Does direct sunlight shorten car wax life?

[prr]

I started wondering about this. Searching for "direct sunlight car wax" just gave me a bunch of web pages that talk about applying the wax in direct sunlight. I'm talking about if a lot of sunlight can shorten the life of the layer of wax that is already on your paint.

Reason why I'm asking. Last year or two, I've been experimenting with a few different types of waxes, and writing down my observations. I noted in early spring this year, that I was getting over 2 months of lots of beading on a wax job, and only applied a new job because a couple panels were losing it (the others still looked almost as good as new).

In August, however, I was seeing the wax layer lose its beading within 2 weeks. I'm talking about the same two cars, both pretty much out in the air 24/7.

So I'm wondering does this reflect more direct sunlight in August than in early spring? Or perhaps simply the fact that I might have applied/left a tad more wax on, earlier in the year? Or in fact, would more direct sunlight shorten the life of a wax layer?

 

[Eldorado2k]

In regards to "wax" [meaning carnuba based wax and not sealants] yes, direct sunlight can affect its durability because it will begin to evaporate from the surface at temperatures of 180 degrees and above... And if you consider that on a hot summer day here in California the temperature of a panel on a black vehicle can easily reach 260+ degrees, well you can pretty much figure out why you noticed a shorter life in your test during the summer.

 

[AZpolisher15]

"Sealants" will generally hold up better than "waxes" in heat/sunlight.

 

[prr]

Interesting. Yeah the waxes I have been experimenting with lately have been TW Carnuba liquid paste, and Collinite. I don't know if Collinite 845 is carnuba or not. It doesn't mention it at all. But no sealant.

 

[Rsurfer]

I started wondering about this. Searching for "direct sunlight car wax" just gave me a bunch of web pages that talk about applying the wax in direct sunlight. I'm talking about if a lot of sunlight can shorten the life of the layer of wax that is already on your paint.

Reason why I'm asking. Last year or two, I've been experimenting with a few different types of waxes, and writing down my observations. I noted in early spring this year, that I was getting over 2 months of lots of beading on a wax job, and only applied a new job because a couple panels were losing it (the others still looked almost as good as new).

In August, however, I was seeing the wax layer lose its beading within 2 weeks. I'm talking about the same two cars, both pretty much out in the air 24/7.

So I'm wondering does this reflect more direct sunlight in August than in early spring? Or perhaps simply the fact that I might have applied/left a tad more wax on, earlier in the year? Or in fact, would more direct sunlight shorten the life of a wax layer?

Most definitely, UV light is a killer of any paint protection(wax, sealants, coatings) including clear coat.

 

[prr]

Here is a link for a thread by Mike when he was at the Meguiar's forum: Working in the sun? How HOT does your car's paint get?

Various outside temps were taken, for cars with different types of paint. I only wish we would know what the ambient temperature of the day was, when those pics were taken.

 

[prr]

Another thread with a guy who took temps of car surfaces when it was 80 degrees out: How much hotter is a black car than a white car in the sun?

I can see the dark grey car hitting 180 when it was hotter out, in the middle of the day (and one of my cars is metallic grey).

So heat, as well as UV light, will work off a wax.

Well that would explain things, then...

 

[FUNX650]

I'm talking about if a lot of sunlight
can shorten the life of the layer of
wax that is already on your paint.

Sunlight's heat, along with its UV-rays, are
very damaging environmental factors. Let's
face it: they're probably the most damaging
factors there are...to each and everything
that just happens to be "under the Sun"!

So I'm wondering does this reflect more
direct sunlight in August than in early spring?

The more the increase to heat and UV exposure,
the more the damages that will occur. (To be
sure: I categorize the shortening of a car wax's
expected life-span as damaging.)

Reason why I'm asking.
Last year or two, I've been experimenting
with a few different types of waxes,
and writing down my observations.

One important thing to remember is that
an unprotected car is much more susceptible
to damages than a protected car. Keeping a
sacrificial barrier of either a Wax, Sealant, etc.
on the vehicle at all times is recommended...

But, IMO, since you're keeping track of your
vehicles' protection...that means that you’re
well ahead of the game. I applaud your efforts. :applause:


Bob

 

[Mantilgh]

Just a thought and a few questions.

Maybe there was more airborne contamination at that time that caused the lack of beading.

How did you test the beading, and did you test beading before and after the wash?

What wash product/products are you using?

If you are not, try testing the beading before and after a wash with a wash soap that does not have any "wax" or added protection. Also, some soaps may leave a residue behind that negatively affects beading.

 

[swanicyouth]

Interesting. Yeah the waxes I have been experimenting with lately have been TW Carnuba liquid paste, and Collinite. I don't know if Collinite 845 is carnuba or not. It doesn't mention it at all. But no sealant.

Collinite vrs TW.

This thread sux.

 

[RTexasF]

I don't know if Collinite 845 is carnuba or not. It doesn't mention it at all. But no sealant.

Actually it is VERY CLEAR if one bothers to look:

Collinite Liquid Insulator Wax, for example, is one of the finest liquid carnauba waxes you can buy. It has the shine and wetness of carnauba but its longevity is more like a paint sealant. You can expect up to 5 months of protection and incredible water-beading, even on non-garaged vehicles.

It could be described as a hybrid wax/sealant. If the surface is correctly prepared and #845 is applied/removed correctly even the summer sun has a minor effect on the longevity.

 

[prr]

Just a thought and a few questions.

Maybe there was more airborne contamination at that time that caused the lack of beading.

How did you test the beading, and did you test beading before and after the wash?

What wash product/products are you using?

If you are not, try testing the beading before and after a wash with a wash soap that does not have any "wax" or added protection. Also, some soaps may leave a residue behind that negatively affects beading.

The "test" was rather subjective---eyeball only. I looked the car over after the initial spray, and again after the rinsing off of the soap. I don't know if changes in smog from one time of year to another might have been enough to have caused the difference, but others are suggesting that the sun itself could have been enough to have made the difference.

 

[prr]

One important thing to remember is that
an unprotected car is much more susceptible
to damages than a protected car. Keeping a
sacrificial barrier of either a Wax, Sealant, etc.
on the vehicle at all times is recommended...

But, IMO, since you're keeping track of your
vehicles' protection...that means that you’re
well ahead of the game. I applaud your efforts. :applause:


Bob

I got this way after paying to have one of my vehicles repainted. It made a world of difference--a year later the car still looks nice. But now I'm much more careful to preserve the paint itself, before it looks junky. Since then, its been washes almost every weekend, and wax jobs whenever the beading dropped noticeably below the level I noticed the first week or two after the previous wax job. I know the beading itself isn't protection, but I use it as a canary in the coal mine. When the chemicals that cause the beading are fading, I assume that the protectant layer is also fading.

 

[prr]

Actually it is VERY CLEAR if one bothers to look:

Not on the website--which is where I looked. For some reason I figured that would have more detailed info on a product, than the bottle itself. So much for that theory. The web page just says it brings a "carnuba shine" to the paint, but didn't indicate what was in it.

 

[PaulMys]

Not on the website--which is where I looked. For some reason I figured that would have more detailed info on a product, than the bottle itself. So much for that theory. The web page just says it brings a "carnuba shine" to the paint, but didn't indicate what was in it.

That's true. I found out the same thing. Lol

845 (whatever you want to categorize it as), is still my favorite LSP. Even late in the winter here in NY after applying it in early October, I look at the incredible beading and just shake my head and say "wow".

A truly superior product.