How long does spray wax extend the life of your base wax?

[FUNX650]

Just for reference. This is a shot of UQW after 1 month on a DD garage kept highlander. The beading side is UQW, the other side hasnt seen an LSP in 2 years.

View attachment 30164

imgur: the simple image sharer

Not sure why the link doesnt want to work

I think it's working for me:

:dunno:

Bob

 

[kevin_1981]

Kevin, might I suggest that you setup your user library here on AGO for your photo hosting. AGO gives us unlimited storage space for FREE! Can't beat that with a spoon.

And those photos.... they'll always work.

Here ya' go. Mike Phillips sticky on: How to upload a photo into your Autogeek Photo Gallery.:dblthumb2:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...d-photo-into-your-autogeek-photo-gallery.html

Thanks. I was at work, and in a rush earlier. Im going to read through the article though!

 

[KneeDragr]

Ok so the new hypotheses is that washing your car removes nearly all the wax, and that if there is any left behind, the abrasion caused by the spray wax and wipe off removes whatever traces were left?

 

[Anthony Orosco]

You can't layer wax. One layer does not lay or rest upon the next instead you remove and replace one with the other.

Solvents are used to liquify "wax" and in general wax is just an oil that lays on top of the paint. There is no bonding, no cross linking with the painted surface. Wax is just a beauty enhancer and last tops maybe a month. In high heat and humidity 2 or 3 weeks. Heat will start a quick evaporation of wax, no matter what wax it is. There is no such thing as "100% carnauba wax, with natural UV inhibitors enhanced with banana oils to feed your paint!"

Just because your paint beads water does not mean the presence of wax because if you spray water on a freshly painted fender panel it will bead like it's got wax all over it, due to surface tension but not any wax.

Wax also does not bring about gloss or depth of paint. That's what a highly polished surface does or creates. Wax gives a boost or enhances that gloss by a small margin only. Take some Pledge furniture polish and spray your car down, step back and see how it looks compared to your favorite wax.

So spray wax does not extend wax. You're just putting on a new layer every time.

Anthony

 

[cfiiman]

You can't layer wax. One layer does not lay or rest upon the next instead you remove and replace one with the other.

Solvents are used to liquify "wax" and in general wax is just an oil that lays on top of the paint. There is no bonding, no cross linking with the painted surface. Wax is just a beauty enhancer and last tops maybe a month. In high heat and humidity 2 or 3 weeks. Heat will start a quick evaporation of wax, no matter what wax it is. There is no such thing as "100% carnauba wax, with natural UV inhibitors enhanced with banana oils to feed your paint!"

Just because your paint beads water does not mean the presence of wax because if you spray water on a freshly painted fender panel it will bead like it's got wax all over it, due to surface tension but not any wax.

Wax also does not bring about gloss or depth of paint. That's what a highly polished surface does or creates. Wax gives a boost or enhances that gloss by a small margin only. Take some Pledge furniture polish and spray your car down, step back and see how it looks compared to your favorite wax.

So spray wax does not extend wax. You're just putting on a new layer every time.

Anthony

Aaaahhhhhhh, say it ain't so

 

[davey g-force]

Surely someone here can do some sort of scientific test, like on a microscopic level?

Apply treaditional wax, wait a week, wash, apply spray wax and see if what is left is only the spray wax or a combination of both.

My feeling is it will be the latter...

 

[allenk4]

Surely someone here can do some sort of scientific test, like on a microscopic level?

Apply treaditional wax, wait a week, wash, apply spray wax and see if what is left is only the spray wax or a combination of both.

My feeling is it will be the latter...

I have seen the test

I think it was on Autopia

2nd coat of wax added slightly....3rd coat on some samples took the thickness to less than after the 1st coat

 

[davey g-force]

I think I've seen that test too. If it's the one I'm thinking of, it was for layering of two or more 'traditional' waxes.

I was more referring to wax overlayed with spray wax.

 

[swanicyouth]

You can't layer wax. One layer does not lay or rest upon the next instead you remove and replace one with the other.

Solvents are used to liquify "wax" and in general wax is just an oil that lays on top of the paint. There is no bonding, no cross linking with the painted surface. Wax is just a beauty enhancer and last tops maybe a month. In high heat and humidity 2 or 3 weeks. Heat will start a quick evaporation of wax, no matter what wax it is. There is no such thing as "100% carnauba wax, with natural UV inhibitors enhanced with banana oils to feed your paint!"

I disagree with some of this. But, first we have to define what "wax" is. I'm assuming we are talking about non-hybrid (no sealant) component type waxes like Souverän, P21S, Zymöl Glasur, etc... ?

While I agree wax just "sits there", I think saying wax last "tops maybe a month" is selling it short a bit. In fact, unless the vehicle was exposed to salt, sludge or excessive rain - I can't see any decent wax lasting only a month IME.

