Does a coat of wax really add much after polishing?

[Mike Phillips]

Does a coat of wax really add much after polishing?


This topic comes up from time to time in the discussion forum world and it's a popular and even hot topic.

I've known a few respected detailers that state that applying a wax doesn't add much to the overall finished visual results after a proper machine polishing where the paint has been perfected.

Short term I agree. By short term I mean a day or two or until the first rainy day, first car wash or repeated use of a spray detailer.

Long term, I completely disagree. A "quality" wax or paint sealant, and even a paint coating if you want to do the proper prep work after machine polishing will seal the surface with a sacrificial barrier coating that is water insoluble and as the saying goes, this will lock in the shine. And it will.

A quality wax or other LSP and by the word quality I mean a true finishing wax or show car wax, something without harsh solvents, cleaners or abrasives, will not only seal the surface and log in the shine but it can also take the polishing results to a little higher level. I can do this via a number of different ways. This topic came up recently on our forum and below is what I wrote as a reply and sometimes I either don't think I can improve what I already word smithed or I don't have time to re-write it so I'm going to just copy and paste my replay with my reasons below.



I've seen a few detailers in my life that have tried to argue that wax, or "sealant" or a "coating, you know, the LSP or Last Step Product isn't important or isn't a factor because the polishing step is where the actual magic takes place.

I disagree. A lot.


All pro-grade polishes I know of are dedicated products, that means they are dedicated for a single dedicated purpose, that is to in some fashion abrade the paint as part of a process to perfect it.

Most if not all of these products are also body shop safe. This means they contain no ingredients that would cause water to bead up like a wax because this would contaminate a body shop, (fresh paint environment), and this type of contamination can lead to surface adhesion problems. Surface adhesion problems result in what the average guy calls Fish Eyes.

What the above two things mean is that these pro-grade compounds and polishes don't have any ingredients in them that lasts. You see, wax lasts because it's NOT water soluble. Most compounds and polishes are water soluble, they are not meant to last, that is seal the paint with a sacrificial barrier coating of protection that will hold up to repeated washing, wiping and rain. No they are meant to perfect the paint and then be wiped off.

A wax, or a synthetic paint sealant or a paint coating, these are product that are designed to l-a-s-t.

Isn't that what everyone wants? A wax that lasts a long time?


So the results a high quality polish will create can and will look damn good. But these "appearance results" will diminish as the polishing oils wash off, get wiped off or get rained off or even vaporize off the paint.

By sealing the paint with a product designed to last, that is a product that is not water soluble, i.e. a wax, synthetic sealant or paint coating, you lock-in these appearance results.

Not only that... a quality wax, synthetic paint sealant or coating will create a UNIFORM appearance. Polishing doesn't do this, it comes close but under good lighting after wiping all the polish off you can see variable in the finished results. At least I can.

A quality wax, synthetic sealant or paint coating fixes this by creating a uniform appearance and that improves the results created by the polish.


That's 2 things a wax will do, make the results from polishing last over time and create a uniform appearance.


Here's one more thing a quality wax, synthetic sealant or paint coating will do and that's amp up the gloss, clarity, depth and shine. This is a no-brainer because any chemist that's worth his salt creates formulas that provide these types of aesthetic characteristics b-e-c-a-u-s-e that's what the market wants from a wax. By the word market I mean use human beings.


A wax, synthetic paint sealant or paint coating can also create a more slippery surface and a slick or slippery surface can at a minimum help to ward off micro-scratching, (in my humble non-engineer opinion), and the other bonus to this relates back to human beings like their paint to feel slippery.

I also think a quality wax, sealant or coating makes washing faster, easier and safer and this goes for drying too.



There's also some element of protection from UV rays plus just the fact that you have a sacrificial barrier coating on top of the paint means that anything that will attack the paint will first have to make this barrier coating sacrifice itself, that is give itself up before the offending attacker can get to the actual paint.

A quality wax, synthetic sealant or paint coating can also provide some level of masking or hiding by filling in microscopic imperfections to create a more perfect visual appearance and this is why applying a wax, sealant or coating can take the results from polishing to an even higher level.


I think that's 8 benefits I've listed that applying a quality wax, sealant or coating provides if you count how wax makes washing safer and drying safer as two benefits.


The above is all off the top of my head.... I may have missed a few key points and if I think of them later I'll add them to this thread.

[Mike Phillips]

Here's yet one more reason an application of a quality wax or sealant will help take the polishing results to a higher level.

If the product you apply does in fact work and by the word work I mean leave behind a layer of "something". This layer coats over and by the act of coating over it fills in microscopic surface imperfections and what this does is create a more perfectly smooth surface.

Gloss comes from a smooth surface.

I think we can all agree that a great looking finish is a glossy looking finish so by applying a coat of wax or sealant after the last machine polishing step will tend to increase gloss over what the polishing oils can do by themselves and because the wax or sealant won't wash off like the polishing oils the appearance results will last longer than the results from polishing alone.


I think that's 9 benefits now...

[Mike Phillips]

The paint on this car looked great after compounding and machine polishing. Sealing the paint with a quality coat of wax not only sealed the deal but to this finish to its maximum potential.


Nothing looks as nice as a fresh coat of wax....





And the results you see will last over time and make maintenance faster and easier.

[af90]

Great post Mike!

Thanks for the awesome read.

[Kamakaz1961]

Wow!! Finally!! Thank you for this POST!! I agree with you 100% Many times I say you can tell the difference with your LSP. I like a sealant topped off with a wax. You can tell the difference. Prepping the car is 95%. The other 5% is to bring out the depth, the gloss, the protection and the wet look.

Thank you for this thread!! Good to have an opinion come from a guru!!!

Again thanks!!

Peace!!!

[swanicyouth]

If anyone wants to see how wax can change the appearance of paint captured on video - I suggest you sign up for Gary Dean's Real Detail TV.

He has a video where here shows you how to make a paste wax. But, towards the end he applied the paste wax he makes on the front 1/4 hood of a black car.

It's one of the few times on video where I've seen the difference wax make captured. The car is black and the lighting is right so it's able to be captured on video.

None of this was the point of the video - but it is something I noticed.

[custmsprty]

It only took one coat of Blackfire Black Ice to reinforce what Mike says for me!
I put a fresh coat last weekend and wow factor big time. I just love this product on my Black Genesis, it's truly an amazing LSP. Worth every penny. I've put 3 coats on it since April and haven't even dented the pot. Used my new 3" Rupes with a black 4 inch LC pad on speed #2 super thin coat.

[mbkite]

Swanicyouth you missed your calling in life
You should be an FBI investigator
Looks like you have a photograph memory
And can reference things fast..

[af90]

It only took one coat of Blackfire Black Ice to reinforce what Mike says for me!
I put a fresh coat last weekend and wow factor big time. I just love this product on my Black Genesis, it's truly an amazing LSP. Worth every penny. I've put 3 coats on it since April and haven't even dented the pot. Used my new 3" Rupes with a black 4 inch LC pad on speed #2 super thin coat.

Machine polishing is absolutely the way to go when applying waxes.

[expdetailing]

This is small and beside the point, but while waxing before, I was able to find scracthes that I could address later that I did not see while polishing. Waxing helps you to get more familiar with the paint.