The Benefits of using a Car Wax or Paint Sealant
The Benefits of using a Car Wax or Paint Sealant
Applying a coat of car wax or a synthetic paint sealant to your car's finish offers 2 major benefits plus some secondary benefits too...
1. Protects the paint, which protects your investment
2. Makes the paint look good, which makes the car look good
People can agree or disagree with whether or not these two primary benefits I've listed are in fact the top primary benefits provided by applying a coat of car wax or a paint sealant to your car's finish, but I think it's pretty safe to say that the majority of car owners will wax their car for one of these two reasons and usually both.
Besides those to major benefits, here are some spin-off benefits from the above...
Protecting the paint preserves the paint
Applying a coat of wax or a paint sealant as a part of a regular maintenance program preserves the integrity of the paint, it keeps the paint in good condition. Regularly applying a coat of wax or paint sealant cost a lot less than having the car re-painted.
No such thing as a no-wax finish
For decades Car Sales People have told potential customers that new cars come with clear coats and thus don't need to be waxed. This is just down right ignorant and dishonest. New cars do come with clear coat finishes but the clear coat is still a type of paint that must be cared for or it will deteriorate past the point of no return. Once your car's paint goes past the point of no return the only option will be a new and costly paint job.
Preserves the re-sale value
Regular waxing preserves the paint which in turn preserves the re-sale or trade-in value of the vehicle. When people make car buying decisions, the appearance quality of the car is a huge factor that influences their decision. A clean, shiny car creates the perception that the car is in overall excellent condition. A car that looks neglected on the outside will be perceived to be neglected in all areas.
Maintaining a coating of wax or paint sealant makes washing faster and easier
A uniform coating or layer of car wax or a paint sealant will help prevent most air-borne dirt and other contaminants from bonding to the paint thus they will wash off easier, this will make washing your car faster.
Maintaining a coating of wax or paint sealant makes drying faster and easier
A uniform coating of wax or a paint sealant will make drying your car faster as the wax or sealant will increases surface tension causing water to want to pile-up, or bead on the surface.
When you place a drying towel against a wet, but freshly waxed surface the water will try to escape away from the paint by going into the the drying towel. Thus a waxed surface dries faster than a unprotected surface.
If you use a tool to blow water off a car, (Metro Vac Vac-n-Blow, Leaf Blower, Compressed Air, Driving fast), the surface tension will help water to blow off or slide off faster on a waxed car than an un-waxed car.
Fun Factor
Driving a clean, shiny car is usually more fun than driving a that's so dirty that some has written "Wash Me" into the dirt covering the car.
Fun Factor
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No fun factor...
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Projects a professional and positive image
Owning and driving a clean, shiny care projects a positive even professional image to others, while this might not be important to everyone it can be important if use your car in your business as you're customers will see both you and your car and right or wrong, they will make judgments about you based upon the appearance of your car.
PM = Preventative Maintenance
PM is a term used in a lot of manufacturing industries as it relates to technicians performing regular preventative maintenance to machinery before it breaks down with the goal being that if preventative maintenance is done on a regular schedule it will prevent machines from breaking down at all. This maximizes profits since there's less downtime overall.
Changing your oil every 3000 miles is an example of preventative Maintenance.
You change your oil every 3000 miles to remove oils that is still functioning, but to insure no excessive wear and tear happens to the internal engine components, you remove the old oil and add fresh oil.
Think of waxing your car in the same way... Instead of waiting till all the signs show that there is no longer any wax on your car's paint, practice preventative maintenance, that is re-wax before all the previously applied wax has been removed via washing an normal wear-n-tear.
"Frequent car care is easy car care" -Barry Meguiar
Barry's been saying the above as long as I've known him and he's right... putting your car on a regular maintenance program not only protects your investment and maintains a show room new shine, it also makes your car care routine easier and faster. I know human nature and when a project is perceived to be easy and fast it's more likely to be performed often.
Just the opposite is true about a car that's been neglected for years. A neglected exterior is going to take a lot more work and time to restore to show room new condition. With a little regular maintenance you can avoid having to do and extreme makeover.
