THE GOODS : Reasons to Take a Shine to Car Wax
Question: My friend brags about having three or four coats of wax on his car. Is this possible, or does each succeeding coat of wax take off the preceding coat?
--D.N.
Answer: I have heard people brag about their cars’ powerful engines, sleek body lines and even booming sound systems, but never about wax. Your friend may need something more meaningful to brag about.
And your doubts are well-founded. Nearly every wax on the market contains cleaners that strip off oxidized paint, road grime, atmospheric fallout and the previous coat of wax, according to Matthew Broderick, vice president for marketing at Turtle Wax.
Nor would you want to accumulate more than one coat of wax. A thicker coat of wax will not better protect the paint and may cause a yellow gummy film to develop.
One coat is what it takes to clean and seal a car’s surface. As paint ages and loses its shine, it becomes porous and dirt penetrates into the body of the paint. A good rubbing with a wax that contains cleaners strips away oxidation and dirt, leaving a smooth surface that the wax can better seal.
Confusion about wax is not unusual. Manufacturers make hundreds of different waxes and figuring out the difference between them is virtually impossible.
Nearly all waxes on the market are a combination of synthetic silicon and natural waxes, typically beeswax and hard carnauba wax from South America. The waxes also contain petroleum cleaners and a very fine emulsion of polishing compounds.
Little difference exists between liquid and paste waxes. Rather, the differences you see in retail price often reflect the use of high-priced synthetic amino acid compounds, which should last longer between waxes.
For car owners willing to invest extra time and muscle, cheaper waxes that don’t last very long will still protect the paint. It’s easy to know when to wax the car again: Just check to see if water continues to bead up on the paint. When the water beads flatten out, it’s time for a quick waxing.
Typically, the wax on the hood, roof and trunk--the horizontal surfaces--wears out first. For that reason, it makes sense to wax those areas more often and wax the vertical surfaces as infrequently as once a year. The only bad decision with wax is picking one so hard to use that you never bother.
