chipped away. Hit them with a Sharpie.


Lanny, come on man, please don't insult me with a comment like that! Do you
really think I'm so stupid as to not know what it is that I'm looking at? I
would have thought I'd have earned at least that tiny bit of respect but,
apparently not.

Ya, after the initial rock / sand chip, you are looking at primer. The
original poster mentioned he just waxed the car, remember? What he's now
done is fill those minute chips / pits with the (white) wax.

Your sharpie trick might make the car look better temporarily (if there's a
matching sharpie color) but if you then at some point, wax the car (with the
typical light colored wax) you'll have the exact same problem because the
sharpie won't "fill" the pit, it only colors it. The black wax works WORLDS
better because it fills the pits (with black wax) and it takes a shine! It's
not perfect but as the owner / maintainer currently, of 4 black vehicles and
previously of several more, I'm VERY familiar with the problem.

Actually, the OP never mentioned what color his "pock-marked" car was but as
previously mentioned they make a couple different colors of the colored
waxes. I've found that the black works great on most dark colors. I have had
good results with it on dark maroon and dark green. I wish him good luck or,
should I say, good results!

Chris
99BBB

What do the say, 'your results may vary'? They'll vary alright!

Chris
99BBB

"pws" > wrote in message
...
> Lanny Chambers wrote:
>
>> That's not wax, it's the light-gray primer showing where the black is
>> chipped away. Hit them with a Sharpie.
>
> I tried this last night with a red Sharpie and had some color matching
> issues, so I just kept going.
>
> 259 Sharpies and six hours later, the car looks brand-new!
>
> Chris, be sure to use a Black Sharpie, very important. ;-)
>
> Pat

Just for what it's worth, A " Q-tip " works very well to remove the
"white wax" from the rock chip in the paint. :-)

Bruce Bing '03 LS