Difference's in paint care products
 

What are the difference's between wax, glaze, and sealant?

Between polish, cleaner, and compound?

Reading the products label on the back all sound the same but just a different name on the front. What is the real difference between them all?

Someone who knows what they are talking about post up an in depth response and maybe get it sticky worthy

A compound has a lot of cut, a polish has less cut, and cleaners are either just chemicals with no abrasiveness, or very light abrasive properties.

A wax is usually the good-old solid paste that comes in solid or liquid form, usually has some amount of carnauba, and has deep shine and scratch-filling properties. A sealant is more "synthetic" than a wax and binds with the clearcoat, offering better durability than a wax. And IMO a glaze is another word for "polish", because usually "glazes" are applied after polishes but before waxes, and again, IMO, is a useless term because that's what a polish is for. :lol:

The most important thing is to disambiguate between products (like you're doing now). There is a lot of redundancy among SOME companies (cough Meguiar's) but between all the junk, you can find some real gems. Why buy a full spectrum of degrading compounds when you can swap pads instead? :)

There is also an LS1wiki on detailing that I was building, but to the best of my knowledge only two others have contributed to it. It needs a lot of meat, and I'm waiting for others to step up before I put my hand back into it. :)

Sounds good, ill keep my eye out for it. There should be a sticky on paint care up there hopefully more people (Sponsors also) will contribute to what you are doing and get one up

Would it be ok to apply a sealant after you wax or just X out the wax and just use a sealant

Sealant first, and if you want, you may top with a wax. The sealant needs to go on clean, bare clear coat, hence why you don't want to top the wax with a sealant. :)

Sealants are a better choice for daily drivers, but there are occasions when wax is more practical. This includes when you want to temporarily "fill-in" scratches, when you prefer appearance over durability (although appearace differences between the two are subjective, a trained eye can see the difference), or if you want to take a classic approach to the therapy that is detailing. There's no fun like applying and buffing off wax for a shine! :)

Here is the link to the incomplete Wiki: http://wiki.ls1tech.com/index.php?title=Detailing

Everyone is welcome to add their little tidbits! Feel free to add your own as well. :)

Both sealants and waxes are topcoat "sealers."

Their job is to protect the clearcoat from the elements. They're in the same group to me.

Like NightWindDriftr posted, and he really knows his shit more than MANY here, a "sealant" aka synthetic topcoat/protectant is greatly designed for longevity, unlike a "wax" aka naturally-occuring topcoat/protectant that can literally be washed away in one rain... But NOTHING matches a natural carnauba wax's shine, though.

Cleaners, Compounds, Cutters, etc. are all names given to polishes, according to their degree of "cut," how strongly they abrade. A polish with NO cut is referred to as a pure polish aka glaze.

Thats for clearing that up I have a better understanding now :)

Don't worry... The car care product market is VERY misleading.

Someone recently introduced me to this product. Check out the name:

"VANILLA MOOSE WAX HAND GLAZE"

Listen to this. It's not a wax (no protectant). It's not a glaze either (removes swirls). It's recommended use is for orange pad PC duty, removing swirls, oxidation, and whatnot.

Then you have the turtle wax liquid claybar, Ice synthetic polish that protects (WTF?)... Lots of nonsense out there, just to confuse uninformed people, taking their money in the process. That's why I stick to Meguiars Pro line and over the counter, Zaino, and other product lines that have very defined functions and labelling.

:jest: Vinilla moose wax :jest: Yea I have been using Meguiars products but I have not yet "detailed" my car in the 3 years I have owned it :( I have been just reading the labels on the back and like I said it all sounds the same. You guys helped me out with allot of answers plus I went on Meguiars web site and watched the 3 video series on polishes and waxes, etc. I read up on the tropi car site, and the wiki page. You guys where a great help. Thanks