No difference seen between waxed and unwaxed panel

Thejoyofdriving

Thejoyofdriving

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I always here people talking about how shinny there car is after getting waxed. And how big a difference there is from one wax to another. I always though in the back of my mine "thats just silly, how can a wax make your paint look better" but every one believes that wax does indeed add depth and shine, so I said to my self if all these people see a difference there must be, so I went with the crowd. But yesterday I was working on a black car and I decided to test it out once and for all. So the paint was preped(washed, stripped clean, clayed, and cleaned again) and I applied some SSII to half of the hood and wiped it off. I stood over the paint, but no matter how hard I looked I could not see any difference in shine AT ALL no matter what angle I looked from. So.....can someone explain to me why was there no difference between the waxed and unwaxed panel?
 
Thejoyofdriving said:
I always here people talking about how shinny there car is after getting waxed. And how big a difference there is from one wax to another. I always though in the back of my mine "thats just silly, how can a wax make your paint look better" but every one believes that wax does indeed add depth and shine, so I said to my self if all these people see a difference there must be, so I went with the crowd. But yesterday I was working on a black car and I decided to test it out once and for all. So the paint was preped(washed, stripped clean, clayed, and cleaned again) and I applied some SSII to half of the hood and wiped it off. I stood over the paint, but no matter how hard I looked I could not see any difference in shine AT ALL no matter what angle I looked from. So.....can someone explain to me why was there no difference between the waxed and unwaxed panel?
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:o Your kidding right...
 
My friend I have had this problem on a white car after a good polishing but never on a dark painted auto.
 
hmm, sometimes you have this problem on lighter cars, but I find it is less common on dark cars. There should be at least additional gloss. :D If you are willing to shell out the big dollars you can get a gloss meter ( I there is a more scientific name for it, but the name slips my mind). To some extent I do agree with you that there usually isn't a huge difference between waxes in look. I mean you have to look pretty hard to see it. Mostly your customers won't be able to sell what you used. I usually shoot for durability, but I do notice differences in look between say Meguiar's #21 and Collinite 476S. OCW is a tough one because you can't really see any real difference right away.
 
To me the big difference is in the polishing and or glazing. The sealant or wax just keeps that glorious, wet look alive. If you just applied wax alone, you may needed to work the paint to get a better shine before you put on the wax..then try something like P.S...then you'll see..and if not, get a 2nd opinion..amazing what different eyes see.
 
This is what the car looked like when I was done, it looked exactly the same when I was done washing it, no difference in gloss or reflection what so ever.

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I've read you gotta look at it under the sun as well, or at least some sufficient lighting. As for me, I do see some gloss difference between a waxed surface and an unwaxed surface. I haven't developed an eye for wax differences though, but I am trying.
 
You notice it the most when the surface is polished up with no surface imperfections; no swirls or anything. I wouldn't want to be mean, but maybe you don't have the eye for it; this isn't uncommon for someone to not be able to see fine details, and hey, more power to you because then you won't be as obsessed as many of us and be able to save money instead of waisting it on countless waxes. Here is a picture someone took comparing a new Meguiar's wax (right) (unnamed as of yet) to M26 (left). This shows the darkening ability, however seeing the 'wet' look some different as it is actually a distortion of the image.

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Even on light colored cars you can feel the diffrence. The waxed surface will def be smoother, and softer to the touch. On a dark colored car correct
lighting is key. Black always looks great in the shade.
 
Probably did not spend enough on the wax. Any wax that costs ess than $30,000 may not show up
 
Reflectivity: [: To prevent passage of light and cause to change direction, as in> a mirror reflecting light]
In optics reflectivity is the fraction of incident radiation reflected by a surface. It must be treated as a directional property that is a function of the reflected direction, the incident direction. It should be noted that most surfaces can be divided into those that are secular and those that are diffuse.

