How Are You Measuring "Durability" of Wax ?

[milkboy]

I keep hearing "ABC wax lasted 4 weeks" or "XYZ wax is great, it lasted 3 months," etc. Sounds very precise. I've been hearing evaluations like this for years.

My question is : How are you measuring this ?

If the paint is dirty, water won't bead up on it even if you waxed it two days before.

If you wash the dirt off, water will bead up on the clean paint whether it has been waxed recently or not.

If you wash a car that hasn't been waxed for a year, it's easy to tell there's no wax left on the paint, but I don't see how people who wax their cars regularly are slicing this down to within a week or whatever either way.

How are you determining that the wax is still good, or not ?

 

[Chris B.]

By how tight the water beads up. The tighter it is the better the wax. Water droplets get larger in time. Water will not bead up on unwaxed clear coat like it does on wax.

 

[paulri]

I was told one time that you can see how thick a layer of wax on the paint is, by feeling it (presumably after it has been washed). If the fingers glide along the paint, that would mean that there is lots of wax left. If there is a drag, that would indicate less or no wax. What do folks think of that test?

 

[spackard]

I wash weekly and wax when the smooth slide feeling goes away. Can tell by how easily the car cover slides around.

One thing that bothers me is when people say "wax lasted 6 months" they never say how often they wash/dry their car. I can see wax lasts longer when put on just prior to winter in the NE states, and probably never touched by human hands for months.

 

[Eddie]

I agree with Chris B. above. Ed

 

[FastEddie]

Originally Posted By: milkboy



How are you determining that the wax is still good, or not ?

That's a difficult question and your going to get lots of different answers. I would encourage you to not rely on beading to tell you if your car is protected. Megs M07 will bead like crazy but offers no protection. You could smear oil on your car and it would bead. Tight beading has no bearing from a protection standpoint.

 

[Bamaro]

Beading

 

[Chris B.]

Originally Posted By: FastEddie
Originally Posted By: milkboy



How are you determining that the wax is still good, or not ?

That's a difficult question and your going to get lots of different answers. I would encourage you to not rely on beading to tell you if your car is protected. Megs M07 will bead like crazy but offers no protection. You could smear oil on your car and it would bead. Tight beading has no bearing from a protection standpoint.


How do you figure? The water beads because it is not coming in contact with the paint and is sitting on tip of the wax thus protecting the paint by creating a barrier on it. Sheeting would have the same effect. I have seen company reps at car and detailing shows that explain this the same way. Also I have noticed that the waxes that bead the best also prevent lest contaminates from sticking to the paint and making claying not needed as often. I'm no chemist though and just stating what I have been told, read about and seen first hand.

 

[FastEddie]

Originally Posted By: Chris B.
Originally Posted By: FastEddie
Originally Posted By: milkboy



How are you determining that the wax is still good, or not ?

That's a difficult question and your going to get lots of different answers. I would encourage you to not rely on beading to tell you if your car is protected. Megs M07 will bead like crazy but offers no protection. You could smear oil on your car and it would bead. Tight beading has no bearing from a protection standpoint.


How do you figure? The water beads because it is not coming in contact with the paint and is sitting on tip of the wax thus protecting the paint by creating a barrier on it. Sheeting would have the same effect. I have seen company reps at car and detailing shows that explain this the same way. Also I have noticed that the waxes that bead the best also prevent lest contaminates from sticking to the paint and making claying not needed as often. I'm no chemist though and just stating what I have been told, read about and seen first hand.


I based my conclusion after a talk with Meguiars direct and I trust them. I will no longer rely on beading after than informative talk. If you want to rely on beading as a sign of protection, knock yourself out.

 

[milkboy]

Originally Posted By: FastEddie
Originally Posted By: milkboy

How are you determining that the wax is still good, or not ?

That's a difficult question and your going to get lots of different answers. I would encourage you to not rely on beading to tell you if your car is protected. Megs M07 will bead like crazy but offers no protection. You could smear oil on your car and it would bead. Tight beading has no bearing from a protection standpoint.


Ok, then we're back to the original question - what do you think I should rely on ?

 

[Chris B.]

Originally Posted By: FastEddie
Originally Posted By: Chris B.
Originally Posted By: FastEddie
Originally Posted By: milkboy



How are you determining that the wax is still good, or not ?

That's a difficult question and your going to get lots of different answers. I would encourage you to not rely on beading to tell you if your car is protected. Megs M07 will bead like crazy but offers no protection. You could smear oil on your car and it would bead. Tight beading has no bearing from a protection standpoint.


