Why are you still waxing your car?

PHOENIX · 02-07-2006, 12:23 AM

Are you still using a carnauba to wax your car? Why? If you ask any detailer about why they use one wax or another they will tell you all about how wet it makes the paint look or how deep the reflections are. The fact is that waxes achieve that by using greasy oils. Anything covered in oil is going to look like wet paint. Its the nature of the product. And deep reflections are more a product of proper polishing and prep work and not as much a result of which brand of wax you are using.

Lets look at what wax really offers you. Wax offers you between 4 to 6 weeks of protection from UV rays that cause paint fading.Â If you live in a hot climate then you can expect 4 weeks or less. Wax is wax and heat will cause it to melt and evaporate. What kind of protection is that?

That wet look appearance is due to oils in the wax. Those oils also attract dust. We all know how nice it is to have a perfect looking car and then 5 minutes later have it covered in dust. Those oils dont stay around forever, so your car is only a wet paint looking dust magnet for as long as the oils dont evaporate. Give it a couple days and your car will look shiny, but not as wet anymore.

Prices for wax are also out of this world. One of the best waxes I have ever used is only $15 bucks at any Harley Davidson shop. It is called S100 and it is amazing. It competes with waxes that cost 5 times as much. You may not believe me, but some waxes out there break the bank at over $1000 a jar. Want proof? Check this puppy out... http://www.autoanything.com/products..._vintage_glaze What a deal, On sale for a mere $1800 bucks. A few years ago I had an Autopia member send me a chunk of this wax. He has a Ferrari dealership in his back yard, so Im sure it wasnt a hardship to purchase this wax. He wasnt impressed with it and he sent it to me to compare it to other waxes that I used at the time. Compared to my $15 S100 I wouldnt pay more than $30 bucks for Zymol Vintage. It was really under impressive and not worth anywhere near $1500 bucks. I keep it around for some customers who want to say that they have this wax on the car for shows, but other than that I wouldnt suggest it. I dont even use it on my own cars, so that tells you something. Pinnacle Souveran also claims to have a high amount of Brazilian White Carnauba in it, but you dont see them slapping on a house payment sized price tag on their wax. Souveran is, by the way, a great wax but also not worth $70 bucks when compared to S100 and other lower priced products.

Im not a wax hater by any means. I have loads of wax myself. I have at least a dozen different waxes on my shelf that get used on customer cars. When someone comes to me for a detail and request certain products by name to be used, I want to be prepared. However, for my own cars I have found a much much better product than wax. Im talking about sealants.

Sealants are not new technology. They become more popular in the last 20 years, but they have been around much longer than that. It has only been in the last half dozen years that polymer technology has really started to wow the detailing community. There are some names that auto enthusiasts are familiar with like Klasse, Zaino, Meguiars and others, but recently some remarkable advances in polymer sealants have brought us products like Blackfire, Ultimate Paint Protection, and Wolfgang. Recently this technology was put back on the shelf in the form of Meguiars NXT and Eagle One Nanowax. Sealants offer outstanding durability at over 6 weeks for most products. 10 to 12 weeks is average for most sealants while some will last for much longer. These products bond to the paint like super glue and dont evaporate with a little heat. They arent greasy oily products that attract dust either. Some of them actually have anti-static properties to them that repel dust instead of attracting it.

It is worth it to explore sealant technology and see how it compares to your favorite waxes. Most sealants are priced competitively and arent that much more expensive than a good carnauba. For example, a 16 ounce bottle of Wolfgang Paint Sealant costs under $20 at Premium Auto Care. At that price it is very close to the S100 price tag. Not to mention that you wont be out in your garage waxing every weekend just to keep it looking good. Wolfgang is a very durable sealant that looks as good or better than any wax Ive ever used. For anyone that says their carnauba is the only product to produce deep or wet looking finishes, take a look at these pictures and reevaluate your stand on car care products. Sealants have a lot to offer and I truly believe they are the way of the future. Why use a greasy carnauba that is fragile and creates so much work when you can use a sealant that looks this good and protects for much longer without the dust attraction?

for more information, please visit www.ocdetails.com

This article is coutesy of jngbrdman (anthony) owner of ocdetails

Luni · 02-07-2006, 12:53 AM

Hey Dave, you ever heard of Dri-Wash? How do you feel about it? In my experience it works awesome and the effect I get on my paint is similiar if not the same to what youd get on your glass after using rainx. Just curious to your thoughts on that product.

