I recently used good old Mother’s Carnuaba wax for the first time in years. I was stricken by the sweet and handsome smell of the paste. I wonder. Do manufacturers add some sort of smell enhancements? I am simply curious. Carnuaba smells like that naturally? It is an addicting smell, so much so I want to wax the inside of my car so that the odor lingers within the cabin.
Carnuaba Smell. Is it Artificially enhanced?
- Thread starter Kurtatron
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AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2025
I agree. I love the smell of carnuba wax. Honestly I’ve never thought of how they make it smell like that.
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Surf City spray wax has a yummy delicious smell!! 
manicrodder
$50 site donor 2022
The smell is natural for the most part it is unique and tantalizing to me. I use a lot of carnauba, not for the smell but I like the appearance better than sealants.
Pure carnauba wax, I imagine, smells like wax.
The smell is added.
The smell is added.
wemay
Site Donor 2023
Without doing any research, I'd agree.
Scents and Flavors are big business.
You can buy Potato Chips that taste like a pizza.
You can buy Jelly Beans that taste like popcorn.
I’m going to guess it’s the solvent carriers since I can’t imagine a wax having any odor considering its very high molecular weight (if the wax was volatile it would evaporate off the surface). Perhaps some fatty ester.
This smells just how it looks,
bubble gum
bubble gum
manicrodder
$50 site donor 2022
Carnauba is hard as a brick and must have solvents added to be usable. Some are scented more than others. Thinking back to Megs Cleaner wax I used years back and 476 they are not fruity in smell but more chemical. I do like the underlying smell but that's just me.
it seems like a lot of detail products have added scents; Citrus cherry grape are ones I have experience with
None of the waxes out there are pure carnauba. They add oils plus other waxes like beeswax, paraffin and montan wax. Many products now include polymers and other solvents to make the wax spread easier and last longer. The smell is either from those other components or added by the manufacturer as in the case where a certain scent is wanted.
You have fun with that, paste carnauba horrible. Its the most difficult wax to remove without using something like corn starch.
I will stick with some type of Meguiar's.
I will stick with some type of Meguiar's.
manicrodder
$50 site donor 2022
Megs Deep Crystal is outstanding IMO and rivals Pinnacle Souveran II in appearance. Not as easy to use because Pinnacle is a WOWO product but not hard either. Big bucks difference too.
P21S pure carnuba has no smell.
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