Car Care Articles

Carnauba wax is a naturally occurring waxy substance that is produced by Copernicia prunifera, which is also known as the Fan or Carnauba palm to protect its leaves from damage in the hot and harsh climates of Northeastern Brazil where it grows.

The wax is collected from the leaves of the tree by drying and then beating them to remove the waxy coating. It is a yellowish brown colour in its natural state but after being removed from the leaves of the tree, it is refined and bleached before being used in numerous different products and industries where it is sometimes referred to as the ‘Queen of Waxes’.

The most obvious products that contain Carnauba wax are car care products but it may surprise you to learn that it is also used in other products which are completely unrelated to polishes and waxes. For example, the cosmetics industry uses it to thicken many different products from lipstick to mascara and eye shadow. It is also used in the confectionary industry in the formulation of some sweets and when mixed with coconut oil it is the main ingredient of surfboard waxes.

You will also find it mixed with beeswax and turpentine in various furniture polishes and shoe polishes and when mixed with various tints and dyes it makes excellent coloured polish. It may surprise you to learn though, that the most common application of Carnauba wax in the United States is as a coating for paper.

Carnauba wax is hard and very durable, which makes it ideal to use as a hardwearing paint protector for cars. It doesn’t flake either as it gets old as other waxes do, also making it ideal as a car wax. Who needs their car covered in waxy flakes?

Carnauba wax will not be defeated by water which also makes it ideal for use on cars. Eventually it will break down and start to become dull but that’s when you know it is time to apply another layer. You are likely to only need to do this once or twice per year though.

A car enthusiast will find few things more pleasurable than standing back and admiring the results of a few hours labour on a Sunday afternoon after having washed and waxed his car.

If you are interested in maintaining that showroom look you need more than elbow grease. You will also need quality products, especially when it comes to getting a nice shine onto your car using wax or paint sealant. Both will give you a lasting shine and both need to be applied regularly, so what’s the difference?

First of all let’s start off by saying that they essentially achieve the same thing. They are both paint protectors. They are designed to be applied after you have polished your car’s paintwork. Polish works to remove those tiny abrasions and scratches that occur in your paintwork. It is slightly abrasive itself and because it is designed to restore the finish of your paintwork it will remove any previously applied wax etc leaving your paint unprotected. This is where wax and paint sealant comes in. It is applied after the polish has done its work in order to protect it.

By saying that they both achieve the same thing, hopefully that also infers that you don’t need both. Some people think that they need to apply paint sealant before they apply wax. This is not the case. You can do if you so choose but you don’t really gain anything. So, you have a personal choice to make. Paint sealant or wax.

Right, back to the original question. What’s the difference?

Essentially the difference is in the ingredients. If the product contains any naturally occuring waxy substance such as Carnauba wax then it is a wax. If it is made from synthetic ingredients and contains no naturally occurring wax then it is a paint sealant.

However, there is another problem. There are no laws to stop a car sealant manufacturer calling their product a wax. The reason they do this is that that majority of people who will buy their product know they want to wax their car. They will therefore look for a wax in the shop. The majority of people won’t care whether it is synthetic or not as long as it does the job they want it to do.

So, in the end, you have a personal choice to make. If you prefer to work with natural wax then look for a wax. If you prefer to work with synthetics then look for a paint sealant. Don’t go by the product name though. You need to look at the ingredients, just to be sure.

There’s a new car cleaning product in town and it is about to become one of the staple weapons in the car owners arsenal in the fight against the dirt found on the car.

I am talking about detailing clay. Detailing clay is used for removing what’s known as bonded contaminants from your paintwork.

You might find that after washing your car, although it looks all clean and shiny, it actually feels kind of rough or bubbly to the touch. The next time you wash your car, once it is dry, try running your hand gently over the paintwork. Does it feel a bit rough to the touch? Those are the contaminants left behind after the washing process that have bonded to your car’s paintwork. They could come from anywhere and include things such as break dust and other airborne contaminants encountered while driving, tree sap or bird droppings etc.

Detailing clay has been developed to remove the above contaminants from your car’s bodywork to leave it as smooth as glass. In fact, you can also use detailing clay on your glass work and wheels. One word of caution though, use a different one for each, the last thing you want is for the brake dust that has been removed from your wheels and transferred to the clay to then scratch your paintwork.

