Difference between wax and sealant

obi_waynne

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I'm getting the impression that there is still some confusion about wax and sealant. (Thankfully most people now know what a polish is and what it does!)

Would anyone like to explain the differences and merits of wax vs sealants in an easy to understand manner?
 
waxes are natural products
sealants are man made

short and simple ;)

now the confusing part

some products that say they are waxes are actually sealants. meguires nxt wax (stuff in a bottle) and im sure theyre paste wax is as well.

alot of waxes actually contain additional sealants to make they more durable
 
It wasn't that long ago when waxes and polishes were also mislabelled. I thought it was far more complicated than that with certain paint finishes working better with one rather than the other.

I'd say the down sides of waxes is that as the wax coating builds up it actually traps dirt but I don't see this so much with sealants. What are your thoughts?
 
you will find that certain products work well on certain colours

waxes i find give deeper shine on darker cars were as sealants work better on lighter ones. but at the end of the day it down to personal choice. some manufactures such as dodo juice provide different colour waxes for different colours to try and make the finish look better.


the dirt getting trapped, do you mean between coats ?

generally the big difference is durability few waxes can last as long as alot of sealants, coilinite being an exception
 
The Carbanura (or whatever wax) they use gets slightly soft in hot weather effectively making the surface of the paint sticky (at a microscopic level not to touch). The dirt gets trapped in the wax layer, at least it's not damaging the paint but it is a good idea to strip wax off once a year and completely redo it for this reason alone.

I noticed it a lot on a white car (my 220 Gti), I did some panels with wax and some with sealant. The waxed panels took a lot more cleaning after 6 months than the sealant but the wax coating was beading for about 3 months and the sealant only managed about 4.5 months.
 
with you now on the wax, sealants generally are higher melting points - the fk that i use can be used on the brakes to seal them if painted.

totally agree with stripping the wax off the car everytime you do a big wash - i do it every time i notice the beading starting to drop back. and its the only time id say to wash your car with fairy liquid
 
Agreed there is a lot of confusion (for some) between wax and sealant and I agree some of its down to the manufacturers
 
wash the care with fairy liqud
tardis and then claying - make sure to rinse well after the tardis as it will dissolve the clay as i found out
 
then use another piece, but give the car another wash before you start

never use a whole block of clay, Bilt hamber do a 200gram block that only needs water as a lubricant. out of that if the cars in good nick a piece around 25g will do a car so you will have plenty if your unfortunate and drop it, or it falls to pieces
 
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should have guessed lol
 

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