How do I remove rock-hard wax buidlup without damaging my paint?

[Mark Nunn]

I give up and I could use some advice. My Runabout looks nice from a distance. But if you come closer you will see white wax buildup in certain places that I just cannot get out. My uncle sent the body and frame out to be chemically dipped when he restored the car in the early 1990’s. The substrate was clean and rust-free metal but with many areas with pitting.

The bodywork was smoothed in all visible areas. But, inside door jambs, hinges, running boards and other out of the way places the pitting remained. Those pits are now filled with white wax on a black car. It’s also in all body joints. I have tried many cleaners including:

Rustoleum grease and wax remover
Eastwood’s Pre wax and grease remover
Car was soap
Dish soap
Turtle Wax Bug and tar remover
LA’s Totally Awesome Cleaner
Windex
409
Various detail sprays
Kerosene

The only thing that sort of worked was the Rustoleum product with a soft toothbrush. I found a problem with that when I tested it. The lacquer is so soft that the brush abraded the paint. That little test area will need to be buffed out. You can see the wax in the photo below. The running boards look dirty but are filled with white wax.

I would appreciate all suggestions for a non-abrasive, non-lacquer thinner option.

[Jeff5015]

The only thing I know of that cut through wax, especially crayons on a white wall, is regular old mineral spirits.

[otrcman]

I did a quick search on the computer and saw that some waxes dissolve readily with vegetable oil. Never tried it, but you might do some reading on the topic and then give it a try if it makes sense to you. After the veg oil treatment you can do a soap and water clean up.

Dick

[speedytinc]

The only thing I know of that cut through wax, especially crayons on a white wall, is regular old mineral spirits.

On the left, mineral spirits are outlaw. I have been subbing coleman lamp fuel. Might try that & lighter fluid.
No direct experience removing wax.

[Jeff5015]

On the left, mineral spirits are outlaw.

You gotta be kidding me... I guess you get what you vote for!

[speedytinc]

On the left, mineral spirits are outlaw.

You gotta be kidding me... I guess you get what you vote for!

i didnt get what "I" voted for.

[Jeff5015]

I didn't mean you... I meant California.
I abandoned state 18 years ago.

[Mark Nunn]

Scratch tiki torch fuel off the list. I will keep looking.

Shellac flakes, both dewaxed and waxy, are mixed with denatured alcohol to provide a finish. If it devolves the wax it's worth a try next.

[CraneJon]

Try DAWN liquid soap. Let it set on the wax for 10 minutes before wiping off.

[DanTreace]

Corvette friend uses Clay Bar to get old wax off, and he used peanut oil too. The oil softens the old white wax residue for easy wipe away using a microfiber cloth that has grip but won't leave cloth fuzz.

Peanut oil trick may work on your old wax, I do know that ketchup works for removing old brown tarnish on brass. So maybe the old trusty pantry items like peanut butter and ketchup are handy! Raid the kitchen

[TXGOAT2]

The white buildup is probably a polishing agent left behind from car care products. It may be diatomacious earth, or some other chalk-like material. You might try lemon juice, which is mildly acetic and might disolve the residue. The fact that you have tried several solvents with little success has me wondering if it is actually wax buildup. Another possibility is trying a good auto wax/polishing product. It may contain a solvent that will soften the old residue.

[Mark Nunn]

I have a clay bar but have not tried it since I'm trying to get this stuff out of the pits and crevasses. I have raided the bathroom so I guess the pantry is next.

I tend to agree with Pat that this is some other residue.

[Dallas Landers]

Dan, those may work but I'm not carrying them in my panty's !

[DanTreace]

Dan, those may work but I'm not carrying them in my panty's !

Just changed it to correct spelling.....thanks for the hearty heads-up.

[John kuehn]

Try Go-Jo, lemon oil, or similar that is an emulsifier. Was the car clear coated when it was painted?

[Mark Nunn]

No clear coat according to my dad. My uncles who did the work have been gone for years. I know it's lacquer.

[Susanne]

Don't laugh when I mention this, but for years, we used straight good ol' Sudzy Ammonia and a soft scrub brush to remove wax. Worked on tables, floors, and other furniture, so I can't see why, if it is a wax buildup, it wouldn't work on lacquer.

