Wax or Paint Sealant

Which product do you use for final protection:

a. Wax - paste, liquid or creme?

b. Sealant

Why do you use one vs the other?

Regards
Bud Abraham

Sealant just lasts longer and cost more.

I tested both wax and sealant and it's hard to tell which is which. But I think wax is supposed to give a deepr shine, but like I said, I couldn't tell.

Sealant is advertised to last 3 to 4 times longer than wax, but I can't tell that either.

One thing I can tell for sure is that sealant cost more.

-tom

Wax is designed to impart shine, depth and smoothness. It also acts as a sacrifical barrier to trap pollutants and keep gravity from embedding them into the paint surface. As you wash a car, some of the wax and trapped pollutants are removed from the surface. Thus, you should periodically re-wax a vehicle.

Paint sealant imparts shine and has some hydrophobic properties, not nearly as much as wax does in terms of beading water, but it serves as a much longer-lasting protection on paint, perhaps as much as 6 months to one year.

Throughout most of my career, I would say the demand ratio for hand wax/sealant has been about 10 to 1 with price being the principal deciding factor.

By the way, Bud, congrads on your new drum polisher invention. Seems a bit pricy but I hope it works out well for you!

Please, correct me if I'm wrong. I thought the major factor determining the longevity of wax is the "heat" element. In other words, during hot summer, the hot temperature will melt the wax off. So, whereas during colder periods, wax may last 3 month on a car, that same car would have to wax more like once a month during hot summer.

The major benefit of sealant, I am told, is that it can withsand the hot temperature far better than wax. Therefore, temperature isn't a big factor for a sealant. It also chemically bonds with the clear coat better. So, sealant can last 6 month to an year without hot temperature affecting much.

Is this a total BS statement?

-tom

I dare ask, but what's a drum polisher?

BTW, I've always thought of waxes as having more organic ingredients (like carnuba) and sealants as having more synthetic ingredients like polymers.
I prefer liquid waxes for depth of shine and ease of app but Bud has a sealant that one of the best I've ever seen.

Might as well offer my two-cents.

Shine comes from polishing, not waxing. Wax provides a protective barrier that eventually wears off or is removed by chemical decomposition.

Carnauba is one of many waxes used in car wax. Carnauba is organic and comes from the carnauba palm frowns in Brazil.

Synthetic sealants rely on polymer chemistry generated in the lab, not nature.

Tests repeatedly show that synthetic sealants are more durable due to their heat and chemical resiliency. Carnauba is the most durable natural wax but fades in comparison to some sealants. Carnauba is also known for its lubricity and is generally regarded as the most slippery.

Many seasoned detailers feel that a combination of both synthetic sealants followed by carnauba offers the best overall short-term protection; usually 4-6 months depending on exposure to heat and chemical fallout... as well as being washed with harsh detergents that accelerate decomposition.

It is the incident of solar radiation that has a great effect on wax and sealant.

On a cloudless day in June in Pa with temperature of 85 degrees, you may be able to sun yourself for a half hour or more without getting burned.

On a cloudless day in June in Florida with temperature of 85 degrees, you will be burned in about 8 minutes.

Why, because the closer you get to the equator the higher the incident of solar radiation is.

I live in Florida. If I use a carnuaba wax and leave my car outside exposed to the sun, the top surfaces will stop beading water in about three weeks while the side surfaces continue to do so for many weeks thereafter.

If you are unconvinced, try a simple experiment.

If you happen to have an old car lying around, trying wax on/wax off on the hood and windshield with carnauba. Leave the car outside exposed to the sun. After several weeks, the windshield will make better water beads than the hood.

Why, because the a lot of the solar radiation (energy) will pass through the glass whereas the painted surface will absorb more of it.

Very good Steve and Robert...good information...

To add to Steve, wax does improve shine as much as it fills in the imperfections...but obviously not as well as a polish. What customers don't understand is that "bead" is created by reduced surface tension and not necessarily because of wax reducing adhesion. Polishing puts a great bead on paint without any sealant or wax.

