Glaze: What exactly is it and when is it best used

I know it's kind of a dumb question. But I just want to see what everyone else says.

What exactly is a glaze?

What does it do?
How does it do it?
How is it different than a sealant or wax?
What is the best instance to utilize it?
Any secrets on application?
...
Anything else I might be missing for anyone else who might be interested to learn what a glaze is?

 

Glaze after car polish and before wax. carnauba finishing glaze, gloss, show car glaze, last step product, Wolfgang, Pinnacle, XMT, 3M, Meguiars

"A glaze is a shine-enhancing product that goes on after polishing but before the wax or sealant. It is made with oils and wetting agents that amplify your paint’s shine and improve the clarity"

Usually goes on before sealant or wax to mask and fill scratches etc. Its a good product, I use it. however adams has a glaze that goes over your LSP which is kind of nice.......... I used it and it did make a difference.

 

Would the glaze affect the longevity and bonding of the paint sealant to the car? Could one apply the glaze after the paint sealant? If so would it affect beading? Would it add more shine than a layer of sealant and then carnuba? I remember seeing a detail write up where Phil at DD corrected a widebody S4 that had copious amounts of glaze (here) which just seemed to make a mess. If paint is fully corrected is there a need for it?

 

Glaze

Glaze is a term that's frequently misused in detailing products. Glazes are paint treatments used to fill small surface scratches and swirl marks, as they don’t usually contain any abrasives and are used solely for aesthetic purposes, they offer no surface protection and are usually used in conjunction with an organic wax.

Although some product manufactures describe their waxes as a ‘glaze’. To a painter, glaze is the term used to describe the process of restoring full paint gloss.
It is a used by detailers for show car to obtain maximum light reflection as they add depth by darkening the paint surface colour. They produce a “wet" look to the surface with oils to maximize surface gloss and may contain fillers (Kaolin or China clay) to hide minor defects not removed by polishing.

They will provide little if any surface protection. There are two types of glazes; wax/oil based and polymer-based, an oil / wax based glaze can only be used under a carnauba wax, as a polymer sealant will not bond.

They are also used when a clear coat could be compromised by further abrasive polishing if there is insufficient paint film thickness remaining, the ‘fillers’ will hide most surface imperfections. Glazing is done after polishing but before applying the final wax or sealant (Zanio Clear Seal, Z-CS)

 

so does it have to be a polymer glaze to bond to sealant like Z-CS without compromising the durability of Z-CS?

 

There's such a wide range of glazes out there. Some work best under nuba's and some under sealants. I only ever use them to fill light swirls the added shine is just a benefit IMO.

 

meaning if you can polish the clear coat you don't need glaze and only use glaze when the paint is too thin to polish? Is there any benefit to polish, glaze, and then sealant?

 

I was always under the impression that a glaze does nothing for protection or beading. So if you would wax your car, wipe it off, then apply a layer of glaze, you wouldn't get any beading, right?

 

There's some glazes out there that will offer some added protection. And some even do bead quite well. I've gotten some great beading from Black Hole. But I would never just apply a glaze without topping it with a nuba.

 

Now if you top a glaze with a durable wax, say AutoGlym HD, would the glaze last until the wax degraded?

 

My understanding is yes.