When you purchased your most recent car, chances are the first impression you had came from the paint finish. It's what you stared at for nearly an hour, and it's what you admire still today. The manufacturer created a window sticker with an impressive list of features, but all of those features took a back seat to that initial look. We buy with our eyes. This explains why the majority of the cost involved in building a new car factory goes into the paint finish system. Car makers know your first impression of the paint finish is key to making the sale. The color, vividness and quality of the paint finish matters most. Automotive paint history dates back a full century. Although man has been coating metal, wood and stone for several thousand years, motor vehicle specific coatings were not invented until a few years after Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company. These early automotive coatings were varnish products carried over from the horse and buggy industry. Today's paint systems, mostly waterborne, multi-stage, clearcoat systems, are better than ever. The new paint systems offer extraordinary colors, vivid depth and clarity, extremely high gloss, and new levels of durability. Still, even with the improvements, new car finishes must be waxed and properly maintained. DO NEW CAR FINISHES REALLY NEED CAR WAX? The improvements in clearcoat paint technology have started a distressing trend at new car dealerships. Many new car dealers are telling their clients that the paint on their new car is maintenance-free and does not require car wax. This could not be further from the truth. While the improved paint technology has created a longer lasting finish, the finish does oxidize and it is not impervious to environmental conditions. It still requires regular care, including car wax. New car dealers who don't preach maintenance-free paintwork seem to go the route of a life-time or 5-year paint sealant upgrade. While not as harmful as suggesting new paint is maintenance-free, a true life-time sealant product is not available. The technology simply does not exist. Think about it. How can a car wax product with a coating thickness less than one millionth of an inch protect your car for a lifetime, let alone for more than a few months? It simply can't. What you're really buying with a paint sealant upgrade is a maintenance contract. Please read the fine print before you buy the package. SPECIAL PAINT HYPE There are a few high-end car manufacturers, namely Mercedes-Benz, experimenting with ceramic paint systems. Ceramic paint systems are still too new to provide any concrete feedback. DuPont and PPG manufacture more than 80% of all automotive paint used worldwide. A third player, BASF, manufactures paint for many of the European car manufactures and a few car models in the United States. It is well known that both PPG and DuPont have responded to complaints that their clearcoats were easily scratched. As a result, the new clearcoat systems from PPG and DuPont are slightly harder than the BASF system, but the difference is not significant. Paints from different manufacturers do not favor one wax coating over another. The notion that a wax is produced specifically for a make and model of car, such as an Acura NSX or a BMW Z3, is ridiculous. Car owners should beware of any company or person marketing such products. There is no factual basis for a special wax blend based on the car brand or model. CLEAR COAT PROTECTION Clearcoat finishes are not particular about the car wax you use, as long as you're not using an overly abrasive cleaner-wax. Many cleaner waxes available were designed for conventional finishes that require more "scrubbing" action to remove heavy oxidation and stains. Only in rare circumstances will a heavy abrasive be required to properly treat a clearcoat finish. If you're going to use a cleaner-wax on your clearcoat, be sure it's a clearcoat safe product, like Klasse All-In-One, which uses "soft cleaners" that lightly clean and polish. In most climate conditions, I recommend waxing a minimum of twice a year. Waxing any less frequently than this and your paint will suffer premature deterioration from oxidation. If you use a pure car wax (a car wax with no cleaners) product, you cannot over-wax your car. If you use a clearcoat safe cleaner-wax, wax no more than four times a year. If you insist on a natural paste wax product, a pure car wax like P21S is an excellent choice, but you will need to apply the product every 60 days to maintain adequate protection. If you want the very best protection possible with minimal effort, look no further than Ultima Paint Guard Plus. This crystal-clear paint sealant wipes on and dries clear, but more importantly, it is truly durable in all climate and environmental conditions. CAR WAX TECHNOLOGY It was European coach builders that first applied coatings of animal fats and wax to protect the custom paint on their horse-drawn carriages. This tradition has endured over 100 years and is still a great way to protect the paint on modern-day coaches. Today, the multilayered finish on your car, from the primer through the top clearcoat, is only .004 to .006 of an inch thick. Regardless of how fine the finish is now, it will deteriorate and dull. Radiant and ultraviolet energy, acid rain, salt, atmospheric pollution, insect fluids and bird droppings wage a constant war on your car's finish. Waxing provides an easily renewable, transparent barrier between the finish and a hostile environment. Waxing also makes your car, new or old, look better. Many quality car waxes combine enriching oils that "wet" the surface with protective formulas of Brazilian carnauba or modern polymers for a high-gloss shine. This brings us to the subject of selecting a wax. Waxes can be made from a natural wax, usually Brazilian carnauba, or synthetically made of polymers and acrylic resins. Carnauba Car Wax Carnauba comes from the fronds of the "tree of life" (Copernicia cerifera) native to Brazil. It is nature's hardest, purest and most transparent wax. Carnauba car waxes tend to produce a deeper, darker, richer shine that is often described as "three-dimensional. Many enthusiasts and show car owners prefer the shine of carnauba waxes, especially on black, red and other dark colors. Carnauba car waxes bead water nicely, absorb the acid content in rain, and hide minor swirls in the paint. My personal favorite is, a true show car wax. On the minus side, carnauba waxes are not as durable as synthetic waxes. Depending on your climate, a carnauba wax might