Where is pure Carnauba wax made/manufactured?

[Raymond]

Pure carnauba wax is grown on trees in northern Brazil, so they say. Then it´s softened with chemicals. I´m curious to know where they actually make wax? Is it made in Brazil or in the States? Veterans consider Pinnacle Souveran to be the best pure show car wax but they (website does not mention anything about where they make it). I called Pinnacle once to ask, but they would not go into depth about the subject other than to say it´s made in two locations, in Tampa and South Florida.

How do we know if the top waxes (Souveran, Trade Secret, P21S) are not manufactured by the same company in Northern Brazil?

I want the best for my Corvette and knowing where my wax came from means alot to me.

Thanks-

[SVT Lightning]

If you want to be COMPLETELY blown away....check out Zymols top of the line of carnaubas. Why people would pay that kind of money is beyond me.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Where is pure Carnauba wax made/manufactured?

Hi Raymond,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

Originally posted by Raymond
Pure Carnauba wax is grown on trees in northern Brazil, so they say. Then it´s softened with chemicals. I´m curious to know where they actually make wax? Is it made in Brazil or in the States? Veterans consider Pinnacle Souveran to be the best pure show car wax but they (website does not mention anything about where they make it). I called Pinnacle once to ask, but they would not go into depth about the subject other than to say it´s made in two locations, in Tampa and South Florida.

How do we know if the top waxes (Souveran, Trade Secret, P21S) are not manufactured by the same company in Northern Brazil?

Souveran creates a nice look on properly prepared paint, but no better than M26 and if you buy M26 you can leave an extra $50.00 in your wallet. Trade Secret is no better in appearance, cost more too, and P21S doesn't add richness, depth and reflectivity like most all the Meguiar's waxes do to paint, so calling them the top waxes is only an opinion.

Like the old saying goes...

"One mans ceiling is another man's floor"

Our M16 Professional Paste Wax will produce a high gloss finish but won't add richness like Gold Class, NXT, M21 or M26, and M16 is very close in appearance results to P21S

So just because something costs more doesn't always mean it's better, and just because someone says it's the best doesn't always make it true. The true test of any product is on black paint.

I want the best for my Corvette and knowing where my wax came from means alot to me.

Thanks-

Good luck in your search for these other products, Meguiar's manufactures all of their waxes in Nashville, Tennessee if that helps...

Here's a comment by this forum member after attending this last weekends Detailing Class here at Meguiar's with his black Z06 he purchased brand new.

From this thread,

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8754

Originally posted by plasticcar
Many thanks to Mike Phillips of Meguiar's for conducting this seminar. Mike Phillip's skillful and patient application of the correct Meguiar products along with hand-on demonstration of his expert techniques produced nothing less than spectacular results.

Prior to this, I was seriously thinking of re-painting my car as I had tried a cabinet full of different products to no avail. I'll admit, I was also intimidated by power buffing and polishing and thought I was going to burn through the paint.

This all has changed with the knowledge I have obtained from Mike at Detail Day. I really can't believe how beautiful my car is now. The Meguiar's' products are easy to use, readily available and reasonably priced. What could be better than that? I feel confident that I can care for my car in a professional and competent manner.

Special thanks to the Corvette Club of Temecula Valley. This was your day and you graciously allowed me to participate in your event. I really felt genuinely a part of your group and want to thank you for your warm, friendly hospitality. Boy, are some of your members funny. You jumped in and enthusiastically worked on my car and helped produce the fantastic results captured in the pictures. I couldn't believe it, even the lady with the hand brace was polishing my car! Talk about group effort, wow!

My only regret is that I don't live closer to both Mike at Meguiar's and the Corvette Club of Temecula Valley.

If you see a black shiny Vette on the road with a guy with a big smile on his face waving at you, It'll be me.

Thanks again, for a great day!

Here are few shots after the members of the Corvettes of Temecula Vally car club warmed it over with the skills and knowledge they learned at Meguiar's today!











Everyone has a bias, just not everyone is honest about it and admits it...

[the other pc]

Carnauba has many uses in car wax, industrial products, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food production and more.

It's harvested in Brazil as flakes of raw wax removed from the carnauba palm (Copernicia prunifera) and shipped all over the planet.

There are numerous car wax manufacturers around the world and many more product marketing companies who have products made to order by some of those manufacturers.

Meguiar's manufacturing plant is in Nashville, Tennessee. Only Meguiar's chemistry gnomes know exactly what form (raw or partially processed) of carnauba comes in their back door to be blended into the various products that include it.

I know of no practical way for a consumer to know where a given wax is processed unless it's makers feel like telling.


PC.

edit: Ah, I see Mike beat me to the (Nashville) punch.

[Mike Phillips]

I can't thnk of any product, that if applied to the finish on the below MB Kompressor, would take the results to a higher level...

