What Does Carnauba Wax Do?
Described as “The Queen of Waxes” Carnauba Wax is included in every top quality car wax. But you may ask what does Carnauba Wax do?
Let us first take a look at exactly what it is and where it comes from. You will then be able to make more informed choice on which wax is best for you and your car. Which should lead to less overwhelm as you try to choose which product is best suited for your car and the result you require.
Carnauba is the purest form of natural wax and its come from Copernicia Prunifera palm trees in Northern Brazil. It is also called Brazil or Palm wax.The wax is excreted through the leaves to provide a protective layer against the suns harmful UV rays.
The leaves are harvested and dried out and then beating them to loosen the hard wax. It is then sold in grades ranging from T1, T3 and T4 according to the purity.
It is then mixed with other substances such as Beeswax or turpentine based solutions to soften it and improve its brittleness. This enables us to use it as a car wax the quality of which is governed by the amount of Carnauba wax contained and the purity.
In the 1960’s it was discovered by surfers and speed boat enthusiasts that Carnauba Wax had excellent hypoallergenic properties. Causing many surfboards and speed boat hulls to to be coated with the purest form of this wax to enable superior in water handling skill.
Protects from UV rays and water
Reflecting on how the wax is produced by the palm trees to protect against the harsh Brazilian sun. And how it superb hypoallergenic qualities repel water can you now see the purpose of giving you car the ultimate protective layer?
The suns rays are one of the biggest causes of car paintwork fading. Water remaining on the surface causing rain spots is the next greatest detriment to your car looking its best. A coat of top quality wax containing a good proportion of this Queen of Waxes will see your car always looking its bet, what ever the weather.
It will give you the best deep, glossy, wet look shine possible. But only if the preparation work has been done to the body work before applying this super protective coat. S0 let us take a look at just what is needed get the head turning shine on your car!
Wash and Polish before Wax
Wax simply provides a protective layer, it is the work that is done prior to applying this coat is what gives the overall result. A layer of wax cannot make poor paintwork look that much better. Therefore, lets take a look at the routine needed to gain a shine that deep you could dive into it!
- Wet your car all over with a gentle hosing
- Using a power washer and show foam gun, apply a liberal layer of good quality Snow Foam and leave it do it work for ten minutes or so.
- Pressure wash it off
- Dry car, using towels or a leaf blower
- Use a good quality polish and apply thinly, paying particular attention to areas where swirls of other defects can be seen.
- Polish off.
- Then finally apply your Carunauba Wax coat ensuring the surface is cool to the touch.
How to properly get Carnauba Wax out of jar with applicator pad
A common error made by many amateur detailer’s is to forcefully scrape wax out of the jar with the applicator pad. Then apply to the cars surface in lumps! This leads to uneven application and difficulty is buffing off.
To use the correct method, remove the lid and fit the circle applicator into the jar to rest on the top of the wax. Next with just gentle pressure on the applicator twist the can one way and the pad the other way.
This will create a small amount of friction between the wax and and then applicator. This friction will in turn provide a small amount of heat, which will slightly melt a thin layer of the wax. The melted wax will then stick to the applicator in a nice thin, even layer enabling a smooth, even and thin layer on the paintwork. See the video below.
Conclusion
So this natural ingredient will give you the deepest and glossiest shine to your well prepared paintwork and it may appear it is the answer to all detailing problems!
In some respects this it true however it is important to know that the deep, glossy shine can be short lived as the expected time scale is 3-8 weeks depending on the weather conditions. This is somewhat shorter than the new sealant products, which average 6 months of protection. What must be taken in to consideration though i as that Carnauba Wax is a natural product compared to the synthetic sealants.
If you enjoy detailing and waxing your car on a regular basis then we would definitely recommend using a good Carnauba based wax. If its longevity that you need then perhaps a sealant product would be a better way to go.
Our personal choice is the High Quality Carnauba Wax but we are biased as we love detailing!
We hope our brief guide on What Does Carnauba Wax Do has helped you and we look forward to providing more car wax information soon.