Swirls in wax, what am I doing wrong?
 

I wash, wax on - wax off, and I get swirlies. Not everywhere, mostly in the more oxidized areas. What am I doing wrong? Wax was Meguires Gold.

Donnow. If the paint is old enough ( stock) you can use a cheap over-the-counter polish like NuFinish " Once a Year", follow it with a glaze , and then wax it. Seems like the wax is sticking to it too much almost, meaning you should polish it first then glaze than wax.

Does the paint have alot of product buildup on it? If so, wash it with dish soap to get it all off and start from "scratch".

I have the same thing on my 1995 E320 on the lower plastic panels at the front driver side of the car. I think it is because the finish has become too porous. After all, the finish does take a lot of abuse down there around the front wheels. I have had success with multiple applications of cleaner wax, but I think using a polish step is a great idea. Next time I am going to try polishing first and then wax on the lower plastic panel. I have polished in the past, but not recently. Great tip!

Nu Finish is the only product I've ever used that actually made the finish of my paint look worse.

I would suggest applying Gold Class to your paint when it is cool to the touch, and apply it very thin.

Almost everyone applies too much wax.

Remember the point is to wax your paint, not wax your wax.

Are you using paper towels to remove the wax? Looks like you need to get rid of the oxidation first before you try to wax it. Try some clay, then mild polish, before the waxing process. Try a google search on automotive polish and get some other view points or there is always the Detailing and Interior forum here on mercedesshop.com.

I'll be doing a polish before the next wax.

If your car is black(looks black in pics) then it should be DB040 which was a single-stage paint meaning that it has no clearcoat, unless it was repainted. This means that you can actually cut some of the paint away before you wax. I just did mine and used Turtle Wax polishing compound and put a coat of Mequire's cleaner wax on top. I can see areas where I could have used some rubbing compound(heavier cut). Next time I will use rubbing compund, then polishing compound, then wax. My car sat outside for a long time before I got it, so it needed a pretty heavy cut. It looked like flat black and now it shines.

Those are not swirls that is wax residue. Use a quick detailer spray to remove it. You are using too much wax. What happens is, especially on oxidized areas, the paint is grabby so when you attempt to remove the wax it doesn't quite come off and is difficult to remove and leaves a residue. On smooth well prepped paint Gold Class is easy on easy off, you need to get your paint to that point first.

If you are doing this by hand then try a wax with a cleaner. If you like Meguiars then try Meguiars #6 or Meguiars Cleaner wax or Meguiars Color X wax. These will help eliminate the oxidation and the grabby feel of the paint. Also try a clay bar before this step as suggested above, you need to get that paint smooth!

Then throw Gold Class on at the end.

Good luck.

It's blue, and a... maaco repaint.

I believe some light compounding will benefit your paint because it is oxidized and porous. Afterwards, you will want to use a cleaner/polish followed by a very light coat of high quality wax.