Apologies if this has already been beaten to death- I found lots of threads about removing the sort of wax one uses to wax the painted surface of the car if one was careless and got a bit on the plastic, but was unable to find anything about SHIPPING WAX.

My MINI has drooled shipping wax out of the hood and down the wheel molding plastic. I "washed" it over a larger section of the plastic. Tried rubbing alcohol. No luck. I have covered it with peanut butter and that kindof helped. But I can still see it there, and suspect it will be coming back to haunt me.

Any ideas would be sincerely appreciated.

 

Some have used Simple green, others have used WD-40. Give those a try.

Mark

 

It's been really hot here and I have ad some melting as well: Goo Gone worked wonders.

 

Although I think all of the above remedies would work, my dealer...well the prep shop at my dealer...gave me a jar of the solvent they use to clean up the stuff. Takes it right off. Not sure exactly what it is, but a well-placed phone call to the dealership may lead to more useful info.

 

Here's a partial list of what we use to remove cosmoline from old surplus barrels and rifle stocks on another forum i'm on.

heat gun ($10 harbor freight) + newspaper on the floor.
mineral spirits
scuncy steamer (or other late night tv steamer product)


others... probably not good for automobiles..
WD-40
Easy-Off "Fume Free)
simple green
dishwasher
heat + kitty litter (soaks it up)
brake cleaner
hot water and paper towels and elbow grease

 

Have you tried Black Wow from OG? it works well on cleaning up left over wax. I used it to remove some wax that the dealer got on the rain gutter at the time of delivery. It took two tries, but now is gone.

 

I had already tried hot water and a cloth, tried Goo Gone and both were disasterous! It just made the problem spread over a wider area (5 to 6 square inches of plastic). I then tried rubbing alcohol and a toothbrush. That did absolutely nothing. So then I smeared it with peanut butter, which did mostly hide it so that I am not ashamed to be seen out and about- however, it is creeping back and I can see it.

I would LOVE to have some of the dealer solvent, but that is 6 hours of interstate driving. Hmmm. There is definitely more wax inside the hood that will be coming out, too, so this is going to be an ongoing battle.

Don't have any Black Wow, but wouldn't that just cover it up so that it would come back later?

I am experiencing HATRED toward the black plastic. It is virtually impossible to get clean prior to the wax issue; when it is wet it looks clean and then it dries and there is still dirt all in it. And then NOW there is wax on it too!

 

Service guy at Mini of Nashville didn't have anything to clean it. He suggested Goo Gone.

 

shipping wax??? do you mean Cosmoline??? If so, Klasse All-In-One can get that nasty protective stuff off anything

 

Black Wow doesn't cover anything - it cleans and treats the black plastic. It's like, well, it's really good stuff. Use it to scrub off anything that's stuck on there (if it's dirty) and just wipe it on to treat and protect - lasts for a long long time, crap just rinses off.
www.showcardetailing.com - Richard (OctaneGuy) is The Man who created it
www.detailersparadise.com - also sells it and all kinds of other stuff that I always seem to need
www.black-wow.com - more info and vendors
You can dip a Q-tip in rubbing alcohol or simple green and use it to dig the crap out of the holes in the underside of the hood - that's where it's coming from. Make sure you get rid of that before you spend too much time on the wheel arches becuase it'll be baaacckkk.

 

Guess I need some.... Thanks for the links!

 

Any update on if the Black WoW worked?

I am experiencing the same problem now. GooGone didn't work, soap and water and elbow grease didn't do the trick, and WD40 still did not help.

I'm starting to worry that the black plastic trim is stained

 

Mine was stained to the point of no return. Hubby knew how I felt about carrying it to the dealership and leaving it (I have no door dings and don't want any). He purchased a new black trim piece for the passenager side. He taped off the engine compartment and power washed the mess out of the under hood area. Installed the new piece. This was late last summer. I've had no reoccurance for that goo, thank God. Is the guy fired yet that came up with the brillant idea to use it in the first place?

 

I have to admitt, I have not yet ordered the Black Wow, so I have not tried it. The peanut butter is holding it at bay currently. I have gone Zen about it and figure that I'll let it oozle out and eventually I will really and truely deal with it, but lately I have too much else to deal with. Some oozey wax is not such a big deal, compared to the rest of my life. I will try the Black Wow at some point (though - if I could just go buy it at a store and didn't have to ORDER it I would have used it months ago) and if the Black Wow does not do it well enough I will eventually buy new plastic.