Wax dried in the sun ... how to remove?

I know, this was one of the dumbest things I've done in a long long time ...

But I applied the wax while inside the garage, then backed out in order to clean the interior while waiting for the wax to dry.

Problem was, my hood and some of the roof was in direct sunlight for that time...

I then spent hours trying to remove the wax (just from the hood), and I could only "buff" off a very small bit of it by rubbing as hard as I possibly could with a plush MF towel on the paint.

Good news is, it doesn't (yet) to appear to have scratched or marred much if at all... but there is still some leftover dried / baked wax even after washing the car again about 2 weeks later.

When I was "buffing" the wax off, I tried so many different things to remove it to no avail...

-Stoner Tarminator
-Isopropyl alcohol/distilled h2o mixture
-PB S&W
-Clay + PB S&W for lube


Any experts have a recommendation for removing the small patches of leftover wax??? I'm out of ideas, and am approaching the conclusion that it will need to be polished out with a AiO or something like that which would require removing the FMJ & Natty's wax...

I have searched far and wide for an answer here and I'm guessing it's either so obvious that nobody would ask ... or nobody has ever done something this stupid before...

Pls help

ive done it and i ended up scraping the wax off with a razor. Looks horrible.

Wow, wax residue on the finish after IPA and claying. Any chance you can post a picture of the affected area(s)? We all make mistakes so go easy on yourself, it's part of the learning process. I bet you'll never make the same mistake again .

NOTE: Don't even think of using a razor blade (I assume you already know this based on your post), we'll find a better solution, but we need some pix.

You are going to need to buff it out with a rotary buffer.

Wont washing it off work?

dawn or pre-wax cleaner?

I'd try either a bug and tar remover which might end up getting it off, or Turtle wax Ice makes a 2-in-1 clay kit, first step is liquid and that usually gets quite a bit of stuff off my car then the clay takes the rest off.

my friend did a similar thing, he tried putting some brake fluid on a cloth and wiping it really quickly. He says it worked, i think hes a retard and would never do that. Yea my post is useless....

dawn wash?

Sand-paper?.....I kid...I kid....

I'm no expert, but i was under the impression that it was bad to wash your car with dish soap because it took the wax off the car. So that being said wouldn't washing the affected area with warm water and dish soap work?

that happened to me once i just rewax it and it came off, but then again it was just my mirror i forgot to wax off. maybe it can work for you also

Originally Posted by Ervin87

You are going to need to buff it out with a rotary buffer.

I agree here. If you have already tried a cleaner wax after washing again and tried a claybar, get a higher speed rotary buffer and use a foam pad on it. This way you can run higher speeds without the pad clogging as fast so you don't run a closer risk of burning the paint. I can't beleive a clay bar wouldn't take that stuff off?!?!?

I can't even explain how pissed off I was when this happened... Everything else went perfectly and my last step I'm like WTF ITS NOT COMING OFF??????

I could probably take some pics but if you could imagine applying a hard wax using the W // Z method, then letting it dry to a haze, you'd have a car full of streaks... Then buff most of it away but some spots still have the streaky wax literally baked on and it will not buff off.


I did try diluting some Chemical Guys Citrus Wash which I used before doing the big polishing process over Easter... but that didn't do sh1t either... perhaps it was diluted too much?

Also tried putting a LC blue pad on my PC, spraying a mist of PB S&W on it and running it at 6 for a few seconds. Nothing happened at all.

The only thing that worked was buffing/rubbing the crap out of it with the MF and it would slowwwwwwwly come off.

I obviously don't want to specifically go and buy a rotary buffer just to remove this crap, although I'm sure that would work.

I'll have to try just going with Dawn soap and tap water, "washing" the spots with a MF towel and hopefully the Dawn will pull the stuff up.

I can't believe how persistent this Natty's is once it's been baked in the sun...

Wonder if this means it's actually a good idea to apply and buff off the wax while in shade / garage, then pull it outside in the sun to help it set up???


Thanks all for your input. I'll definitely update once I finally find something that works.

Originally Posted by Ant171717

ive done it and i ended up scraping the wax off with a razor. Looks horrible.

Clarification: I used a razor on my mouldings which got some wax all dried up on them, thus fading them white. DONT use a bloody razor on your paint.

A rotary buffer is ideal and should be purchased if you plan on waxing your car often i believe.

A friend suggested boiling some water in a kettle and using the steam/hot water in the effected area to melt the stuck on wax.

Try 3m adhesive remover or the Goo Gone that is safe for automotive paint. I know they remove the wax from your paint - not too sure about baked on goobers of wax though.

Originally Posted by Ant171717

A rotary buffer is ideal and should be purchased if you plan on waxing your car often i believe.

I knowww i knowww I should probably get one anyway...

Originally Posted by DangerousMind

Try 3m adhesive remover or the Goo Gone that is safe for automotive paint. I know they remove the wax from your paint - not too sure about baked on goobers of wax though.

Goo Gone might be a winner... although still freaks me out a bit

Not really goobers as much as baked on streaked wax. Tried to apply as thin as possible of course.

Originally Posted by ///mshu

I knowww i knowww I should probably get one anyway...




Goo Gone might be a winner... although still freaks me out a bit

Not really goobers as much as baked on streaked wax. Tried to apply as thin as possible of course.

Used goo gone in the past. It works.

Originally Posted by E46Sam

I agree here. If you have already tried a cleaner wax after washing again and tried a claybar, get a higher speed rotary buffer and use a foam pad on it. This way you can run higher speeds without the pad clogging as fast so you don't run a closer risk of burning the paint. I can't beleive a clay bar wouldn't take that stuff off?!?!?

Get a rotary buffer. You'll love it.

+1 for 3m adhesive remover. or paint thinner if you really have to get buck with it