According to Alex, the business owner of Volvo/VW Auto Body shop in Rockville Maryland, “the paint job on your car is like your skin”.

Don’t you rub some lotion or sun screen on your skin on a daily basis to protect it from the elements. Okay, I see you nodding your head in agreement.


Waxing three to four times a year helps to protect the paint job and the clear coat on your Volvo by preserving oils in the paint that help to prevent oxidation.

Your Volvo’s skin, or should I say paint surface, is porous and all the nasty stuff in the atmosphere:acid rain, calcium, airborne chemicals, toxic bird poop, hail, tree sap, ultra violet rays, smog, and normal wear & tear will destroy that shiny finish.

You will start to notice that as time goes by, the once bright shiny coat will begin to fade, this process is known as oxidation. And what is happening is that the harsh chemicals in the air begin to slowly work their way into the pores of your Volvo’s skin and erode not only the color, but the thickness of the clear coat. So, the wax acts like a shield over the paint and thus slows down the rate of chemical oxidization or fading.

You can tell when you need to do a wax job by doing an easy test, commonly known as the water beading test.

The next time you wash your Volvo, observe how water behaves on the wet surface of your car. If the water beads up nicely — forming spherical droplets, then all is good. However, if the water forms a “sheet”, then you need a wax job asap.

For Volvo Auto Detailing, we refer our customers to Mobile One services, they come to you and although they are pricey, they do a terrific job.

In these hard economic times you may choose to wax your own car. In this case you need to know what products to use.

For a high class glossy finish, buy premium Carnauba Car Wax and get excellent results. Carnauba is also known as the queen of waxes.  And because of it’s hypoallergenic and emollient properties as well as it’s shine, carnauba wax is used in many cosmetics formulas  to thicken lipstick, eyeliner, mascara, eye shadow, foundation, deodorant, and other skin care products such as Sun Screens.

This excellent car wax is the hardest natural wax in the world and is obtained from the leaves of the carnauba palm trees in northern Brazil. Naturally occurring, the wax shields the palm leaves from the intense tropical sun and from rain by shedding water. The wax is harvested every year and graded according to its color, where it was grown, and its purity. The highest grade wax is put into car wax.

For production, the leaves are collected and beaten to loosen the wax, then refined and bleached to perfection.

How to apply Carnauba Car Wax

  1. Pour some wax onto a picece of clean microfiber cloth and dampen it well.
  2. Wipe the wax length wise on the car panels, never use circular motions.
  3. Let it dry out  for ten minutes.
  4. With a dry microfiber cloth, wipe or dust off the white haze or residue to get a nice glossy finish.

Wax Tip – It is especially important to remember to cut down on swirl marks by waxing lengthwise on the panels.

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