Of course, a lot of modern waxes have hybrid designs that include a sealant component. Many of these products can last several months.

I will admit "feeding paint" is bunk. I think the "100% carnauba" thing is just a bit of slick marketing... As you know, they are not saying the contents in the wax pot are 100% carnauba, but that ALL the wax ingredient that was used to formulate the product was carnauba; opposed to bee's wax, montan wax, etc...

Just because your paint beads water does not mean the presence of wax because if you spray water on a freshly painted fender panel it will bead like it's got wax all over it, due to surface tension but not any wax.

I agree this is true - but a bit unclear possibly. Most people aren't working on a freshly painted panel - they are working on a car that lives a life on the road. Therefore, the paint is not "brand new".

So, while beading isn't indicative of a wax layer per se, the "freshly painted panel" idea only is relevant if your working on a freshly painted car - which isn't the norm. Most of us have seen non freshly painted cars not beading in the rain or while being washed. Also, to the more experienced of us - we have probably noticed wax beads tend to look different than just the beading of fresh healthy paint.

However, all (100%) of the cars will bead if they are prepped and waxed correctly. If the wax is not re-applied, they will no longer bead after a while. So, therefore - IMHO, beading is *some* indicator wax is present on the average car.

Wax also does not bring about gloss or depth of paint. That's what a highly polished surface does or creates. Wax gives a boost or enhances that gloss by a small margin only. Take some Pledge furniture polish and spray your car down, step back and see how it looks compared to your favorite wax.

This is the idea that I think some newer people get confused on. It's common for a pro (like Anthony) to mention something like "wax doesn't bring about gloss or depth" - polishing does. I agree that a waxed surface full of defects will not look good, regardless of the wax product.

However, wax can enhance paint - even freshly polished paint. I think some of the "all wax is the same" crowd think because wax isn't the way to getting the highest improvement in paint appearance (polishing is), that means wax can't affect the appearance of paint at all. Which I do not agree with.

Yes, it's true wax can't "fix" bad paint. But that doesn't mean it can't enhance good paint.

 

[c8n]

Just because your paint beads water does not mean the presence of wax because if you spray water on a freshly painted fender panel it will bead like it's got wax all over it, due to surface tension but not any wax.

I agree this is true - but a bit unclear possibly. Most people aren't working on a freshly painted panel - they are working on a car that lives a life on the road. Therefore, the paint is not "brand new".

So, while beading isn't indicative of a wax layer per se, the "freshly painted panel" idea only is relevant if your working on a freshly painted car - which isn't the norm. Most of us have seen non freshly painted cars not beading in the rain or while being washed. Also, to the more experienced of us - we have probably noticed wax beads tend to look different than just the beading of fresh healthy paint.

However, all (100%) of the cars will bead if they are prepped and waxed correctly. If the wax is not re-applied, they will no longer bead after a while. So, therefore - IMHO, beading is *some* indicator wax is present on the average car.

I want to thank these two guys for mentioning the above. I was so waiting for someone to say this. Just to paraphrase some of this and to add my own thoughts....

Beading ALONE is a not an indicator for the presence of wax. As mentioned, it is about surface tension. For example, rub on some oil on a car with no wax and it will bead like crazy. In addition, it was mentioned in MOL, a car with an application of M07 with no wax will bead like there is no tomorrow because of the ingredients in M07.

 

[solman]

As far as I think whatever you use last is your "wax". If you only use a spray wax one time after you have formally waxed your car it will not make a big difference in longevity. Most of us who use a spray wax do so regularly and so that becomes your lsp. Your previous applied wax doesn't really matter.

 

[PiPUK]

If your spray wax truly only lasts for 1-2 weeks, you might get better value by throwing your hard earned dollars onto the fire - I am utterly shocked that a detailer would even consider such a product, much less waste their money on it!

There is absolutely no reason why your spray wax should not last for a month, 2 months or even longer. As Cardaddy said, there is so much scope with materials that this is far from difficult. We have a carnauba based product (fortified by other things of course) which has no bother doing 2 months in Irish weather.

In summary, if you use a good spray wax, you don't need a 'base' LSP. Even applying just once a month, a good spray wax should never really show significant signs of degradation.

 

[c8n]

I love spray wax and personally, I am not that concerned with protection but just love the look and the slickness it provides... just like a freshly waxed car. Protection is just icing on the cake.

 

[cfiiman]

As far as I think whatever you use last is your "wax". If you only use a spray wax one time after you have formally waxed your car it will not make a big difference in longevity. Most of us who use a spray wax do so regularly and so that becomes your lsp. Your previous applied wax doesn't really matter.

This was always my thought and why I started the thread, I guess I was thinking if you start using spray wax regularly then it basically does become your "wax" of choice. What I didn't realize is that it would remove/dissolve whatever the wax under it. I knew a cleaner wax would but didn't think just regular wax would, learn something new everyday on AG!