[SG07]

I hear about wax and sealants require curing time. Is the curing time before or after buffing off the wax?

wax -> cure overnight -> buff off excess

or

wax -> buff off excess -> cure overnight

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Some sealants I know like blackfire wet diamond you can leave on for a couple hours or as long as you want really from what I understand and it can only help.

Wax I'm not sure about. Ive been told on most wax not to let sit. Best bet is to read the instructions for specific wax perhaps IMO.

I usually let blackfire wet diamond sit for about an hour usually in shade/garage.

[TOGWT]

• Do a ‘swipe-test’ to ensure wax is ready for buffing; the best way to determine if it is ready to be removed; run your bare finger across the paint and if the product doesn't smear it is ready to be removed.
•Cross-linking (cure) tends to increase strength and toughness, cross-linking consists of the formation of chemical bonds between chains, this usually takes from 12-24 hours (dependent upon local climatic conditions i.e. temperature, humidity, etc).

[pander5]

Cure time is usually referred to the time between coats of wax or sealant. That is to say the time that's expired when it's ok to add a second layer or another product. I am no chemical engineer but it does make sense to wait for either a natural wax or polymer sealant to finish what they want to do with regard to off gassing any solvents or chemically cross link polymer chains before you add more material. Some materials can receive additional layers very quickly and others (like chemical sealants) take many hours.

As far as your question as to when does it "cure" my opinion is that is the time AFTER you buff off any residue. I would guess that "curing" begins when you first apply the product but doesn't finish until some period of time after you've buffed off the haze or materials in the product used to make application easier. When to buff off after application is dependent on many things but it's usually safe to follow the package directions. Atmospheric conditions can play with that time, though. I use the "swipe" test personally.

I submit these opinions as my own based on experience and as always yield to more scientific knowledge from those professionally trained.

[TOGWT]

Wax and Glaze ‘Set-up’

Carnauba in today's wax formulas functions mostly as a carrier; it’s used to keep the polymers and oils on your car's surface. When applied to a surface will not adhere properly on its own, solvents and miscible oils are added to enable it to spread evenly to the surface. Natural and synthetic wax and glazes initially adhere by surface tension; the balance of the adherence process is that it works its way via the carrier system (solvent and / or oils) and the polymers into the microscopic gaps and a valley of the paint film surface.

Or in the case of a wax over a polymer sealant- the polymers form a bond, thereby creating a mechanical anchor, a wax doesn’t form a true covalent (molecular) bond to the surface, this is due to its limited polymer content.

An organic wax or glaze doesn’t form a molecular bond (cross-linking), but forms a hard shell over the surface; the process involves the solvents outgas (evaporating), the wax hardening/setting and the small % of polymers forming a bond with another polymer ( urethane paint or a sealant).

This process is time, temperature and humidity dependent; after sufficient drying times do a quick swipe test with your finger, if no smearing or drag is evident; the residue is ready to be removed.