Prepping porcelain tile for Silicon that was waxed by the manufacturer

[Guyfromthenorth]

Hey everyone,

So my custom tile shower is (finally...) complete to the point where I can order the glass panels. The porcelain large format I installed on the curbs and walls looks to me to have been waxed to protect it during shipping (it's a home depot tile from India, the box didn't specify what wax if any). I say I -looks- to me like it was waxed because grout and thinset doesn't stick to the surface polish at all, water perfectly beads up on them like mercury (whereas my floor polished porcelain of a different brand does not), but more importantly I noticed some "scratches" when viewed at an angle, and those "scratches" were easily buffed off by hand with a microfiber cloth back to a perfect polish. So it looks to me like a fine wax coating was applied.

The tempered glass I'll have installed does rely on the Silicon, in addition to fasteners of course, to support it and also water proof it. I'm going out on a limb and assuming Silicon won't adhere to the "wax" that's on them. What is the process for removing it? It's not like it's thick enough to scrape off. I know when it comes to vehicle waxes alchohol will strip wax coatings. Can I just wipe down the areas to be siliconed with isopropyl alchohol and a clean rag(s)?

 

[Guyfromthenorth]

I ended up wiping with isopropyl and then drying it with a clean microfiber and letting it air out for 20min give or take. Ran into no issues and the Silicon I applied looks to have gone well. Hopefully the same trick will work fine for the glass.