Miscible and Immiscible - Wax and Paint Sealant Bonding
Wax and Paint Sealant Bonding
The topic of bonding as it relates to a wax or a paint sealant bonding to paint comes up on most detailing discussion forums from time to time, and there's a lot of confusion and probably miss-information about this topic.
The idea presented is that in order for a wax or paint sealant to properly bond to an automotive paint finish, the paint finish must be chemically stripped so that the paint is surgically clean and free from any residual polishing oils or any other substances.
The goal is to insure there's nothing on the surface that could potentially interfere with the bonding action between the protection ingredients in a wax or paint sealant and the paint.
Follow the Manufacturer's Recommendations
The first and primary consideration goes to the manufactures recommendations. If the manufacturer of a wax or paint sealant officially recommends that the surface of the paint must be stripped clean before their product can properly bond to the paint, then you should follow the recommendations of the manufacturer as they know their products best.
If the manufacturer does not specifically recommend that a painted surface needs to be stripped clean, then whatever recommendations they do provide should be followed as they know their products best.
To my knowledge, there are only a few manufacturers in the wax and paint sealant business that recommend that the surface of automotive paint be surgically clean and bare before their products can be applied. Besides these few companies, most manufacturers either recommend to apply their wax and/or paint sealant to the paint
after first using their surface prep products which can include, compounds, polishes, paint cleaners and pre-wax cleaners. And of course, sometimes there are no specific recommendations.
Back in February of 2005, this topic came up when I worked for Meguiar's as it related to applying NXT Tech Wax over a surface previously polished using Meguiar's M80 Speed Glaze.
There's a specific thread in the Hot Topics forum on MeguiarsOnline.com called,
Do Glazes/Fillers affect the bonding of NXT?
I contacted R&D, communicated with one of the Chemists, and then posted a statement provided to me on this topic.
Since leaving Meguiar's and joining the Autogeek Team in 2009, the topic of bonding has come up from time to time. I knew I had written on this topic, but could not remember the
keyword or
words to help me locate the above thread. Then I remembered the word, did a search and found the thread.
Here are the key words, and note the portions I've formatted to be
bold, red and italic...
Taken from TheFreeDictionary.com
Miscible
Relating to two or more substances, such as water and alcohol, that can be mixed together or can dissolve into one another in any proportion without separating.
Immiscible
Incapable of being mixed or blended together. Immiscible liquids that are shaken together eventually separate into layers. Oil and water are immiscible.
I'm not a chemist and don't ever claim to be one and do everything I can to avoid talking or
typing over my head. That said, it is my opinion that while the above information is supplied by a chemist at Meguiar's, it's probably true for most
quality waxes and paint sealants manufactured by reputable companies, unless they state otherwise, i.e., unless they state that the surface must be stripped clean before applying their wax or paint sealant.
So unless a manufacturer specifically states or recommends that an automotive paint finish must be stripped clean for
their wax or paint sealant to properly bond or adhere, then I think it's safe to say that the chemist behind the brand has created their wax and paint sealant formulas to use the same miscible oils, (or other miscible substances), in their surface prep products to aid in the bonding or adhering of the protection ingredients used in their waxes and/or paint sealants to paint.
This would be called,
Synergistic Chemical Compatibility.
It's entirely possible that a lot of popular waxes and paint sealants on the market will bond or adhere to paint correctly after the paint has been prepped using compounds, polishes and paint cleaners
outside the brand of the waxes or paint sealants being applied. There's no easy way of knowing or testing, but in my opinion, I would think the chances for this type of chemical compatibility to be more likely than less likely as there is probably some common chemistry involved in surface prep products and protection products that
overlaps among different polish and wax companies.
That's just my opinion or guesstimate,
you can make up your own mind.
My good friend,
Tom aka Mosca as he's known on detailing discussion forums, once posted,
I would have to agree with Tom.
To strip or not to strip?
Do you need to chemically strip your car's paint with some type of solvent before applying a wax or paint sealant to enable the protection ingredients to better bond or adhere to the paint?
Manufacturer's Specific Recommendation
Only if the wax or paint sealant manufacturer specifically recommends this procedure.
Or
Personal Preference
If after researching this topic you personally want and feel the need to chemically strip the paint.
Or
Forum Member's Recommendation
See what I wrote above under
Personal Preference
If you use good quality products and follow the manufacturer's directions, plus work clean and use good technique, then you should be able to apply your choice of wax or paint sealant directly to your car's paint after wiping off the residue left by the last surface prep product used on the paint. This, by the way, is my normal practice, and below is my personal recommendation on this topic as taken from here.
