i know theres a detailing forum, but i figured there would be more views here....i have wax that i keep in my garage year round. Is it ok to use wax after its been in freezing temperatures then warm, essentially heating/cooling with the seasons. Or should i go out and get some new stuff (in which case, any recommendations) thanks

--E

 

Interesting question. I don't have a clue, but wan to ask if you've tried it and if so, did it seem to work well?

Has anything separated in the can?

 

+1, if everything looks okay (hasn't seperated, texture hasn't changed, etc) and smells okay, it's probably fine.

 

I wouldn't think twice about using it as long as the cap was on. Just give it a good shake and go to work.

 

Ive used some old old stuff once before and it worked well for me

 

I leave all my "car stuff" in the unheated garage year round, and I've never had an issue with any waxes, spray detailers, etc, even through I'm sure they've been through a few freze / thaw cycles. I use mostly Mother's stuff.

 

Waxes should not be a problem. I use all my stuff until it's gone.
However, I have had a bottle of protectant get funky after freezing.
Consequently, I move all the liquid stuff indoors, out of the garage, for the winter. Better safe than sorry... I lost a full bottle of protectant.

 

Liquid or paste wax?

There is a difference. If paste no big in-fact my $50+ per container Zymol tells you to keep it in the fridge and then when I use it the temp is usually 90+ in the summer and no problems hot/cold. If I leave it out in the sun, the wax does get all messed up because it get's runny.

For liquid, I would expect some settling and separation (solvents and wax) over time unless it's synthetic stuff like Rejex or NXT which I would think wouldn't separate.

As for a recommendation it depends on your colour. On my black and midnight blue porsches I do Zymol to fill in swirls and minor scratches, and then put Rejex on top so dirt doesn;t stick. On my yellow porsche I just do Rejex. If the stars align and my Mini is finally delivered (they were waiting on a part) this week, I will use only Rejex since it's yellow. A tough one to decide is red... Is it dark or light... My orient red boxster (which I don't own anymore) I only used liquid glass, but the metallic was so complicated you couldn't tell unless the light was just so.. If you had a swirl or scratch.

Seeing a pattern... Light coloured cars don't usually get swirls and light scratches you can see. Dark cars do and only a sealant or good quality wax will fill them in so you don't notice and remember nothing precludes putting something else ontop of that to make the wax last.

 

If you have a old can of car wax and it is all cracked and weathered , just float it in a !/2" of water in a pot on the stove and heat it very gently. It will come back to NEW.

 

Slightly off topic, I just washed and waxed with the ICE products. No idea how long the shine will last, but it's almost wet-looking. If it's true that the more expensive products are better, I just can't imagine how good they must look.