Mike Phillips
05-20-2016, 09:01 AM
Confused? Do I apply a coat of wax after a sealant?
Received the below in an e-mail, I prefer to answer questions on the forum as typing for one set of eyeballs just isn't' a good leverage of typing time which is so limited.
Sir, I'm a professional detailer based in India and I follow your every instruction (technique) while doing a detailing job and I have great regards for you as you are like a guru to me.
Sir after following so many articles and bulletins I'm a little bit confused whether to apply a wax or not after the application of paint sealant?
I'm using Klasse High Gloss Paint Sealant and Meguiars NXT Gen Tech Wax 2.0
please guide me
Rgds/ Murali
Hi Murali,
Great question and a COMMON question as there is a lot of confusion over the correct steps and procedures when sealing paint.
Here's the deal. You really only need to use ONE product to seal the paint. You state you're using Klasse SG and Meguiar's Tech Wax. These are both protection products, that is they seal the paint surface and protect it. You really only need to use one and whichever product you choose do a GREAT job off applying a uniform application and the remove according to the manufacturers directions.
Topping
There are some people that like to do what's called topping. Topping is when you LAYER one protection product over the other with the IDEA being you're creating a thicker layer of protection because in our brains we imagine that the second product is coating over the first product.
In reality, this "might" work with some product but with most products the second product applied is going to liquify the first product and you'll end up with something on the surface, probably a little bit of both products after the final wipe off.
The "consensus" for the right way to top a product goes like this,
First apply a synthetic paint sealant and then apply a carnauba wax over it. The theory being that the synthetic paint sealant will bond or crosslink to the paint with a strong enough bond that as long as the carnauba wax you apply over it is NOT a Carnauba CLEANER/WAX but a carnauba finishing wax, that is no cleaning ability, then the carnauba wax will not remove the synthetic paint sealant and thus will be sitting on top of it or layered over it for MORE protection.
The theory being that if you apply a carnauba wax first and then apply a synthetic sealant over it the synthetic sealant will simply remove the carnauba wax in the process.
Since there's no way of really knowing what's going on at the surface level then in my opinion a good and normal practice is to simply pick ONE product and do a GREAT job of applying it. Then INSTEAD of trying to create a thicker layer of protection that will last a long time SIMPLY re-wax the car on a regular schedule.
It's called maintenance.
Then to make it fun and easy, do what I've been teaching for decades,
"Find something you like and use it often"
Also just to add....
The Klasse Sealant Glaze is a non-cleaning acrylic resin. You MUST apply a THIN coat or it will break your arm to try to wipe it off. It should have a clean surface to be applied to so I don't think it would be a good idea to try to apply it over the Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax.
The Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax has a light cleaning ability, it's not a true non-cleaning finishing sealant. So if you apply it over the Klasse SG the NXT will probably remove it or at least remove some of it.
In other words, I think you're going to be spinning your wheels to try to apply one over the other no matter which order you go with. So just pick one and go with it.
Hope that helps...
:)
Received the below in an e-mail, I prefer to answer questions on the forum as typing for one set of eyeballs just isn't' a good leverage of typing time which is so limited.
Sir, I'm a professional detailer based in India and I follow your every instruction (technique) while doing a detailing job and I have great regards for you as you are like a guru to me.
Sir after following so many articles and bulletins I'm a little bit confused whether to apply a wax or not after the application of paint sealant?
I'm using Klasse High Gloss Paint Sealant and Meguiars NXT Gen Tech Wax 2.0
please guide me
Rgds/ Murali
Hi Murali,
Great question and a COMMON question as there is a lot of confusion over the correct steps and procedures when sealing paint.
Here's the deal. You really only need to use ONE product to seal the paint. You state you're using Klasse SG and Meguiar's Tech Wax. These are both protection products, that is they seal the paint surface and protect it. You really only need to use one and whichever product you choose do a GREAT job off applying a uniform application and the remove according to the manufacturers directions.
Topping
There are some people that like to do what's called topping. Topping is when you LAYER one protection product over the other with the IDEA being you're creating a thicker layer of protection because in our brains we imagine that the second product is coating over the first product.
In reality, this "might" work with some product but with most products the second product applied is going to liquify the first product and you'll end up with something on the surface, probably a little bit of both products after the final wipe off.
The "consensus" for the right way to top a product goes like this,
First apply a synthetic paint sealant and then apply a carnauba wax over it. The theory being that the synthetic paint sealant will bond or crosslink to the paint with a strong enough bond that as long as the carnauba wax you apply over it is NOT a Carnauba CLEANER/WAX but a carnauba finishing wax, that is no cleaning ability, then the carnauba wax will not remove the synthetic paint sealant and thus will be sitting on top of it or layered over it for MORE protection.
The theory being that if you apply a carnauba wax first and then apply a synthetic sealant over it the synthetic sealant will simply remove the carnauba wax in the process.
Since there's no way of really knowing what's going on at the surface level then in my opinion a good and normal practice is to simply pick ONE product and do a GREAT job of applying it. Then INSTEAD of trying to create a thicker layer of protection that will last a long time SIMPLY re-wax the car on a regular schedule.
It's called maintenance.
Then to make it fun and easy, do what I've been teaching for decades,
"Find something you like and use it often"
Also just to add....
The Klasse Sealant Glaze is a non-cleaning acrylic resin. You MUST apply a THIN coat or it will break your arm to try to wipe it off. It should have a clean surface to be applied to so I don't think it would be a good idea to try to apply it over the Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax.
The Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax has a light cleaning ability, it's not a true non-cleaning finishing sealant. So if you apply it over the Klasse SG the NXT will probably remove it or at least remove some of it.
In other words, I think you're going to be spinning your wheels to try to apply one over the other no matter which order you go with. So just pick one and go with it.
Hope that helps...
:)