To add to Roberts geography lesson...I believe Fla and Arizona are the two states used predominantly to test oem paint durability...thus they have the harshest sun. With Arizona, it would be altitude and Florida latitude. I know you could fry eggs on black cars in the summer time, here in Florida.

Not that the North doesn't have their situations that shorten the life of a wax service. I have also been told salt water is used to test durability of any protectant.

Bud's question, to me, is not as important as the question of whether or not to clay polish. With over 40 years of detailing, I have to say the clay bar ant it's performance on clearcoats is one of our best services. Many years ago, before sealants, and before clay, we offered different "glazing"
services to improve shine and durability, without having to high speed buff. But none of those products would do to enamel, what the clay bar does for clearcoat. I can tell a vehicle has been clayed and waxed from 100' away. What's so neat is that you can prove the surface has been polished using a cellophane, cigarette wrapper.

What brand sealant do you prefer Panama.Jim? And is it ok to use a sealant over a carnuba wax?

Okay, you got me confused. Smoothing out surface by filling imperfections would result in higher surface tension aiding in water NOT to spread to give look of water "beading". With impefections, you get lower surface tension which allows the water to spread and hence water just running off the paint versus "beading" in many droplets like you would get with higher surface tension.

Surface tension has everything to do with water "beading" versus "running off", but I'm not sure if the "smoothing" out is the main factor in deciding surface tension on "waxed" versus "non-waxed" clearcoat. I've always thought that wax or polish had more to do as acting as "cohesive" force versus "adhesive" force in their absence. Because all liquids, including water, has "wettability" which can be affected by "cohesive" or "adhesive" force. In the case of water on clear coat, it will naturally have "adhesive" force which allows the water spread out. When wax or polish is applied, "cohesive" force allows them to ball up.

Bottom line, isn't the "beading" effect more so from the "chemical" effect of "cohesive" force versus the mechanical effect of "high surface tension"?

Hmmm.... I thought I had this to the perfection science. But now I'm shaken and confused. Please, help!

-tom

Tom...

When we refer to "surface tension" in the carwash industry, it typically relates to an adhesion quality (stickiness) to a surface. For example, surface tension is what needs to be disturbed (broken) to cause a release of a dirt film... which is why touch-free washing isn't as effective as friction washing.

As for shine, it is improved by burnishing a surface. Hence, the abrasive action of polishing actually makes the surface smoother. Smooth surface reflectivity is the shine quality, and it is usually referenced by a DOI or "distinction of image" rating. Surface-care product manufacturers seeking the highest level of shine relate the smoothing action of polish and its finite use of very mild abrasives that burnish by rubbing.

Many waxes also have mild abrasives in their formulation, suggesting that a wax can improve shine. In fact, most waxes are formulated to protect... and actually diminish shine, which is why most obsessive car collectors who show at Concours events use very fine polish, and never wax.

Hope this helps to clarify... and not confuse the technical aspects with the more popular "marketing" attributes.

-Steve

Thanks for the clarification, Steve. That helps. Now one more question.

I'm assuming when you say "Polish", you are referring to the high speed buffing with compound, correct?

See, that confuses me sometimes, too. Because, when I thing of high speed buffing, I call it high speed buffing. Because, we have "glazing polish" which we refer to as polish. Specifically the Blue Coral's "Product X". We apply that with high speed on mild foam pad.

So, have I got that confused too?

-tom

Frankly, Tom... I was referring to the type of product; "polish". And the process of polishing can be done by hand or by using a buffer.

You seem to use the term "polish" interchangeably with "compound", a more abrasive liquid cleaner. And the process of buffing can also be by hand or machine. But I can see where you're going with this. Rotary buffers are variable-speed tools in today's detailing arsenal. Fixed-speed rotary buffers are seldom used anymore. Instead, the speed is variable and controlled by a thumb-screw.

