I have a question about waxing.

[sserdlihc]

I had a guy in the autobody repair business tell me I should never wax the paint on my vehicle? He said the when it rains, the water beads up and acts like a magnifying glass when the sun comes out. Is there any truth to this? If this is true, then even new cars with clear coats would be just as vulnerable...for that matter any car. He made the comment that I need to find a product that "sheets" the water off. I know of nothing like that on the market. Of course, he couldn't recommend anything either.

[yakky]

Just tell him to take a look at a car that has been waxed regularly vs one that has been neglected.

[Chris's FX4]

I wouldn't listen to him.

It's too easy to spot paint that hasn't been cared for. You can easily tell what cars have been waxed through out their life and which ones have not.

[pickles]

Waxes usually repell things like water AND UV rays so I wouldn't worry,and I don't worry.

[sserdlihc]

No worries here. I will continue to seal my vehicles. But the science sounded intrigueing.

[Setec Astronomy]

I wouldn't listen to him.

It's too easy to spot paint that hasn't been cared for. You can easily tell what cars have been waxed through out their life and which ones have not.

Yeah, but it's more complicated than that. How often the car is washed, what kind of sun and other environmental exposure, etc.

Some of us have commented about water-spotting, and how there was a sheeting wax in the 80's that I couldn't remember and someone finally did and now I forgot again. Mike Phillips I think on MOL noted that the chemists can make wax that sheets or beads...but no one wants a wax that makes the car look like you haven't waxed it when it rains (me included...how do you tell when it's time to reapply, when a car that's just waxed looks like one that's never been waxed?).

[Chris's FX4]

Yeah, but it's more complicated than that. How often the car is washed, what kind of sun and other environmental exposure, etc.




True and I agree 100%.

[BMW]

I would think that the very limited time that a car would have both beaded water on the paint and full sun would have little impact. Considering that when it is raining it is rarely sunny :-) and the heat of direct sun after a downpour or washing...quickly evaporates the drops their by reducing any affect.

[opie_7afe]

you're joking right? maybe he said that hoping you're paint would fail and you would come to him to repaint it. think of it this way alot of plants have a wax coating on the leafs when it rains and sun comes out it does no harm to them, leafs are alot more delicate then a cars finish.i do not understand the logic of that dude, seriously by the time the magnification gets that great the water would have evaporated..are people lacking in common sense that much these days!?*not you OP the "painter"*. but in other words waxing is beneficial to your paint, it helps keep the paint moist,helps block uv rays which is the leading cause of paint failure.look at all the cars with clearcoat failure, i bet most of those with it have never been waxed like they should! notice how most cars with clear coat failure its on the panels that sun hits the most ;). waxing only helps your paint! that painter should not be working on cars if he thinks that way...

[garyg7133]

Perhaps he's looking for a future customer?

[BobbyG]

I had a guy in the autobody repair business tell me I should never wax the paint on my vehicle? He said the when it rains, the water beads up and acts like a magnifying glass when the sun comes out. Is there any truth to this? If this is true, then even new cars with clear coats would be just as vulnerable...for that matter any car. He made the comment that I need to find a product that "sheets" the water off. I know of nothing like that on the market. Of course, he couldn't recommend anything either.

I'll bet he's related to my neighbor..This guy tells me that I'm washing off a little bit of the paint every time I wash my truck! The gene pool is obviously getting way low!!....:eek:

[brawl]

With a decent LSP, it is easy to clean waterspots off. Nasty watermarks are different though. I think nasty water is more damaging when the paint has no wax.

[silverfox]

There is truth that when you see a car with water spots all over it...its most likely a properly sealed or waxed car. Cars with no protection will not likely spot...its the other side of the coin so to speak. Having said that, its far better to have protection on your paint than not.

I think there is much to be said about the new coatings in this regard. I have Opti Coat and the water beads are so incredibly small, that its very hard to actually suffer from water spotting, which is a result from those large water beads drying out in the sun, then leaving a dirty water spot. I think the mistake guys make with these coatings (and I'm guilty myself from experience)...is that they have this irresistible urge to top the coating with a wax or another sealant, or even a detail spray product that has some kind of protection built in...which is a mistake in my opinion. When you top a coating with another product, the environment reacts with the topping, not the coating...and almost all toppings I've ever used, whether wax or sealant or fancy detail sprays...always result in huge water beads...which unfortunately usually lead to huge water spots if allowed to sun dry. My solution now with Opti Coat is just wash my car with a product that has no other quailty than to give me a clean surface...I don't want "extra" enhancers or waxes in my car wash because I want nothing to interfere with the Opti Coat. I also select detail sprays that do not put down extra protection, but are primarily for enhancing the gloss.

Ying/Yang...

[sserdlihc]

I'll bet he's related to my neighbor..This guy tells me that I'm washing off a little bit of the paint every time I wash my truck! The gene pool is obviously getting way low!!....:eek:


You reckon?! My chemistry teacher in H.S. told the class that you eat a little bit of teflon everytime you cook something in a teflon coated skillet.:hungry:

[shoeless89]

I'll bet he's related to my neighbor..This guy tells me that I'm washing off a little bit of the paint every time I wash my truck! The gene pool is obviously getting way low!!....:eek:

AHAHAHAHA! So in one of my friends classes the teacher was trying to open a document on the computer and it wouldn't open so she JUST KEPT CLICKING IT HARDER! My friend was like "Yeah, click it harder so it knows you really want to open it" LOL The wrong people in this world are reproducing!