Awesome read by the way.

Mister2.2 · 02-07-2006, 01:15 AM

I like NXT.

OCDetails.com · 02-07-2006, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luni

Hey Dave, you ever heard of Dri-Wash? How do you feel about it? In my experience it works awesome and the effect I get on my paint is similiar if not the same to what youd get on your glass after using rainx. Just curious to your thoughts on that product.

Awesome read by the way.

I can tell you that Dri-Wash won't have the protection that a sealant or a wax will have. It is a tempoary product that is only designed for people who really don't know any better. It's harsh to say, but it is true. Let's just say that you won't find professionals using this product. There isn't anything wrong with the product, but it really isn't giving you any durable protection which is what your car needs.

N8s93turbo · 02-07-2006, 06:11 PM

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/S100-...spagenameZWD1V

that the stuff?

turbomr2 · 02-07-2006, 06:33 PM

great write up man.

OCDetails.com · 02-08-2006, 12:15 AM

Specifically this is the S100 wax I'm talking about. The rest of that kit is nice, but it is the wax that you want. You can get it at most Harley Davidson shops. Don't ask me why they distribute there, but they do.

Mister2.2 · 02-08-2006, 02:50 AM

Oh as far as that $1,800 wax.. I think it is that expensive because you get free refills for life.

PHOENIX · 02-08-2006, 04:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luni

Hey Dave, you ever heard of Dri-Wash? How do you feel about it? In my experience it works awesome and the effect I get on my paint is similiar if not the same to what youd get on your glass after using rainx. Just curious to your thoughts on that product.

Awesome read by the way.

ya i dont know....im just the information transfer guy to help people out here.

OCDetails.com · 02-08-2006, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister2.2

Oh as far as that $1,800 wax.. I think it is that expensive because you get free refills for life.

That is true, but you only let one refill per year. You would have to use a jar per year for 100 years to equal the value of using a jar of S100 per year. I don't know that I want to marry myself for a wax for the next 100 years. And trust me... I've got Zymol Vintage in my garage (the $1500 wax) and it isn't that great. When compared side by side with S100 and other waxes, it really doesn't seem to be anything spectacular. In fact, in most cases I felt it was an inferior wax compared to others. Zymol is just well marketed crap. People pay big bucks for it because Zymol has spent millions of dollars on advertising trying to convince people it is the best. It really isn't anything great. Come out to one of my detailing events (next one is in May) and I'll show you what I mean.

Mister2.2 · 02-08-2006, 11:52 AM

Ah one refill per year, I was wondering. That does suck.

frogg5872 · 02-08-2006, 02:43 PM

I myself get all my products from wayne at waynestowels.com

cheap and durable and last 2 years so far for me on the same towles and bottles.

ZMR2 · 02-08-2006, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OCDetails.com

I've got Zymol Vintage in my garage (the $1500 wax) and it isn't that great. .

Dang....Do u have that kind of $ to spend?

OCDetails.com · 02-08-2006, 03:17 PM

Nope. It was given to me by a friend in Florida who collects Ferraris and wasn't impressed with it either. Since he has the jar he can always get it refilled, so he dumped it in a zip loc bag and sent it to me. I'd never pay that much for a wax. I believe in having a lot of variety and not getting shackled to one particular product.

92TURBO · 04-06-2007, 04:03 PM

I just purchased a bottle of the s100 wax. I am very impress with the product and the result is great.

