So you may be thinking this a bit of an outdated topic. Everyone knows how to wax a car, right? The famous old line from Mr. Miyagi, “Wax on, wax off.” However, many people today still need a little help when it comes to applying protection, if nothing more than to help avoid overworking yourself.
The old adage, “If a little is good, more is better” is not the way to think when waxing your car. The way waxes are formulated is with “carrier agents”, or solvents. Without them, carnauba waxes would be as hard as a rock and not usable. These solvents help to apply the wax to the paint and then evaporate leaving behind the wax itself.
By applying a large amount of wax to one section of your vehicle, you’re only making a thicker layer of evaporated solvents to remove and creating more work for yourself. If you can’t see the paint underneath your application of wax, you’ve definitely applied too much. All you need is a thin, transparent layer.
A simple tip to help evenly spread a thin layer is to make a couple lines vertically on the section you’re working and go in circular motions horizontally to help keep the product even. If applied properly, the wax will haze fairly quick and be much easier to remove!
P.S. Adding another layer of wax is only removing the first layer that was just applied. The solvents used in carnauba wax to apply the product also remove the product when re-applied; therefore you can’t really “layer” a wax for added protection.
An excellent carnauba wax I enjoy is P21S Concours Carnauba Wax. It applies very easily and doesn’t stain any trim!