My paint started fisheyeing from a wax I didn't think would matter

I was shooting a 2018 Ford F-150 hood near Tampa last week and kept getting fisheyes all over the clearcoat. Finally figured out the owner used a ceramic wax two months ago and I didn't wipe it down with wax remover first. Spent an extra 3 hours sanding and repainting because of that dumb mistake. Has anyone else run into trouble with those new spray ceramic waxes ruining a job?

2 comments

2 Comments

charles_kim12h ago

Man I feel your pain on this one. I had a similar nightmare with a 2017 Chevy Silverado last year where the guy swore he didn't put anything on it but I found a half-empty bottle of Chemical Guys HydroSlick in his trunk. Ended up having to strip the whole clearcoat down to the base on that hood because the fisheyes just wouldn't stop popping up no matter how much I wiped it down. Those spray ceramic waxes are nasty they really bond to the clear and don't come off with just a normal prep wipe.

the_river11h ago

How sure were you that the HydroSlick was actually on the paint before you started stripping? I'm wondering if there's a chemical test or something you can do to confirm contamination beforehand, instead of guessing after the fact. Might save a lot of headache next time someone swears their truck is clean.