PETC · 04-06-2007, 05:22 PM

I use Nanowax and aside from being difficult to remove sometimes it works GREAT. I never knew that it qualified as a sealent though. It makes me feel better about not getting to wax/seal my car as often during the school year as I can in the summer. I have a red car and keeping it looking nice is something I really like to do, but worry sometimes in between washes that it's being destroyed by that nasty ball of fusion hanging over our heads.

REDLINERANDYX · 04-06-2007, 05:25 PM

HAS ANYONE TRIED SEALANT FROM AUTOMAGIC WITH THE TEFLON?

PETC · 04-06-2007, 05:40 PM

Turn off the caps please.

And no, I haven't tried it.

CruisinCO · 07-21-2007, 02:12 PM

Yea I use Eagle One Nano, and it is amazing. My 88 is midnight blue, so it shows every little scratch and dreaded swirl marks. This wax/sealant helped my paint significantly. I strongly recommend this nano technology, its good stuff.

Fazed Out · 08-07-2007, 06:25 PM

I just bought some eagle one nanowax based on this write-up, and I must say I like it. Its already proving superior to regualr wax in that I'm not getting a lot of dusty buildup.

It seems to mask the fact that I haven't been detailing the car as much as I should (much like normal wax does). It keeps that beautiful color and sheen like I have just waxed it... no fading so far. And the sun here is brutal this week (107 today).

It doesn't seem to have that "force-field" feeling when you hover your hand over a freshly-waxed car though. Not that I care about that... but its the only real difference I can tell from normal wax.

I'm totally using nanowax from now on. I also bought some nano stuff for the interior, but I haven't tried it yet.

