It is hard to give a carnauba percentage and keep a straight face, because there is no industry standard when it comes to measuring the amount of carnauba wax in a product.
Because there is no 'FDA' and no regulations, companies are allowed to get creative with with their marketing numbers. This has really confused the marketplace and allowed a whirlwind of misinformation to take foot.
Does carnauba percentage matter?
Yes. Carnauba wax resin is 1 of 5-10 ingredients used in automotive waxes. It is not the least important ingredient; It is not the most important ingredient. It is just one of many. The percentage of carnauba wax in the product is vital in relation to the other ingredients used to make the product. Number #1 Yellow Carnauba wax is probably the most effective natural ingredient that can be applied to paint and is used for it's protective qualities. The look and depth a carnauba produces is more a function of the other ingredients such as the oils and solvents then it is off the wax itself.
So what does the number quoted by other manufacturers mean?
Really it means nothing because there is no standard. It is a number that is picked out of the sky. If you read threads on Detailing Bliss or Detailing World where people have attempted to make there own carnauba wax, most found the wax to become increasingly difficult to use as the amount of wax used exceeded 30%, which is around the practical limit of the amount of carnauba that really be mixed into a wax.
When this number is exceeded the wax becomes increasingly difficult to apply and remove, going from crayon like to a brick on concrete. Wax that is truly 60% or more carnauba would be like a brick and would serve little purpose greater then a paper weight.
Let me give you an example of how a company can twist the numbers a couple of different ways...
Let's say we have a 100 gallon drum that represents our wax container.
We fill this 100 gallon drum 90% full with feathers. Feathers represent the carnauba since when it is processed it is a very airy flake.
Now we fill the rest of 100 gallon drum with water. As the water fills the space between the feathers we might be surprised to learn that the 100 gallon drum swallows 80 gallons of water!
So how do we measure this? We filled it 90 percent full of feathers, yet it still took 80 gallons of water...
1) The most accurate way to measure this (I believe) is to go by the wet volume. Since 80 gallons of water and thus 20 gallons of feathers (wet volume) can fit in the 100 gallon drum, we can accurately state that the drum is 20% feathers by wet volume. But that wouldn't be fun (although accurate).
2) We could say that since we first filled it with 90 gallons of feathers and then added 80 gallons of water, which gives a total of 170 gallons of product of which 57% would be feathers. This is obviously not accurate as you cannot have 170 gallons of product cannot fit in a 100 gallon drum.
3) We could really skew the numbers and even claim that it is 90% feathers since we did fill the drum 90% full before adding the wax.
To make make matters worse, carnauba is often synergistically blended with other waxes because they tend to have a mutual benefit. This is often a good thing! Adding montan or bee's wax to carnauba can increase the looks, durability, or application of the wax, making it better then carnauba by itself. The percentage of this blend can be stated as well. Let's say of the natural waxes used it features 60% carnauba, 10% paraffin, 30% bee's wax. Now the manufacturer sticks a 60% carnauba wax sticker on the label.
So how much carnauba is in Midnight Sun?
To be honest I really don't know and you would have to define how you want me to measure it. If I was to use the rating system of some manufactures I am sure I could easily manipulate the numbers to show more then 60% (in fact I know I can). We feel this would be dishonest on our part.
I can assure you that the carnauba wax used in Midnight Sun is of the highest quality, then micro refined to give it a white appearance. This gives the #1 Carnauba a whitish (vs. yellowish) appearance, although it is the highest quality #1 yellow carnauba that we use. I can also attest to the fact that the amount of carnauba used is in perfect relation to the oils, solvents, polymers, and carriers in the wax to provide what we feel is the best performing wax at it's price (or any price). In fact I Midnight Sun is among the most expensive waxes in the world to produce, ounce for ounce, and far more expensive then any wax we have made previously.
It is a blend of the highest quality ingredients available, it is literally impossible to make a higher quality wax and is a culmination of Proper Auto Care developing high quality carnauba waxes for over 20 years!
