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4) Waxes, Sealants and Hybrids

37K views 74 replies 26 participants last post by  Geordie_73 
#1 ·
Time to top up your hard work with a long lasting and glossy protection! :cool:

The best way to a fantastic car finish is through the preparation stage, and that is absolutely true. However, a good wax or sealant gives a final 20% of your finish, and can make or break a look. If you thoroughly cleaned the paintwork properly, its fair to say a £5 wax from Asda will look great, and also proves that spending £300 or £1000 on a wax is not necessarily needed for what you want from your cars looks. Quality waxes WILL give you better clarity, gloss and protection over cheaper waxes and thats where your money will go. I'll discuss the 'surely a £300 wax is better than a £50 wax' argument as I go...

So what are the differences between Waxes and Sealants?

Waxes:



Sealants:


The basics of it are -

Waxes are produced using natural materials and are 'crafted'
Sealants are chemically manufactured in a lab

Both give great but VERY different looks to your paint.

You can put a wax over a sealant to give a slightly different finish than normal, but not the other way around..

Waxes bead better and longer, sealants do bead, some very well, but there main design is to sheet and repel water far better than a wax ever will.

Waxes have been around for years, and dependent on the look you want, contain more or less carnauba than others, and also more oils in them to give the 'wet look'. More oils = a wetter look finish, but give less longevity in the end. The R222 Concours wax above is buttery soft, and as long as you apply it thinly is a doddle to remove again after a few minutes. Now it gives a very deep, glossy wet look finish, its one of the best show finish waxes on the market, but protection drops after only a few weeks. The look is a very intense, deep look, and the reflection are out of this world - only you know however if you really want to keep applying it every week!!!

Carnuaba (wax) is graded like gold is in rings - the higher the grade, the purer the wax and the more 'glowy' as an effect you get in the finish. A wax is designed to give a 'warm glow' when applied, and to some, this is the ultimate in look that they want in their car.

A waxes length of protection varies massively - and especially in the winter. Even good quality wax will not last longer than 10 weeks in salty conditions, it eats through the protection very, very quickly. Ive used many different waxes, and achieved some stunning results with them, but never got more than about 10 weeks on my daily drivers before the need to re-aply the wax.

Sealants are totally chemically engineered, and give a different look and feel to the car. They provide a very 'glassy' finish to paintwork, wheels and metalwork. They are spectacularly easy to apply..

Auto Finesse Tough Coat:
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A whole car can be coated, and buffed in well under 20 minutes with awesome shine and a good 2 months protection. In fact - I went through November to March on Tough Coat by a simple squirt over the panels and a wipe down every wash. Its a great product - but the market is constantly changing with these sort of products as the competition is fierce. Sealants really are best on light coloured cars, and metallics (the chemicals react superbly with metallic flake popping to bring out a stunning finish) - however they will work on any colour car


Sealants I'd highly recommend - Auto Finesse Tough Coat, CarPro Reload and GTechniq C2v3

Longer lasting sealants are now available, as they bond to the paint better and offer much better performance over a longer period of time - the Gtechniq / Wolfs / Autobright manufacturers are all putting out products as simple and easy to use as Tough Coat - but offering up to 12 months of protection from a simple wipe over of the product on your paintwork :eek: :cool:

Ceramic sealants are also on the market now, offering up to 2 years of protection, and also an ability to shrug off minor marks and damage to your paint, protecting paintwork from swirls and stone chips.

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The down side to all this protection from CQuartz - is that it can not be applied at home. You need it applied in a temperature controlled environment, with a face mask and away from moisture. It has to be applied professionally and by an authorised user, otherwise its just too temperamental to get right.

Hybrid Waxes -


These are also relatively new, and mix the look and feel of a traditional Wax, with the look and finish of a sealant. Dodo Juice Supernatural Hybrid is without a doubt one of the best of these products on the market, regardless of cost. The looks are amazing, and you get a good 6 months of longevity out of it. This is my normal personal choice of LSP on whatever I'm working on - great finish and depth to the product!



:cool:

So which is better - wax or sealant? Personally I use more sealants on cars than waxes, from a looks and protection level basis. I do enjoy waxing a car though and Bouncers 22 is my 'high end' wax, and its a stunning product in all price brackets, created by a car enthusiast like ourselves.

So to answer the question about 'is a £300 wax better than a £50 one'....

