green dimnd
New member
I was asked why I think mineral oil works, and I had to strain to retrieve those old neurons that were shiny and new in chemistry class thirty years ago, but this was my reply:
It has to do with polar vs. non-polar molecules. Polar molecules, like water, have a positive and a negative side. Hydrocarbons, like wax and oil, are non-polar with the positive and negative charges evenly distributed. This will determine what easily mixes with what. Non-polars mix together easily but not with polar molecules. It's interesting that this made sense to you intuitively because we use this all the time, like why we shake the salad dressing to why we make such effort not to spill a drop of gasoline (also a hydrocarbon and therefore non-polar) on our freshly waxed car, and even why we put wax on our cars in the first place. If it rained turpentine, we'd have to find something polar to rub on our cars. This is also connected to why soap works. Soap has both polar and non-polar components, therefore it can aid water in cleaning greasy dishes or greasy hands (the non-polar end grabs the grease, the polar end grabs the water, and the whole thing washes away). That's why an APC will help somewhat in removing the wax on the trim, just like Dawn will remove the wax from the paint. But the mineral oil will actually mix with the wax and "dissolve" it. You could also use an organic solvent like xylene or limonene, but you'd risk damaging some plastics or rubber.
I wonder if Bill Nye is into detailing?
It has to do with polar vs. non-polar molecules. Polar molecules, like water, have a positive and a negative side. Hydrocarbons, like wax and oil, are non-polar with the positive and negative charges evenly distributed. This will determine what easily mixes with what. Non-polars mix together easily but not with polar molecules. It's interesting that this made sense to you intuitively because we use this all the time, like why we shake the salad dressing to why we make such effort not to spill a drop of gasoline (also a hydrocarbon and therefore non-polar) on our freshly waxed car, and even why we put wax on our cars in the first place. If it rained turpentine, we'd have to find something polar to rub on our cars. This is also connected to why soap works. Soap has both polar and non-polar components, therefore it can aid water in cleaning greasy dishes or greasy hands (the non-polar end grabs the grease, the polar end grabs the water, and the whole thing washes away). That's why an APC will help somewhat in removing the wax on the trim, just like Dawn will remove the wax from the paint. But the mineral oil will actually mix with the wax and "dissolve" it. You could also use an organic solvent like xylene or limonene, but you'd risk damaging some plastics or rubber.
I wonder if Bill Nye is into detailing?