Tried blending out clear coat with just wax instead of buffing compound last week - night and day difference

I was working on a silver Honda Civic at the shop in Des Moines and ran out of my usual 3M compound halfway through. Decided to see if I could finish with some left over paste wax I had in the cab. Big mistake. The finish looked hazy and the wax just smeared around. Had to go grab compound from the parts store and redo the whole panel. Has anyone else tested alternatives when they ran out of compound mid job?

3 comments

3 Comments

waderamirez12d ago

Nah wax has fillers that can hide haze temporary just like a cheap buffer job would.

the_drew12d ago

Man, wax ain't got any abrasives in it though. No wonder it just pushed the clear around instead of cutting it down.

the_elizabeth12d ago

Pulled a bonehead move myself last week that reminds me of this. Grabbed what I thought was my finishing wax off the shelf but it was actually some cheap spray detailer I'd shoved in the wrong spot. Spent twenty minutes buffing this haze into my hood before I realized what I'd done. Felt like such an idiot walking back to the garage to grab the real stuff. Your post makes me think at least your mistake was more about not knowing what wax does, not about forgetting to read a label like I did.