applying wax by hand...literally....BARE hand

I apply Zymol Vintage by hand. I place a little in the palm of my hand and rub it for a few seconds and it melts. I use my finger tips and palm to apply. It is quite a unique experience every one should try. You do not have to have Vintage to do this either.
 
This is just my opinion.



I tried it. It was too messy for me. I tried the bare hand method with Victoria Concours Red Wax, and Swissvax Concorso. Both recommend bare hand.



I've always just used cotton & foam applicators. Foam spreads product more evenly for me than by hand.



Fwiw. I believe detailer Paul Dalton's now using foam applicators over the bare hand method. He use to wax by bare hand only during his Zymol days I believe. Could be wrong, but in all of the videos he never used an applicator. Maybe it was more for show??
 
Hi to all, I haven't posted in a long time. David



Applying wax with the bare hands is not a new technique, it was used in the 60’s, and I suspect that it had been used by people at sometime or another over the last 100 years. It just produces some of the best possible looks and protection. Wax is at its very best when the wax from the original jar or tin is in that same concentrations. The hands are non-porous and no carrier solvents will be absorbed. What is in the jar or tin is now in the proper concentrations on the finish. Bare hand waxing will benefit any wax-based product by any manufacture. In the right hands it could make the difference between a good job and an excellent job. If you are like me, waxing the finish is the final step and the most rewarding. One coat of wax is not enough and ten coats seems reasonable. We are all guilty of over using wax applicators to the point that we have to wring out the liquid solvent collected every once in a while to continue getting a good mix. And most of us seal the moist wax applicator back in the jar or tin to be ready for the next round of waxing. I am not saying that any one particular technique is for everyone, I just know what I like and find rewarding. It is hard resisting going back to the container for more wax, but just keep on spreading and massaging in what you have. One of the biggest problems with using a wax applicator is that they can easily grab a sharp piece of sand and it can become embedded in the applicator. Without knowing it that sharp piece of rock is moved all over the surface starting what is later known as swirl marks. With the bare hands application that same piece of sharp sand would be detected and removed almost instantly. Swirl marks are a fact of life, but they can be reduced considerably.
 
I'm not expert, but I will contribute what i always considered to be my understanding of the "bare hand" method.



*SOME* waxes contain a special enzyme or chemical that reacts with body heat and enhances some of the solvents/oils that carry the wax, thus making the wax more pliable, and spreadable. From what I've seen and read, this usually applies to waxes with extremely high carnauba content. Since carnauba is so hard in its natural form, a high-content wax might need a little help to become more spreadable.



Also, from what I've seen and read, the waxes that contain these ingredients will actually recommend using the bare-hand method on the package directions.



I have to believe that Meguiars, Mothers, Collinite, Poorboys, Pinnacle, etc. all know what they are talking about when it comes to their own products. If their package directions recommend a foam or cloth applicator, then that's probably what you should use.



It's pretty safe to assume that if you're waxing a car, you have hands. So if there was a benefit to using bare hands, you have to believe that they would tell you.



Now, I don't want to hear from the consipiracy theorists with ideas about how car care companies wouldn't tell you that so they could sell more applicators. That's crazy. Market evolution would never allow that. It would only take one manufacturer one time to demonstrate that the bare hand method makes a *better* shine and the increased market share would far outweigh lost applicator revenue.



Besides, many OTC waxes include an applicator anyway, so if bare hands produced better results, they would actually increase profits by removing the pre-packaged applicator. Since they don't, the applicator must have a purpose.
 
I like Mike's take on it...



Mike Phillips said:
It's a marketing strategy about creating the perception of;





Unique

Special

Exclusive

Reserved

Aristocratic

Fill in the blank

Back in about 1991 I actually waxed a car that I had buffed out first by machine, (rotary buffer), and then bare-hand applied two coats of M26 Liquid wax. That is I used my bare hand to apply the wax. I mostly did this to see what it was like, to see if there were any benefit to using your bare hand to apply a wax to the paint on a car.







In my opinion, for whatever that is worth... there was no benefit at all..







At least no benefit that made it better than using a normal, foam hand wax applicator pad or a foam buffing pad on a machine. I have never used my bare hand to apply a wax to a car since then and I've worked on a lot of cars. A foam wax applicator pad can absorb, in this case absorb some wax, (or a paint sealant), and then when you press on the foam just a little it will release some product enabling you to spread it out. You skin can't absorb and hold a little wax, (or paint sealant), like a quality foam applicator pad and so pressing on your skin, or pressing your skin against the paint won't release any wax or paint sealant, you have to go back to the source and get some more wax or paint sealant back onto your hand to continue spreading product.