02-07-2006, 12:23 AM	#1 (permalink)
PHOENIX Beams Owners Group Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: On Hiatus....... Posts: 7,897 Thanks: 84 Thanked 257 Times in 197 Posts Blog Entries: 1 My Google Map iTrader Rating: (46/100% )	Why are you still waxing your car? Are you still using a carnauba to wax your car? Why? If you ask any detailer about why they use one wax or another they will tell you all about how wet it makes the paint look or how deep the reflections are. The fact is that waxes achieve that by using greasy oils. Anything covered in oil is going to look like wet paint. Its the nature of the product. And deep reflections are more a product of proper polishing and prep work and not as much a result of which brand of wax you are using. Lets look at what wax really offers you. Wax offers you between 4 to 6 weeks of protection from UV rays that cause paint fading.Â If you live in a hot climate then you can expect 4 weeks or less. Wax is wax and heat will cause it to melt and evaporate. What kind of protection is that? That wet look appearance is due to oils in the wax. Those oils also attract dust. We all know how nice it is to have a perfect looking car and then 5 minutes later have it covered in dust. Those oils dont stay around forever, so your car is only a wet paint looking dust magnet for as long as the oils dont evaporate. Give it a couple days and your car will look shiny, but not as wet anymore. Prices for wax are also out of this world. One of the best waxes I have ever used is only $15 bucks at any Harley Davidson shop. It is called S100 and it is amazing. It competes with waxes that cost 5 times as much. You may not believe me, but some waxes out there break the bank at over $1000 a jar. Want proof? Check this puppy out... http://www.autoanything.com/products..._vintage_glaze What a deal, On sale for a mere $1800 bucks. A few years ago I had an Autopia member send me a chunk of this wax. He has a Ferrari dealership in his back yard, so Im sure it wasnt a hardship to purchase this wax. He wasnt impressed with it and he sent it to me to compare it to other waxes that I used at the time. Compared to my $15 S100 I wouldnt pay more than $30 bucks for Zymol Vintage. It was really under impressive and not worth anywhere near $1500 bucks. I keep it around for some customers who want to say that they have this wax on the car for shows, but other than that I wouldnt suggest it. I dont even use it on my own cars, so that tells you something. Pinnacle Souveran also claims to have a high amount of Brazilian White Carnauba in it, but you dont see them slapping on a house payment sized price tag on their wax. Souveran is, by the way, a great wax but also not worth $70 bucks when compared to S100 and other lower priced products. Im not a wax hater by any means. I have loads of wax myself. I have at least a dozen different waxes on my shelf that get used on customer cars. When someone comes to me for a detail and request certain products by name to be used, I want to be prepared. However, for my own cars I have found a much much better product than wax. Im talking about sealants. Sealants are not new technology. They become more popular in the last 20 years, but they have been around much longer than that. It has only been in the last half dozen years that polymer technology has really started to wow the detailing community. There are some names that auto enthusiasts are familiar with like Klasse, Zaino, Meguiars and others, but recently some remarkable advances in polymer sealants have brought us products like Blackfire, Ultimate Paint Protection, and Wolfgang. Recently this technology was put back on the shelf in the form of Meguiars NXT and Eagle One Nanowax. Sealants offer outstanding durability at over 6 weeks for most products. 10 to 12 weeks is average for most sealants while some will last for much longer. These products bond to the paint like super glue and dont evaporate with a little heat. They arent greasy oily products that attract dust either. Some of them actually have anti-static properties to them that repel dust instead of attracting it. It is worth it to explore sealant technology and see how it compares to your favorite waxes. Most sealants are priced competitively and arent that much more expensive than a good carnauba. For example, a 16 ounce bottle of Wolfgang Paint Sealant costs under $20 at Premium Auto Care. At that price it is very close to the S100 price tag. Not to mention that you wont be out in your garage waxing every weekend just to keep it looking good. Wolfgang is a very durable sealant that looks as good or better than any wax Ive ever used. For anyone that says their carnauba is the only product to produce deep or wet looking finishes, take a look at these pictures and reevaluate your stand on car care products. Sealants have a lot to offer and I truly believe they are the way of the future. Why use a greasy carnauba that is fragile and creates so much work when you can use a sealant that looks this good and protects for much longer without the dust attraction? for more information, please visit www.ocdetails.com This article is coutesy of jngbrdman (anthony) owner of ocdetails Last edited by PHOENIX; 02-07-2006 at 01:30 AM.

02-07-2006, 01:15 AM	#3 (permalink)
Mister2.2 Cheese it! Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 6,273 Thanks: 108 Thanked 109 Times in 94 Posts Blog Entries: 1 My Google Map iTrader Rating: (3/100% )	I like NXT. __________________ --Josh MR2Trader.com Free Accounts to Buy and Sell your MR2 Parts! Ask me about Web Hosting Solutions, starting at $5.95 a month. 'I am at two with nature.' 'Students achieving Oneness will move on to Twoness.'

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02-07-2006, 12:53 AM	#2 (permalink)
Luni ST185 Powered SW20 Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Salt Lake City Utah Posts: 2,959 Thanks: 9 Thanked 106 Times in 92 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (8/100% )	Hey Dave, you ever heard of Dri-Wash? How do you feel about it? In my experience it works awesome and the effect I get on my paint is similiar if not the same to what youd get on your glass after using rainx. Just curious to your thoughts on that product. Awesome read by the way.

02-07-2006, 06:11 PM	#5 (permalink)
N8s93turbo TEAM A.S.S. RACING Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Mississippi/Pennsylvania Posts: 2,473 Thanks: 5 Thanked 26 Times in 17 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (14/100% )	http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/S100-...spagenameZWD1V that the stuff?

02-07-2006, 06:33 PM	#6 (permalink)
turbomr2 Cage Fighter Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Chattavegas, TN Posts: 401 Thanks: 1 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post My Google Map iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	great write up man.