For secular surfaces, such as glass or polished metal, reflectivity will be nearly zero at all angles except at the appropriate reflected angle. For diffuse surfaces, such as matt white paint, reflectivity is uniform; radiation is reflected in all angles equally or near-equally. Such surfaces are said to be Lambertian. Most objects have some mixture of diffuse and secular reflective properties.

A wax or sealant can only reflect what is underneath it, so a clean, level well-prepared surface is the most important consideration (85% of a surfaces reflectivity is due to its preparation) along with applied product clarity.

As was suggested it is possible that you cannot diserne a difference in a waxed / un-waxed surface (highly unusual but possible) But you must view the surface with a light source on it to see the reflections.
 
Largebore said:
Probably did not spend enough on the wax. Any wax that costs ess than $30,000 may not show up
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Your probably right. Im going to sell my car and then some so I can get some solaris wax for that extra 1% shine.

I guess I can see what some of you are saying. I am going to do further tests with more lighting when I have time. Ive got a very fine eye for detail so its not my eyes, it was probably the lighting. Can anyone here tell the difference between a wax or a sealant?
 
they say thewax gives more of a wet look as apposed to a sealant
 
I think that the wide range of waxes and sealants would make that pretty tough. Souveran isn't going to look like S100, and Zaino won't look like XMT 360, so you can't really do a direct comparison unless you sampled dozens of sealants and dozens of waxes and then tried to make a generalization between the two.
 
As is often the case, I feel like this issue is being over complicated... Is there a difference in the appearance of a freshly waxed car and one that is very well polished and clean? I think so but probably not a big one. It does seem to change the way light reflects off the car, but... why over analyze this? Is the idea that a wax or sealant is a waste of time? I can't imagine anyone would be suggesting that. Whether you find the appearance of freshly waxed/sealed car to better, worse, or the same, don't you think the protection is worth the effort?
 
I have come to appreciate that cleaning/polishing/glazing is what makes up the majority of the finished 'look' on a car's paint. Waxes and sealants to me provide protection and feel. There are some who can or cannot tell the difference among products but the preparation stage levels the playing field so-to-speak. I view the differences in LSPs primarily in longevity; although, in my own experience, I find I can definitely appreciate a freshly waxed and or sealed car with a quality product and some not so subtly so.
 
i can definitely tell the difference. i have a very good eye when it comes to detail, because well im an artist as well and when im drawing the very smallest imperfection will annoy me.

you can not wax half of a hood and not wax the other half and expect to see a clear line between the two sides. you kind of have to stand back and look at the overall picture to appreciate the differences in appearance with different waxes (assuming its a well prepped surface).

heres a test for you... strip all the wax you have on your car and start using nxt tech wax. use it for a few weeks, and make an effort to stand back and look at the car every now and then. then strip the nxt off by polishing or what have you and apply pinnacle souveran and do the same thing. i guarantee you you will notice a huge difference.
 
If you get your hands on a good cleaner (as DG 101) try that first, i was just tuching up a black BMW with that, and the difference was so extreme that i had to do the whole car, looked like the door was repainted in different darker colour. Try that on a panel, and compare it after, if you dont get any difference then, your paint must be in a flawless cond (black BMW looks good by the way)...

But by looking at Souveran, signature, zymol, swisswax, MG 16 etc on the same prepped surface i dont know how much off a difference it will give, sure it gives some imo but its not extreme...as said the biggest WOWs comes after the paint is cleaned with a cleaner polish imo...then ad your favorite wax/sealant and hopefully you want get disapointed again..

AND it dont bother me if you post some more pics of that Bimmer either;)
 
I can notice a difference on darks and even lights, silver is the hardest b/c of the color tone and flakes. But even on white, I can tell a difference between a sealant and something like Natty's Blue, waxes that give a darkening look (i.e. Natty's Blue) make the white take on a slightly darker hue to it especially when the sun starts going down.

But if you have a well prepped and polished surface, sometimes it's hard to notice anything as the surface is already almost perfect. Especially black which will always look great no matter what after polishing and have reflections up the ying yang.
 
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