'65 and '66 Hamilton production orders--does handwritten "WAX" mean, well, just that?

[Bill Pressler]

Were cars sometimes waxed prior to shipment from Hamilton, or is that shorthand for something else? Thanks.

[8E45E]

You might want to include an example of one:

https://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/forum/your-studebaker-forum/general-studebaker-specific-discussion/108533-opinions-and-thoughts-on-this-commander-over-on-bat?105958-Opinions-and-thoughts-on-this-Commander-over-on-BaT=

Craig

[StudeRich]

I am pretty sure it IS what it says. There could be reasons for that; an upcoming Car Show, an expected Export with a Boat Trip?
I don't think we know Where this one was originally shipped to, do we?

[Bill Pressler]

The '65 Cruiser on BaT now has that on the production order, and my '66 Cruiser, built twelve months later, has it too. The link for the '65 here shows the production order with the "WAX" handwritten notation among the many photos included:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...baker-cruiser/

I can't speak for the '65, but my '66 was shipped to the dealer in Grand Junction, CO in Nov. '65 where it sat until being sold in April '66.

[JRoberts]

I just got the production order for my '65 Cruiser. There is no "wax" anywhere on it.

[jclary]

When The local BMW plant came to my area, I got myself qualified as a supplier. I had all the initial sealer application stations specially built for them. One particular work station that was purchased and not part of my responsibility, was the "Shipping Wax," system. Only vehicles being shipped by sea got the wax treatment. A company from the west coast got that contract and it was installed without my knowledge. My main area of supply responsibility was in assembly tools for the assembly department and finishing equipment for the body shop.

It was not until the plant was up and running, and the wax system failed to perform, did I get called in to clean it up and make it work.

It was a disastrous design with a downdraft style booth where reciprocating automatic guns were bar mounted in a pit underneath the vehicles spraying upward. Above, as the cars came in, two additional handheld spray guns were manually used by a worker on each side of the car. Apparently, the shipping department bought this pig in a poke without consulting with the finishing department who had experience with atomizing spray equipment. The worst problem with the system was that the chassis guns were directly in the path of overspray and what wax did not adhere to the vehicle landed directly back onto the guns. It made an absolute mess, turned the applicators into a big waxy glob, and didn't take long to render them useless. I tried to get them to scrap the system and let us build another one but internal politics, egos between departments, etc., had me caught in the middle trying to make it work. I got it to work much more efficiently, but it continued to be problematic requiring frequent maintenance.

Thankfully, around 2004, an enterprising shipping company came up with a kind of shrink wrap type plastic skins that replaced the need for wax. Since I left the business, BMW has rebuilt, expanded, and I probably wouldn't be able to find my way around in the plant today. In hindsight, I'm glad I did not know of the Wax Station...if my company's engineers had made a similar contraption, I probably would have been banned.

I said all this to say that using wax for protecting cars being shipped by sea is not a new thing. However, it is messy and labor-intensive to apply and remove. (And that's my Shipping Wax Story)

[8E45E]

One particular work station that was purchased and not part of my responsibility, was the "Shipping Wax," system. Only vehicles being shipped by sea got the wax treatment.

I said all this to say that using wax for protecting cars being shipped by sea is not a new thing. However, it is messy and labor-intensive to apply and remove. (And that's my Shipping Wax Story)

For sure not. I recall back in the 1970's seeing many brand new British Leyland cars and Saabs, to name a couple, that were just being unloaded to the dealers with that shipping wax on them. That wax was a real dust magnet, and before flush glass became the norm, it was VERY difficult to remove it all around the window trim, as it especially showed on a white car. As I recall, the dealers used very warm water to dissolve it, but it still took a lot of time to remove.

Craig

[Warren Webb]

In the mid 80's I worked for a port processor in Long Beach that handled Isuzu's. they came with a kozmoline type coating that was more trouble than it's worth. We had a modified car wash setup that almost removed all that junk, but in the 3 years I was there, getting Isuzu to change it was impossible. Another example of company politics as John saw at BMW.