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8744

[Alex7938]

just as a comparison Pinnacle Souveran costs in the UK £40.00( about $70.00) and has the same oils and Carnauba content as Zymol Destiny Glaze yet this costs in the UK £407.00.

i've used Pinnacle Signature on metallic silver and its hard to tell the difference between this and Meguiars #21 Synthetic sealant
and if you add #7 show car glaze it gives you an even wetter apperance.

the one thing i would say that the Signature has over Meguiars is the smell Mmmm, unless you bring out the QD( they should make this into a perfume )

[Raymond]

Can I get a non-biased opinion?

Mr. Phillips,

Thanks for the replies and your warm welcome but the last thing I wanted was to join a forum where there is biased information. I did not ask about the difference between Meg´s or Souveran. I asked about the general process of how and where pure Brazilian Carnauba is made.

Mr. Phillips, I don´t appreciate schilling and it leaves me to wonder how can I get unbiased information here if Meguiare´s owns this Board?

Thank you-

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Can I get a non-biased opinion?

Originally posted by Raymond
Mr. Phillips,

Thanks for the replies and your warm welcome but the last thing I wanted was to join a forum where there is biased information. I did not ask about the difference between Meg´s or Souveran. I asked about the general process of how and Souveran, Trade Secret, P21S where pure Brazilian Carnauba is made.

We don't share how are products are made or the ingredients we select for our formulas. I doubt you'll find many wax companies that will share specific information in this area. In the big picture, you need to find a product you like and use it as often as you like to keep the appearance level of you car at a level that pleases you regardless of how the product is made, or where the ingredients are processed at.

Mr. Phillips, I don´t appreciate schilling and it leaves me to wonder how can I get unbiased information here if Meguiar's´s owns this Board?

Well Raymond, this is a manufactures forum, and we're a little biased on this board as we think our products are the best, that's often times the difference between us and them, that is that we're willing to admit our bias... Other forums I go to with the usual suspects are incredibly biased, they just act like they're not.

A quick review of their posting history is all it takes to expose their bias. Don't get me wrong, it's okay to have a favorite wax, or be biased towards a particular line of products, the problem is when people are biased but don't admit their bias. That's not being true to yourself, or to to others. So yeah, you nailed us on this one, the majority of people that come to this forum come knowing we are a tiny little bit biased towards our own products. Regardless of this one little aspect, we still do our best to help our members get the best results from their time, money and efforts no matter whose products they're using. And that's a legacy this forum is famous for.

If you hear great things about Souveran, Trade Secret, and P21S, then the best thing for you to do is to get some of these products and try them out and decide if they're the right products for you and your car.

No need to be so formal around here either, you can call me Mike.

[Mike Phillips]

Raymond,

This is a fun and friendly forum, everyone here is more than willing to go above and beyond the call of duty to help you get the best results from your time, money and efforts and even non-Meguiar's products.

So before jumping to any conclusions or starting to make accuzations, why don't you spend some time reading some of the information available up here.

Here's a great place to start...

Information Station


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[Mosca]

Hi Raymond,

I posted an answer to your question over at Autopia. It wasn't a direct answer (because I don't know the answer), but I hope it helps you in your ultimate search, which is for beauty. After all, Keats had it right, over a century ago before automobiles were even imagined: "'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.'" Or, my modern update: At the end of the day, the car either shines or it doesn't, and everything else is posturing.

I use primarily Meguiar's products. I try other stuff, and like it too, but I am comfortable with Meguiar's. I tried Z and like it, and I last used Souveran a couple weeks ago. I've gone through maybe 4 or 5 jars of it over the years. I tried the Sonus polishes and was very impressed. (Thanks, Lynn!) SO, I'm open minded about that stuff. I don't bleed in #s.

But as far as forums go, this is the one that is the best. Why? BECAUSE ALL THE "PRODUCTPRODUCTPRODUCT" GARBAGE IS GONE. Product arguments have done more to tear the detailing community apart than ALL the other disputes combined. So this forum doesn't really focus on the products, other than the obvious fact that it IS Meguiar's Forum for Meguiar's products. This forum focuses on HOW TO GET THE BEST RESULTS from Meguiar's products.

THE PRODUCT DOESN'T PRODUCE THE RESULT. YOU DO. Products are consumeable tools. You can hammer with a $100 hammer, or a $20 hammer, or a flat rock, and still you'll pound the nail in. YOU did the work. But you might prefer the $20 hammer, all things being equal... and if you're a carpenter, you'll know that the $100 hammer is the better tool and better value over a career. A good product can help you do better work. Does it help to know where a hammer is made? Maybe. Maybe if you're inexperienced and looking for reassurance, perhaps because you're rightly concerned about paying too much for the same product sold elsewhere under a different name. But as you gain experience the differences among hammers, and among consumeable products, becomes obvious. And the question becomes moot; you know which hammer, and which consumeable tools work best for you, and that becomes independent of price. Hound Dog Taylor played a $20 generic Japanese electric guitar, and he was Hound Dog Taylor.