So how do you go about using detailing clay?

Well, just to re-iterate, a detailing clay is all about removing dirt that ordinary washing leaves behind. It should leave you with a smooth to the touch finish that can then be polished, waxed and sealed. Simply waxing your car straight after waxing will simply wax over those hard to remove contaminants.

If you are new to using detailing clay, you need to ensure that you start off with a gentle one, as they are available in different grades depending on how stubborn the contaminants are on your paintwork. The least aggressive clays should be adequate enough for most people. Only move onto a more aggressive grade if you have demonstrated your current clay is not up to the task.

The detailing clay works by simply pulling off the dirt particles which are then held onto by the clay. It is important to note here that you use detailing clay along with a suitable lubricant. It is also necessary to knead the clay to move the contaminants that have been removed from your car from the surface of the clay. If you don’t do this, or you don’t use enough lubricant then you could cause marring on the surface of your paintwork. If after properly kneading the clay you can no longer see a clean surface to use then the clay should be discarded and a new piece used.

Examples of lubricants that you may want to consider can be found by manufacturers such as Meguiars, Clearkote and Pinnacle, and there are others.

You should constantly knead the clay while you are using it to ensure that it remains soft and warm. When it goes cold, it may become brittle and it will not be effective in lifting off the contaminants from the paintwork. This could also leave surface marring.

Work on small areas of the car body at a time, say one panel at a time. Wet the surface thoroughly with your lubricant and then gently work the clay over the surface. Use only light finger pressure. Don’t press on too hard. Let the clay do the work.

Don’t use the clay on dry panels, if the lubricant dries before you get to a bit, spray on some more. Once you are happy that the surface is smooth, wipe off any clay left behind with a soft cloth.

Finally remember that the claying process will also remove any previously applied layers of wax, so you should always follow the claying process with polishing, waxing and sealing.

A number of manufacturers are starting to produce detailing clays along with their corresponding lubricants. They vary in grades and price and a number of them can be found on this site in the cleaning category

This probably sounds really odd, but I think that dirty cars look sort of cool in that they show the car has been used a lot etc. The thing is though, this only works for cars that are really, really dirty or ones that look like they’ve been used off road and so have mud splats up around the wheel arches etc.

The problem is though that the majority of dirty cars don’t look like this, they just look neglected and untidy. This is the state that my car tends to get to no matter how often I use it and so rather than find a forest rally stage to take part in it inevitable gets to the point where I decide to give it a wash.

There is a correct way to wash a car though and the following is intended as a guide for those of you who are new to the world of motoring, and therefore to the world of keeping your car clean or got those of you who may be thinking that you might not be washing your car correctly.

First of all try and find a spot where the washing process won’t be interrupted by falling leaves etc.

Next, check the instructions on your bottle of car shampoo and prepare yourself a bucket full of warm soapy water. For the time being though put the bucket to one side. One mistake that a lot of people might make is to not hose off any excess dirt or grit from the surface of the car. Do this with a hose or a pressure washer as to rub this off with a wet cloth or a sponge may cause tiny scratches in the surface of your paintwork. Make sure you hose off all the surfaces from the top to the bottom of the car including the wheels and tires.

Now, get your sponge or cleaning cloth and lather it up in your bucket of soapy water and clean the whole of the roof of the car. Once you have completed sponging off the roof, give it a good rinse with the hose.

Next, pick one side of the car and do the same. Give it a good clean followed by a thorough rinse. Repeat this for the other side followed by the front and the rear. Make sure you rinse between each section.

Once you have completed all four ‘sides’ give the car another good rinse to try and stop any water spots developing. After rinsing take a towel or chamois leather and thoroughly dry the surface by laying it flat against the paintwork and dragging it across the surface. You may want to rinse the towel or leather in a bucket of clean warm water before squeezing it dry and repeating. Do this for the whole car starting again with the roof before doing all four sides starting at the top and working your way down.

Now give the windows a good clean all around using some glass polish and a rag after you make sure the surface is dry. Do the inside while your at it.

If you have any metal or chrome on your car give it special attention and a good rub with a cloth to polish away any water spots.

You can get cleaning supplies from almost anywhere. One good tip I heard though was to not use car cleaning cloths from the pound shop as they tend to leave bits everywhere. Having said that a plain old cotton t-shirt is ideal from there for use as a drying rag.