Wax, Sealant, Nano ??

[Mishikwest]

I am a bit (a lot) confused over the difference between and proper usage of waxes, sealants, and nano xxx.

Use them individually or a combination? When to use one an not the other?

They all are advertised to do the same thing...

long-term protection against UV damage, dirt and other harmful contaminants on all painted surfaces.
Its ultra strong composition will also help prevent light scratches and washing swirls etc etc etc etc etc

(I though of putting this in the Ask Detailers Domain thread, but though everyone might like it as a standalone question).

[cheshirecat79]

Originally Posted by Ian///M

Waxes and nanos are sealants.

"Wax" is a broad term that generally refers to a carnauba-based product which is not considered a sealant.

Here's the quick lowdown- please note that there's no 100% correct definition for these products- "waxes", "sealants", etc, *usually* refer to a product that meets specific criteria. However, some vendors may choose to use these terms for products that are meant to be used similarly, but are created using different processes or base ingredients.

Anyway:

- "Sealants" are usually water-based products which are meant to serve as another thin and hard barrier against the elements. They last a long time and provide more of a "chemical" barrier against the elements. Sealants are excellent in terms of durability and shine. They also can promote serious water beading and generally look great.

- "Waxes" are generally carnauba-based products, as I mentioned above. They can be thought of as coming in two types- waxes without fillers (pure carnauba) and waxes with fillers, which are sometimes called "glazes". These fillers help to "fill in" small imperfections in the paint and give you a more uniform surface, which gives you that sought-after perfect mirror reflection. Wax should be thought of, in my opinion, as a physical protectant than a true "detailing product". Waxes are softer and thicker than sealants. Because of this, they are great for protecting your paint from environmental hazards. Things like bugs guts or bird droppings will have a hard time getting to your paint when they have to work through more product on the way to your clear coat. Applying a couple of good coats of wax to your paint will help protect it from hazards like these.

People mention how great their paint looks after waxing- this is usually due to the fillers giving their paint surface a more uniform shine. Unfortunately, these fillers don't last very long, which is why it's always better to polish the paint down to a uniform surface before applying these different types of protectants. If you properly take care of your vehicle's paint, it'll always look like it's "been waxed" after a wash.

The layer order is (top coat to bottom)

-WAX-
-SEALANT-
-OPTI-COAT TYPE RESIN-
-SCRATCH-FREE CLEAR COAT-
-BASE PAINT COAT-
-PRIMER-
-PANEL SURFACE-

[Mishikwest]

Excellent explanation! Thanks very much!

I've always been just a waxer, but now that I understand the system I'm going to step up to a full compliment of products. Now just to decide......

[cheshirecat79]

Originally Posted by Ian///M

No, Opi-Coat is NOT a Nano product. It is a ceramic polymer resin, part of the paint protection products that dealers try to sell you.
Nano products are something very different, such as Nanolex (http://www.nanolex.de/en) or Wolfs product range. True nano products form a temporary bond to the paint and repel water and dirt. Opti-Coat is a mostly permanent clear coat which can only be removed with a stage 1 cut.
No way you should ever layer wax & a nano-product. Both are sealants and mixing them wouldn't work.

You're totally right about the Opti-Coat- it's a pre-polymer resin! I removed the information about the nano-coatings.

Can you explain your "Wax is a sealant" comment? Sealants are commonly referred to as water-based products that form thin/hard barriers while waxes are commonly softer/thicker and carnauba based.

[Mishikwest]

No way you should ever layer wax & a nano-product. Both are sealants and mixing them wouldn't work.

So would a nano-sealant-wax combination be ok? The sealant would be between the nano and wax.

The main thing i was thinking were the solvents in all the products stripping anything else on the paint. eg. wouldn't the solvent in a wax just dissolve the sealant applied before?

Like spraying wd-40 on something. It will strip whatever is already there.

[TOGWT]

Paint sealants are synthetic products designed for long-term paint protection and easy application. They are composed mainly of amino functional polymers, which last longer than any natural wax and are highly resistant to the elements. Synthetic liquid waxes are another way of describing paint sealants. The main benefit of a paint sealant is their durability compared to a wax, polymer-based sealants will last anywhere from 3 to 6 months.