last between 30 and 60 days. Additionally, some carnauba waxes can be temperamental, occasionally streaking under certain temperature or humidity conditions. With the limitations of carnauba wax, you might be asking why it continues to have a loyal following. In my own case, I continue to use P21S Carnauba Wax to pamper my car because I like the way it looks. On my toy, durability is secondary. Synthetic Car Wax Creams & Liquids Made from modern polymers or acrylic resins, synthetic waxes offer excellent durability and ease of application. Quality synthetic waxes have been known to last 6 to 9 months or longer, and typically wipe on and off very easily. Synthetic waxes create a very bright shine and rarely cloud or streak on the paint. On the down side, many enthusiasts feel synthetic waxes lack depth and richness. Black cars can look a little sterile or silvery in the direct sunlight. And, the mirror-like polymers can collect minor swirls and actually highlight paint flaws. Clear Nanotechnology Polymer Coatings In 2007 a brand new type of automotive surface protection was created, the "wipe-on, walk-away" clear sealant (by Ultima Finish Care, Optimum Polymer Technologies and Zaino Bros.). These clear sealants are nanotechnology polymer coatings that are highly resistant to detergents, acids and hard minerals, like calcium. Don't let the nanotechnology jargon confuse you. The polymer simply creates a full molecular blanket of protection by using molecules, that are much smaller than water or acid molecules. When applied, the polymer molecules bind together to form what looks like a chain link fence of protection. IS CARNAUBA CAR WAX A DINOSAUR? I grew up washing and waxing the cars with Dad using a can of Turtle Wax brand paste wax. Back then, everyone knew that Carnauba paste wax was what you used on your car to protect it. When I got my first car in 1997, I continued the tradition of cleaning and protecting the paint with paste wax. At the time, synthetic waxes (sealants) were not common on retail shelves or they were seen as Snake Oil products. I'm not really sure what caused the paste wax phenomenon. If you look back at the history of two car care giants, Turtle Wax and Meguiar's, both companies started by making liquid polishes. The original Turtle Wax product, called Plastone, was a synthetic protective paint polish invented by Ben Hirsch, the founder of Turtle Wax Inc. Ben changed the product name to Super Hard Shell and the business name to Turtle Wax in the 1950's to convey the idea of a hard, protective shell. In the 1960's the paint polish products (what we now think of as a liquid cleaner/wax) were pushed to the side by paste wax products containing pure Carnauba wax. Interestingly, many (if not most) of the liquid car polishes also contained Carnauba wax, but it was rarely used in marketing the product. As if by magic, Carnauba wax suddenly became the wonder component of the car wax industry. In reality, Carnauba wax is a minor component in most paste and liquid car waxes due to the cost of the wax in its purified form. Paste wax marketing from the mid-1960's through the 1980's gave car owners the impression that Carnauba paste car wax was the only way to truly protect your car with a durable barrier. Car owners throughout the Western world began this love-hate ritual dance on their weekends by paste waxing their family car and the hotrod. Holding that can and swirling the applicator around became part of the feel-good nuance of Carnauba paste wax. Carnauba paste waxes are not the only products making a comeback. Premium liquid car waxes containing Carnauba and other natural waxes are being blended with the benefit of amino-functional fluids (the active ingredient in most paint sealants), offering the best qualities of both a natural wax and a paint sealant. APPLYING WAXES AND SEALANTS With the advent of the wipe-on, walk-away clear sealants, trying to describe proper application in one easy how-to became impossible. For all wax and sealant products, follow these basic instructions: Work in a shaded area out of direct sunlight. Use the applicator recommended or provided by the manufacture. If the manufacturer does not make a recommendation, use a foam applicator pad to apply your wax. Some products may allow you to coat the entire car before buffing off, but most do not. Follow the wax manufacturer's instructions on whether or not to allow the wax to dry (haze) before buffing. Use a small amount of wax at a time, and rub it in well. If you use too much wax, you're wasting the product and your time. If the wax residue does not buff off easily, switch to a clean wipe towel. Apply your wax in a back-and-forth motion, not in circles. If you are creating swirls, you need to replace your applicator or towels. After waxing, your car's paint should feel slick and smooth, and be free of streaks and smudges. What do you do if, after all this work, you still have streaks and areas that don't want to buff out perfectly? There are several tricks, but the easiest is to park your car in the sun for 10 to 15 minutes. Let it get warm, but not hot, and then take it back inside the garage. Next, use your favorite detail spray a fresh buffing towel to wipe down the affected areas. The warmth of the sun softens the wax, allowing it to buff out to a clear, high gloss. If you're using an enthusiast sealant system, use the quick detailer made for the system. Show Car Wax Tricks Detailers who prepare show cars will often layer a carnauba wax on top of a synthetic wax (paint sealant). The synthetic wax acts as a gloss layer, while the carnauba wax adds depth and a wet-looking appearance. One combination that works well is an initial coating of Klasse All-In-One followed by one or more coats of your favorite pure Carnauba wax. When layering products for show, apply and buff the first coat of wax as you would normally, and allow it to cure for 12 to 24 hours before applying a second coat. Note that the first coat of wax must have time to cure. If the wax does not cure (harden), the second coat will not improve your car's appearance or protection. With properly applied coats of wax, you will see a noticeable improvement in depth, richness of color and gloss. CAR WAX SUMMARY Regular waxing is necessary to protect your car's paint from the elements. In addition to sealing and protecting, waxes and sealants also improve the appearance of freshly washed and polished paint. If you use the right products, you can successfully layer waxes and sealants to make your paint look deeper and almost liquid.
