Removing Surface Scratches From Black Paint: Part III

Paintwork Protection (Wax/Sealant)

So you’ve just spent a few hours polishing, polishing, and polishing some more to remove the surface scratches from your car’s paint – now what? No matter how hard you’ve worked, you’d might as well drag a key across your hood if you forget to wax. Please don’t actually drag a key across your hood, but just know it’s extremely important that your car is waxed after any polishing procedure (whether cutting or preserving).

As most experts recommend, you should be waxing your car at least once a season. If you’re regular with waxing your car, you’ll experience a deeper finish and protection against the elements. Although completely true, there are more steps necessary to providing your paint with the best possible protection.

Carnauba or Polymer?

Whether you’ve got a new car, a beater, or a classic, there are always preventative procedures to protecting your car’s paint that go beyond waxing. Just as it is important to know how to wax your car, it’s important to know the best car wax products to use for your car’s needs. For example, at our detailing facility, we consistently recommend a premium paint sealant for newer cars in order to seal the young paint in as soon as possible. A polymer paint sealant is the ultimate in paintwork protection because not only does it seal in the paint, it also can be waxed over with carnauba for an even deeper shine and extended protection. That said, a paint sealant usually lasts 6-8 months vs. carnauba’s 2-3.

Although a carnauba car wax will provide your car’s paint with protection for a shorter period of time, it typically yields a deeper shine than a paint sealant would. Scientifically, this is due to the formulated quantity of bee’s wax within the carnauba wax. Aside from the deeper shine, carnauba is more common because it costs less, however when making t his distinction it is important to understand that you’re waxing more frequently with a carnauba car wax. All-in-all a carnauba wax gives you the protection you’ll need and deep shine for about 2-3 months, and is a great partner to any polymer paint sealant.

Waxing Recommendation

Whether you’ve recently polished your car or it’s simply time for a waxing, there’s one failsafe protection process that I recommend to anyone and everyone. If you haven’t sealed your car with a paint sealant, this is the first step. I recommend coating your car with a polymer sealant to act as a hand applied clear-bra (just not as hideous) for your vehicle. Once you’ve fully applied the paint sealant, apply a layer of carnauba wax directly on to the finish, allow to cure, and simply remove to yield a brilliant shine. Your car will not only be stunning, it will have full protection for over 6 months! The big thing here is staying regular; if you do this completely every 6 months and use a carnauba every 3, your car will look as good as new for as long as you own it!