Relaxing and Rewarding
Not only are their benefits to regularly waxing your car for the car's sake, it can also be very relaxing and rewarding for your sake too... This is especially true if your car is also your hobby like it is for many detailing enthusiasts. Working all week at your regular job tends to bring with it a certain amount of stress and pressure... spending a Saturday afternoon washing waxing your car is a great way to decompress and unwind.
Be prepared...
Try to have a clean environment to work in, have plenty of microfiber towels, applicator pads and of course plenty of wax on hand. Have a radio for some music and some cold refreshments to wet your whistle...
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Related Articles
The 2 primary benefits of using detailing clay to clay paint
The benefits of a light paint cleaner, cleansing lotion or pre-wax cleaner
How To Choose The Right Wax or Paint Sealant for your Detailing Project
The Final Wipe – Tips for creating a streak-free, show car finish
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Re: The Benefits of using a Car Wax or Paint Sealant
:dblthumb2: Well written, Mike!
Re: The Benefits of using a Car Wax or Paint Sealant
Well said Mike, Thank you!
Re: The Benefits of using a Car Wax or Paint Sealant
Re: The Benefits of using a Car Wax or Paint Sealant
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek
The Benefits of using a Car Wax or Paint Sealant
No such thing as a no-wax finish
For decades Car Sales People have told potential customers that new cars come with clear coats and thus don't need to be waxed. This is just down right
ignorant and
dishonest. New cars do come with clear coat finishes but the clear coat is still a
type of paint that must be cared for or it will deteriorate past the point of no return. Once your car's paint goes past the point of no return the only option will be a new and costly paint job.
Your comments about no waxing are interesting because there was an article in consumers reports that said waxing is really not necessary for two stage paint. Are they dumb or liars?
Re: The Benefits of using a Car Wax or Paint Sealant
Quote:
Originally Posted by
slimnib
Your comments about no waxing are interesting because there was an article in consumers reports that said waxing is really not necessary for two stage paint. Are they dumb or liars?
It's really easy to figure out...
If you don't do anything to your car's finish except wash and dry it.... will it get better and better looking over time? Or worse and worse?
Go out into ANY parking lot and look at the finish on cars just 1 and 2 years old, heck look at the finish on some cars 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 years old...
Do they look like the day they were parked on the Dealerships show room floor?
Clear paint is PAINT without color, it's still paint and if your car is a "Daily Driver" and you want it to look good over the service life of the vehicle, then you need to do "something" to maintain its appearance.
Doing nothing won't preserve the paint.
:)
Re: The Benefits of using a Car Wax or Paint Sealant
Mike,
Is there any benefit to using a real good wax, I used P21S, on original single stage lacquer paint on a 1962 Corvette instead of a sealant? Guess what I'm asking is if the wax will penetrate at all to moisten etc. the paint.
I have always used Meg 7 on the car. Just waxed the other day because the wax gives the old time shine like before we had sealants, but I hate the fact that the wax is a dust magnet.
If there is no paint feeding with wax, I may go back to sealant, unless you can suggest a QD or something to help with the dust attraction.
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...ette/Car12.jpg
Re: The Benefits of using a Car Wax or Paint Sealant
Quote:
Originally Posted by
LazerRed1
Mike,
Is there any benefit to using a real good wax, I used P21S, on original single stage lacquer paint on a 1962 Corvette instead of a sealant? Guess what I'm asking is if the wax will penetrate at all to moisten etc. the paint.
The best technique would be to apply the #7, work it in well and then seal with a coat of a quality wax and not rely only on the wax to bring out the full richness of color and/or to preserve single stage paint.
Some waxes have polishing oils to help wet the paint, I know Pinnacle Souveran contains fine polishing oils, I'm not sure about the P21S. P21S creates a lot of gloss, I've done side by side testing with it compared to Meguiar's M16 and for the most part they work the same with the same high gloss appearance results. Richness of color or the darkening-effect requires some type of penetrating oils for single stage paints.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
LazerRed1
I have always used Meg 7 on the car. Just waxed the other day because the wax gives the old time shine like before we had sealants, but I hate the fact that the wax is a dust magnet.