The two liquid or creme cleaning chemicals used with rotary buffers are compound and polish. A glaze is a very mild polish and is typically used for finishing. Buffers can use three types of rotary pads: wool, foam, and cotton.

So the confusion might stem from using misleading terminology. Similarly, buffers that are powered by air are called pneumatic. Buffers that are powered by electric are ... "electric". There are various types of buffers: "Rotary" refers to a pad that spins in a circular motion. Orbital or dual-action (D-A)refers to a pad that oscillates as well as orbits... or side-by-side as well as in a random oblong orbit.

I hope this clarifying information doesn't wind up confusing you even more. It pays to know the language of detailing and the specific terminology of the tools, chemical products and technology.

-Steve

Alas, there has been a lot of confusion over detailing vocabulary. These kind of discussions are good to hash out the best way for us to describe products and services. The term glaze always threw me. I guess it's a wax that has more petroleum products in it. I know every cleaner/wax has some mineral spirits or kerosene in it but I figured a glaze had something else special(?)

I like to describe services as hand, clay, or orbital polishing, rotary buffing, and waxes or sealants. Because it takes a scratch to remove a scratch...rotary machines buff...orbitals don't buff. Orbitals polish.

It is a shame a lot of mfr's call products swirl removers, when actually most just fill em.

I'm not sure why a smooth surface (like glass) allows water to bead higher..thus less tension... but I know water doesn't bead very well on concrete.

In the 80's, when I was young and OEM American paints were stuck in the metallic enamel phase. I high speed buffed many, many vehicles and buffed them hard, trying to save metallic paint that had little pigment left. I would be head to toe in black compound residue. Then the Americans started copying the Germans and Japanese with clearcoats and I retired my high speed. I even had a 7,000 rpm heavy grinder. I would put a wool pad on. If I hit the antenna with that thing it would break and fly into the metal building like a bullet. I used to say: "I was born to buff". ...those were the days!!!!!

You know you are a redneck...when you love to talk about buffing a car!!!!

Well, I guess I'm sort of a redneck, too... because I've been buffing for a helluva long time... and lovin' it. Just like you, Jimmy... I started with a grinder and a wool pad.

As for the beading thing, wax and polymers are hydrophobic, which is why they bead. And that slippery condition inhibits surface tension (adhesion) which is why beading water runs off the surface of a car.

All the best...

-Steve

Steve are you saying that "wax" does not enhance shine? It is only by polishing that a detailer achieves "shine?"

Technically, shine and its reflectivity, depth and distinction of image is at its peak when the paint surface is as smooth and level as possible. That's why even newly painted cars that have orange peal can be sanded and polished with abrasives that level and smooth the paint finish, resulting in a much higher "shine".

Once that optimum shine is achieved, more often than not, wax (without cleaners)will actually reduce the DOI and reflectivity. No seasoned car show exhibitor would ever wax a showcar with carnauba wax. However, a number of synthetics that have chemical cleaners formulated into their polymer-based products to inhibit reduction in shine.

Waxes and synthetic sealants offer a protective layer that feels smooth to the touch and some have varying degrees of lubricity to inhibit chips and scratches. But the shine comes from the smoothing of the surface through abrasives that remove the microscopic peaks and valleys.

And natural waxes such as carnauba, monton and the like offer a protective coating that actually diminishes "shine". Paint sealants are less likely to cloud because of their formulations that remain clear but fail to actually enhance reflectivity or shine. Essentially, they don't have a negative impact or a positive one on actual shine.

Keep in mind that fine polish uses a combination of chemical cleaners and micro abrasives. A special class of abrasives actually breaks down into a micro-mild pasty rouge that works similarly to that of products that smooth fine gems. Gritty to the touch initially, and soft as butter in its final stage.

The basics of the refined process of shining anything... refers to the actual smoothing of a surface to a flat plane.

Hope this helps.

-Steve