Need help understanding on how waxes, coatings etc protect paint

MrOneEyedBoh

MrOneEyedBoh

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So I was driving to work one day and I was thinking... How does wax, sealants, coatings etc protect paint? Mainly what I want to understand is how it protects paint from UV rays?

How does it inhibit damage or is that what we were told and are to expect? But in reality it's jot actually doing much? It's hard to believe a coating can protect longer and better than a wax that is applied every 3 months or so. But with that even aside, does it even prolong the paint's life?
 
I dont think waxes or sealants actually protect from UV, or if they do it would be very minimal. They are a sacrificial barrier that protects the clear coat which is the layer of paint that contains UV stabilisers to protect the colour coat. Waxes and sealants protect the UV protection if that makes sense.

James
 
Yes, waxes coatings and sealants definitely prolong the life of the paint because they are destroyed by the elements rather than the paint, this is why they have to be reapplied. They take the bullet for the paint which in turn leads to no or very low damage to the paint.

James
 
ski2 said:
Optimum Spray wax is said to have patented UVB and UVA protection.

Optimum Car Wax is a spray wax made with real carnauba and synthetic paint sealants for protection & shine! high-grade carnauba wax and silicone
Click to expand...

This is probably TMI for most people here but I have an engineering and chemistry background by education, training and experience so my curiosity of these products is high. Regarding UV protection I am very fascinated by the chemistry applied to this problem. A link to one of David Ghodoussi's patents https://www.google.com/patents/US6685765 discloses an amazing amount of technical information about the design and composition of what is probably the formula for Optimum spray wax. In effect, this is a disclosure describing much of how Optimum Spray Wax is composed.

The amazing thing is the patent disclosure has citations for many chemical products that are available. Here are two specifically cited as UV inhibitors:

https://www.palmerholland.com/Assets/User/Documents/Product/42180/291/MITM02951.PDF
http://aerospace.basf.com/common/pdfs/BASF_Tinuvin_CarboProtect_DS_USL_sfs.pdf
 
I would have liked to see that same test done with sunscreen mineral based and chemical based on the same glass and see what results are. If there were the same results there even though it could not absorb into the glass at least the chemical sunscreen could be a oily looking mess on the glass to see if that blocked any


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Route246 said:
This is probably TMI
for most people here

but I have an engineering and
chemistry background by education,
training and experience...

Regarding UV...
Click to expand...
^^^The definition of "the other UV":
Ultra Vainglorious



Bob
 
Interesting discussion and question, MrOneEyedBoh. I have pondered the same thing but like has been mentioned, I have always subscribed to the "sacrificial layer" of something playing catcher's mitt to all that's thrown at my paint. To progress further the question of specific UV protection in any LSP, while intriguing, seems too nebulous to measure. I did find that "Test of 4 on a glass panel" video interesting. Disappointing but interesting.

My question from that video is...does the curing process do anything to enhance the density of protection? My understanding about polymer curing is that they need time to cross link thus forming a more dense "screen panel" like coating in addition to bonding to the substrate. He didn't allow any period of time to cure any of those 4 products. I don't know if that (curing) would have resulted in any different results but was just a thought. I always follow whatever the manufacturer recommends as far as application and post app curing periods.
 
Not sure about protection. I get crap embedded in my paint at about the same rate with a coating or sealant or nothing. I don't think it does much for scratch protection or other damage. I think it's more about looks, water repellence, and keeping dirt off more easily.
 
There are tests showing the scratch resistance of coatings, if you search Youtube you should be able to find a few.

As for UV protection, it would be nice to get more info about just how effective various LSP are at protecting against UV radiation. Same goes for products designed to protect the inside of the vehicle.
 
Waxes or sealants definitely make cleaning paint easier and safer. I'm not sold that the majority of them provide any real level of uv protection though. Keeping a car in a garage as much as possible is about best option to preserve paint, but that's not exactly feasible except on occasionally driven vehicles.
 
I've seen an old YT vid where some dude puts several well known waxes and sealants to the test using some "high tech" machine to check if they really protect from UV rays. He coated thin glass panels with the products and according the his tests none of them offered any UV protection...

But I know a friend who owns a late 90's BMW and has regularly applied some sort of sealant [usually M20/M21/or Megs Ultimate] to his headlights and they still look brand new and have never needed any kind of restoration or polishing at all. He showed me a picture parked next to a co worker of his with the same year vehicle and that other BMW's headlights looked like complete crap compared to perfectly clear.
 
Believe it is one of two things that helps with paint stability.

1. Absorption of product into paint.
2. Clean surface area (paint)

I think keeping a clean surface area helps the most keeping paint stable more than anything else. Dirt, imbedded materials can both chemically react damaging paint and
act like tiny prisms which magnify light intensity onto a smaller area. Similar to holding a magnifying glass in the sun to burn objects on the ground.

That is probably the most likely reason why cleaner cars last longer than cars that were not kept clean.

Tom
 
RippyD said:
Not sure about protection. I get crap embedded in my paint at about the same rate with a coating or sealant or nothing. I don't think it does much for scratch protection or other damage. I think it's more about looks, water repellence, and keeping dirt off more easily.
Click to expand...

Since I've started using FK1000 on my wheels and paint I find that I only have to decontaminate every two years instead of every year. Yesterday I was planning to polish my wheels in prep for trade in so washed them and applied IronX. It had been a year since they were last decontaminated and there was absolutely no purple so I assume there was no break dust embedded in the wheels. I've observed this with my paint also.
 
As the OP asked---How does waxes, coating protect paint from UV rays?

I don't believe products actually protects paint from UV rays per se...
Think of drift wood on a beach at the equator and the other piece up at NJ. Will they bleach at the same rate? Probably not due to "intensity" of light rays hitting upon an object.

I believe that by managing the intensity of how light hits panel is based on how smooth you can get the panel. A smooth panel will reflect light better, disperse light over a wider area. And with a product such as a wax on the paint may also reflect and absorb the remaining light.

Clean paint reflects and dirty car absorbs.
Light color reflects and dark paint absorbs, etc...

Sorry for the ramble---thinking out load here.

Tom
 
(eldo - you're referring to the vid link kevin posted.)

Good points, Tom. The vehicle's location has something to do with UV attack as well and thus my interest in the question being in FL. Its the angle of the sun allowing the UV rays to penetrate less atmospheric absorbtion than higher latitudes. Then again...I'd rather worry about protecting against UV than worrying about the chemicals of winter up north.
 
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