100% carnauba ??????????

[Treatment man]

just a question whats with the mequiars 100% carnauba



i thought there was no such thing how can it boughned to your car????

[autoweenie]

What it means is that the wax inside is 100% carnauba

(that is, no bee wax, ear wax, etc).

No, it does not mean it is 100% carnauba by content.

[Treatment man]

oh ok thanks



that makes sense

[lbls1]

It just means that it contains a mixture of pure carnauba wax, probably a yellow carnauba grade, and solvents that makes it in its liquid form. The wax is not supposed to have cleaning agents, thus the claim "100%."



Those over the counter waxes probably will contain anywhere between 5% and 15% (benefit of the doubt) of carnauba content.



There is no wax on the market that will contain 100% carnauba, because of carnauba`s brittle natural state, which without solvents would be unsuitable to apply to your car. It is claimed that natural carnauba will have the consistency of a brick or concrete.



Not so fast.....the better carnaubas will have more of the carnauba content percentage wise, and generally will cost more than your typical waxes. Zymol (love them or hate them) waxes contains the highest carnauba content available in the market. Their highest quality wax will have a content at or around 61 percent.



Another thing....it matters greatly not just the content of carnauba, but the grade, or level of refined carnauba. There are various levels of yellow (cheaper waxes will have crude versions of yellow), #1 yellow, and the more expensive and rare white and #1 white carnauba. The higher the grade (#1 white is regarded as the highest grade carnauba available) will typically yield the clearest and most intense resolution.



Some people will not pay much attention to this stuff, and the grade of wax won`t make much of a difference to them. However, the seasoned carnauba detailers and connoisseurs (sp...that word again) of concourse quality automobiles will make distinctions in the refinement of carnauba finishes.



The short of it is......find the best wax that will yield you results, by experimenting with high and lower end waxes, and produce the best resolution in your finish that will exceed your expectations.

[Treatment man]

who decides on what carnauba is the best ??

is it a personal opinion or is there a test to compare ?



i hear a lot of people on this site talking about meguirs carnauba wax and other meguirs products being the best out there but i dont see meguirs as a high end product like symol,zaino,SP21s and the Treatment (yes my favorite)

[lbls1]

That`s a good one............a lot of results are just that, based on opinion.



There have been a lot of tests of waxes as well, and a lot of those have been based on the test taker`s findings. Some tests have used fairly structured approaches in determining wax performance, however, the visual results have usually been the predominant indicator of performance of a wax to its observer.



Just because a wax has more of a content or "more refined" ingredients will not necessarily deem it the best for everyone. Factors that are important include affordability, ease of use, duration, and finish resolution. The best wax may or may not be the same for each person if it is out of reach or hard to use. If you are evaluating a wax or are trying to find a quality wax, then content and grade of carnauba, as well as the visible results, are good indicators of the wax`s potential in terms of finish quality.



The best wax, like I hinted at earlier, will end up being the wax that satisfies its user the most.

[JustinR32]

I thought white carnauba was just bleached yellow carnauba?



Tom

[detailforfun]

Originally posted by Treatment man

who decides on what carnauba is the best ??

is it a personal opinion or is there a test to compare ?



i hear a lot of people on this site talking about meguirs carnauba wax and other meguirs products being the best out there but i dont see meguirs as a high end product like symol,zaino,SP21s and the Treatment (yes my favorite)

Your wallet will decide most of the time and often times it depends who you talk to. This wax thing won`t break the bank, BUT, hehehehe, it could make a "huge" dent. Just me, I always hold my wallet when I surf the net. heheheh. Just me!:nixweiss :nixweiss

[imported_memnuts]

Originally posted by lbls1



Another thing....it matters greatly not just the content of carnauba, but the grade, or level of refined carnauba. There are various levels of yellow (cheaper waxes will have crude versions of yellow), #1 yellow, and the more expensive and rare white and #1 white carnauba. The higher the grade (#1 white is regarded as the highest grade carnauba available) will typically yield the clearest and most intense resolution.