Which takes us back to Keats' observation: "Beauty is truth, truth beauty,--That is all Ye know on earth, and all Ye need know." Keats isn't asking us to remain ignorant. Rather he is challenging us to trust ourselves, our senses, and our own judgement. He is asking us to KNOW what we SENSE. He is saying that if it is beautiful, we will know it, and where it was made, or what its history is (he is writing about a many thousand-year old urn) has nothing to do with the beauty. It it the beauty that is the truth.

Does this help? I dunno, probably not. But so much of what we do is overthought, when it should be primal. Learn the processes, and the tools will guide you. Meguiar's will readily and handily agree that their products aren't the only ones, and some people choose other products. Their claim to fame is that their products are consistently of high quality and work the same way every time, that their distribution network is second to none, and that their support network is unparalleled on the planet. If this were my forum, I'd be biased too.


Tom

[Mike Phillips]

Nice, well thought out post Tom, thank you.


Raymond: As to your original questions,

Originally posted by Raymond
Pure Carnauba wax is grown on trees in northern Brazil, so they say. Then it´s softened with chemicals. I´m curious to know where they actually make wax? Is it made in Brazil or in the States?

I have to go through certain channels first before I can directly speak with and ask questions of our chemists, this is because our formulas, just like any wax company's formulas, are closely guarded secrets. Some of these formulas have been unchanged since they were' first created and for some of our products that can be as long as 70 year ago or longer and that's a long time to keep a secret.

I do know this, currently Meguiar's manufactures all of our products in-house and we do this in Tennessee. So if we use the ingredient Carnauba in a formula, (and we do use this ingredient in a number of our waxes), then we purchase it and import it to our manufacturing plant in Tennessee as well as here in Irvine for R&D.

That's all I know about that ingredient and its use in our products, and I'm very sure that's all management and R&D is going to tell me. So I can offer you no more information about that question as it pertains to Meguiar's.

I want the best for my Corvette and knowing where my wax came from means alot to me.

Thanks-

I would say that 99.9% of the people I interact with, be it on the phone, on this forum, in an e-mail or during one of our Saturday classes feels the same way. In fact, I feel the same way.

I'll do my best to upload the introduction to my how-to book this week and post a link to it as it pretty much explains how I feel about polishing paint and it is those feelings, or yet an even better term would be passion for what I consider to be an art form, led me from a small town in Oregon, where I drove heavy equipment for a paper mill, to a job working for Meguiar's doing what I love... and that's helping people get the best results from their time, money and efforts when using Meguiar's products to detail their cars and often times toys...

I apologize that this thread didn't flow as smooth as most of the threads on this forum do, but it's not too late to recover...

What year is your Corvette and what do you currently do for car care for the paint?

Can you describe the current condition of the finish or even share a photo with our forum community? If you e-mail it to me, I will gladly upload it into your gallery here on MOL.

[imacarnut]

Re: Re: Where is pure Carnauba wax made/manufactured?

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
So just because something costs more doesn't always mean it's better, and just because someone says it's the best doesn't always make it true. The true test of any product is on black paint.

so true . it seems that some think just because certain product(s) are available otc, it is not as good as the boutique equivalent of another brand.

[BenP]

Re: Can I get a non-biased opinion?

Originally posted by Raymond
Mr. Phillips,

Thanks for the replies and your warm welcome but the last thing I wanted was to join a forum where there is biased information.

I don´t appreciate schilling and it leaves me to wonder how can I get unbiased information here if Meguiare´s owns this Board?

Well you did sign up to MEGUIAR'S online so there's always going to be a partial bias towards their products, in the same way that if you join any brand/manufacturer specific (whether it's owned by that brand/manufacturer or not) forum there will be bias towards it. For example if you join a BMW M Power forum, you won't find thier members are particularly forthcoming towards Merccedes AMG and Audi S/RS.

FWIW, I joined Meguiar's online to get clarification on some things I'd heard about Meguiar's products on other forums, and IMO there's no better place to hear it that from the manufacturer itself. But because I'm a member of this forum does that mean I think everything other than Meguiar's is ****? No. I try all sorts of different products out of pure curiosity, but the difference is Meguiar's products are marketed honestly, priced reasonably and produce outstanding results; and that's why I think if you go and try a load of products from other manufacturers, you'll soon get bored and settle for one or two brands - one of which will be Meguiar's.

Ben

[Alex7938]

in reply to the wax question,

the wax comes from the Tree of Life we've got that.
all the companys that make a Carnauba wax use either white or yellow ( ones purer but i cant remember off hand)
and it'll probably come from the same place.

carnauba in its pure 100% form is as hard as concrete and would be nearly impossible to apply to your car. at the very most in any car wax its content is 40%.

what makes all the companys waxes different is the things they add to it,P21S, Pinnacle, zymol etc add oils to the wax to give it the wet look finish, but if they say Banana oil thats a petrol product.
they add different types of oil for different types of paint.
the only major down side to these waxes is durability, if your lucky you might get 3/4 weeks out of them.
but what you lack in durability you make up for in wetness( if that makes sense.
Meguiars #16 is i believe a part synthetic carnauba(please correct me if im wrong here) which gives you great durability but lacks the wet look of the others( this is very easily compensated for though with #7)