WAX!

[xtwoonamatchx]

so, i waxed my car like 3 months ago, and made the biggest car-related mistake ever. I let my 13 year old step sister help. well. now im starting to notice a LOT of spots where she didnt get the wax off. im not to worried about whats on the paint cause it comes off. what im worried about is what is on the plastic panels. includeing the trim on the bottom of the back bumper, and the fog blanks.

does ANYONE KNOW HOW TO GET RID OF IT! i tried scrubbing , rubbing, scratching, nothing. My stepdad recommeneded that i use rubbing alcohol, but i dunno if that would mess up the plastic. any help would be amazing. thank you.

[Vahagn23]

I never seen Alchahole mess up the plastic, it can mess up the paint but never seen messing up plastic, and it might work, but not too sure.

[matt_a]

Try using automotive clay. If you've never done that before, just go to Wal-Mart and get the Mother's Clay Bar Kit (around $15) and follow the directions. I'm not saying 100% for sure that it'll work, but it might. You'll probably have to go over those areas with a little more pressure than normal. http://www.autogeek.net/motcalgolcla.html

[dopey]

Clay Bar on the actual paint, also try a Quick Detailer spray; eg Wolfgang Quick Detail Spritz - both methods have worked well for me.

[Rockhound]

Why was wax applied to any plastic, such as the fog blanks?

[xtwoonamatchx]

lol it wasnt intentionally, i must not have been as careful as i should have on getting it not on the plastic. but thanks for those, ill probably try all the ideas.

[Rockhound]

Well, it's just that I've never even waxed painted bumpers before - I just wax the painted metal surfaces. So I was confused how wax got all the way down to the fog covers.

After a long search I've found a few other methods to remove the wax from the plastic...

1) Apparently Peanut Butter works well at this. Never tried it myself, but I found it mentioned on other forums. I guess the oil in the PB removes the wax from the plastic?

2) Bon Ami - It is a very mild abrasive that shouldn't scratch, and is mentioned for this use on other forums as well. I'd try a small area first to check, though.

3) Meguiar's Back to Black - it's a product used to get dark plastics to return to their dark color after years of UV damage has faded the plastic to light gray. I used it a lot on the trim on my Sentra, and it always worked well. It might just help in this case, too.

[xtwoonamatchx]

so... peanut butter was the winner (the only one i tried) i went to my friends house and he was laughing histerically when i told him, but we tried and it worked. I would have to suggest creamy, because chunky might be too messy =p haha, and ive found that the composition in Skippy Brand induces much more "Cleaning" than the other brands.

Just kidding. thought id try some comic releif.... really appreciate the research guys... rockhounds post should be in the FAQ or something. haha

[XterraVersa]

The veggie & fruit cleaner works great also. It strips wax of fruit & it is still safe to eat, so it is also non-toxic.

[Rockhound]

Just kidding. thought id try some comic releif...

So were you kidding about Skippy's superiority, or doing this at all? If it worked, then that's awesome! I came across that recommendation in a Volvo forum.

[BBISHOPPCM]

I had this problem with my frontier, and I never did find a suitable wax remover for plastics (that didn't harm the plastics). I was going to try standard automotive wax remover, but that may or may not damage the plastics... Back to Black is a great product, but unfortunately, its effects are short lived and it never actually removed the wax from the plastic. I'd love to hear of a method that works, since i'm bound to get wax on the plastic trim of my Versa.

[xtwoonamatchx]

rockhound: the superiority about Skippy. haha it worked AMAZING!