How do you figure? The water beads because it is not coming in contact with the paint and is sitting on tip of the wax thus protecting the paint by creating a barrier on it. Sheeting would have the same effect. I have seen company reps at car and detailing shows that explain this the same way. Also I have noticed that the waxes that bead the best also prevent lest contaminates from sticking to the paint and making claying not needed as often. I'm no chemist though and just stating what I have been told, read about and seen first hand.


I based my conclusion after a talk with Meguiars direct and I trust them. I will no longer rely on beading after than informative talk. If you want to rely on beading as a sign of protection, knock yourself out.


What exactly did they say? Meguires told me what I posted above but was over 10 years ago.

 

[whip]

Originally Posted By: Chris B.
What exactly did they say? Meguires told me what I posted above but was over 10 years ago.

I detailed the story in another thread. I bought a can of Mequiers wax and I wasn't happy with it. The Mequiers rep I spoke with, told me beading isn't an indicator of protection. That's the first I've ever heard that. I've always used beading to indicate when the car needs waxed again.

 

[Chris B.]

Originally Posted By: whip
Originally Posted By: Chris B.
What exactly did they say? Meguires told me what I posted above but was over 10 years ago.

I detailed the story in another thread. I bought a can of Mequiers wax and I wasn't happy with it. The Mequiers rep I spoke with, told me beading isn't an indicator of protection. That's the first I've ever heard that. I've always used beading to indicate when the car needs waxed again.


Yeah that is what I have gone by. I have talked to reps from many different companies at car shows over the years and most of them say beading and sheeting was the proper way to tell if a wax is still good. Meguires new Paint Protect even pushes it's beeding ability and is supposed to be their longest lasting "wax". Different reps say different things though. I've seen contridicting info a lot over the years.

 

[FastEddie]

Originally Posted By: whip
Originally Posted By: Chris B.

I detailed the story in another thread. I bought a can of Mequiers wax and I wasn't happy with it. The Mequiers rep I spoke with, told me beading isn't an indicator of protection.

It's not just Meguiars, it's is a lot of people in the detailing industry that don't rely on beading as an indicator of protection. I personally would rather have sheeting anyway, beading does me no good.

 

[Chris B.]

Originally Posted By: FastEddie
Originally Posted By: whip
Originally Posted By: Chris B.

I detailed the story in another thread. I bought a can of Mequiers wax and I wasn't happy with it. The Mequiers rep I spoke with, told me beading isn't an indicator of protection.

It's not just Meguiars, it's is a lot of people in the detailing industry that don't rely on beading as an indicator of protection. I personally would rather have sheeting anyway, beading does me no good.


what exactly do they say to look for then?

 

[RTexasF]

Honestly? There is no universal way to measure it. Some think beading, some think slickness, some think looks. Assuming you are talking about a true carnauba wax the best way, in my opinion, is to use it on a timely basis. For me that would be four times a year regardless of the brand. If it's caca over the counter or high dollar stuff, set a time table and stick to it.

Sealants and coatings are a different matter altogether.

 

[milkboy]

Originally Posted By: RTexasF
Honestly? There is no universal way to measure it. Some think beading, some think slickness, some think looks. Assuming you are talking about a true carnauba wax the best way, in my opinion, is to use it on a timely basis. For me that would be four times a year regardless of the brand. If it's caca over the counter or high dollar stuff, set a time table and stick to it.

Sealants and coatings are a different matter altogether.


Ok, how are you measuring the durability of "sealants and coatings" ?

 

[RTexasF]

Good question. I do not measure any so I wonder why I even wrote that. The newer professional coatings that are professionally applied are an entirely different type of protection. They can be measured in years but frankly I don't know how they measure it.

 

[SirTanon]

In all honesty, the only way you can truly measure a wax or sealant's longevity/durability is to apply, then test it immediately after it has CURED using a water test to see what sort of beading/sheeting behavior it has, and then use THAT as your baseline behavior to compare against future behavior. If it beads great in your first test, then you use beading as your guideline, if it sheets great in your first test, then you use sheeting ability as your guideline.

 

[Vikas]

Originally Posted By: spackard
I wash weekly and wax when the smooth slide feeling goes away. Can tell by how easily the car cover slides around.

One thing that bothers me is when people say "wax lasted 6 months" they never say how often they wash/dry their car. I can see wax lasts longer when put on just prior to winter in the NE states, and probably never touched by human hands for months.


I take it one step further. I don't touch it for years. The finish on my 4 year old car is still pristine but it is filthy.