Guys,
Please help me with this. A long time ago, I was told that the most brilliant shines are due to the adding of petroleum distillates into the mix, and that over the long run, these waxes actually remove a bit of paint each time. I was told to use Mequires #26 Yellow Wax only as it did not have petr. distillates in it and that it would not remove the paint over the life of the car.

Is this true? Does Zaino and NXT and the high end products have distillates in them? and if so, am I better on using the Yellow wax at the sacrifice of not having the most brilliant shine possible?

I've read the Mequires site on this, which makes mention that petr distillates are required, but in the right amount.

Any and all comments are welcome. I have a new GT as well and will take the advice of the Sticky but I'd like to know more about what's going on with the distillates.

 

I've used Mequires #26 for about the last 12 years and have been very happy with the results, no rust and a like new shine. Living in the Chicago area, the biggest problem here is the street salt. I usually wax once in the spring, once in the summer and once in the fall making sure to wax all the jambs as well.

As far as the distillates go, I was taught that the paint needs to breathe so you want to use an old based wax, not a wax like Turtle wax hard shell.

Now, if you want a rich, deep shine, I would recommend buffing with Liquid Ebony. It's a little messy to work with but, especially with reds and blacks, really leaves a beautiful shine

 

Interesting. From what perspective were you told this, and how long ago?

What little I know about it is that it's kind of like one of those old urban myths. Kind of like how "silicones are bad" -- but in fact, it's only that a very few of the many types of silicones are bad and in some circumstances (like in a body shop where one guy's detailing and another guy nearby is trying to spray paint).

Likewise with petroleum distillates -- that's a broad category in itself. There are good and bad (cheap and expensive) and right or wrong petroleum distillates. Over the past few years the California EPA has put the screws on VOCs, and even a lot of products (including wax products) have been reformulated. Meguiar's even discontinued one or two -- which, to me, means that any product that has had petroleum distillates (long ago) likely have even less petroleum distillates than they had previously.

My understanding is that you need some of these VOCs -- which I believe are the petroleum distillates -- to soften the product (especially carnauba wax) and act as a carrier so that you can apply it. And they need to flash off or the product won't ever dry to a haze -- at least in a convenient amount of time.

Reputable makers of today's quality products that contain such ingredients are smart enough to use quality ingredients.

And if it has Petroleum Distillates, it'll say so on the label -- read the fine print on the back.

Times have changed, chemistry has changed, the quality of ingredients has changed, and the quality of paints has changed.

I wouldn't be worried about using any quality product today, and that includes any over the counter product from Mothers or Meguiar's (though I use mostly Mothers)... they are smart enough to use quailty ingredients, and that's one reason why they're not the cheapest products on the shelves, but I trust them to be safe for my vehicles.

 

I set off a good amount of comments on the Mequires site on this. It provoked many product specialist to reiterate your comments. Back in 92, when I bought my mustang, I went to pretty reputable auto parts store in Ct. who gave me this info on the VOCs. He said stay away from everything except #26 M's yellow wax because of this concern. It's stuck in my mind ever since, and I've not seriously asked any paint experts (etc..) since that time. Buying a GT has made me think about it again. I would like to try NXT will my car arrives.

 

Well, a guy at a pretty reputable parts store may or may not be the authority on such topics.

 

[quote=Jim D.;879012]Interesting. From what perspective were you told this, and how long ago?


I was told this quite a few years ago by a guy who used to detail cars. He recommended Mequires #26 and I have been using it since.

I had my previous car for almost 8 years with over 110K miles on it and when I traded it in, the dealer was impressed with how good the paint still looked.

 

On your #26 bottle, what's it say under ingredients or warnings about petroleum distillates?

I think the recommendation for using #26 is to use a wax without polishes -- and there are many quality pure carnauba products that don't have polishes -- which is fine if you don't have defects to remove.