A coating (Opti-Coat) is applied to a ‘clean’ surface that surface takes on properties that are virtually identical to hardened glass. It is chemically inert and will not react with the base material. In other words, dirt will not bond to the treated surface, thereby reducing soiling and organic staining. Acid rain and other chemical compounds easily wash off, significantly reducing the hydrogroscopic nature of surfaces exposed to industrial or environmental pollution.

They also offer surface scratch resistance and their durability is measured in years as opposed to months

You can layer a wax (Carnauba or synthetic) over either a sealant or a coating for added gloss or as a sacrificial layer



TOGWT® Autopia Detailing Wiki Articles, these informational resources contain everything you’ll ever want to know about automotive detailing and are an invaluable addition to your detailing knowledge base -. http://www.autopia.org/forum/autopia...yperlinks.html

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by Ian///M

No way you should ever layer wax & a nano-product. Both are sealants and mixing them wouldn't work.

Bingo, came here to mention that.

I use Dodo Juice Hard Candy and Rainforest Rub for waxes, and Wolfgang Deep Gloss 3.0 Sealant.

I recently bought and threw on Dodo Juice Supernatural Nano Paint Sealant:

http://www.detailedimage.com/Dodo-Ju...P855/50-ml-S1/

I took pictures and intend to do a DIY, but so far it is really promising results. Detailed Image told me I shouldn't use it on Glass and Clearbra, as manufacture didn't state it but I did so anyways. I'll make sure I get that up this weekend and get decent pictures up.

Nano sealants are much more labor intensive than a typical sealant. It took me around 3 hours to do my 128i, compared to applying Wolfgang Sealant within 5 minutes, waiting for it to dry in 1 hour, and removing within 5 minutes

[Detailers Domain]

just a few points:

wax tend to look better on non metallic paints, black, red, blue etc. they also tend to be "wetter" in look and provide more gloss. I have seen waxes last 1-3 months.

sealants are more durable seeing 3-6 months plus depending on how you use your car.
sealants use to provide straight up protection didn't look all that great to some users. hence many companies suggested to apply a wax over the sealant.

sealants of today last longer and provide great looks to boot, just about all of our sealants we offer today do not need anything over them.

coatings provide 1 plus years of protection, it adds another layer of coating to your paint, I like to let my customers know that even though this is true they should still maintain with a spray wax like Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer, adds a slickness to the paint and beading properties.

all that being said a paint properly corrected will yield the best looks.

hope that helped, any other questions please let me know I'll try to answer.

[Joeyb7]

Originally Posted by Kgolf31

Bingo, came here to mention that.

I use Dodo Juice Hard Candy and Rainforest Rub for waxes, and Wolfgang Deep Gloss 3.0 Sealant.

I recently bought and threw on Dodo Juice Supernatural Nano Paint Sealant:

http://www.detailedimage.com/Dodo-Ju...P855/50-ml-S1/

I took pictures and intend to do a DIY, but so far it is really promising results. Detailed Image told me I shouldn't use it on Glass and Clearbra, as manufacture didn't state it but I did so anyways. I'll make sure I get that up this weekend and get decent pictures up.

Nano sealants are much more labor intensive than a typical sealant. It took me around 3 hours to do my 128i, compared to applying Wolfgang Sealant within 5 minutes, waiting for it to dry in 1 hour, and removing within 5 minutes

Kgolf - let me know how the dodo nano works - again, you don't top I with anything? I just want to be sure. I like the crystal seal/dodo wax pairing myself, but I haven't tried applying any nano product and haven't researched layering if possible.

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by Joeyb7

Kgolf - let me know how the dodo nano works - again, you don't top I with anything? I just want to be sure. I like the crystal seal/dodo wax pairing myself, but I haven't tried applying any nano product and haven't researched layering if possible.

Here is my write-up, I applied it around 2 weeks ago:

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...8#post14801878

Dodo Juice said to just use a Quick Detailer for regular up-keep. However I have some Wolfgang Liquid Seal (I also have Wolfgang 3.0 Sealant) that I want to try and layer, but I want to try something that is the least intrusive, IMO...

I'll keep all info updated in that thread!