Who Uses Malms Wax & Polish and Why?

Malm’s Concentrated Carnauba waxes and polishes are used mainly by perfectionists who enjoy washing and waxing their own vehicles. They are usually highly educated regarding vehicle paint care. They recognize the wet paint, warm glow appearance of a Carnauba coated paint vs the plastic appearing unnatural shine achieved with synthetics and siloxanes. They get a great sense of satisfaction knowing they did the job right. They want to see an extremely high gloss finish every time they drive. Users of Malm’s Polish and wax are not interested in applying synthetic, ceramic, plasticized or so called ‘glass’ coatings on their vehicle’s paint.

They understand the reasons for gloss reductions that occur with any type of coating when a vehicle is outdoors. They know how the correct application of extremely fine polishing agents and paint friendly Carnauba wax can create an extremely glossy surface that looks like wet paint. Frequent proper hand washing and paint care keeps their vehicles looking freshly waxed and glossy. Malm’s users refuse to let others work on their vehicle’s paint. They do it themselves. Many get better results using Malm’s products and our advice than they would get using professional detailers. They are not interested in spending thousands of dollars to create a shine that still degrades when they can spend just a few dollars and achieve ever better, year in and year out results.

The Truth About Vehicle Paint Care

When a car is used often it’s paint or whatever coating is on the paint is subjected to many uncontrollable and damaging factors that can seriously affect it’s apparent reflective gloss and life span. Here’s a list of typical things that can easily diminish gloss.

Acid rain, erosion, blowing gritty dust, sticky tree sap, stains from insect splats, ultra-violet rays of the sun, acidic bird droppings, improper washing and drying techniques, flying pebbles, scrapes from branches, sliding packages, hard water spots, parking lot scuffs. Your vehicle’s paint is constantly bombarded every time it’s outdoors.

Regardless of what coating is on paint, that fresh shine diminishes a little every day and the effect is cumulative.

Why is the Gloss Continuously Diminishing

These damaging elements actually make the paint surface less smooth. This results in a reduced ability to reflect light. You can easily determine if the paint has gloss robbing contaminates on its surface. Simply wash and dry the hood of your vehicle.

Lightly run your hand over the paint. If there are contaminants, you will feel them. Here’s an additional test. Place your hand inside a clear plastic sandwich bag. Then lightly move the bag with your hand inside, over the paint surface. The thin plastic film of the bag makes this test even more sensitive. If you feel tiny bumps, it has already lost gloss. No matter what coating is on your paint, Ceramic, Carnauba, Silicone, Graphene, plastic film, etc., the gloss will diminish every single day your car is outside and exposed to these variable damaging elements. Don’t be fooled by wild advertising claims of durability and last with expensive paint coatings. All coatings will suffer from the ravages of weather and contamination as will the overall gloss. Do you really think your car is as shiny a year after any coating was first applied? It can be if you never drive it and keep it garaged for that entire year.

Carnauba vs Synthetics Carnauba wax lays on the paint surface and is easily removed. Synthetic coatings molecularly bond to the pores of the paint and if needed, are quite difficult to remove. Did you know that Carnauba wax (Copernicia cerifera) is a natural wax that forms on the leaves of unique palm trees growing in the rain forests of Brazil. It is used on apples to prolong freshness. Ever buff an apple on your shirt to a high gloss? That’s the Carnauba creating a shine. Candies with sugar coating and medicine tablets are coated with Carnauba wax to prevent melting in your damp hands. Carnauba is even found in luxury lipsticks. It’s used to prevent smearing and melting on one’s lips. A proper application of Malm’s Concentrated Carnauba wax can last from 2 months to many years. It is probably the safest of all types of coatings. As with any coating, the last depends on what your car is exposed to. It slowly degrades as it is exposed to the outdoor environment. The more exposure the more it degrades. For classic cars that are always indoors and virtually not driven, it can last for a very long time. 20 years is not unreasonable. For daily drivers parked outdoors 24 hours a day, 3-4 months last is reasonable. If you run your car through commercial car washes with spinning brushes, last will be shortened.