How to Remove Turtle Wax Ceramic Spray Coating?

Everybody loves to take care of their favorite car. We want it to shine great and last long. There are many reasons for coating. It protects from UV rays, acid rain, bird droppings, bug splatter, and a host of other contaminants, we use coating for protection. When it comes to coating, turtle wax ceramic spray coating is your best bet. 

A ceramic wax is nothing but a paint sealant on acid. Later it is applied to the clear coat by spraying or traditionally like a paste. It produces a layer that repels rainwater and prevents dirt and grime from sticking to the surface. But, sometimes, you need to remove it. 

There are many reasons to remove the ceramic coating, like deteriorating coating or a bad or failed ceramic coating installation. Whatever the reason, you should strip off the old wax before you correct your coating. Now, not everyone knows how to remove it. Here, we will show two best methods of how to remove Turtle wax ceramic spray coating. One is a chemical where the other one is polished. 

Read it all to know about it NOW!

Reasons for Removing Your Ceramic Coating

As said before, there could be many reasons for you to remove ceramic coatings. 3 key reasons are:

• Bad Ceramic Coating Installation
• Failed Ceramic Coating
• Deteriorated Condition

Not everything people do is a work of art. Maybe it was your first-time Ceramic Coating your car. For that, you might have a bad coating or your coating operation might be a disaster overall. Another reason could be time. It must have been too long since you last coated it. It is now in a deteriorating condition which needs fixing. That is when you need to remove your Ceramic Coating.

Prepare Your Car

Alright, you want to remove your Turtle wax ceramic spray coating. But, is your car ready for it? Before we try on our best two methods, we should prepare our car with a thorough cleaning. Let’s see how we do it. When we say thoroughly clean it, we mean clean it deeply. Not everyone can do it, and an amateur move can ruin the paints and shine of your car. Let us surgically clean the car in 2 easy steps.

Firstly, rinse the car from the top to the button to remove all the loose debris and dirt. Use light pressure to prevent damage to the surface of the paint. When it’s done, it’s time for decontamination. There is a lot of decontaminating shampoo available in the market. You should use them to remove mineral deposits, salts, iron dust, leftover grease and grime, tar, etc.

When the chemical step is done, now it has to pass the clay bar test. Even after all these efforts, there will be some stubborn stuff that has embedded itself within the actual layers of the paint. All these bonded contaminants will be removed by the clay bar.

Read More: How to Make a Car Shine Without Wax

Applying Clay Bar

Clay bar usually helps to remove Turtle wax ceramic coating. We will now see how to apply the clay bar.

• Firstly, we have to divide the clay into equal sections, maybe in half or quarters. 
• Then, we have to flatten it into a patch to fit into a pointer, middle, and index finger. 
• Spray it with a detailer on a defined area of the surface.
• Clay that defined areas.
• Using hands, fold the clay over onto itself.
• Flatten the surface of the clay if needed.
• Repeat steps 3 to 6 until the car is fully clayed.
• Now we have to check for rough spots that might have gone missing. Using the back of the hands, feel the paint to double-check. If found, follow steps 3 to 6.

Finally, we are ready to remove the ceramic coating.

Effective Way to Remove Turtle Wax Ceramic Spray Coating

Removing a ceramic coating is way harder than removing wax on the car. Why? Because the ceramic coating is bonded with the paint. It’s possible that your ceramic coating is still holding strong. If that might be the case, check on the instruction manual if you miss anything. Contact your car manufacturer if needed.

Assuming the ceramic coating has loosened, we can start removing the ceramic coating. We begin with the Chemical Method.

Read More: How to Make a Car Shine Without Wax

Chemical Method

In general, ceramic coatings are resistant to chemicals like acid and salt. But on the other side of the pH scale, alkaline products such as degreasers will react to it. Thus breaking down its bond with the surface. We will exploit this weakness to remove the ceramic coating. Let us look into the steps that are needed.

• Firstly, we will need a solution of wheel and brake cleaner. 
• Mix it at a ratio of 5:1 with ordinary water. The solution must be mixed thoroughly in a spray bottle.
• Now, spray the solution in a body panel. The surface now must be wet and soapy.
• While the surface is wet and soapy, clay the surface with new clay. This will agitate the coating. Make the entire process quickly.
• Lastly, rinse thoroughly with a power washer. Check how much coating is removed.

Note that chemical removal works great for old and degraded ceramic coating. It may not work great on professional-grade products.

Here is a warning for using alkaline products- the clear coating and the wax coating are very vulnerable to it. It eats through the wax, coat, and even the paint. While applying the solution, pay special attention; otherwise, your paint might be damaged irreversibly.

Polishing Method

Another way of removing the ceramic layer would be by mechanical abrasion. You will need sandpaper and a fair amount of lubricant for the job. First, follow the steps given below.

• Firstly, apply the lubricant on the surface of the ceramic wax, and then rub it all the way to the wax surface.
• Then, you should move down to more aggressive grit slowly and gradually until you see the ceramic coating wearing off. It’s safe to start with 3000 grit, but you can go down if you find ceramic coating wearing off. 
• Keep a special eye on not eating away the clear coat to avoid any irreversible damage.

Now the surface is ready for machine polishing. Let us see how we can polish an uncoated car in 7 easy steps. 

1. We will start by equipping the orbit machine polisher with a medium cutting pad and a medium to light polishing compound. The compound must be of appropriate quantity as per the instruction.
2. Spread the paste evenly by dabbing.
3. Start the machine at the lowest setting, and apply it evenly across the body panel.
4. Switch it to a slightly higher setting, and start polishing. To avoid overheating, and marring the surface, do not let it sit in the same spot.
5. Inspect the result after buffing out the panel. Check if the coating is removed.
6. Repeat steps 2 to 5 with a more aggressive polishing compound until you are satisfied with the outcome.
7. Lastly, polish the clear coat until you are satisfied with the surface quality. If the polishing is done the right way, it should be 100% free of any ceramic coating.

Wrapping It Up

When asked, “Why do you love the car so damn much?” We all have a ton of answers to share. The most common answer would be the feelings of freedom that come with it. And people are willing to give up so much for it, and that is why taking care of it is so precious and so crucial. 

No matter how safe you ride in the real world, there is always a risk to the paint and surface of your car. Whether the coating is deteriorating or done badly, you need to do it again, from zero. Maybe you will have this situation someday. But you will be prepared because you know how to remove turtle wax ceramic spray coating. Until that day, take care of your car. Happy Riding!

Frequently Asked Question