Caranuba vs. Synthetic Wax

[Malachi]

I want to get some info on the pros and cons of each. I currently use caranuba wax but I am interested in the synthetic but know little about it. Any opinions or info from those of you that have used both would be greatly appreciated.

[Brandon1]

Pros of carnuba
deeper greater shine
Cons of carnuba
attracts dust
doesn't last as long
not as protective


Pros of synthetic
Lasts longer
easier to apply in my opinion
beads better
doesn't attract dust
Cons of synthetic
shine not quite as good as a quality carnuba wax, but not bad

It would seem to use a synthetic if you only care about protection, and a carnuba if you don't mind waxing every month. That being said, some people, including myself like to put down a layer of synthetic first and then top with carnuba. My current combo is Rejex+P21s. Looks great with killer shine. All up to your preferences or priorities. But if given a choice between the two, I would choose synthetic, b/c of the durability and todays synthetics are really good in terms of shine and slickness.

Hope this helps


BTW- go to a detailing forum like detailcity.com or autopia.org. I have learned a ton.

[JaredPointer]

Nice answer above!

Some synthetics are acrylic (Klasse SG I think) and some are polymer based resin (Poorboy's). Both will last longer than a carnauba, but some people say they have a "sterile" shine, implying that they lack warmth and depth. I do feel that they last a little longer.

Some "sealants" are manufactured to SHEET water and NOT bead. Beading is not always an indication of protection. Keep that in mind when using a sealant. Just because a sealant is not beading does not mean that it's not lasting.

Often, many enthusiasts will lay a couple of layers of sealant - giving 24 hours bonding time inbetween coats - and then top with a layer or two of a carnauba. It really depends on what you want out of it as mentioned above.

Go here to learn more specifics about detailing.

[nucleus]

Carnauba wax is a natural product. Some may add solvents, but you can get it without. I generally go with the least toxic choice available, both for my own health and for the planet. Look for an MSDS, a lot of car care products are highly toxic.

[JaredPointer]

Most carnauba waxes have solvents or carriers. It's just the way it has to be to allow you to apply it to your car. Be it liquid or paste wax, they have to add manmade materials to allow you to apply it. Pure carnauba wax would be like a brick, so don't buy into the hype of 100% pure carnauba waxes. It's just not possible. Most carnauba waxes actually only have a fairly small amount of carnauba in them (mixed with other waxes and manmade materials) with the amount of carnauba in a paste wax being higher than a liquid. I believe about the highest content of carnauba in a car wax is something like 20-25% - and that's a statement coming from a chemist who makes the stuff.

[Wadingboy]

Several of the guys on this site recommended Ziano Bros. polishes (synthetic) and I gave them a try when I bought my '01 truck. For my style, it's perfect. I can't spend a whole day each month on my truck and I still want it to look great. I'm lucky if I polish 4 times in a year. The Ziano goes on and off very easily, leaves a good shine and protection, and doesn't leave white stuff in the creases. We get 60" plus of rain per year and I just grin when I watch the water bead off the shine. I used different waxes on every vehicle 'til this one and I won't go back. I do, however, have some environmental reservations. I don't know what I'm putting into the environment when I use the stuff. WB

[AV8R]

Carnauba Wax has "Limited durability (Carnauba starts to melt at 180 degrees F). 50% gone in 30 days, 75% gone in 60 days, re-wax in 90 days." Check out this site http://www.properautocare.com/whichwaxisbest.html They have some articles on the "science of shine". I used to be a die hard liquid glass guy but on the darker cars nothing looks as good as a good Carnauba especially after polishing and claying.

Pinnacle Souveran wax has one of the purest carnauba blends. It costs $70 but will get you about 30 applications. It doesn't have any cleaners in it but just enough polymers to help with the application. A lot of the other carnauba waxes have a lot of paraffin, bees wax and palm wax in them. If you don't enjoy waxing your car this stuff doesn't last very long but gives you an awesome wet look. If you have a light colored or white vehicle don't waste your money on this stuff.

[HOTundra]

I use pinnicle wax on my black and tan tundra. Easy on and off. An application of wax will normally last me a good 3-3 1/2 months, but I also use the Pinnicle Detail spray wax in between washings. Truck looks awsome when waxed, but the product is has punch to the pocket book. Would not use on a light colored car!

[Jack Burton]

Originally Posted by Malachi

I want to get some info on the pros and cons of each. I currently use caranuba wax but I am interested in the synthetic but know little about it. Any opinions or info from those of you that have used both would be greatly appreciated.

I also recommend Zaino polish. The best polish I've ever used, PERIOD. Zaino was rated the best wax/polish in the Guru Report's testing between carnubas and synthetics. I have to disagree on the shine looking sterile. Klasse maybe but NOT Zaino.... The shine keeps getting deeper/wetter looking w/every additional coat. You can put on as many coats you want w/a syn polish but eventually you'll have to strip off the carnubas.

Regardless of which wax/polish you decide on using, the prepping of your truck's surface is more important.....

First,wash your truck with Dawn dish soap. (Original blue flavor.)
Clay bar the surface.
Wash the truck again. I use Zaino's Z7 car wash soap at this point.
Apply your wax/polish. I use Zaino's Z2 clearcoat polish.
The last step would be to use a detail spray or gloss enhancer.

After the initial prep/wax day, you'll only have to wash your truck (NOT w/Dawn...!!) and use the detail spray 'til you want to wax/polish again....
I use 1 coat of Klasse and then 3 coats of Zaino when I polish my truck.

There are a lot of threads on all of the waxes/polishes mentioned. Just type in a name in the search window.....

Here's Zaino's site..... http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc
JB

[nucleus]

Originally Posted by JaredPointer

Most carnauba waxes have solvents or carriers. It's just the way it has to be to allow you to apply it to your car. Be it liquid or paste wax, they have to add manmade materials to allow you to apply it. Pure carnauba wax would be like a brick, so don't buy into the hype of 100% pure carnauba waxes.

What I meant was to avoid the ones that use nasty stuff like toluene or xylene as solvents.

[KLS]

I like Meguiar's new NXT finish. Goes on easily, looks real good, lasts a long time, and the cost per application is OK. I could get a slightly better look for a lot more work, but that's not my style.


Ken

[Zombie]

Griot's Best of Show gets my vote.

[123Gone]

A good quality wax worked well in the old days before clearcoat finishes. Clearcoats are porous. You should never put a real wax on a clearcoat finish. The wax gets into the porous topcoat and turns white when it drys. You will not get a high gloss finish.

I can tell you what the sports cars guys use because I drive a Corvette and hang out on some of those types of forums. Zaino and NXT are the most popular. The word is that both do a really good job but Zaino tends to last longer. I've been using Zaino since about 2002 and I sell it at my LINE-X shop.




On the dyno:

[nes]

can you stand one more link?

http://www.bettercarcare.com/articles.php?articleId=51

anyway, I plan to start using synthetic (NXT) when it warms up a bit.

[AV8R]

I used Meguiars NXT wax today and it looks awesome. I decided not to do the carnuba this time and so far I'm happy with my choice. I washed, clayed and since it's a new truck I put the NXT on without a polish.