How to fix a waxing error?

I washed my car, and then used a water-absorbing towel to dry off. I let it dry a bit more in the sun. Then I pulled it out of the sun to cool for two hours to cool down the body before waxing. Finally, I gave it a real nice waxing. When I pulled back into the sun, I noticed there are several visible water marks on the car’s body from the minerals in the hose water that had dried. I unknowingly waxed right over them. Tried gently rubbing, but they don’t come out. Re-waxing over the top of it didn’t help. So it appears now the water marks are temporarily protected under the wax?

Any fix for this waxing mistake?

What kind of wax did you use?

Mother’s Brazilian Carnauba.

Almost any polishing (cleaning) compound will cut through that and remove the water spots.

Be careful with the term “polishing compound”. It’s used to denote a micron-level abrasive used to final-finish new paint as well as often used for car waxes. “Compound” denotes the abrasive type.

My suggestion would be to get a cleanser that removes wax (any parts store will have one), remove the wax and clean the spots, and start over. I’d avoid anything at all abrasive.

I’ve never used it, but I see that Rust-Oleum has a wax and tar remover for cars, so I guess you could use that to remove the wax, use a clay bar to remove the water spots, and wax again.

In the paint and body section at AutoZone, they have a wax stripper.

Clay kit by mcguire might work.

Is the water spot one you can see or one you can feel??

If you can feel it, it is a mineral deposit that will come off with a little white vinegar mixed half and half with water and a little car wash soap. Wash on, work it with a sponge and rinse.

If its the type you can only see, it has etched the paint. Polishing compound will usually get it out. Really bad ones may actually need a little rubbing compound first, then polishing, then clearcoat polish and wax.

Excellent point as usual, Mustangman.
+1

If it doesn’t bother you much, just leave it alone and deal with it at the next wax job.

Vinegar removes wax.

Yes, vinegar does remove wax, very effectively!

Oddly enough, so does dish soap. That’s why car wash soaps are different. Washing with Dish soap is a great first step before a re-wax or a re-paint.

Depends on the dish soap. I used Ivory liquid for years and it never removed my wax. Dish soaps with citrus additives, “lemon scent” soaps, will remove the wax, however.