so i went to go wash my car and give it a wax while i was at it. i started with a simple spray down of cold water then used turtlewax's ice car wash liquid and wiped it on the car. washed it off and dried the car off. then i went to put some wax. im no pro detailer and dont have a lot of money to pay for every step of the way for a perfect detailing job. i clay bar'd the car about a month ago so i didnt bother with that again. i bought some of meguiar's quick wax spray, supposedly its supposed to add a layer of wax right out of the bottle, with minimal effort. i wasnt in any mood to spend a couple hours waxing the car with my tech wax 2.0 haha. anyways, i noticed as i applied the spray i was getting streaks on my car. it looked like oil streaks or something, almost like the marks you get when you rub your hands over a car, that oily mark. i used a different cloth and got the same result. brought out my black carnuba wax from my turtlewax black box detail kit and had similar problems. i them applied pressure with a clean cloth and rubbed the marks out.
any idea what had happened? am i missing a step in my detailing process that caused this?

 

You're using a crappy product for one...I used to think Turtle Wax products were the **** but they really are not high quality at all. I would get something better and see if it still happens

 

I get this problem with tech wax as well, it shows especially on black cars. hopefully somebody knows how to get these grease marks out without killing your arms.

 

Sometimes when I wax my car it leaves the streaks too, but with a quick wash afterwards, they're all gone. Or sometime when I don't, they'll just haze away.

With spray wax, you get the hazing from using too much, or not drying completely.
And it does not substitute for your traditional paste wax.

 

it felt like i was trying to scrub the paint off or something.. i thought tech wax 2.0 was good.. :/ it seems as though my car looks better with just a wash opposed to a wash and wax by the way my car is OB. lol

 

What kind of "cloths" are you using to remove the wax? Microfiber should be all you use to dry the car.

Invest in a better spray wax. I've heard great things about the spray wax below from friends who are detailers. They give it to their customers as a maintenance wax to use between detailing visits.

Optimum (OPT) Car Wax - 17 oz | Detailed Image

Not too expensive, easy to apply, easy to remove.

 

Yeah I only used microfiber cloths. Also used an absorber for drying the car after the wash

 

that is one of the worst products you can possibly use. It will mar your paint horribly. You should be using MF waffle towels to dry the car. If you sheet the water you can dry the entire car with 1 waffle MF towel.

The ONLY kind of towel/dryer/etc that should EVER touch the paint of the car is MF

check these out for drying the car:

Waffle Weave Drying Towel | Detailed Image

 

It is about the cloth that you are using to put on and wipe off the products. You should use a soft terry cloth to put on the wax or polish and i suggest to use a well worn well washed piece of 100% cotton cloth (an old T-shirt, etc) to wipe it off. I used the same Turtle Wax/Meguiar's quick wax spray polish products with no streaks or residue whatsoever.

 

You are very likely putting micro-scratches and marring the paint if you are using a t-shirt on your car.

Even if it feels soft it will still scratch the paint very easily. Honestly, Microfiber should be the ONLY thing that even touches the paint besides a colored pad on a random orbital.

Even to apply/remove wax I use microfiber:

DI Microfiber Applicator Pad | Detailed Image

 

i feel like after reading all this i have to go resupply my entire inventory with better stuff lol, might just be cheaper taking the car to a pro!

 

hispeed-lowdrag, I meant the back or the front of the T-shirt after trimming out all the stitched parts. Then, if the t-shirt is 100% cotton, there won't be any scratches. You might scratch the paint if you use the whole t-shirt applying pressure with the stitched parts or labels etc. I have been using the same formula on every car I've owned for almost 25 years now and I have no problems.

 

I know exactly what you were talking about

even with using any part of a T-Shirt...I would bet money that if you put the paint under a halogen there would be marring. Especially on an Infiniti where the paint is softer than most.

If you think it looks good that is all that matters, but like I said, I would put money on there being micro-scratches and marring in the paint after using anything but microfiber

 

How about a dollar?

 

Instead of using turtle wax i recommend using any Dodo juice wax. I got a container for 46$, and it will last me a very long time. I have a thread showing what it looks like if your curious.