Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 7
Any wax, paint sealant or coating that works fills to some degree
I wrote this article on MOL a few years ago and the topic came up over the weekend of waxes and fillers and the point I try to make below is that if a wax or paint sealant is really working, that is if it's leaving something behind on the surface to protect the paint then by definition it's filling.
Words mean things...
This being true, and so far no one has ever proved it's not true, then if a wax or paint sealant is really working then it's filling to some degree because it's leaving itself behind on the surface and thus coating over the surface and filling in low areas.
Conversely, any wax or paint sealant that's not leaving itself behind is not filling and thus it's not working and if this is the case it's time to quit using that product and move on to a product that's actually working.
"Any wax, paint sealant or coating that works fills to some degree"
That doesn't mean your product of choice fills enough to completely mask things like swirls and scratches but it can help. And of course different types and brands will do more to fill than others.
It also doesn't mean the purpose of a wax is to fill as the purpose of a quality wax or paint sealant is to protect first and add beauty second, at least for most of us. There are some that simply what beauty as they own a garage queen or a show car. Filling is just one physical characteristic of how waxes, paint sealants and coatings protect. That is creating a sacrificial barrier coating over the surface. this coating then sacrifices itself when attacked so your paint doesn't have to sacrifice itself.
Finishing with a rotary buffer
That's why if your last machine step is to use a rotary buffer with a wax or paint sealant, the results may appear to be hologram free.
And, the results truly could be hologram free.
You wouldn't know if the paint was truly hologram free unless you thoroughly chemically stripped the paint and this can be hard to do since so many of the newest waxes, paint sealants and coatings are much harder to remove.
A good thing...
If a wax, paint sealant or even a coating fills to some degree this isn't a bad thing in fact it's a good thing if your goal is to create the nicest looking finish possible. Sure polishing paint to perfection is the goal for many of us and if we accomplish that goal then filling isn't needed. But if the product you use for your LSP does in fact leave itself behind on the surface it's helping to create an even more perfectly smooth surface and in my opinion that's going to help maximize gloss, clarity, depth and shine and that's a good thing...
Working backwards
Besides the above, taking the time to chemically strip the paint on a car that you just spent hours polishing to perfection and then waxing is what I call working backwards.
If you want to test a process, do it to one small area and then strip and inspect, don't do it to an entire car, that would be counterproductive and working backwards.
Big Picture
If you maintain your car afterwards, that is regularly wash contamination off and regularly re-apply your LSP then if there were holograms in the finish you would likely never see them.
Bigger Picture
If you're happy with the results and/or your customer is happy with the results then that's really all that matters.
:xyxthumbs:
I wrote this article on MOL a few years ago and the topic came up over the weekend of waxes and fillers and the point I try to make below is that if a wax or paint sealant is really working, that is if it's leaving something behind on the surface to protect the paint then by definition it's filling.
Words mean things...
Works
When I say "works" the context for the meaning is that it's truly leaving behind a coating of protection over the surface to which its applied.
Fills to some degree
Using the term fills to some degree is pretty open-ended, just because you can's see any visible masking of defects doesn't mean a product is not coating over the surface. If it's coating over it's filling to some degree. That could easily mean that the difference is not discernible to the human eye.
You see, any wax or paint sealant that works, that is any wax or paint sealant that leaves itself behind to protect the paint, (and isn't that the purpose of wax or a paint sealant, to leave itself behind?), is going to fill, (at least to some level), because it's coating over and bonding or adhering to the paint.When I say "works" the context for the meaning is that it's truly leaving behind a coating of protection over the surface to which its applied.
Fills to some degree
Using the term fills to some degree is pretty open-ended, just because you can's see any visible masking of defects doesn't mean a product is not coating over the surface. If it's coating over it's filling to some degree. That could easily mean that the difference is not discernible to the human eye.
This being true, and so far no one has ever proved it's not true, then if a wax or paint sealant is really working then it's filling to some degree because it's leaving itself behind on the surface and thus coating over the surface and filling in low areas.
Conversely, any wax or paint sealant that's not leaving itself behind is not filling and thus it's not working and if this is the case it's time to quit using that product and move on to a product that's actually working.
"Any wax, paint sealant or coating that works fills to some degree"
That doesn't mean your product of choice fills enough to completely mask things like swirls and scratches but it can help. And of course different types and brands will do more to fill than others.
It also doesn't mean the purpose of a wax is to fill as the purpose of a quality wax or paint sealant is to protect first and add beauty second, at least for most of us. There are some that simply what beauty as they own a garage queen or a show car. Filling is just one physical characteristic of how waxes, paint sealants and coatings protect. That is creating a sacrificial barrier coating over the surface. this coating then sacrifices itself when attacked so your paint doesn't have to sacrifice itself.
Finishing with a rotary buffer
That's why if your last machine step is to use a rotary buffer with a wax or paint sealant, the results may appear to be hologram free.
And, the results truly could be hologram free.
You wouldn't know if the paint was truly hologram free unless you thoroughly chemically stripped the paint and this can be hard to do since so many of the newest waxes, paint sealants and coatings are much harder to remove.
A good thing...
If a wax, paint sealant or even a coating fills to some degree this isn't a bad thing in fact it's a good thing if your goal is to create the nicest looking finish possible. Sure polishing paint to perfection is the goal for many of us and if we accomplish that goal then filling isn't needed. But if the product you use for your LSP does in fact leave itself behind on the surface it's helping to create an even more perfectly smooth surface and in my opinion that's going to help maximize gloss, clarity, depth and shine and that's a good thing...
Working backwards
Besides the above, taking the time to chemically strip the paint on a car that you just spent hours polishing to perfection and then waxing is what I call working backwards.
If you want to test a process, do it to one small area and then strip and inspect, don't do it to an entire car, that would be counterproductive and working backwards.
Big Picture
If you maintain your car afterwards, that is regularly wash contamination off and regularly re-apply your LSP then if there were holograms in the finish you would likely never see them.
Bigger Picture
If you're happy with the results and/or your customer is happy with the results then that's really all that matters.
:xyxthumbs:
