Quick Quiz looking at two pictures: Wax or no Wax

[chethewitt]

I thought I'd start off by asking a very basic question that could generate some interesting responses.

Rolled a 2011 Honda Accord outside to take a few pictures.


In your opinion, does the car have a wax/sealant or nothing at all?









BTW, hello to everyone. I detail vehicles in St Petersburg Florida.

Hopefully I can contribute and continue to learn more about the art of detailing.

[Detroit CC]

I'm going to say a very small amount of wax on the vehicle.

[Michael Stoops]

Pictures can actually be quite deceiving - you could strip the paint down to where there is absolutely nothing on it, then apply a coat of M07 Show Car Glaze and it would bead like mad....for a little while anyway. Part of why we've always said that beading alone is not a sure sign of protection.

[Shawn T.]

I am going to say yes! Even though I think it may be no.

[chethewitt]

Pictures can actually be quite deceiving - you could strip the paint down to where there is absolutely nothing on it, then apply a coat of M07 Show Car Glaze and it would bead like mad....for a little while anyway. Part of why we've always said that beading alone is not a sure sign of protection.

Michael, you sir are almost correct.

The paint surface has absolutely nothing applied to it. I pulled the car out to give it a wash after polishing the paint...to remove the residue m105 typically leaves behind.

Process was m105 and then m205 using misc LC pads with a Porter Cable DA.

A flat surface will bead just like a waxed/sealed surface until its no longer flat.

Here are a few pics of the car after Blackfire sealant.

And a few before pics as well.

Car was not in great shape for being less than a year old.





And after. Weather was pretty bad for most of the day...so capturing a decent picture was hard.

[Shawn T.]

Very nice sir! The black is dripping.

[gtrspeed]

While preparing my trunk lid for a long-term evaluation of a few different waxes, I noticed the same thing. Despite wiping with APC+, Body Solvent, and claying, my paint still beads water.

So, is there any way to know with reasonable certainty that there's no wax on a car? I remember reading about the "squeak" test where you twist a cotton towel back and forth, but I'm hesitant to do this, even with a quality towel. Then, there's the "when QD becomes slow to wipe off" method, which seems a bit too subjective to me.

I didn't really think about this until after I started my wax evaluation, but I do need some way of making a determination that a wax has lost most of its protection.

[Tuck91]

If you keep your car clean for years and only wash it often with a high quality car wash soap it will still bead for a very ong time. Even without applying any wax or sealant.

[chethewitt]

If your car sits in the florida sun 6-8 hours/day you'll need to wax the car at least once a month.

Paint takes a beating down here.

[Michael Stoops]

Many of the observations noted above are why we so often repeat that beading alone is not necessarily a sign of wax protection on the paint. It really is nothing more than a matter of surface tension, that's it.

Some waxes and sealants will exhibit a change in surface tension after just a few days, so the beading properties can change pretty dramatically. Even though the wax or sealant is still there, people see this change in surface tension and immediately think the wax/sealant is gone in that short period of time.