There are some very VERY good waxes and sealants out their nowadays, and they don't have to cost more than £50....and personally Ive not had a desire to go out and spend £300 on a wax. Ive seen them used and they certainly do not give a finish that to my eyes warrants the extra cost. Swissvaz, Zymol (to name but a few) use all sorts of marketing, and brand awareness to get you to believe that these products are a 1000 times better than say AutoGlym HD wax. I guess its like fashion in a way - If you pay £200 for a pair of quality jeans from a branded store, then you are buying into what the brand represents - its image, its uniqueness and the name. Swissvax and Zymol are no different.

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See what I mean..... :eek2: :lol2:

The important thing to remember with waxes, is always apply them THINLY......apply it too thick and you will need arms like Popeye to remove it! They usually only take 5 minutes to haze over before they are ready to buff, but use the finger swipe test to check that it is ready - if it comes off using your finger - its ready to buff :cool2:

I use finger applicators to apply waxes - they make using a pot and applying the wax easy :)

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Quirks..

Some waxes are designed to 'gloss' an hour after they have been applied - Supernatural Hybrid is one of them -this is perfectly normal for it to look better later on after application. 'Gasing' is a process you may have heard of too - waxes because they are natural 'breath' slightly - and you may spot the odd patch of car (particularly on darker cars) where you get a patch that needs re-buffing a few days after you have detailed a car. This again is normal, and just a quirk of some higher grade waxes :)
 
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#53 ·
Blackroc said:
Gary_LB said:
Another recommendation for Dodo Juice SNH. I used if for the first time yesterday and it was very easy to apply and buff off, left a great shine and bleeding looks good today in the rain.

Thanks Blackroc and Dan116i for the recommendation!
I hope the bleeding wasn't from grazed knuckles ha ha!!!
Whoops it's time for a coffee I think lol

Now corrected :)
 
#55 ·
Gary_LB said:
Blackroc said:
Gary_LB said:
Another recommendation for Dodo Juice SNH. I used if for the first time yesterday and it was very easy to apply and buff off, left a great shine and bleeding looks good today in the rain.

Thanks Blackroc and Dan116i for the recommendation!
I hope the bleeding wasn't from grazed knuckles ha ha!!!
Pics Gary ;) it's too bloody wet down South to attempt to wash mine, gonna try that dodo juice hybrid too

Whoops it's time for a coffee I think lol

Now corrected :)
 
#56 ·
Tried the C2v3.

I think I applied it to thick as whenever i touch and run my finger on the body i can see smearing a little, even after 48 hours. I also noticed the car looks a little different compared to the AutoGlym High definition wax I normally use, its not a worse colour hue, but i think it look slightly different. I will see what its like in a few weeks time, but i would say its worth £6 just for the ease of application. You can also use it as a quick detailer - I have about 1/2 a bottle left so may top it up with water as it apparently works. I might revert to my normal wax in the summer but i would certainly recommend it

Thanks again Blackroc, its a great product :wink:
 
#57 ·
EB2429 said:
Tried the C2v3.

I think I applied it to thick as whenever i touch and run my finger on the body i can see smearing a little, even after 48 hours. I also noticed the car looks a little different compared to the AutoGlym High definition wax I normally use, its not a worse colour hue, but i think it look slightly different. I will see what its like in a few weeks time, but i would say its worth £6 just for the ease of application. You can also use it as a quick detailer - I have about 1/2 a bottle left so may top it up with water as it apparently works. I might revert to my normal wax in the summer but i would certainly recommend it

Thanks again Blackroc, its a great product :wink:
It does indeed sound like you applied too much - spray, wipe and then buff and you should have no residue left at all. Practice makes perfect though :)

It will offer a different finish to a wax - much more glassy against the warmer look from a wax.

HD Wax has a darkening effect on cars too - particularly noticeable on blues of reds.

Glad you liked the c2v3 though :)
 
#58 ·
haroon said:
Pics Gary ;) it's too bloody wet down South to attempt to wash mine, gonna try that dodo juice hybrid too
I didn't take any mate as I haven't got any tyre dressing yet (it's next on my list) so it doesn't quite look how I want it as it doesn't look finished. I'd thoroughly recommend it though!
 
#59 ·
Carto_Bob said:
Right I've been reading this thread with interest but still a bit confused. I've been using AF triple wax polish. Am I best off by finishing with a sealant like the C2V3 by Gtechniq? My car is alpine white by the way... Thanks
A sealant in my opinion looks better on a white car than a wax, and will happily sit over Tripple :)
 
#62 ·
Carto_Bob said:
Great news cheers - how long should the interval be between polishing the wax off and applying the sealant?
Sealants sit over polishes, not over a wax - they don't bond well to waxes and won't last at all.

