Issues applying Woolwax over dirt?

Hey everyone,

I had some Woolwax applied a few months ago (I went to a shop that applies it), and I noticed there were a few spots they missed.

I was going to either touch up or just go over the whole underside again, but I heard someone mention that you shouldn't apply Woolwax over a dirty/wet undercarriage.

The part about not trapping any water I understand, but I found mixed things regarding applying Woolwax over some dirt. The argument I heard was that dirt would be holding moisture that would get trapped under the Woolwax.

On the other hand, I'm not seeing how people recoat this stuff annually or every other year without trapping in dirt - I've had Woolwax on my last car and the dirt that got caked on would just not fully wash off no matter how much I pressure washed it.

I can't imagine that people spray this stuff on with surgical precision, but I don't want cause more harm than good applying it wrong either.

 

Great question. We don't live in the salt area, but I considered putting some on our truck due them treating the roads with something milder than salt in CO. I also wondered the same thing. Imagine the dirt would stick the wax.

 

The benefit of Woolwax over the rubberized or tar-like undercoatings is breathability, so surface prep isn't too critical. Ideally you want to power wash the affected areas first to remove as much dirt as you can.

You can also apply Woolwax to wet areas. It displaces water like WD40.

 

For a first application I’d want things to be as clean as possible, but that’s only a personal preference. If it goes over a dirty frame, I’d just make sure you put enough woolwax on to saturate the dirt.

In the end, I think it’s effectively the same weather woolwax goes on dirt, or if dirt gets in the woolwax through regular use. The eventual result is a dry, pliable woolwax “crust” that is more resilient than wet pristine woolwax.

 

The wool wax will seep, clean what you can the soak it.

 

"WD40" was invented in San Diego California for use in the early years of the space program. WD40 stands for "Water Displacing Formula #40"