My car doesn't need wax

[evomacky]

Re: My car doesn't need wax

he probably means something like opti-coat. waxes can be considered as a sealant. especially M21.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: My car doesn't need wax

If it really has been sealed with a good paint sealant and done the correct way it doesn't need wax, and that's a cold hard fact.

When you do a paint sealant you need to polish the car first, with a special cleaner, which heats the paint and closes up the pores. Then when you put the paint sealant on it seals any "unclosed" pores and keeps out the weather and provides a rock hard surface. If the elements can't penetrate your paint you don't need wax. Wax "temporarily" does what the paint sealant "permanently" does.

However, even with the paint sealant you need a yearly "once over" to keep it looking good and performing the way it should. I have a 1990 Chevy S-10 that's never had even one drop of wax on it and it still looks like brand new. As a matter of fact, you'd be hard pressed to even find a new one that looks anywhere near as good as mine does.

So there, you learned something today. It really is possible to never wax your vehicle again!

Sealant, wax.

Ta-may-toe, ta-mah-toe.

You're still putting something over the paint to protect it. We regularly get people asking what wax they need after they apply a sealant, not realizing that "sealant" is basically the term for "fully synthetic wax". They do the same thing.

As for using "a special cleaner, which heats the paint and closes up the pores", that's not physically possible with today's modern catalyzed clear coats. The chemistry simply won't allow for it.

And these two comments contradict each other: "Wax "temporarily" does what the paint sealant "permanently" does.

However, even with the paint sealant you need a yearly "once over" to keep it looking good and performing the way it should."

If a paint sealant is "permanent" it shouldn't have to be reapplied once a year. Even the most high tech coatings on the market today - 22PLE, CQuartz Finest, Permanon, Opti Coat 2.0, etc - are not truly "permanent" although they can and will last for several years without reapplication, if properly taken care of. And while some of these are highly scratch resistant, that doesn't mean you can just run the car through a poorly maintained automatic car wash without fear of damage. We've seen too many cases of just that happening, and the coating then needs to be compounded off and reapplied. When properly applied and maintained, however, these coatings eliminate the need for regular waxing. But they're still an aftermarket product applied over the paint to protect it.

[Len_A]

Re: My car doesn't need wax

I got some guys I know that work for car dealerships telling that some of the car that is equipped with "paint sealant" ($800 extra), does not need to be waxed.

Funny thing is that, back in college (and I graduated in 1982), a friend of mine, who worked as a porter at a local dealer, got a hold of a 'sample" of the dealers paint sealant (OK, he filled a baby food jar and took it), and we took it to the chemical engineering lab and compared it to No. 20 Polymer Sealant. Do I have to tell any of you guys how close they were, to each other, chemically? And at that time, No. 20 could be had for about $12 a bottle, verses, at that time, $300 to $450 for dealer (mis)applied paint sealant.