Wax Problem

[UmmYeahOk]

Ok, just to let you know, my car is 10 years old. So its been soaked in plenty of wax due to 10 years of car washes. Anyways, I was upset because the only thing my car shows age of is its taillights. Foggest things you ever saw. Well one day I started stractching the lens with my nail. After a while I discovered the lens wasnt foggy at all, it was only 10 years of wax! The area I cleaned is dime size, but its the shinest thing Ive ever seen, theres a brand new taillight under all that stuff! Anyway, my problem is, how do I get the stuff off? Scratching with my nail is too har. It hurts and isnt very much effective; 10 minutes = dime size of shineyness. Is there something that can strip the wax off the lens, without damaging the lens?

 

[LouisianaZJ]

Alcohol in a spray bottle, spray and wipe... or a light polish

 

[nocaratall]

try a very fine grit sandpaper or steel wool and take your time.

 

[rjstaaf]

Have you tried dawn dishwashing liquid? It is commonly used for removing wax from paint. If it is as built up as you say it may still take a while. Don't try and rush it by using something abrasive as you will just wind up scratching the lenses.

 

[Marine One]

It might sound stupid but try spraying it with WD-40. I have used that for removing more things from car finishes than I can count, including road tar, tree sap and wax residue on painted bumpers.
Worth a try.....

 

[UmmYeahOk]

I dont know about WD-40. Only because I once rubbed vegatable oil on my tails once. It made the tails extra shiney, like they were brand new. But after several rain storms, back to normal. Even if WD-40 does take off the wax, how would I know if its off? Since oil is oil, how I would I know it didnt just give me the great temporary shine my vegatable oil did?

Oh, and I tried alcohol, It made the wax foggier, but still only comes off with a nail. As for dawn soap, for some reason, I cant sem to find mine.

 

[LouisianaZJ]

sounds like it is pretty thick. Use mother's mag and aluminum polish, that should remove it as well as polish the underlying plastic. I have used it in the past to polish yellowed or dulled plastic, it works great.

Toothpaste will work as well, but is not as agressive as the mag+al polish.

 

[UmmYeahOk]

Dishwashing soap didnt do anything, however I tried alcohol again. It clouds up the wax, which scares the crap out of me. But still, doesnt effect the lens. So far this is the best solution I've found, rubing the lens with alcohol, and then scratching with my nail. The wax comes off easier, and much faster, but still, is very time consuming, considering, it IS my nail.

 

[rjstaaf]

Wax shouldn't be that hard to remove. It sounds to me like it is oxidation. What you are removing is the oxidized plastic revealing clear plastic underneath. There are plenty of plastic polishes out there that you can try. I would look for Meguiars PlastX or there is also Plexus.

 

[Dark Knight GT]

Have you tried a clay bar system on your tail lights ? Ide go over it twice and use plenty of lube. Then, follow that with a wash down of dish liquid. That should do the trick.