Wax? Beading? I hate it. What gives?

[Vlad Soare]

Hi guys,

Some time ago I decided, for the first time in my life, to use some wax on the Mustang. I had never waxed any of my previous cars, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a try now.
I'm not sure if the wax I'm using is relevant (I believe the problem I'm about to describe is common to any kind of wax), but here goes. It's Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Wax.

One quality that people seem to appreciate in a car wax is beading. And let me say, this one has lots of it. Water does indeed bead on the car like there's no tomorrow.
Another desirable thing of a car wax seems to be the ease of washing, namely the way water slides from the car like it does from a duck. And indeed, this one does seem to have that, too.

But here's my problem. Every time there's a bit of water on the car, it just sits there, in tiny beads, taking forever to evaporate. And when it finally does evaporate, it leaves thousands of hideous dust spots behind. I'm fed up with having to wash the car every two or three days, while my wife's Kuga, never waxed in five years of owhership, looks perfectly fine for weeks on end.

Here's how both cars looked this morning, parked next to one another (click on the pictures to see an enlarged version):

The Kuga is completely dry (and reasonably clean; the spots you see in the upper half of the picture are actually reflections):

while the Mustang is wet like hell:

And sure enough, after drying the Mustang looks absolutely hideous:

I washed the Kuga two weeks ago. Weeks! Never touched it since. It still looks perfectly fine, unless you look very closely and critically. I washed the Mustang three days ago, and it's already looking like crap. One very short and light rain over night was enough to do that.

So, what gives? What's the point of the wax? I hate it! I'm tempted never to use it again. I'm sure it protects the paint, but if the price for this protection is having to wash the car every other day, then I'm not sure I want to pay it.

Or am I doing something wrong? Do you guys who wax your cars have the same problem?

Thank you.

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[DonnieO]

Blow your car off with a leaf blower

 

[FruityJudy]

I think paint color between the two has a lot to do with cleanli-looking-ness. As for retaining water,i have no answer

 

[jimroth]

The spots are from minerals left behind when the water evaporates (hard water). I make a lot of RO water (like distilled) for my aquariums so I've been doing a final rinse with that. Alternatively you can find a way to remove the water before it dries (towels, chamois, leaf blower...)

 

[Deleted member 35644]

Beading, a side effect of having a hydrophobic layer on top of your clearcoat, can be used as a measurement of protection. That layer provides UV protection, and keeps oxidation at bay. Back before I started using a spray sealer as a drying aide, I would gauge the protection by how much beading I have. When the water started sheeting, it was time for another wax job.

The price I pay is water spots when the car gets rained on. For me, the trade-off is a no-brainer, as my 2015 red truck sits outside 24/7. That paint would be trashed by now if I didn't keep something on it. Instead, it looks brand new. But it does get to looking really nasty after it's sat through a few thunderstorms. Thankfully, my 'me time' is getting out in the driveway and rectifying that.

A compromise for you may be one of those 'waxes' that sheets water, instead of beading it. I can't recall the names, because I've never used one, but it may be an alternative if you want protection, but don't want to fight the spots. Whatever you decide, I highly recommend keeping SOMETHING on that paint if those vehicles sit outside. Red turns pink when it fades.

 

[K4fxd]

Ceramic coatings suck for just this reason. Use a real wax and the water spot problem is gone.

I used that meguires creamic and it water spotted so bad I had to use a DA and rubbing compound to get rid of them.

Lots of work but it did get rid of my swirl marks.

Every time it rained or water hit the car, spot city.

 

[kilobravo]

FWIW...

Rain water IS distilled so it's completely free of minerals. HOWEVER comma, unless you live at the North or South Poles, there will always be some amount of contaminants in the air itself and the rain drops pick it up.

As the OP stated, "waxing" or "coating" a vehicle will give it hydrophobic properties which are desired for both washing and drying.

Nonetheless, I would suspect that there is only one way to avoid the rain spots and that is to rinse and blow dry the vehicle after a rain. But for those who are DD's and have to park at their workplace, there's no way around the spotting that I can see. Driving at a decent clip after the rain STOPS would reduce the spotting but not eliminate it.

 

[K4fxd]

When I use regular wax the water spots come off with a simple wipe of a towel. When I used the ceramic, the water spots had to be polished out with compound and a DA.

 

[Vlad Soare]

Nonetheless, I would suspect that there is only one way to avoid the rain spots and that is to rinse and blow dry the vehicle after a rain. But for those who are DD's and have to park at their workplace, there's no way around the spotting that I can see.

Yeah, but the other car, which hasn't seen wax in five years, looks just fine for weeks on end. I thought the wax was supposed to make maintenance easier, not harder.

 

[StangTime]

I washed the Kuga two weeks ago. Weeks! Never touched it since. It still looks perfectly fine, unless you look very closely and critically. I washed the Mustang three days ago, and it's already looking like crap. One very short and light rain over night was enough to do that.

So, what gives? What's the point of the wax? I hate it! I'm tempted never to use it again. I'm sure it protects the paint, but if the price for this protection is having to wash the car every other day, then I'm not sure I want to pay it.

Or am I doing something wrong? Do you guys who wax your cars have the same problem?

Thank you.

She's a high maintenance girlfriend. What do you expect?

Blow your car off with a leaf blower

+1 on the leaf blower. This is where the hydrophobic nature of ceramics come in real handy. That water will fly right off. This is what I do on the rare occasion I get rain on it. Try not to wipe off a dirty car.

 

[StangTime]

Forgot to add, if you don't have time to dry the car, a trick you can do to limit the spotting is to run a garden hose on the flat parts of the car. The technique is called sheeting. Do the roof, hood, rear, the problem areas where water likes to sit. Without a spray nozzle, just an open ended garden hose (careful with the metal ones) allow the water to create a sheet and it basically pulls itself off as it moves. Start at the top and work down.
I skipped the useless drivel at the start of the video for you:

 

[shogun32]

I thought the wax was supposed to make maintenance easier, not harder.

joke is on you. The lesson to be learnt is to 'never try'.

 

[XS]

You can switch to polymer waxes, which excel at sheeting and not beading. I am fortunate to be able to keep my car in the garage, but if it stayed outside I would switch from my favorite wax to a polymer wax just to avoid the water spotting issue.
These are some sheeting waxes, but I'm not sure of their availability in Europe:
Klasse
Durashine
Zaino Z5
Meguiar's Synthetic Sealant

 

[Vlad Soare]

Forgot to add, if you don't have time to dry the car, a trick you can do to limit the spotting is to run a garden hose on the flat parts of the car. The technique is called sheeting. Do the roof, hood, rear, the problem areas where water likes to sit. Without a spray nozzle, just an open ended garden hose (careful with the metal ones) allow the water to create a sheet and it basically pulls itself off as it moves. Start at the top and work down.
I skipped the useless drivel at the start of the video for you:

That looks like a neat idea. I'll give it a try. Thanks.

 

[Vlad Soare]

You can switch to polymer waxes, which excel at sheeting and not beading. I am fortunate to be able to keep my car in the garage, but if it stayed outside I would switch from my favorite wax to a polymer wax just to avoid the water spotting issue.
These are some sheeting waxes, but I'm not sure of their availability in Europe:
Klasse
Durashine
Zaino Z5
Meguiar's Synthetic Sealant

Thank you. I see the Synthetic Sealant is available here. I'll check it out.
Is this like any other wax in all other respects? I mean, the same level of protection, the same nice and shiny look, only without the beading part?

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