The chemistry of car wax/sealant

[joaks]

Does anyone know where I can find some information about the chemistry of waxes/sealants? I assume a wax will bind to paint through a hydrophobic interaction, but I can't find information about sealants. People mention "cross-linking" but the cross-linking is what to what? And I think of cross-linking as a covalent interaction which seems unlikely. Why I ask: There is a new company rep on the Meg's forum who seems to be okay with "topping" almost anything with almost anything else (I'm exaggerating...a little) while the old rep would say upfront that sometimes the second coat wouldn't stick etc... Just would like to be able to figure it out myself.

 

[SatinSilver]

You can contact www.duragloss.com if you don't get an answer on here. They are very helpful and more of a mom and pop type operation. Started by two brothers, either one or both were chemists. They have an optional product you can apply first that they say can double the durability of the sealant. It's called a bonding agent, that is applied not removed then the sealant is applied on top of it, let dry then buff off both at the same time. Great reviews on it.

 

[Zeus33]

Originally Posted By: joaks

Does anyone know where I can find some information about the chemistry of waxes/sealants? I assume a wax will bind to paint through a hydrophobic interaction, but I can't find information about sealants. People mention "cross-linking" but the cross-linking is what to what? And I think of cross-linking as a covalent interaction which seems unlikely. Why I ask: There is a new company rep on the Meg's forum who seems to be okay with "topping" almost anything with almost anything else (I'm exaggerating...a little) while the old rep would say upfront that sometimes the second coat wouldn't stick etc... Just would like to be able to figure it out myself.

It's a standard rule of thumb, you can put wax on top of a sealant, but you don't put sealant on top of a wax. The sealant won't bond to the wax.

 

[razel]

Originally Posted By: joaks

Does anyone know where I can find some information about the chemistry of waxes/sealants? I assume a wax will bind to paint through a hydrophobic interaction, but I can't find information about sealants. People mention "cross-linking" but the cross-linking is what to what? And I think of cross-linking as a covalent interaction which seems unlikely. Why I ask: There is a new company rep on the Meg's forum who seems to be okay with "topping" almost anything with almost anything else (I'm exaggerating...a little) while the old rep would say upfront that sometimes the second coat wouldn't stick etc... Just would like to be able to figure it out myself.

It's futile to get definite definitions on products. Even if you wanted a pure wax, no such thing would be useful to put onto a car. You must mix wax with something so that you can actually apply it onto your car. If you insist though. Wax just sits on the surface. Don't be sad. Car paint isn't perfectly microscopically smooth. There's pits and valleys that the wax falls into, get's lodged and stays. Sealants also sit on the surface but crosslink to one another. There's also polymers, but synths and polyers tend to be intermixed. However what you buy off the shelf is intermixed. Wax/Sealant. Wax/cleaner is the most common. That is the reason why many say layers of max is futile. If the wax you use has a cleaner, you're just weakening the wax beneath and reapplying a new layer. On the other hand, when you wax, you cannot guarantee 100% coverage. You're still getting 90%, so there's nothing wrong with a 2nd application. 2nd application of the same wax has many other benefits. The best one in my opinion is more calories burned.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: razel

That is the reason why many say layers of max is futile. If the wax you use has a cleaner, you're just weakening the wax beneath and reapplying a new layer. On the other hand, when you wax, you cannot guarantee 100% coverage.

Yes, at least some products are honest enough to state that it isn't for layering, but assuring you get spots you might have missed. They could even be more honest and state they like you to buy twice as much, but that's another matter.