Colored Waxes - Do they really work?

[Mike Phillips]

Colored Waxes - Do they really work?

Originally posted by kellyinkc
Also what about "colored waxes" from Turtle Wax? I saw this today at a parts store it was for black paint. Would like your input. Thank you.

Kelly

Hi Kelly,

We have a question and answer for this topic in our FAQ on Meguiar's.com, but not on the forum, so if you don't mind I'm going to use your question with my reply in our here on the forum as this question comes up once in a while.

Colored waxes are what we call a Gimmick product. 99.9% of all car manufactured today and for the last number of years have a clear coat finish so you're not working on a colored, or pigmented paint to start with. Trying to dye the clear coat a color is not only not going to work, it's a the wrong approach to fixing the problem in the first place.

Most people that fall for the colored wax idea are working on a car who's finish has been neglected, thus the clear coat has become dull and it is difficult for their eyes or anyone's eyes to see the color coat, or the pigmented paint under the clear coat.

Instead of trying to dye the clear paint the color of the base coat, (the color coat below the clear coat), the correct option is to make the clear paint clear again so that your eye can see the color coat under the clear layer of paint.

The way you fix a neglected clear coat that has become dull, hazy, oxidized, swirled and filled with scratches is to remove these paint defects using either a paint cleaner such as ScratchX by hand, a cleaner/polish such as M80 Speed Glaze using a dual action polisher , or a strong cleaner/wax such strong cleaner/wax such as ColorX by hand or with a dual action polisher.


The cure is not to use a colored wax in an effort to try to dye the clear coat so that it matches the color of the base coat; the cure is to remove the defects from the upper surface of the clear coat and restore clarity to it so that your eyes can once again see the colored, or pigmented basecoat under the clear coat.

Then use the right products and tools to maintain the clear coat so that it doesn't lose it's clarity and gloss again. This is called a maintenance program .

Colored waxes are a gimmick plain and simple. If your car's finish ever becomes dull and hazy and has lost its clarity, gloss and beauty, follow any of the above clickable blue links and they will share with you the correct way to fix the problem with name you can trust.

[Superior Shine]

I detailed a black Nissan maxima once that had allot (maybe millions) of little chips on the front end. The owner of the car loved the shine but complained that the chips were now more visible. What happened was wax filled the chips in and dried white making them stand out more.

I went to my local auto parts and bought a "black wax for black cars" wax and redid the front end with it. It did look better as the chips were now filled in with black material.

[travisdecpn]

That's a good temporary fix, but why not remove the wax from the chips with an iso mix and suggest the application of touch-up paint or a repaint of that panel? I can see the owner complaining in a couple of weeks that the chips are noticable again. That's the problem with detailing a battered vehicle sometimes, you reveal all of the imperfections that the neglected finish seemed to camoflauge.

[Ranger72]

Originally posted by travisdecpn
. ... That's the problem with detailing a battered vehicle sometimes, you reveal all of the imperfections that the neglected finish seemed to camoflauge.

Absolutley, Even parking lot dings are like 110% more noticeable once the vehicle is freshly detailed. That is why it is my new practice to take a picture of each car before I wash or touch it, this way there is no chance of a leery owner. The car I first leaned to use a rotary buffer on was my brothers old beater ford focus (he now owns a 2004 SVT Focus) and the hood is heavily chipped, down to the basecoat and some areas down the the substrate panel. After I (you got the idea) and removed the swirls and oxidation the chips were so prevalent.
(ps I now look more like:

[Superior Shine]

Originally posted by travisdecpn
That's a good temporary fix, but why not remove the wax from the chips with an iso mix and suggest the application of touch-up paint or a repaint of that panel? I can see the owner complaining in a couple of weeks that the chips are noticable again. That's the problem with detailing a battered vehicle sometimes, you reveal all of the imperfections that the neglected finish seemed to camoflauge.

HERE, RE-READ THIS PART OF MY POST AND IT WILL ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, LOL!!!! -
" -- that had allot (maybe millions) of little chips on the front end. "


Thats too much touch up for me. It was for a person that would never (and had never ever) get their vehicle detailed. A property management co. oversprayed it and paid me to detail it.

[travisdecpn]

You make a good point. Sorry didn't mean to question your method, just thought a repaint would be in order if the owner was really set on a perfect finish. Though with the neglected state it was in prior to the detail it would most likely return to the same condition in a couple years. You chose a cost effective solution for this particular situation.