Worst wax job ever

Well I did learn that dish detergent is bad for rubber, so I won't be using that anymore. I'm going to try some wax removal spray. If that doesn't work, off to a pro detailer.

I haven't messed a vehicle up this bad since I applied Blue Corral Touchless to my first car. Made the car look like it was hand brushed

 

Yes it sounds like you need a buffer and some compound, polish or both.
If you don't have a buffer it can be done by hand but it will be serious work.
If your paint is oxidized removing the wax isn't gonna help much.
Trying a small test spot on the hood by hand with polish will give you some ideal what will be required to correct it.
As already mentioned you will get all the info you need here to do it yourself,, http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/
I do detailing part time if you were close enough I would be glad to help.

 

He jokes^.

But seriously, you need to clay bar your paint. Also, I have figured out that Dawn dish soap, as good as it is at cutting through "tough grease and grime", does not cut through wax. The only way to REALLY remove wax is to use degreaser. It's sketchy bidness, but it gets ALL the wax off. I've done it once. A long time ago. And that shit worked. But you definitely need to clay and then wax immediately afterwards. IMMEDIATELY.

You could prob get away with using 1:10 Purple Power with water, but I sprayed water on the truck, then used a spray bottle of purple power and sprayed in sections and then spread it around with a sponge, let it sit for like 10 seconds and then sprayed it off. YOU DO NOT WANT THIS SHIT TO DRY ON YOUR TRUCK. I don't know what will happen if you do that, and I didn't want to find out.



If anyone thinks I'm crazy, then look at this ten year old paint and tell me I'm crazy.

I also did a couple of passes at one point with Meguiar's Ultimate compound on the whole truck. You may want to do that after you degrease (if you decide to do this) and after you clay. I also use Zaino wax. I will not use any other wax on my truck unless it's Zaino. Basically I'm a walking Zaino salesman that doesn't get paid.

 

NICE WAX JOB, ROOK

GIFSoup

 

What an amazing mixed bag of bad info in this thread. What Bob57 says above is 100% correct.

Hard to tell from the pic but almost certainly this taco needs a "professional" correction. Usually that means testing a couple of patches to find the right abrasion level compound needed, then a polish, final cleaning then protective coating (sealer, wax, etc.). I'd say if you are not 100% confident with what you need to do and how to do it, hire a pro!

Forget the clay bar on this truck... it's years too late and the compounding process makes claying unnecessary.

If this was my vehicle and I cared enough to restore the paint I'd cough up the $$$ to get a pro detailer. Even with the right tools this is a tough job. A skilled detailer might make it look like new depending on the level of clear coat damage, but a hack getting bad info from the internet may damage it beyond repair short of repainting.

 

Update:

I had a bottle of TurtleWax "Colorback" polish laying around and thought I'd have another go at the hood. Washed/Applied and let it dry for an hour before I started hand buffing. Good news is that I undid most of the damage and it even improved the luster a bit. Bad news is that there is still a patch here and there that I gotta hit again. Better than the whole damn hood, though. After the hood is done, on to the roof and passenger side.

Definitely need a buffer! Way too much like work hand buffing. I go to the gym 6 days a week. Eff this manual labor shit! Some people enjoy this kinda work, but its nothing but a deterrent too me, especially if I know there is a better way of doing something.

 

You're almost there from the sounds of it. After you finish the paint correction try using sonax polymer net shield. Its expensive but is the only prdouct i use on my vehicles anymore. Provides superior protection and beads for months.

 

Definitely need a buffer. I've hand waxed a car before and it looked ok. After getting a Porter Cable buffer, I never looked back. Not only because it's easier on your elbows, but because it does a MUCH better job of working the product.

The one thing that stood out to me in your OP was that you drove it to dry it after the wash. I'd get a drying cloth of some sort and hand dry it in the garage to avoid picking up small road debris and additional contaminants. That's gonna get caught in your applicator and put more marks in the finish.

Keep at it...as long as you're just applying/stripping/applying wax, you can get some practice in without ruining the paint.