Which wax/sealant offers the highest level of UV protection?

[EddieVDetailing]

Your car’s clear coat is designed to absorb UV and prevent fading to your base color. Think about that for a minute…a 35-50 micron coating (aka clear coat) still fails to sun exposure over time. To think that a wipe on wipe off tiny fraction of a wax sealant of coating would have any real effect is laughable. I think hydrophobic coatings help keep minerals and other contaminants off your paint through self cleaning which helps prevent UV degradation, but it doesn’t stop it directly by blocking the UV rays.

[John U]

Collinite 845 claims UV protection.

Collinite Liquid Insulator Wax #845, liquid wax, heat-resistant wax, car wax

[chilly]

As far as I know, Optimum Car Wax is the only paint protection that offers the same UV inhibitors found in new clear coat.

Dr. G mentioned that the most difficult part of formulating Car Wax was getting the inhibitors to migrate into the clear.

I think this is why I have consciously (unconsciously??) reached for OCW for 20 years now

I have an almost child like faith in the product

Maybe it's a placebo but it gives me peace of mind

YMMV

[mwoolfso]

Optimum products claim UV protection... I love their Car Wax.

[Rsurfer]

Your car’s clear coat is designed to absorb UV and prevent fading to your base color. Think about that for a minute…a 35-50 micron coating (aka clear coat) still fails to sun exposure over time. To think that a wipe on wipe off tiny fraction of a wax sealant of coating would have any real effect is laughable. I think hydrophobic coatings help keep minerals and other contaminants off your paint through self cleaning which helps prevent UV degradation, but it doesn’t stop it directly by blocking the UV rays.

I don't think its laughable to protect your paint from UV with a wax/sealant/coating. If you left your paint unprotected the clear will probably last 4-5 years before showing sun-burn. If you protected it religiously it could last 20 plus years. This has been my experience in Hawaii where we have the highest UV through out the year in the USA.

[chilly]

I don't think its laughable to protect your paint from UV with a wax/sealant/coating. If you left your paint unprotected the clear will probably last 4-5 years before showing sun-burn. If you protected it religiously it could last 20 plus years. This has been my experience in Hawaii where we have the highest UV through out the year in the USA.

[chilly]

I think 20 years on if OCW didn't offer some UV protection we would hear about it and know about it

Notice I said SOME UV protection

It is not a forcefield from a sci-fi show, it is an additional layer of UV protection

How much additional protection would be very hard to quantify but ANY added UV protection is beneficial and as inexpensive as it is and as easy to use as it is, to me it's a no brainer

I am sure there are other products that fall into this category as well

I am not saying OCW is the only option

[Loach]

Dmitry over at Dmitry's Garage on YouTube ran a test that concluded there was no measurable/negligible UV blocking effect from a significant portion of the waxes and sealants he's tested over the years. His video hones in on Jet Seal as the main example, applied to microscope/cryoscopic slides which I believe are glass substrate. He ran different control sections to verify the meter is accurate enough to detect UV blocking and there was no change in the value of UV measurements after wiping off cured Jet Seal on the slide.

He set up a great test. I've been mulling over the idea of testing this for years now, and I was actually getting ready to pull the trigger on a handheld UVA/B meter to grab results applying various protectants to protective card toploaders, but his meter ended up being a much more practical, scientific, and simplified solution, and I do not have plans to dive further into the topic than him.

You can see his full video here:



To summarize Dmitry's test, this is the total percentage of UV light blocked by each item he tested:

Microscope Slide (Bare): 8.4%
Eyeglasses: 100%
Rayban Sunglasses: 100%
Microscope Slide + Sprayed Automotive Clearcoat Paint: 88.3%
SPF 70 Aerosol Sunscreen (Not Wiped In): 58.4%
Microscope Slide + Chemical Guys Jet Seal (Cured, Not Wiped Off): 16.4%
Microscope Slide + Chemical Guys Jet Seal (Wiped Off): 8.4%

8.4% minus 8.4% = Zero measurable effect of UV blocking for Jet Seal. He noted he has not tested Optimum Car Wax yet, but it's on the way.

[chilly]

Dmitry over at Dmitry's Garage on YouTube ran a test that concluded there was no measurable/negligible UV blocking effect from a significant portion of the waxes and sealants he's tested over the years. His video hones in on Jet Seal as the main example, applied to microscope/cryoscopic slides which I believe are glass substrate. He ran different control sections to verify the meter is accurate enough to detect UV blocking and there was no change in the value of UV measurements after wiping off cured Jet Seal on the slide.

He set up a great test. I've been mulling over the idea of testing this for years now, and I was actually getting ready to pull the trigger on a handheld UVA/B meter to grab results applying various protectants to protective card toploaders, but his meter ended up being a much more practical, scientific, and simplified solution, and I do not have plans to dive further into the topic than him.

You can see his full video here:



To summarize Dmitry's test, this is the total percentage of UV light blocked by each item he tested:

Microscope Slide (Bare): 8.4%
Eyeglasses: 100%
Rayban Sunglasses: 100%
Microscope Slide + Sprayed Automotive Clearcoat Paint: 88.3%
SPF 70 Aerosol Sunscreen (Not Wiped In): 58.4%
Microscope Slide + Chemical Guys Jet Seal (Cured, Not Wiped Off): 16.4%
Microscope Slide + Chemical Guys Jet Seal (Wiped Off): 8.4%

8.4% minus 8.4% = Zero measurable effect of UV blocking for Jet Seal. He noted he has not tested Optimum Car Wax yet, but it's on the way.

I look forward to his findings

I wonder what the UV blocking % threshold is to consider a product as "effective" or worthwhile

You would also have to consider that most of us don't just have a single application of OCW on our vehicles, it is frequently a 2nd, 3rd, or even more layer in our own personal "system" of protection

How do you quantify that?

If each layer has a bit of protection does the cumulative total of each layer increase as a simple x+y+z formula or is the protection exponential

Talk about a can of worms

I know from personal experience that rubber/vinyl treated with 303 lasts longer than without

No, I didn't use a gauge or meter or anything other than my eyes, a notebook, and a calendar but I know what my results were

[AMarkham40]

Optimum Car Wax Patent Information (UV Protection testing toward bottom of page):

US6669763B1 - Water based protectant containing a reaction product of two ionic surfactants
- Google Patents

Additional information from Optimum employee regarding it's UV protection

Optimum Car Wax UVA/UVB Blocking Efficiency/Duration