SeaCoupe

I just did my car with Meguirs products.

Did the

Clay Bar

Paint Cleaner

Polish

NXT Wax

If I put more coats of NXT wax, will I continue to get a deeper looking wax job?

Thanks,

Ed

Greg@DI

Yes I feel more coats does give you more depth and gloss but it gets proportionally less and less with each coat you add. I think most people find 2 - 3 to really improve the results and I think after 5 or so you won't see much difference. Each product will vary but this is a general guideline for sealants and waxes.

Greg @ Detailed Image

TOGWT

Meg's NXT contains micro abrasives to burnish the paint surface, (trying) layering with NXT just means; Wax on, Wax off

TOGWT

Layering:
I prefer the word ‘film’ as opposed to ‘layer’, a film more accurately describes a thinly applied sealant or wax, were as a layer tends to describe a thicker covering. Some specialty paint protection systems can have subsequent film added to increase protection and paint appearance, systems must cure or cross-link prior to application of subsequent coats. Depending on the product type, cure times vary from a few hours to days.

By applying another low-solvent wax product (Victoria Concours Wax - http://www.victoriawax.com/) on top of one that has already cross-linked you can increase its density (up to a point) two to four cross-linked (cured) applications are usually considered optimum One thing that will negate the applied product density is lack of clarity, the base coat (that contains the vehicle’s colour) is covered / protected by a clear coat of urethane paint, which as well as providing protection is clear to enable the paint colour to show through and provide the colour with depth.

Any product applied on top of the clear coat needs to be optically clear (transparent) otherwise both the paint colour and its depth of shine will be muted. One of the problems with ‘layering’ some polymers is that they tend to occlude (become less opaque) as the thickness increases

The viscosity of the previous layer requires more solvent to significantly melt away than the next applied wax layer can contain The carrier system allows the product to fill and level the paint film surface to produce a flat surface (this flat level surface is more pronounced with polymers due to their molecular alignment characteristics). This level surface optimises the paint film surface's desired optical properties (i.e. surface reflectance, clarity, gloss, and depth of shine)

Alternative ‘layering’ technique- apply a liquid Carnauba wax (liquid wax usually contains polymer and solvents) and allow to set-up (usually 1-2 hours, do a smear test to endure that its dry and then a apply to a paste Carnauba wax; allow the solvents to evaporate for 2-4 hours, and finally buff surface with a 100% cotton towel (http//: www.DFTowel.com )

Wax- two coats to ensure even coverage (maximum is four) a wax cures (hardens when the solvents have evaporated ) usually 25-45 minuets then you can apply the second coat (ensure that there are no solvents left by doing a smear test otherwise the solvents in the second coat will remove the first) (See also Spit Shine)

Paste wax – use a low-solvent wax (Victoria Concours Wax, Souverän or P21S) is just a thicker form of liquid wax, just a different consistency, not necessarily more or less solvents. Some wax products use an emulsion to keep more liquid without adding solvents which, in high concentrations could remove the underlying wax too rapidly to allow the "melting" together of the wax" strata.

Polymers-
Polymer sealants can be layered provided the product is free of any active hydrocarbon solvents in the formula, which are utilised as the polymers carrier system that also acts as a surface (chemical) cleaner. This tends to re liquefy the preceding layer; it may not remove it completely but will certainly dissolve and remove a good percentage of it. The carrier system may also be in the form of a silicon oil / water emulsion, which then needs to dissipate and then cross-link.

To my knowledge, most polymer sealants are based on an emulsion system containing active hydrocarbon solvents. As a result, even the mildest petroleum distillates remove polymer sealants. Zaino Show Car Polish is the only polymer sealant that I'm aware of that is not based on the element silicone and can therefore be successfully layered (a new application of Zaino Show Car Polish does not remove previous applications).

Solvents / oils - provide a lubricant and aid the adherence process by working their way into the microscopic gaps and valleys of the previous `layer' softening it, providing each subsequent applications carrying agent (solvent, oils silicones or emulsion) are not so concentrated that they degrade or remove (as in the case of a cleaner wax) what has been previously applied.


Also be aware that the both the product and the foam pad may be non-abrasive, but application pressure if not kept to an absolute minimum and using use a very light and even pressure, may re-introduce surface marring and/or removal of the previously applied product by friction.

Moviela

A wetter deeper look is the result of how smooth the surface is, not how many "coats" are on the surface. I have an ultrasonic thickness gauge to measure coating thickness on metals. I have measured the thickness after polishing, and then after high tech yellow wax #26. The wax adds about .0002 inch to the thickness. Additional applications did not increase the thickness, but the additional buffing to remove the wax did increase gloss slightly. I found that increasing the buffing alone increased the gloss by roughly the same amount. I was able to get the highest gloss using a Meguires polisher, following their instructions.

ZedStyle

more, right?
excellent write-up btw, you know your *****!