Keeping your car clean, serviced, and maintained is the best way to extend its lifespan. While most car, truck, and SUV owners focus on engine, transmission, and suspension maintenance, your vehicle’s exterior protection is also important. To accomplish this, washing and waxing the car’s exterior is a smart idea. Beyond keeping your vehicle looking shiny and clean, there are other reasons why taking time to wax or detail the car’s paint is beneficial to car owners.
Noted below are 5 benefits of waxing your car or having your vehicle waxed by a professional automotive detailer.
1. Car Wax Provides Protection Against Scratches
Automotive or car wax is a combined blend of carnauba wax mixed with natural oils, beeswax, and other petroleum distillates. These ingredients allow car wax to be used as wax-hardeners and shine enhancers. When car wax is applied, it provides a thin layer of protection to the clear coat of paint on top of the body. As you wash the vehicle, whether by hand or through a car wash, the scrubbing motion will grind small dirt particles into the body and can leave scratches. Layers of wax applied on the car permit dirt to slide off the body instead of grinding into the paint.
2. Protects the Paint from Exposure
Every day, the body of a car, truck, or SUV is exposed to weather elements. Individual components like tree sap, road salt, ultraviolet rays, rain, hail, snow, sun, wind, and bird droppings can damage the paint on your car. The damage is typically due to oxidation — which slowly eats the chemicals found in paint until it begins to separate from the body. This is why paint fades or chips first. By applying a coat of wax on a regular basis, it helps to protect the body from exposure to these harmful elements so it will hold up against time.
3. Saves You Money
It can cost a lot of money to have a paint job done on your car. This is why most automotive manufacturers recommend having your car waxed on a regular basis and typically include waxing in their regularly scheduled maintenance. When you take time to have the car waxed, it can extend the paint’s lifespan significantly — reducing the need to have the vehicle repainted to avoid rust damage.
4. Improves Resale Value
When you take your car to a dealership to be traded in or sell it to a private owner, assigning a resale value is usually the first step. Professional automotive estimators consider several factors such as mileage, the condition of the interior, service records, and the body and paint condition. If the paint is chipped, faded, or showing signs of age, it can reduce the resale value. Since most trade-ins are valued near the bottom of the ‘blue book’ scale, making sure the car is in good shape on the inside and outside can improve the resale value. Adding a layer of wax regularly maintains the new-car look by preventing damages caused by road debris and small scratches.
5. Makes Your Car Look Shiny
Arguably the best reason to have your car waxed on a regular basis is to simply make it sparkle. Today’s automotive waxes are easier to apply than in years past. In fact, many companies make spray-on waxes where you only spray it on the vehicle, wipe it off with a microfiber towel, and complete a final ‘polish’ with a clean microfiber cloth. This can significantly improve the luster of your paint, making the car look shiny, clean, and brand new as you drive down the road.
Being proactive about routine service and maintenance is a great way to extend the lifespan of any vehicle. This includes waxing the exterior. However, it’s also important to remember that interior components, like dashboards and leather seating, also require routine cleaning and protective polishes. Most paint and body experts suggest having the vehicle professionally waxed every three months is a good baseline, but you should always verify this with your automotive manufacturer.
