While a thorough car wash will suffice to keep your car’s exterior and interior clean, you will find that a car wax will take it to a new level. You may spend more dollars for a car wax at Car Spa but your car’s brand-new appearance is well worth it. Plus, you will also enjoy more benefits aside from the aesthetics so be sure to ask for the extra service next time.
But like all types of services at a car wash, you should first know what a car wax is before getting it. You have the responsibility as a customer to know what you’re getting and paying for, after all.
What Is a Car Wax?
A car wax is just as its name says – it’s a type of wax that can be applied on top of a car’s paint to give it a shinier appearance. Wax itself in technical terms means a hard hydrocarbon at room temperature, usually made from natural sources. The wax may come from either natural sources, such as the carnauba and palm plants, or from synthetic materials like silicones.
But wax in its purest form is a hard material that cannot be spread evenly, much less applied well, on the surface of a car. Manufacturers then add solvents and oils to the wax so that it becomes more malleable.
Every wax product used on your car is actually made of several types of wax, as well as varying amounts of solvents and oils. Even premium carnauba wax consists of such mixture.
What Does Car Wax Do?
A car wax is mostly about car protection. Basically, it acts as a barrier between your car’s clear coat and the natural elements to which it is exposed on a daily basis. The natural elements include sun, air and rain that can damage your car’s clear coat finish over time.
Water, especially rainwater, is especially damaging because of the pollutants in it. The pollutants can be easily transferred into a car’s clear coat and paint resulting in its microscopic damage. The application of wax on your car’s bodywork makes it hydrophobic, or more resistant to rainwater penetration.
The application of wax also makes it possible to dry a car using just plain water from an open hose. This eliminates the need for contact drying, or using a towel for drying, which also removes the risk of scratches on the bodywork.
There’s also the fact that a car wax makes it more difficult for pollutants in the air and rainwater to deposit dust, dirt and grime on the clear coat. This means a shinier appearance over a long period and a lesser frequency for a car wash.