While in the auto parts store yesterday, I lingered in the wax isle as I often do, and was again amazed at some of the claims made by different makers.
No specific makers used here, but one claim that particularly got me was a claim about “helping prevent acid rainâ€�. I work in the ad biz, and when it says “helpsâ€� against acid rain, you can pretty much bet that it does nothing to protect against acid rain. (If it really was a preventer of acid rain it would say so…and this would be a claim they would have to back up.) I suppose just washing your car helps prevent acid rain etching.
Which, in a round-about way, brings me to the point of this post. I find it hard to believe that any wax could actually “preventâ€� acid rain etching. It’s my understanding that acid rain etching is caused by the pollutants left on the surface of the car after the rain evaporates…as well as caused by the microscope effect of water beads and the sun.
If a car’s paint, which is in most cases solvent based, can be etched by acid rain….how could anyone expect a microscopic thin layer of wax to keep it at bay? I mean, think of the caustic chemicals or abrasives required to etch paint the way acid rain does. How could any applied coating really keep this from occurring?
I know that washing after a rain storm, and that keeping the surface waxed is a good measure...but in the end, it seems to me htat we are fighting a loosing battle.
I guess part of the concern is that unless you wash away the acids...you would only seal them in with your sealant or wax. how do you really know you have washed these acids off?
I think I am going to go back to the trick told to me years ago by friends with a body shop. They recommended at tablespoon of baking soda in the wash water. They beleive that it helps neutralize the acids. If I remember correctly, it dissolved into my soapy water and rinsed off without incident. Unless someone here has differing thoughts, I don;t see how it could hurt.
No specific makers used here, but one claim that particularly got me was a claim about “helping prevent acid rainâ€�. I work in the ad biz, and when it says “helpsâ€� against acid rain, you can pretty much bet that it does nothing to protect against acid rain. (If it really was a preventer of acid rain it would say so…and this would be a claim they would have to back up.) I suppose just washing your car helps prevent acid rain etching.
Which, in a round-about way, brings me to the point of this post. I find it hard to believe that any wax could actually “preventâ€� acid rain etching. It’s my understanding that acid rain etching is caused by the pollutants left on the surface of the car after the rain evaporates…as well as caused by the microscope effect of water beads and the sun.
If a car’s paint, which is in most cases solvent based, can be etched by acid rain….how could anyone expect a microscopic thin layer of wax to keep it at bay? I mean, think of the caustic chemicals or abrasives required to etch paint the way acid rain does. How could any applied coating really keep this from occurring?
I know that washing after a rain storm, and that keeping the surface waxed is a good measure...but in the end, it seems to me htat we are fighting a loosing battle.
I guess part of the concern is that unless you wash away the acids...you would only seal them in with your sealant or wax. how do you really know you have washed these acids off?
I think I am going to go back to the trick told to me years ago by friends with a body shop. They recommended at tablespoon of baking soda in the wash water. They beleive that it helps neutralize the acids. If I remember correctly, it dissolved into my soapy water and rinsed off without incident. Unless someone here has differing thoughts, I don;t see how it could hurt.
They get away with it because most average Joe's will not realize that the protection is gone in one month.