So it should be polish then sealant, and IF you really want to you can wax over the sealant for extended protection.

If you polish the car, once you have finished buffing the polish off, the sealant can be applied straight away :)
 
#65 ·
Gary_LB said:
haroon said:
Pics Gary ;) it's too bloody wet down South to attempt to wash mine, gonna try that dodo juice hybrid too
I didn't take any mate as I haven't got any tyre dressing yet (it's next on my list) so it doesn't quite look how I want it as it doesn't look finished. I'd thoroughly recommend it though!
Lol @ tyre dressing. Yeah Ill order my dodo juice hybrid next week, but god knows when I'll get the opportunity to use it tough with this weather!
 
#66 ·
Blackroc said:
Carto_Bob said:
Great news cheers - how long should the interval be between polishing the wax off and applying the sealant?
Sealants sit over polishes, not over a wax - they don't bond well to waxes and won't last at all.

So it should be polish then sealant, and IF you really want to you can wax over the sealant for extended protection.

If you polish the car, once you have finished buffing the polish off, the sealant can be applied straight away :)
can you not apply a wax straight after buffing the polish off then?
 
#67 ·
Harvey321 said:
Blackroc said:
Carto_Bob said:
Great news cheers - how long should the interval be between polishing the wax off and applying the sealant?
Sealants sit over polishes, not over a wax - they don't bond well to waxes and won't last at all.

So it should be polish then sealant, and IF you really want to you can wax over the sealant for extended protection.

If you polish the car, once you have finished buffing the polish off, the sealant can be applied straight away :)
can you not apply a wax straight after buffing the polish off then?
AF Tripple is an AIO (All In One) polish.

It contains polish, glaze and carnauba wax so that it has a small amount of protection once applied.

Once you have applied and buffed Tripple (as any polish) you can apply a sealant OR wax on top.

You would go:

Wash>Polish>Wax

Or

Wash>Polish>Sealant (>wax on top if you want)

Hope that helps :)
 
#71 ·
Read with interest as I am fast approaching the end of my pot of SNH and was looking to change. Have tried HD Wax along the way but keep coming back to SNH as the paintwork always still feels "slick" after a good soap.

Guess I'll be ordering another 100ml £21.20 via flubit
 
#72 ·
Blackroc said:
Harvey321 said:
Blackroc said:
Sealants sit over polishes, not over a wax - they don't bond well to waxes and won't last at all.

So it should be polish then sealant, and IF you really want to you can wax over the sealant for extended protection.

If you polish the car, once you have finished buffing the polish off, the sealant can be applied straight away :)
can you not apply a wax straight after buffing the polish off then?
AF Tripple is an AIO (All In One) polish.

It contains polish, glaze and carnauba wax so that it has a small amount of protection once applied.

Once you have applied and buffed Tripple (as any polish) you can apply a sealant OR wax on top.

You would go:

Wash>Polish>Wax

Or

Wash>Polish>Sealant (>wax on top if you want)

Hope that helps :)
fantastic write up blackroc, enjoyed reading the whole thing and it completely makes sense to me.

One question i ask (sorry, bit of a detailing newbie), when a wax is coming to the end of its last and you notice the effects dropping off. Would you strip the remaining with a panel wipe or similar and apply from scratch? Or just apply a new layer over the top?

Also when carrying out a routine wash, do you use any top ups such as a quick detailer?

cheers! :bigsmile:
 
#73 ·
Apologies if this has been addressed already, which it most certainly has. I'm wondering at which stage you start the process from after a few months when you want to reseal or re wax?

If my original process was the following, would I only need to start at surface prep, eg. Car pro eraser, isopropyl alcohol after a wash?

Washing>Decontamination>cutting>polishing>surface prep>seal
 
#74 ·
lukeallison said:
Apologies if this has been addressed already, which it most certainly has. I'm wondering at which stage you start the process from after a few months when you want to reseal or re wax?
If your wax is completely depleated you could strip everything back and start again with protection if you really want. If you're not topping up with Wax but using a sealant instead you should definitely strip everything off, wash and clay. But if you just want to top up the wax and have no actual paint correction to do then a simple 2 bucket wash should prepare things enough. Depends how much dirt is clinging on. You might need to do more decontamination first.
 
#75 ·
Novice, not really a detailer but I always hand wash and wax. I like to keep the car looking good and curious what you guys use.
Ive just picked up my M135i last week and checked /de tared it then rinsed and then washed using Mguires ultimate wash and wax. Hand dried using Klin drying towel then applied a good coat of collinite 476 which I find to be the best wax I've used.

Thanks

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