ALL waxes and paint sealants will attract dust, in part because of the static created by rubbing a cloth over the paint during wipe-off. But... the static and resulting dust attraction is better in my book than no protection and no static. The static can be removed and/or reduced by wiping the finish down with water or a product that contains water like a spray detailer. Corvettes are worse because the Fiberglas under the paint has a high static charge in and of itself. I have pictures of extreme static dust attraction on a 1959 Corvette I buffed out a number of years ago... this one,
http://www.showcargarage.com/gallery...own_366526.jpg
Actually ran into the same problem on all the Vettes I've deailed... goes with the territory...
http://www.showcargarage.com/gallery.../onmyside2.jpg
http://www.showcargarage.com/gallery...StillShot4.jpg
Some say you can reduce the static build up by grounding the body/frame using something like some jumper cables, I've tried this but couldn't say for sure if it helps...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
LazerRed1
If there is no paint feeding with wax, I may go back to sealant, unless you can suggest a QD or something to help with the dust attraction.
Paint Sealant in the generic use of the term is just synthetic paint protection ingredients, "Car Wax", in the generic use of the term is natural protection ingredients even though the majority of waxes and paint sealants on the market are hybrids.
See this article,
How To Choose The Right Wax or Paint Sealant for your Detailing Project
Point being is that the synthetic paint protection ingredients are not what brings out the full richness of color, clarity and gloss, it's polishing oils. The carrying agents that embody the protection ingredients will penetrate and darken single stage paints but these will usually flash off with time.
See this article for a blurb or two on polishing oils...
The Secret to Removing Oxidation and Restoring a Show Car Finish to Antique Single Stage Paints
Excerpt
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Phillips
This is key...
Saturation Application --> The First Application
This is a mostly unknown technique and that is to let the first application penetrate and soak into the paint for up to 24 hours before wiping the product off. The idea being to really apply the product wet and work it in really well and the walk away.
The idea is to allow the heavy concentration of oils to penetrate and seep into the paint for maximum saturation before removing the product and continuing with the process. In this case I finished applying the first application of #7 around 9:00 pm and then left the #7 to soak in until the next day. I started wiping the product off then next morning right about 10:00am.
Some will argue if this works or not buy my experience is that with a porous single stage paint it does in fact help. One thing for sure it can't hurt.
Paper Test for Capillary Action
If you place a few drops of #7 onto a piece of paper and then monitor it over a few days you will see the oils in the #7 migrate or seep away from the actual drop of product. It does this through capillary action and the same thing can work to your car's paints' advantage if it's a single stage lacquer or enamel paint.
I placed a few drops about the size of a nickel on a piece of standard printer paper around 3:00pm.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...ryAction01.jpg
The next day I took these pictures at approximately 10:00am, (19 hours later), note how the oils in the drops of #7 have migrated outward via
capillary action.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...ryAction02.jpg
Feeder Oils penetrate or feed the paint
This same effect can take place in a single stage paint but not only will the oils travel horizontally, they will also travel vertically, that they will penetrate downward "into" your car's paint and this is where the term
feeder oils comes from as the oils penetrate into or feed the paint. The result is they will condition the paint restoring some level of workability as compared to just working on old dry paint, and they will also bring out the full richness of color, something that will showcase the beauty of your car's paint.
Try #7 followed by Pinnacle Souveran Paste Wax...
:)
Re: The Benefits of using a Car Wax or Paint Sealant
Thanks. I have read that article, just haven't yet tried letting the #7 set overnight.
Re: The Benefits of using a Car Wax or Paint Sealant
Quote:
Originally Posted by
LazerRed1
Thanks. I have read that article, just haven't yet tried letting the #7 set overnight.
For paint in good to excellent shape you don't need to let it soak overnight... just work it in well and remove...
Just to note... sometimes I wrote for all the people that will read this thread into the future...
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I have article on MOL that date back to 2004 and have been read thousands, even tens of thousands of times... so sometimes I include links that pertain to the discussion for sake of the discussion, not so much the OP... if you know know what I mean...
Very nice 2-Door Plastic Fantastic by the way... makes me think of the Heavy Metal Intro song by Riggs...
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_KXgFpguE0]YouTube - 1981 Heavy Metal movie introduction RADAR RIDER by RIGGS[/video]
:dblthumb2:
