An accurate indicator of whether there is a protective wax coating on the surface of your car's paint or not is a test Meguiar's has been teaching for probably close to 50 years if not longer. We teach this at all of our detailing classes here at Meguiar's on Saturdays' also, it's called the
Squeak Test.
Note: It's vitally important that you first wash your car before performing the squeak test, the paint needs to be clean and free from any dirt or dust. Wiping with a quick detailer may give you a false reading as most quick detailers add gloss and slickness, thus adulterating the test
Here's how you do it, you get a clean, soft 100% cotton terry cloth towel. In this case, I'm using Meguiar's new
Soft Buff™ Terry Towels polishing towel.
Lay the towel out flat, then fold it in such a way as to
ball it up, in my case, I fold each corner into the middle, and then repeat that a second time.
This gives you a ball of terry cloth toweling that provides a flat surface against your finish, plenty of cushion between your hand and the paint, and something for your hand to grasp onto.
Now, twist the towel firmly against your car's finish in a circular back and forth motion and listen...
If there is silence, and the towel glides and slips on the paint, then there is wax present.
If you hear a squeaking sound, (as in
squeaking clean), then there is no wax present, (or very little) and it's time to apply more wax.
Here's how this works,
Your coating of wax acts as a
dry lubricant,
it creates slip and decrease friction, if there is wax present on the finish, your towel will
slip instead of
grab and you wont' hear any noise, in other words, you won't hear any friction.
If there is
no wax on the surface, then the circular twisting motion will create friction and you will hear a squeaking noise.
Like Meguiar's
Swipe Test, is a more accurate indicator of whether a wax has fully dried and is ready to remove, Meguiar's
Squeak Test is a more accurate indicator of whether or not their is wax on the surface.
By the word
wax, we mean anything that is intended to protect the finish, whether it's labeled
polish, or paint protectant, or sealant, or whatever...
If it's a product designed to be applied to the paint to protect it, it can generically be placed into the wax category, or the 4th step of Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle.
Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle
Step 1 Wash
Step 2 Clean
Step 3 Polish
Step 4 Protect
(The wax step, anything that is intended to protect the finish, whether it's labeled polish, or paint protectant, or sealant, or whatever... )
Step 5 Maintain
Hope this helps...
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