02-08-2006, 12:15 AM	#7 (permalink)
OCDetails.com Lord of the Blings Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: ...right behind you! Posts: 16 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Specifically this is the S100 wax I'm talking about. The rest of that kit is nice, but it is the wax that you want. You can get it at most Harley Davidson shops. Don't ask me why they distribute there, but they do.

02-08-2006, 02:50 AM	#8 (permalink)
Mister2.2 Cheese it! Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 6,273 Thanks: 108 Thanked 109 Times in 94 Posts Blog Entries: 1 My Google Map iTrader Rating: (3/100% )	Oh as far as that $1,800 wax.. I think it is that expensive because you get free refills for life.

02-08-2006, 11:52 AM	#11 (permalink)
Mister2.2 Cheese it! Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 6,273 Thanks: 108 Thanked 109 Times in 94 Posts Blog Entries: 1 My Google Map iTrader Rating: (3/100% )	Ah one refill per year, I was wondering. That does suck.

02-08-2006, 02:43 PM	#12 (permalink)
frogg5872 Banned Seller Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 88 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (-2/0% )	I myself get all my products from wayne at waynestowels.com cheap and durable and last 2 years so far for me on the same towles and bottles.

02-08-2006, 03:17 PM	#14 (permalink)
OCDetails.com Lord of the Blings Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: ...right behind you! Posts: 16 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Nope. It was given to me by a friend in Florida who collects Ferraris and wasn't impressed with it either. Since he has the jar he can always get it refilled, so he dumped it in a zip loc bag and sent it to me. I'd never pay that much for a wax. I believe in having a lot of variety and not getting shackled to one particular product.

04-06-2007, 04:03 PM	#15 (permalink)
92TURBO Cage Fighter Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Windsor,CT Posts: 120 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	I just purchased a bottle of the s100 wax. I am very impress with the product and the result is great.

04-06-2007, 05:22 PM	#16 (permalink)
PETC √(176400) Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Bellingham, WA Posts: 2,410 Thanks: 27 Thanked 52 Times in 45 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (4/100% )	I use Nanowax and aside from being difficult to remove sometimes it works GREAT. I never knew that it qualified as a sealent though. It makes me feel better about not getting to wax/seal my car as often during the school year as I can in the summer. I have a red car and keeping it looking nice is something I really like to do, but worry sometimes in between washes that it's being destroyed by that nasty ball of fusion hanging over our heads.

04-06-2007, 05:25 PM	#17 (permalink)
REDLINERANDYX No Skills Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: NOR-CAL Posts: 24 Thanks: 2 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	HAS ANYONE TRIED SEALANT FROM AUTOMAGIC WITH THE TEFLON?

04-06-2007, 05:40 PM	#18 (permalink)
PETC √(176400) Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Bellingham, WA Posts: 2,410 Thanks: 27 Thanked 52 Times in 45 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (4/100% )	Turn off the caps please. And no, I haven't tried it.

07-21-2007, 02:12 PM	#19 (permalink)
CruisinCO Fabricator Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 15 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Yea I use Eagle One Nano, and it is amazing. My 88 is midnight blue, so it shows every little scratch and dreaded swirl marks. This wax/sealant helped my paint significantly. I strongly recommend this nano technology, its good stuff.

08-07-2007, 06:25 PM	#20 (permalink)
Fazed Out Die 4 Dëthkløk Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Tulsa, Ok Posts: 390 Thanks: 6 Thanked 7 Times in 7 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	I just bought some eagle one nanowax based on this write-up, and I must say I like it. Its already proving superior to regualr wax in that I'm not getting a lot of dusty buildup. It seems to mask the fact that I haven't been detailing the car as much as I should (much like normal wax does). It keeps that beautiful color and sheen like I have just waxed it... no fading so far. And the sun here is brutal this week (107 today). It doesn't seem to have that "force-field" feeling when you hover your hand over a freshly-waxed car though. Not that I care about that... but its the only real difference I can tell from normal wax. I'm totally using nanowax from now on. I also bought some nano stuff for the interior, but I haven't tried it yet.