There was one tiny benefit to applying wax with a bare hand and that was using your sense of touch if you sensed or felt any kind of particle between your hand and the paint you could stop and remove the offending particle. Not sure I've ever seen this pointed out by any other forum personality that practices bare-hand waxing? With an applicator pad you can't feel tiny particles, you have to turn your applicator pad over often and visually inspect for them and this by the way is a good habit to forum or "Best Practice" when applying any paint care product by hand or machine.







In a perfect world, the best way to apply a wax or a paint sealant to paint is without a doubt by machine, specifically a dual action polisher with a soft finishing pad or a polishing pad on the 3-4 speed setting after the paint has been previously cleaned and polished.











Spreading the pressure out







Bare Hand



When you're working with your bare hand, there's no interface to spread pressure out, just your hand against the paint.







DA Polisher



With a machine like a Dual Action Polisher, the pressure is spread out evenly over the entire face of the buffing pad assuming you're using good technique and holding the pad flat to the surface.







Wax Applicator Pad



Your hand, which is actually 4 fingers pushing down on an applicator pad creates pressure points and cannot match, let alone outperform the equal pressure applied to the entire face of a foam buffing pad with about a 6" diameter by machine.



PressurePoints001.jpg












So out of the 2 options, machine, wax applicator pad or bare hand, the machine option provides for the most even pressure when spreading out a wax, hand application offers some ability to spread out the pressure but when working by hand there's nothing to act as an interface between your hand and the paint.











A Romantic Idea



Melting wax with your hand is just a romantic idea, nothing wrong with that as it does invoke this perception of old world craftsmanship. That said, you can melt most paste waxes enough to liquefy them so the wax will flow into your applicator pad simply by spinning your applicator over the surface of the wax while it's in the can. M16 has been out since 1951 and all the old-timers knew this back in the day...







1948RollsRoyceM16FoamPad.jpg
















If applying wax with your bare hand sounds like a good idea simply get a clean, foam applicator pad and then do your own hands-on test and try applying and spreading out a thin, uniform coating using both methods, hand and applicator pad and then come to your own opinion and then post it here to share with others.
Click to expand...
 
David Wyllie said:
Hi to all, I haven't posted in a long time. David



Applying wax with the bare hands is not a new technique, it was used in the 60’s, and I suspect that it had been used by people at sometime or another over the last 100 years. It just produces some of the best possible looks and protection. Wax is at its very best when the wax from the original jar or tin is in that same concentrations. The hands are non-porous and no carrier solvents will be absorbed. What is in the jar or tin is now in the proper concentrations on the finish. Bare hand waxing will benefit any wax-based product by any manufacture. In the right hands it could make the difference between a good job and an excellent job. If you are like me, waxing the finish is the final step and the most rewarding. One coat of wax is not enough and ten coats seems reasonable. We are all guilty of over using wax applicators to the point that we have to wring out the liquid solvent collected every once in a while to continue getting a good mix. And most of us seal the moist wax applicator back in the jar or tin to be ready for the next round of waxing. I am not saying that any one particular technique is for everyone, I just know what I like and find rewarding. It is hard resisting going back to the container for more wax, but just keep on spreading and massaging in what you have. One of the biggest problems with using a wax applicator is that they can easily grab a sharp piece of sand and it can become embedded in the applicator. Without knowing it that sharp piece of rock is moved all over the surface starting what is later known as swirl marks. With the bare hands application that same piece of sharp sand would be detected and removed almost instantly. Swirl marks are a fact of life, but they can be reduced considerably.
Click to expand...



Ten coats of wax?!?!?
 
I use my hands with EGZymol Vintage all of the time, and with great results. I would never use an applicator with any of the zymols.
 
Fwiw. If you have rough hands, or soft paint I would highly recommend an applicator. I use foam. I've talked with several people who have scratched their paint because of this.



My take on it is this. I don't believe you could tell a difference between a car with hand rubbed paint and one used with an applicator. imo bare hand waxing makes a mess, and is hard to remove from your hands. Plus it feels strange for a while afterwards. Your hands bead water. LOL



Bottom line. Do whatever makes you happy.
 
I use a toaster oven designed warmer to warm my pads to apply high-end waxes. hand application is a waste of product alone, but it makes people feel good, fine. It just uses up way too much wax for the amount of wax leftover when you have removed it, let alone the difficulty removing if too heavy.



It dates back to surfer times (waxing your board) which was all by hand, so they started doing the same thing to their Woody wagons and it caught on.



Anyway, some people just like the feel and the bond they have with a car to apply by hand. It's a choice.



Me, I use the applicators warmed up. Less waste when dealing with esoteric waxes.



Do whatever makes you feel good.:2thumbs:



Deanski
 
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