what is a spray wax
Written by: Vinnie van Rooij
A spray wax is protective product in a liquid form, thin enough to be pushed through a sprayhead in order to spread it over a surface by spraying. The liquid is usually white and unscented.
Contents
Why use spray wax
A spray wax is more thin then paste wax, this makes a difference in application. A paste wax needs to be applied with an applicator, spreading it can be difficult because there is more wax on the applicator pad when you just rubbed it over the wax. Basically, you are applying a lot of wax in the beginning, but less and less as you go on. This makes it less easy to create a perfectly level layer. A spray wax is applied via a spray nozzle, and then spread via a MF cloth or an applicator. Because the liquid is so thin, it is much more easy to spread it in a perfectly level layer. Just as with paste wax, a spray wax is best applied as thin as possible. All the dust from buffing is wasted product.
How does spray wax look like
It can differ per product, but in general most spray wax have roughly the same viscosity as milk and a similar white/off-white color. It is most common to be sold in a bottle with a spray head, but it can also be applied directly to a MF cloth or an applicator. The liquid often has little to no smell.
Performance and durability
Technically, there is no direct reason why a spray wax can not be as durable as a paste wax. However, there are many manufacturers that create a spray wax on the basis of a Quick Detailer. This will give you gloss and protection, but not as long as a paste wax. It is more difficult to create a paste wax with the performance of a QD. Some manufacturers aim to create a product with performance similar, equal or better then a paste wax. The similarity with a QD and the performance of cheaper products have caused customers to loose trust in these products.
Creating a spray wax
A spray wax is often an emulsion of water with oils and wax content. Very similar to the creation of a QD. A QD contains less wax content, and often less durable carriers and/or oils. Some water based paste wax could’ve been turned into a spray wax, but contain to little liquids to keep it thin enough to use as a spray wax.
There are a few manufacturers that have made spray wax on a solvent basis, there is no clear evidence that these perform better or worse.
The clear coat is a transparent layer of paint that can be used to cover the colored coat. The clear coat is usually the last coat of paint that is applied to a panel. The thickness can vary a lot per panel and per manufacturer. On average it can be between 30 and 80 micron. The clear coat is not always used, single stage paint is not covered with a clear coat....
A Dual Action polisher is a polishing machine that uses a circular motion combined with a spinning motion to create a rational double action. This motion is useful when polishing a surface by machine. The Dual Action polisher is famed for being easy to work with, making it ideal for beginners....
Tire dressing is made to restore faded black rubber. After a car has been detailed, you want the car to look spotless in every way. You cleaned the arches, the wheels, washed the car and even gave it a new coat of wax. In that case, you also want the tires to look deep, dark black. A tire dressing is an (mostly) oily product that helps to bring back the deep dark color or rubber....
Edging is the practice of polishing around the edges before polishing the rest of the panel. This means that you take the time to polish these relative sensitive areas first before working on the complete panel.This minimizes the risk of a strike through or burn through on the edge of the paintwork....
The two-bucket method is possibly to most known and most used technique used by detailers and professionals, to wash a vehicle. It is one of 3 different types of washing a vehicle that are widely considered to be safe and correct ways of cleaning a surface....
The Supernatural Machine Stick came into being for two reasons. The first was that we are always looking at cosmetics packaging because waxes are quite similar in nature, and if we can find a better way to package something we will....
[…] final step is to dry the car and apply liquid wax on it so it keeps its super shine and protects the paint. This is the step where most people damage […]