Does wax eliminate fading?

B

bcwang

New member
It's hard to do a search on UV protection since the search engine doesn't accept "uv" as a term, too short. So I'll just start a thread on it.



Does wax, carnauba or synthetic, provide complete protection against UV? What I mean is, if a car was always in the sun, and the only protection was wax, and the car was waxed regularly so that it never had it's wax worn off, will the paint still fade over time or not?



I ask this because I wonder if the "UV protection" claims of some wax products is mareketing, or if they actually add something that completely blocks UV from hitting the paint, compared to other waxes that don't claim UV protection. I'm looking for a wax that lasts long, but if it lasts long but doesn't provide UV protection from the paint, that isn't going to do me much good because I'm really waxing to protect the paint from fading and damage. The shine in my original paint job is great, so all I need to do is protect it, doesn't need to boost the shine.



A couple of the waxes that claim uv protection are finish 2001 and eagle one wet liquid.
 
If your car is always in the sun then a wax isn't going to help for long anyway. Wax is just wax. ;) It will evaporate and burn off in the sun the same way a candle melts down when its lit. I don't know of any waxes that can provide significant UV protection for any extended period of time in the environment you are talking about.



Even the best waxes aren't going to last more than 8 weeks or so. If you are looking for UV protection and durability then you need to look at getting some Klasse or Zaino. Sealants are way tougher than waxes. Now days people pretty much just use wax to improve the looks of their car and not so much to protect them.
 
bcwang- I doubt that ANYTHING provides "COMPLETE" UV protection. As far as reasonable protection that will greatly extend the life of your paint, then yes. I wouldn't put much stock in what the manufacturers claim on their labels. And as Jngrbrdman said, for the best UV protection, use something like Klasse or Zaino.



Jngrbrdman and I aren't always in complete agreement on this "protection" topic :cool: . One of those things people can agree to disagree on. It's not necessarily a cut-and-dried, yes/no matter. I feel that waxes DO provide some degree of protection against fading, contamination, etc. Just not as good as modern synthetics (there is no question that the synthetics will protect better and longer). As Jngrbrdman said, the sun will evaporate wax in short order, so you'd have to reapply frequently. A lot of it will depend on your environment.



Note that there are some old collector cars out there with original paint that is in nice shape. These cars were driven in daylight and were protected with (only) wax long before synthetic sealants came out.



FWIW, I've VERY seldom (I used Autoglym SRP once) used a synthetic on my '85 Jag, just wax. Its paint was pretty lousy when new (gross understatement), but it still looks as good as it ever did 18 years later. BUT..that car isn't parked in the sun much these days :D BUT then again, it's engine compartment gets VERY hot and the paint on its hood hasn't faded or otherwise deteriorated from the heat.
 
I do know that waxes will be destoyed and won't last long with the hot summer sun shining on it, maybe just a few weeks. What I'm wondering is, while it's still there, if it will provide UV protection for the paint and clearcoat. I know that clearcoats these days protect the paint underneath from fading, but that means the clearcoat takes the damage from the sun. So if wax can't block UV, then the clearcoat will still be taking damage and will eventually fail as well. Now it sounds like sealants will provide UV protection, but I'm just wondering if any wax you buy will also provide the same UV protection, as short as it might last. If a person were to wax their car weekly with something like turtlewax, but it's always outdoors in the sun, I just wonder if it will fade compared to a car whose finish is never waxed, but just sits in the garage for the same amount of time. I'd like to think that everybody who waxes with any wax, is giving renewable protection fo the paint, so that the paint will always look as good as new, even with years of sun abuse.
 
If you took two cars and left them in the sun 24/7 and didn't wax one of them and you waxed the other one every three weeks then I can pretty much guarantee that the waxed one will fade later than the unwaxed one. Wax will provide some measure of protection but its just not the best kind. Its kind of like SPF 2 vs a sealants SPF 20. I don't know of any waxes that will protect enough to make it worth it.
 
Hmm, maybe I shouldn't use the word wax. Let's say, some of the stuff on the market, whether it be synthetic or not, such as nufinish, finish2001, eagle one wet, mothers reflections, meguiars gold class. Now these are "car wax" products, which are probably not made with real wax. So with these kind of car care products, will they actually provide the protection to keep the car shiny and new for years, or will I have to get something special, like klasse aio or zaino for the protection? Lots of these products on the market do mention ingredients to prevent paint fade from UV, and though that may be marketing, I'd assume that the product would provide paint protection otherwise they would best not mention it otherwise risk getting sued.



Maybe someday someone should do a wax/sealent test not for durability and shine, but for protective properties. You could keep the panels waxed weekly to make sure the protection is still there throughout the test, and just leave it in the sun for a few years. After some time period, like 5 years or so, you could see if any paint faded or if there's surface degradation, comparing it to a control sample which is never exposed to the sun, and one that has no protection and exposed with the rest of the panels. That would be an interesting test, though time consuming and a long wait for the results.
 
it's fairly simple to test the protective properties, just apply X on a clear surface, shoot UV rays through it and measure how much gets through. Ok, not a home test for sure :), but I don't think a 5 yr testing period would be necessary (excluding durability).

I don't think there's really much protection from a clear application right now...probably why real sunglasses aren't clear and tinted windows provide more protection than the OEM "UV-blocking" windows.

The only other relatively clear UV protection I can think of is suntan lotion (maybe), but you're supposed to re-apply that stuff every 4-6 hours or something. Hey, if you want to rub some lotion on yer car, go for it :D....although I'm sure that stuff baking onto the surface would probably damage the paint, darn.
 
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