Do any waxes contain UV inhibitors?

[joburnet]

Basically the title says it all. I always assumed that waxes protected the paint from the sun but I'd like to verify that they do or do not contain UV inhibitors.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Do any waxes contain UV inhibitors?

Originally posted by joburnet
Basically the title says it all. I always assumed that waxes protected the paint from the sun but I'd like to verify that they do or do not contain UV inhibitors.

Hi joburnet,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

17. Do car waxes provide real UV protection?

Some waxes do contain UV-protection agents, but the amount of protection that a microscopically thin layer of wax can provide is limited

The primary goal of a wax is to protect the top layers of paint that contain UV-protection agents from the paint manufacture. If you wash and wax your car regularly, your paint will be protected and you should suffer no major UV damage over the normal course of the life of the car.

Don't be fooled by some companies that lead you to believe that it is the UV protection in a wax that protects your car's finish from fading and failure, this is dishonest and simply not true. Taking care of the paint you presently have will go further to protect your finish than relying on protection supplied by a liquid you pour out of a bottle, or a wax you scoop out of a can. UV protection in a car wax formula is only an extra-dose of preventative maintenance, not the end-all, cure-all that some companies would lead you to believe.

UV protection for paint is much different from UV blocking ingredients for human skin. The two formulas are nothing alike and work in drastically different ways. There is no correlation between the ratings applied to the different levels of sun blocking protection for products intended for use on human skin and the ingredients available for use in an automotive wax formula. Sad to say, much of what you see advertised about the protective qualities of most car care products on the market today is simply over-exaggerated hype used to separate you from your hard earned dollars.

I hope this helps to explain the role UV protection plays in a wax formula.

Mike

[joburnet]

Thank you for the quick reply but I'm actually looking to find specific waxes that do or do not contain UV inhibitors and how long the UV protection can be expected to last.

[Mike Phillips]

As far as I'm aware, all Meguiar's waxes contain U.V. protection, I'll have to double check on the Mold Release waxes as I don't know if they do or not as that is not a primary concern for this product.

How long the U.V. protection in a wax lasts will be the same as how long the wax lasts on the surface. As the information I posted stated, the layer of wax you are leaving on the surface is microscopic in size and what's more important is the U.V. protection the paint manufacture includes in the paint formula. If you take care of and maintain your cars top coat, the U.V. protection in the clear coat should protect your car's color coat over the service life of the paint itself.

Mike

[joburnet]

The reason I ask this is because I was reading over at autopia the the UV protectors actually in the paint will eventually wear down.

http://autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45434&highlight=optimum

Basically I'm trying to find out if this optimum spray wax is really any different then anything else on the market as well as educate myself on UV protection.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by joburnet
The reason I ask this is because I was reading over at Autopia the the UV protectors actually in the paint will eventually wear down.

This is true only because everything wears down, including you and I.

That said, nothing you pour out of a bottle, scoop out of a can, or mist out of a sprayer is going to last longer on the surface than the paint itself if you take care of it.

Paint manufactures know how to formulate their paints to last over the service life of the car/paint as good or better than any outside company. That's why Meguiar's knows that the most important thing a person can do is to take care of and preserve the clear coat their car comes with. The clear coat will provide more protection for the color coat under it than a microscopic layer of someones product that contains a U.V. protection ingredient. The clear coat is on average 2 mils thick and anything you spray out of a bottle, scoop out of a can, or pour out of a bottle, after it dries and you wipe-off the excess is going to be microscopic in size.

So you have to ask yourself, how much protection can a microscopic coating block and protect the clear coat from U.V. rays?

The best protection from U.V. Rays is a garage or a car cover. Use this as a point of reference to any claims being made by anyone. If someone can truly come up with a product that protects really well from U.V. protection with only a clear, microscopic layer, then I"m sure paint companies would be interested in his ingredient to include in their paint formulas.

I've seen clear coated cars that are 10 and 15 years old that if the paint was maintained, it's still in great shape. The most important factor to longevity when it comes to an automotive finish is to maintain the finish on a regular basis relative to the environment and conditions the paint is exposed to.

If you have a garage queen, you don't need to maintain it too often, if you have a daily driver then washing weekly and waxing at least monthly would give the paint the best chance of lasting over the service life of the car.

Good questions...

Mike

Mike

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by joburnet
The reason I ask this is because I was reading over at Autopia the the UV protectors actually in the paint will eventually wear down.

Here's a related topic from Meguiar's *NEW* FAQ

5. Can a clear coat fade?

The word fade means to:

"Lose color or brightness gradually."

Technically speaking, since the clear coat has no color, it cannot fade or lose it's brightness (at least if we use the above definition).

It can however become dull, but that's not the same as fading and is more typically a sign of oxidation and the build up of above surface contaminants. (See in this FAQ – Can a clear coat oxidize?)

Now lets ask the above question in just a little different way.

Can the color coat below the clear coat fade?

In short, the answer is yes, however, it depends upon the environment in which the car is exposed.

• * A car parked inside most of its life, far away from the equator will not show much sign of fading.
  
  * A car continually parked outside in a desert region close to the equator will fade more quickly and the results will be more apparent over time because of the increased exposure to UV rays.

While these answers are technically correct, the non-technical answer to the question, "Can a clear coat fade?", is yes, but very slowly. So slowly that most people cannot perceive any visual change over the course of normal day-to-day living or during the length of the ownership of their car.

[joburnet]

Mike - Thanks for all of your replies.

It sounds like if you use a wax with UV inhibitors then it will extend the life of the UV inhibitors that are already in the paint.

Also, I've heard that the UV inhibitors in the paint are in the top half of the clear coat, do you know if this is true or not?

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by joburnet
Mike - Thanks for all of your replies.

It sounds like if you use a wax with UV inhibitors then it will extend the life of the UV inhibitors that are already in the paint.

Yes, but it does this by extending the paint itself.

Also, I've heard that the UV inhibitors in the paint are in the top half of the clear coat, do you know if this is true or not?

I know that when paint is mixed for spraying, it's mixed equally. If a U.V. protection ingredient is part of the clear formula, then it will be equally distributed throughout the film-build.

The only way to isolate the U.V. protection to the top of the film build would be to spray a layer of clear paint without U.V. protection, and then spray a layer of clear paint over this with U.V. protection.

All of the painters I've met mix the clear as it comes to them right out of the can when they purchase it. I don't think paint companies offer clear coat resin without U.V. protection for their paint systems. It could be an option, but I can't think of anyone who would choose this option.

This same type of system would be used at the OEM level, that is the clear resin for spraying over the color coat will have the U.V. protection already mixed into it. If there is an optional clear coat resin without U.V. protection, I cannot think of a reason a car manufacture would choose this option for use on their assembly line.

Hope this helps...

[John Styrnol]

Mike

Thanks for the excellent answers, very helpful.

[Tim Lingor]

Hey,

Excellent posts Mike!!!

Tim

[TOGWT]

Quote: Also, I've heard that the UV inhibitors in the paint are in the top half of the clear coat, do you know if this is true or not?

The answer Mike gave is of course correct. The myth stated by some (otherwise) reputable companies stating "that the clear coats UVR protection is in the top 50% and by polishing more than 0.03 Mil the UVR protection will be compromised"

Like all myths there is some truth in it, clear coat has a thickness of 2-3Mils and contains UVR radiation protection. Removing more that 0.3 mil (0.0003") of clear coat will cause premature paint film failure.

As a point of reference a sheet of copy paper is 3.5Mil (0.0035") a surface scratch that will `catch' your fingernail is approximately 0.004" deep

JonM