I'm not sure about mineral spirits and wax... IF it's a petroleum based wax, it might work. Wouldn't try anything stronger like acetone or lacquer thinner (which would eat your paint).

(BTW, to dispell the rumors, we still get petroleum products up here in NORTHERN Califonrnia... I just got a delivery of both Nitrocellulose lacquer, retarder, and thinner 2 days ago... bought a can of acetone last month... 10 gallons of Kerosene and 4 gallons of oil base "paint thinner" a couple before that... I know SoCal is a different beast altogether, which is why a lot of people transplanted from down there to up here... )

Of course YMMV, work in a small out of the way spot first, not responsible for melting paint or body panels, post no bills, Kilroy for mayor, etc. etc. etc...

[John kuehn]

After reading your description about the paint it sounds like when the car was repainted there might not have been enough high build primer used to fill up the fine pits on the body metal.
A local old car enthusiast that I knew in the 70’s and 80’s told me to use the sand and prime method over and over to fill in the pits with what was then called high build primer. I did that on my 1919 Roadster a few years later when I painted the car with Laquer. It did come out pretty good in most places except a few that I missed. That was my first paint job that came out pretty decent. You can still see the places that I missed though.
If your car has several coats of Laquer on it you may can lightly wet sand it using 2000 or more wet sanding paper in the worst places and then wet sand with 4000 grit paper and then buff to a good shine. Or maybe use fine rubbing compound and buff.
Just some thoughts.

[Craig Leach]

Hi Mark,
I gave up on wax years ago & stared using Meguiar's show shine. Simple & fast. Takes the finger prints
off too. Thats a plus if Iv'e had a couple hundred kids in and on the T Firetruck. When I used wax when it would dry out I would add some dihydrogen oxide (H2O ) in the can & stir it up to make it soft, I know that water beeds up , runs off & evaporates have you tryed putting a rag on the surface and keeping it wet for a long time to see if that will desolve or soften the old wax? Mequiar's does not biuld up because it desolves the meguiar's thats on the paint already ( might want to try that also ) Nice paint, Ford never made one that shined like that.
Craig.

[George Mills]

I'm a proponent of 'time is NOT money' and usually resort to reducing everything to natural emulsifiers, or pH modifiers, or the like as they always leave the base pretty much alone and I'm willing to try the least caustic/damaging solutions possible and then notch it up a step from there in a do over.

No guarantees in life as who knows what is in that white substance other than the wax...but I'd try a cup of Ammonia diluted in a half gallon of almost hot water and then dabbed on, dabbed off with a little elbow grease in between. You may be absolutely surprised. It's effort, may seem slower than watching paint dry, but if it does 'lift' the wax you win! Blot, rub, rub, soak rag/sponge in bucket, squeeze, blot and scrub. I've done this on other antiques that needed to be 'scrubbed' to prevent 'fish eye' in restorative paint, and sometimes, I have surprised myself and had to do no new paint coat!

Worth a try, ammonia should not bother a paint or lacquer but as always, try a spot first.

[Mark Nunn]

Thanks, George. I was reading about ammonia and its use to remove floor wax. I have plenty of hidden surface area for testing. The metal under the turtle deck has a healthy coating of buildup.

[Dan Haynes]

I've always had good luck getting rid of brass polish buildup and wax buildup in corners with WD-40. If the residue doesn't wipe off after letting it stand for a minute or so, I resort to an old soft toothbrush. It has always worked.

[jiminbartow]

Get this at auto parts stores:

CE96E595-1573-4890-AA38-CCD74A48384A.jpeg (44.07 KiB) Viewed 5280 times

[TWrenn]

Once you get the wax removed, if you do, QUIT using it!
Use POLISH. I am sold on Wizard's "Master Shine" polish, works great, and in between the two apps of the polish I apply per season, I use Wizard's "Mist N Shine" detailer. Works great, both products keep your car beautiful. Light dust will even run off in rain, I use it on my F150 also.

[Mark Nunn]

James, that was the first product that I tried. It didn't work.

[jiminbartow]

Sorry for the erroneous info. Thank you for letting us know it doesn’t work.

Whenever I was in high school, I used to clean and wax floors in a super market and once a month, we had to remove the old wax before applying a new coat of wax and that industrial floor wax was very hard stuff. Jim Patrick