Durability for wax is how long the wax on your car will last before it needs to be put on again. Regular wax might last a few weeks, but synthetic wax can last a month or more.
The Toyota Land Cruiser is a large SUV that is very tough and can handle rough terrains. It's known for being reliable and is popular for both city driving and off-roading.
Ceramic coating is a special liquid that you put on a car's paint to protect it from dirt and scratches. It also makes the car look shiny and helps keep it clean.
Turtle Wax is a brand that makes products to help keep cars clean and shiny. They have a variety of items like wax and cleaners that people use on their cars.
Paste wax is another type of product used to make your car shiny and protect its paint. It comes in a solid form and you apply it by hand, but you need to use it often to keep your car looking good.
Paint protection is anything you do to keep your car's paint safe from damage. This can include applying wax or special coatings that help prevent scratches and fading from the sun.
A trailer queen is a car that is too nice to drive on the road, so it's carried on a trailer to car shows instead. This keeps it safe and looking perfect.
A garage queen is a car that is kept in perfect shape and usually stays in the garage instead of being driven often. People take care of it really well and only use it for special events.
Sonax is a brand that makes products to clean and protect cars. They have sprays and waxes that help your car look shiny and new.
LIVE
I realistically will probably never wax my car ever again.
And in fact, I haven't waxed my car
in a very, very, very long time,
even though I did do an experiment a couple of years ago
with ceramic coatings in general,
I thought, you know, I'll just kind of wax my car.
I mean, maybe ceramic coatings aren't like
what everyone says they are, I'll just wax my car.
And I was sorely disappointed.
But ever since that moment,
I realized I'm never waxing my car again.
And I honestly don't think you should either.
I think it's kind of a waste of money.
I think it's a waste of time.
And unless you really, really, really just enjoy
the process of that wax on, wax off,
you're actually getting an inferior product.
And so I think people love wax.
I think the main reason is the nostalgia of it.
Used to wax my car with my dad in the garage.
Everyone has a story of how difficult the wax is to remove.
It's very forgiving.
It's kind of the entry level.
Everyone knows that you should wax your car, right?
And then beyond that, if you go a little bit deeper,
it's like, well, I just like the glow or the warmth
that a wax puts off.
But again, I think it's more nostalgia and more,
I used to do it with my dad in the garage
than anything else, which I will say,
is a good reason to wax your car.
And maybe you should continue to wax your car
if that gives you joy and you enjoy the process of doing it.
But I remember when I worked at the Blender
for the very first time, and I used to,
I just love walking in the warehouse.
I love, even with my shop, spending time out in the warehouse.
It just gives me ideas.
I just, whatever, I just love doing it.
I love walking in the warehouse.
I love thinking about stuff.
I love seeing the filling of bottles.
I just love being around all of it, right?
And so I remember when I first worked at the Blender
and I was doing this, and I was like,
hey, what are they filling over there?
And why is it kind of like steaming?
And what it was, was it was paste wax
being filled in the canisters.
And I realized I had never even thought about it before,
but how they get hardened paste wax into those canisters
is actually melted down.
Now, this is probably super obvious to a lot of people,
but I just didn't, I guess I never even thought about it,
right, because I guess the same is true with a candle.
It's melted down wax that they pour into the canister
or the container, and then as, and it's hot,
or warm, at least, and then as it cools down,
it hardens to the shape of that container,
and that's how you get the paste wax in the container.
But then I remember thinking like,
well, if it melts into the jar,
it's cooled and hardened into the container,
but then you kind of warm it up
and then you put it on your car,
but then your car is exposed to the sun and heat.
So wouldn't that just melt again?
And so that's actually true,
and that's why durability for wax is a couple weeks,
maybe a month if you start getting into synthetic
and natural wax blends,
but honestly, like a fully natural wax,
paste wax, carnauba wax, is really not gonna last that long.
And I think for me, that's where the problem becomes,
is that if I'm going to wash a car, decon it,
do any amount of work on it,
do I really wanna put something
that's so temporary on the car?
But I did test this theory,
and I did test this myself when I got a new car,
this is three or four years back, six years ago.
Six years ago when I got the Land Cruiser,
I thought, you know what,
I'm not gonna ceramic coat it right away,
I'm just gonna kind of apply some spray waxes
at the time I was real big on the turtle wax.
I spray wax and seal and shine,
and in my mind, I thought, you know,
those are pretty stout,
like let me just kind of use those,
and I won't have this enormous effort output up front,
and I can just kind of spray and wipe and do that.
And it's not that those products aren't good,
I really enjoy those products,
I still stand behind those products.
