Traits of Waxes/Sealants?

[CharlesW]

Something that always seemed a little strange to me is how a very thin film of a wax or sealant can have the effect it does on the paint finish.
The amount of product left on the finish has to be so thin as to be almost impossible to measure without the use of some pretty sophisticated measuring devices.
Yet, we talk about how various waxes/sealants:
Darken Paint
Make paint look wetter or deeper
Have a candy glossy shine
Make the paint "glow"
Mute the flake
Bring out the flake

To me, it is amazing that such a thin layer of product can do so much.
I'm certainly not disputing the fact that it happens. I have seen the darkening results and the deeper wetter look.
FWIW, a detailed chemical explanation will go right over my heard, but maybe some others will understand.

 

[Stephan]

Good post!!! I have often wondered myself, and I will also probably not understand the time and effort required for a product that we wipe on then almost immediately wipe right off, adds, like you said, color, depth, and protection...

 

[Jngrbrdman]

Not so amazing if you think about it. The antiglare coating on eye glasses isn't that thick either. Or the polarization that is added. Think about how thick window tint is. It doesn't take a very thick layer of a product to impact the optics.

Color is very scientific. What makes red or blue or green or any color is just a matter of how the molecules reflect light back. The slightest tweak to that chemistry and you get a different color. Sealants and waxes aren't tinted much, but any amount of tinting will darken the paint if it impacts the refraction of light. The molecules in a sealant or a wax are different enough to change how the light is refracted. That is why the appearance changes as the product wears off. The light goes back to the way it was at the begining.

Scratches, haze, oxidation, or anything else on the surface will also impact how the light comes back to us, so you'll get different results on different colors depending on how well prepared the surface is. That is why the prep work is where most of the shine comes from. You can wax a scratched up oxidized vehicle and it is still going to look pretty poor. Polish it up and it will look much much better. It isn't that the wax or sealant is producing more shine, it is the fact that the surface is better prepared to be less of an impairment to the natural science of shine.

Probably a really poor explaination, but that is how I understand it and similar to how I explain it to customers who ask "how did you do that?!?"

 

[cwcad]

Many detailers on this and other forums talk of the cheimcal make up of each product. I read the words and very seldom understand the chemical formulas or hyped words of acryllic polymers, nano technolgy, and water or oil based products. I do listen to whether they should/could be mixed or used in conjunction with a detail.

I have used different manufacutrers to complete a detail but really do try to use a synergistic approach to using different products because it only makes sense to me that a company creates products that work best when used together.

I have read many reports of mixing products together to get longer working time, less dusting, more cutting power and the like but I have hesitated in doing these particular practices since I have found, that the products that I choose to use, work when used according to manufacturers insrtuctions and real hands on experience. Another reason is... if it is not working... find something that does.