If you’re learning about detailing and protecting your car, then you’ve no doubt heard that waxing your vehicle is very important.
Proper waxing (with a good quality wax such as Meguiar’s Ultimate Liquid Wax) will help to protect your car’s paint finish and minimise damage from environmental contaminants … all while making your car look better.
But can wax actually damage your car?
In this short edition of Car Facts, we are going to look at whether or not you can potentially cause damage to your car’s paintwork by using wax.
Table of Contents
Is Car Wax Damaging To Paint?
No.
Car wax is designed, developed and manufactured to protect and enhance your car’s paint finish.
Even if your budget only stretches to a basic car wax, it won’t damage your paintwork (short of somehow buying some counterfeit/bootleg product that has got the wrong ingredients in it from the factory … but if you’re buying from a reputable source that is unlikely to be an issue).
Old car wax won’t be damaging either – it might not work so well, last so long, or produce such a good finish, but it won’t ruin your paintwork. You can learn more here about whether car wax expires, and the pros and cons of using up older wax that might be lurking in your garage.
Risk Of “Mechanical” Damage
The biggest risk of damage to your car’s paintwork when waxing your car is what I’d call “mechanical” damage – that is to say damage that isn’t caused by the wax itself, but something else introduced into the process (usually an object).
For example, if you use a foam applicator pad to apply your wax that has been dropped on your driveway or garage floor, there might be some grit or dirt that is stuck in the pad that then gets transferred to your paintwork – and the action of rubbing the applicator pad with the embedded grit across your paintwork could cause damage.
Same goes if you wax a car where the paint surface has not been properly prepared; make sure you thoroughly wash and dry your car first, as opposed to trying to wax a dirty car where the dust and dirt might be rubbed into your paintwork and wind up causing damage.
Also be wary of items like watches, wedding rings/bands, and even zippers on your clothing that could all cause damage to your paintwork if they catch on it while you are in the process of waxing your car.
This is far more likely to cause damage than the actual wax itself ever would!
Using Wax On Non-Painted Surfaces
The only other point to note is that some car wax products are not suitable for use on plastic trim e.g. bumper surrounds, and so you need to be careful there as it is possible that some damage might be caused if you get wax on the wrong parts of your car – make sure to check the usage instructions first.
Recap – Can Wax Damage Your Car?
Not really, no. At least not if you apply it properly and with care.
Car wax itself is not damaging – it’s actually protective for your paintwork.
If you apply it incorrectly (e.g. too thick and don’t properly buff off) you might wind up with a less-than-perfect finish with hazing etc, but that in itself is not dangerous.
Even if you use an expired car wax, it’s unlikely to cause any problems … it just won’t necessarily work as well as it could have done if it was in date – you can learn more about using “expired” car wax here.
Low quality car waxes may not last as long or produce such a nice finish as something more premium like Meguiar’s Ultimate Liquid Wax, but using a budget product isn’t going to damage your paintwork either.
However where there is potential for damage is – if – during the application process you wind up scratching or damaging your paintwork with something “mechanical” like grit on your application pad or buffing cloth. Another common cause of paintwork damage during the car washing process is wearing a jersey or jacket with a zipper on the front, and then catching this on the paintwork as you are applying or buffing the wax and leaning over the vehicle.
Take sensible steps like using a fresh applicator pad and a new (or thoroughly cleaned and dried) buffing cloth and you’ll minimise the risk of any damage. Remove watches, rings etc first, and also wear soft clothing like a sweatshirt with no zips, toggles or buttons.
The only other thing to make sure is that you are using a wax and not some kind of wax/polish hybrid product (like Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Wax & Polish) that is intended for less frequent use, and if over-used or over-vigorously applied could result in potential paintwork damage.