But the problem was that I began to realize,
is that it's hard to always keep up on reapplying those.
And so what I missed about a ceramic coating
is kind of having that underlying layer of protection,
because it gives you like some forgiveness,
and it gives you some give.
And what I realized was something just like a spray wax,
or even a paste wax is it wears off so fast,
you're having to continuously reapply.
So you're reapplying, then reapplying, then reapplying,
and it's like, man, I just applied this a month ago,
and it's already not beating how I want it to,
like that sucks, right, whereas that ceramic coating
gives you that kind of insurance foundation
to kind of have a little give, right?
And so because that's how I look at paint protection.
So paint protection, any form of paint protection,
whether wax or ceramic coating,
is insurance against the unknown, really,
the bird drops, the fallout,
it's the extra insurance to ensure
that your car looks good long term.
Now there's these added benefits to it,
the glow, the gloss, the slickness,
those other attributes that we really like about it.
But for me, the main core driver
is that insurance on the paint,
that if I get a bird bomb in the parking lot,
I don't have to like hurry up and get it off,
I have a little bit of give, I have a little bit of time,
I have a little bit of insurance on the paint
that that bird poop's not gonna etch through, right?
If I go on a road trip
and I'm getting just mud and dirt and brine
and all this crap on the car,
I'm not sitting there worried that, you know,
it's gonna go to, my car's gonna be damaged.
I have that protection on the car
and I just realized I didn't have that same feeling
when I chose a paste wax or a spray wax even.
Though I still use those,
so I also, at the same time,
don't,
I don't subscribe to the fact of like wax is dead
or they're totally useless,
they're just, I wouldn't spend my time applying one,
hoping and I guess, you know, depending upon it, right?
And again, sealants have gotten better,
but again, ceramic coatings have gotten so easy to apply,
so easy to apply.
And then on top of that, ceramic sprays
are so easy to apply
and they offer far better durability.
So if we're doing that,
to me it just doesn't make any sense
why you would wax the car, right?
And I think the only reason I would still wax the car today
is if I wanted to enjoy the process, right?
If I wanted to be out there, you know,
wax on, wax off, music playing.
If I wanted that nostalgia feel,
but I think if you're doing that,
you need to understand why you're doing it for.
And for me, when it comes to detailing
or detailing products, everything needs to serve a purpose
and everything needs to work as hard as possible.
But sometimes that purpose can be
just enjoying time in your garage.
And if you have a show car
or you have a car show car
or a weekend car or a date night car,
I think, you know, trailer queen, a garage queen, whatever,
I think that wax could serve a purpose for you in that.
But again, I think there's even like,
there's too much room for frustration
in the process of keeping it simple
and enjoying the process with a wax.
I just think applying it and trying to wipe it out,
I don't know, I just, I'm not into it.
And so for me personally,
I just don't think that the value is there of the wax,
especially when there's products, again,
Tuffa Shell, The Gloss Boss,
and a whole slew of other products
that are so much easier to apply.
You could get it done in a fraction of the time
and you're actually gonna get better durability,
more durability and probably, realistically,
probably more gloss, more slickness and more protection.
It's just really hard to beat.
So anyway, that's why I chose to never wax my car again.
Even if you're gonna wax and you want something quick,
I still think that Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer
is a fantastic detail spray.
It is dilutable, which I think is cool.
But again, I'm either maybe a detail spray,
which I never would really ever use.
I pretty much just use a ceramic spray for everything.
That's what I personally do.
And that's what I would suggest you do too.
So that's why I never wax my car again.
Hope you guys enjoyed that one.
Let me know what you think in the comments below.
Do you still wax your car?
If you do, why?
Maybe there is something that I'm totally missing.
So let me know if you are waxing your car
in the comments below.
And with that, I'll catch you guys on the next one.
See ya.
About this episode
A deep dive into the reasons for moving away from traditional car waxing in favor of modern ceramic coatings. The host shares personal experiences and experiments that led to the conclusion that waxing is often a nostalgic but ultimately inferior method of paint protection. He discusses the temporary nature of wax, the benefits of ceramic coatings, and how they provide better durability and protection. The episode balances practical advice with reflections on the joy of detailing, making a case for efficiency over nostalgia in car care.
In this episode, I break down why traditional car wax — both natural and synthetic — no longer makes sense for me when it comes to real paint protection. Yes, wax can give your car a beautiful glow. Yes, the "wax on, wax off" process can be therapeutic. But when you look at durability, chemical resistance, heat breakdown, and the amount of labor involved, the return just isn't there anymore.
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