There are some wax manufacturers that advertise the use of only white carnauba in their products. There is no such thing as an albino carnauba tree (the power of advertising).

Number one grade yellow carnauba is the highest quality available. Bleaching does nothing for improving its quality.

[topnotchtouch]

Originally posted by blkZ28Conv

There are some wax manufacturers that advertise the use of only white carnauba in their products. There is no such thing as an albino carnauba tree (the power of advertising).

Number one grade yellow carnauba is the highest quality available. Bleaching does nothing for improving its quality.



It could be they are referring to the look of white vs yellow carnauba on paint. White generally gives a clear look so the true color of the paint shows through and yellow carnauba tends to darken the paint. Maybe that is what they are referring to when they tout the benefits of white carnauba?



P.S. I see you live near VIR. Could I ask if you have any suggestions for places to stay near VIR? I am thinking of dragging the family up there next weekend for the Factory Five Challenge Series Finals (http://www.factoryfive.com/table/showevent/nationals/2004/nationals2004invite.html). They are also having a car show.

[imported_memnuts]

Originally posted by rjstaaf

P.S. I see you live near VIR. Could I ask if you have any suggestions for places to stay near VIR? I am thinking of dragging the family up there next weekend for the Factory Five Challenge Series Finals (http://www.factoryfive.com/table/showevent/nationals/2004/nationals2004invite.html). They are also having a car show.





Many of the racers / auto clubs stay at the Courtyard(Marriott), Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express. These logdings are in Danville, Va, about 10 miles (20 mins drive) from VIR. Probably should book ASAP because of the holiday (Labor Day weekend).

Hope this helps. :wavey

[lbls1]

Originally posted by blkZ28Conv

There are some wax manufacturers that advertise the use of only white carnauba in their products. There is no such thing as an albino carnauba tree (the power of advertising).

Number one grade yellow carnauba is the highest quality available. Bleaching does nothing for improving its quality.



Zymol claims that they use #1 white carnauba. To clarify, white is sometimes called ivory, but Zymol explains it as coming from a pale yellow carnauba. The pale yellow, or "white" is regarded as the highest quality carnauba. Some used to say that the carnauba gets bleached into white, but I wouldn`t necessarily believe that claim.



Zymol (unlike a lot of waxes) certifies the contents of all of their premium waxes.



See: http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Detailing/waxglaze.htm



http://www.zymol.com/carnauba.htm



Guru also mentioned "Ivory" carnauba briefly, but did not elaborate on the term.

[topnotchtouch]

Originally posted by blkZ28Conv

Many of the racers / auto clubs stay at the Courtyard(Marriott), Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express. These logdings are in Danville, Va, about 10 miles (20 mins drive) from VIR. Probably should book ASAP because of the holiday (Labor Day weekend).

Hope this helps. :wavey





Thanks much, we got one of the last two rooms left at the Hampton Inn for that weekend.



Sould be a lot of fun, I am gonna be taking lots of pictures and will post them next week.



:wavey

[topnotchtouch]

Just as blkz28conv I always thought that white carnauba was just yellow carnauba that had been bleached. Did some searching and found this on Zymol`s website. Don`t know how true it is as I have yet to see it anywhere else but, will continue to look.





""White" Carnauba is made from the sap of very young palmetto plants and is highly transparent."

http://www.zymol.com/whichwax.htm



EDIT: Everything I have seen leads me to believe that white carnauba=pale yellow carnauba. It all seems to point to something similar to the quote from Zymol above that white carnauba comes from very young palms.

http://www.arbortech.com.au/articles/036.html



"The most widely used are the prime # 1 yellow grade which is a very pale yellow wax usually available in flake, lump, or powdered form."

http://www.texasdrone.com/carnauba-wax.htm



I wonder though if some white carnauba is actually bleached yellow carnauba?

[shaf]

"More Carnauba" doesn`t always mean "better"....



I think these days they can still blend carnauba with silicones and other synthetic stuff, but still say 100% carnauba because that`s the only real wax in it.





Moved to Detailing Product Discussion.