Carnauba Car Waxes vs. Paint Sealants

When you have made the decision to wax, you have ascended to a new level of vehicle appreciation. The amazing depth and quality of the reflections displayed by a delicately waxed vehicle is truly a sight to behold.
A car without a fresh coat of car wax is exposed to the brutality of the elements. Exposure to adverse conditions can doom your precious paint to oxidation, scratches, and corrosion. 
When it comes to car waxes and sealants there are two main options to choose from, natural carnauba or synthetic polymer.  Or for maximum gloss and protection it's best to use both.

Carnauba Waxes

Carnauba wax is the preferred car wax of collectors and concours enthusiasts because it creates a rich, warm glow. It doesn’t appear to sit on the paint. It transforms the paint into a deep, liquid pool that shimmers under changing light conditions. The more carnauba wax, the more shine.  That's the nice thing about carnauba wax, it can be layered on to add more depth and deep,wet, mirror reflections.

 The wax is produced by the Brazilian Tree of Life (Copernica Cerifera), a palm tree, in order to coat its leaves. The wax provides protection from the sweltering sun and because of the natural moisture repellency of the wax the rain water is shed so it falls onto the ground and is absorbed by the tree’s roots. Of course as you know, plants release oxygen through their leaves. For this reason, carnauba wax is breathable. Good for the tree and good for your paint.

Carnauba is hard as brick in it's natural form.  When the leaves of the Tree of Life are harvested, the wax flakes off as the leaves dry out, or they are put into a machine that removes the wax. It comes off in hard flakes. Car Wax makers have to blend the wax with oils, petroleum distillates, or a solvent called naptha (commonly used to thin wood varnishes and paints) in order to make the wax workable. The very best carnauba-based car wax is only about 1/3 natural carnauba.  When a product advertises “pure carnauba car wax” or “100% carnauba car wax”, they are referring to the purity of the carnauba that is in the product, not the product as a whole. 

That brings us to grading. Carnauba is harvested and then graded according to color, purity, and where it was grown. Trees grown in the northern area of Brazil produce the highest grade carnauba. The yellow wax is the most pure and therefore receives the highest grade.  Some manufacturers refine the yellow wax again into an ultra-pure white wax to ensure that the wax produces the clearest, most reflective gloss once applied to the paint.

The drawback of carnauba waxes is that they do not last as long and are not as durable as a synthetic sealants.  A carnauba car wax finish will wear off in approximately 6 to 8 weeks. It depends heavily on the climate in which you live and whether or not your vehicle is garaged. Daily commutes in a hot, humid climate mean a shorter life span for your carnauba wax coat.

In a nutshell, carnauba car wax is the wax of enthusiasts. It appeals to people who want the absolute most stunning show car shine available.

Synthetic Sealants

Paint sealants are kind of the anti-carnauba. They last a lot longer, and there’s nothing natural about them.

A paint sealant is made of polymers (hence the name synthetic polymer), which are composed of tens of thousands of synthetic particles that are linked together. When a sealant bonds to your vehicle’s paint, it forms a rigid shell.  Synthetic sealants are real liquid armor for your paint.  It is not the warm carnauba that seems to melt into the paint. Paint sealants sit on top of the paint like a transparent chain metal suit. They are glossy and slick.  They give the paint a hard, glassy dazzling look.  But carnauba lovers will tell you they do not have the warmth and depth of a carnauba. 

Paint sealants have gotten progressively more popular as time goes on. Some people really love the hard-as-glass look. In an industry that is driven by technology, it seems appropriate that an engineered paint protector is the new favorite among many detailers.

However the big advantage and selling point of a paint sealant is it's durability.  A premium paint sealant can last 4 to 6 months, sometimes longer.  By “last”, I mean that water will continue to bead and the paint will remain protected from UV rays and contamination. 

As you’ve seen, there are a lot of differences between paint sealants and natural carnauba waxes. Glassy, hard shell or deep, liquid shine? Six months or six weeks? However, some detailers and car enthusiasts simply refuse to choose.  Instead they coat their vehicles with a

sealant for long lasting protection and then top it with a layer of carnauba for deep, dazzling shine.  This creates the "wet fire over diamond ice" look.  It’s the perfect marriage of beauty and longevity!