Carnauba Content in Wax

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Folks,





I just spoke with Sal. He asked that I call him since I was having problems with attracting dust.



I was experiencing heavy dust attraction on the car when I finished coats of Z2/Z5 with ZFX. Once i didn't finish with Z6, and the car was virtually dust free for over a week.



Sal informed me that I should be using a dry towel, that was washed and dried in low heat. Once the towel is close to dry, it should be left out. If high heat is used, the towel will be statically charged. (I forgot my physics and chemistry...)



Next he said that you should put the bottle right up to the panel, and squirt a dime size drop. Wipe a 12in square surface with the towel, turning it over. The result should be slick and dry. One application should take no more than a half ounce. He asked that I was my car first in preparation....





I've been squirting the whole panel, or surface..probably using two or three squirts per panel, making the towel very moist. According to Sal, that's way too much. I'll test later this week and let you guys know the results.
 
This is where I have to disagree with my buddy Sal (sorry bud!). I had the same problem with my black 911. When I use a microfiber towel sprayed with Z6 (spray the towel, not the car), I no longer experienced static problems. I also found that Z6 buffed out easier with a microfiber towel that terry cloth. This may just be my preference, but it worked for me.



I'm sure Sal has his reasons for recommending 100% cotton Terry cloth towels, but I have better success with microfiber.
 
I may be wrong but eventually any thing with static a charge will lose it when you pick it up or it touches something else. I do notice when towels come out of dryer they can have a charge cause you hear the static pop but eventually when I use them after showering they do not pop anymore.



I think on dry days anything buff on dry paint will get a charge kinda like the rabbit pelt rubbed on a glass rod trick from physics class.



I dunno. I also use MFs and find them much nicer to use than the cotton.
 
To remove static from towels you can mist them lightly with a squirt bottle. Then just let them air dry for a few minutes. The light mist should go away quickly and so will the static.
 
I use MF towels consistently now..no more cotton. I'm really laying the QD on thick, but I wipe it down before it dries on it own. I have a silver 911, so when I do the windows I can see how many wipes it takes to dry and apply method to the panels.
 
My method:



1) Get a MF towel (Viper, NeatItems, YoSteve), lay it flat.

2) Spray a few "wide" sprays of Z6 on the MF towel (2-3 full sprays).

3) Wipe down vehicle using a brisk wiping motion, turning occasionally (can do 3/4 of the Tahoe with 2-3 sprays on the MF).
 
but try to spray teh whole panel by quickly moving the bottle over it while I spray. I found MF soaks up too much product.......and prefer cotton for this task...but to each their own!
 
I guess this question is for the experts either in making a wax or those with access with the chemists who make the wax.

What is the "by volume" content of Carnauba in "higher end" waxes. For example, what would it be in something like Midnight Sun, or say P21's 100%? Does the 100% mean 100% Carnauba, becuase I thought that was impossible?

If a wax was advertised at 46% Carnauba by volume, would that be possible and if so, would that be significant?

Just came across this recently and was confused.
 
I'm pretty sure when they say "100% carnauba", they are talking about the wax content. I know P21s has a combination of carnauba, paraffin and beeswax. I would guess that P21s 100% would only have carnauba wax instead of a mix of the others. If they say "46% carnauba by volume", that probably means 46% of the total content in the container is carnauba wax. That seems kind of high if you ask me, but hey, I'm not a chemist.
 
Termigator said:
I'm pretty sure when they say "100% carnauba", they are talking about the wax content. I know P21s has a combination of carnauba, paraffin and beeswax. I would guess that P21s 100% would only have carnauba wax instead of a mix of the others. If they say "46% carnauba by volume", that probably means 46% of the total content in the container is carnauba wax. That seems kind of high if you ask me, but hey, I'm not a chemist.
Click to expand...

Or maybe it is 100% of a different wax and no carnuaba. ;-)
 
P21S uses only carnauba wax, no other waxes, to make P21S 100% Carnauba Wax.

I would say 46% would be extremely high volume content in this day and time considering the VOC regulations.

I want to say that Meguiars #16 is one of the waxes with a very high carnauba content, 35% or more, but it is also cut by harsher chemicals. This is the reason #16 is no longer available in the US.

imo P21s 100% would be more like 20-25% carnauba by volume if that. I imagine this is the ratio for most if not all of the waxes on the market today that are following VOC regulations..
 
The reason I asked because while at the autoshow there was a company touting a product called "World's Best Wax" which claimed to be 46% Carnauba by volume.

Didn't know if that was an exaggeration or true.
 
User Name said:
I guess this question is for the experts either in making a wax or those with access with the chemists who make the wax.

