White Wax Question(s)

[davisinla]

Hi All,

I just went to order some products and noticed that there is a new wax specifically for white finishes. And since I own a white car, it got my interest.

But it also got me wondering how waxes that are “specially formulated” for certain color paint works.

As you can tell by my join date, I've been hanging around Meguiar's for quite a while. Years ago, I was fortunate enough to attend several Meguiar’s detailing workshops and was taught – and have always believed – that our goal in detailing is to get the clear coat as clean as possible and then protect it. Made perfect sense.

In an Internet search on colored wax, I actually found this (very old) post by the Meguiar’s staff member who taught the classes back then:

“Colored waxes are a gimmick plain and simple.”

Link

So my questions are: What changed? How exactly are the waxes formulated for dark or light paint different than “regular” wax?

And – I guess the most important question – will I really noticed a difference using White Wax on a two-year-old vehicle?

Thanks.

[BillyJack]

Re: White Wax Question(s)

It isn't all about the color. White wax and Black wax are formulated for specific needs common to light or dark colored cars. The graphic published here says it best:

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?56634-Black-Wax/page3&highlight=black+wax

Bill

[davisinla]

Re: White Wax Question(s)

It isn't all about the color. White wax and Black wax are formulated for specific needs common to light or dark colored cars. The graphic published here says it best:

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?56634-Black-Wax/page3&highlight=black+wax

Bill

Thanks, Bill. That makes sense.

So I guess what was considered a "gimmick" back in 2005 turned into products.

[The Guz]

Re: White Wax Question(s)

It's not really a "gimmick". White wax has more SMAT abrasives making it have more cleaning power than black wax. Black wax has more polishing oils which darker colored cars benefit from. White wax can be used on any color as it does have some very good cleaning power. I have used it on a black truck and it did a great job. Light colored cars benefit more from cleaning rather than polishing oils. For example, a white car that is not properly cared for can start to have a yellowing appearance. White wax will clean that right off.

[davisinla]

Re: White Wax Question(s)

It's not really a "gimmick". White wax has more SMAT abrasives making it have more cleaning power than black wax. Black wax has more polishing oils which darker colored cars benefit from. White wax can be used on any color as it does have some very good cleaning power. I have used it on a black truck and it did a great job. Light colored cars benefit more from cleaning rather than polishing oils. For example, a white car that is not properly cared for can start to have a yellowing appearance. White wax will clean that right off.

Thanks.

But just to clarify, I never said it was a gimmick, only that someone at Maguiar's referred to it that way - before they had products in that category.

And I'm guessing that since my white vehicle is relative new and well-cared for, I don't really think I'd see much of a difference.

[davey g-force]

Re: White Wax Question(s)

As stated above, White Wax (and Black Wax) can be used on any color vehicle. Meguiars has stated that themselves many times on this very forum.

They are just formulated in such a way that many typical light, or dark colored paints respectively would benefit from.

White Wax is basically just a potent cleaner-wax. It's an awesome product.

I guess it depends on what condition your car is in, what you're trying to achieve and what products (cleaner waxes) you already have at your disposal.

[Murr1525]

Re: White Wax Question(s)

Gimmick isnt quite the right word, but they are designed to get the Average Joe who just wants a shiny paint job in one step something that will give them that.

Light colored paints tend to show dirt, or staining, so the extra cleaning is usefull to get the paint shiny in the white wax.
Dark paint doesnt show the dirt/staining as much, but can get extra gloss/depth from polishing oils. So the Black Wax has more oils.

So the average Joe gets shiny paint and some protection.

Now, for people that come to this forum, we are usually a bit more focused on the surface care, and educated about caring for the paint. So we can look at those, and pick out instances where we may want a cleaner/wax with more cleaning, or a cleaner/wax with more oils, and go from there, and work them into our processes as needed.

That would be where knowing your paint, if those properties are useful/appropriate, or if something else is better, etc.

And no, the products themselves arent colored to hide things for a minute.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: White Wax Question(s)

The "gimmick" comments back then were really in reference to waxes that are actually colored; ie, they have pigments, tints, dyes, etc added to them and as such are specifically targeted to yellow, blue, green, red, pick-your-color-we've-got-a-tinted-wax-for-ya!

As has been stated, White Wax and Black Wax don't subscribe to that theory in that neither one contains any sort of dye, pigment or colorant. White and other light colors tend to pick up embedded dirt in the surface of the paint, which dulls down the color. These colors benefit greatly from deep cleaning to remove this dirt. As an example, we had someone bring a white pickup truck to a TNOG a couple of years ago as a test bed for then new White Wax. The truck was several years old and sat outside all the time. Anyone looking at it would think "yeah, that's a white truck". But when we applied white wax with a DA to half the hood, that same person would look at the truck and think "OK, now it's white but it used to be sort of dingy, dirty looking white". It was pretty dramatic. Of course, this should tell you that on a brand spanking new white car, one that hasn't yet been bombarded by the elements and the paint dulled down, that White Wax isn't going to be a huge revelation.

Black Wax, on the other hand, was formulated with more polishing oils since darker colors benefit more from the addition of these ingredients, which help to darken the color and increase depth.

In theory, you can use either wax on any color car. Many have done that, especially with White Wax on dark colors due to the extreme cleaning ability of the product. The abrasives in White Wax are the same used in M101, hence it's potency. Used aggressively (treat it like a compound during application, not like a wax) and it's amazing how much defect removal is possible. It's a killer all-in-one product for any color!

[davisinla]

Re: White Wax Question(s)

Thanks, Michael. Your detailed explanation answered the questions I had asked in the first post.