What is the "by volume" content of Carnauba in "higher end" waxes. For example, what would it be in something like Midnight Sun, or say P21's 100%? Does the 100% mean 100% Carnauba, becuase I thought that was impossible?

If a wax was advertised at 46% Carnauba by volume, would that be possible and if so, would that be significant?

Just came across this recently and was confused.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, at least in my opinion, hyperbole and dubious marketing has confusing the general public on carnauba waxes. Properautocare has been making high quality, boutique carnauba waxes since the late 1980's and was the first to design a true contender to the super high end waxes out there today.

It seems that some manufacturers bank on telling you how much carnauba their wax contains as a way of justifying their exorbitant prices, while also explaining why these waxes require a second wipe hours later, tend to be streaky after application, and only last for weeks. The problem with telling how much carnauba wax is in the product presents several problems:

1) Carnauba is often the cheapest ingredient in the wax. This means you are paying a lot more for a lot less.

2) Carnauba wax is opaque. If you where to some how lay down a thick layer of true carnauba you would find the surface to become milky and dull. Carnauba wax (pure, medical grade) is used to encase Gummi-Bears and gel capsules, and neither are known for their amazing shine. It's not the carnauba that makes the paint shiny (although carnauba will fill some scratches which offers the potential for more even light reflection) it is the oils that are blended with the carnauba that make it shinier.

3) Not only is carnauba wax opaque and non shiny, it is really hard and difficult to work with. Carnauba gained popularity over other waxes because in terms of natural occurring products it really does offer the longest lasting protection against the elements on automotive paint (at least for a reasonable price). However it often has to be blended with other waxes, solvents, and silicons just to make it easier to use.

Take bee's wax, which carnauba is generally blended with. Bee's wax isn't the best wax, to my understanding, for automotive wax use, nor is carnauba the easiest to apply. Blending the two together creates a synergistic effect which allows the carnauba to be delivered to the paint better, bond better, and last longer. The sum is greater than the parts.

4) There is no regulatory body that tests the content of carnauba waxes, so manufacturers are free to say which ever number comes to mind. I have a friend who is a wax manufacturer overseas. He tested most of the super high end waxes which claimed to be 50% or more carnauba wax and found that the highest ones were around 25% by wet volume, even those which claimed 3 times as much. Perhaps more surprising was the amount of silicone he found in most of the super high priced waxes, most of which claimed to be 'all natural'.

The conclusion of this is that it really doesn't matter how much carnauba is in the product because carnauba is just one ingredient (of many) that have to work together to create a great performing wax. Oils, polymers, and solvents (and often other waxes) give (and are in someways more important)
a wax its feel, the carnauba is just one of the protective ingredients.

What is the "by volume" content of Carnauba in "higher end" waxes. For example, what would it be in something like Midnight Sun, or say P21's 100%? Does the 100% mean 100% Carnauba, because I thought that was impossible?
Click to expand...

As crazy as it sounds you have to define by volume. Say I have a 100 gallon drum that I fill with 90 gallons of leafs. Then I decide to fill the rest with water. Since I am mixing a wet product with a dry, airy product, I will get far more than 10 gallons of water into the container. As the water seeps around the leafs and fills the voids I am shocked that I can fit almost 50 gallons of water into a drum that was 90% full. So what is % of leaves (by volume) in the container?

By looking at the actual volume of space displaced by the leaves (after filling with water) it would be scientifically accurate to say that the there is 50 gallons of water and 50 gallons of leaves (by wet volume). So it would accurate and honest to say the our drum is 50% leafs by volume. However if we turn the marketing guys loose we might end up with something like this...
Since the container was at one point 90% filled with leaves (much like carnauba is a fine powder when refined) we could say that it is 90% leaves by volume. Or maybe, because only 50% of the water is an active ingredient, we could say it is as high as 95% leaves by volume. Until the manufacturers release exactly how they are measuring their definition of volume the quoted numbers tend have little actual value.

That said, P21s 100% claims (in the little brochure that comes with the wax) that 100% of the active protective ingredients in the product is carnauba wax, it is not blended with any other waxes. I believe the brochure refers to having something like 35% total wax by volume.

Blackfire Midnight Sun is around the same number, which tends to be the limit of wax you can cram into a container and keep it usable with modern solvent regulations. That said, Midnight Sun features a lot of high quality polymers and amino functional oils, so we wouldn't want to add more wax anyways, as it would negatively effect the performance.
 
some good info right there, that clarifies alot, interesting how alot of wax based products market on the carnauba name by itself like it is the main beneficial element. thanks for the info...
 
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