Refrigerating Waxes: Your Thoughts...

So I got to thinking about whether I should be refrigerating my wax collection and I wanted to see what the DB braintrust has to say...

Go!:thumb:

 

I keep mine in the fridge in the crisper drawer. Other than wax the only thing in there are soft drinks and beer. I've been keeping them in there for over a year now and they are doing quite well.

 

I know my Zymol says to put it in the refrigerator after using. I keep them inside the house so they do not see big temperature swings or extreme cold or hot temps.

 

Kinda silly question. After removing the wax that will be used from the fridge, do you need to let it come to "room temp", or can you just dunk your applicator and go to town?

 

You can just dunk the applicator and go to town but I usually take it out about an hour prior and let it come closer to ambient temp before using. No real scientific reason for doing it I just do.

 

Of the companies I've asked about this, all have told me to keep their products out of the garage, and or extreme temp differences.

I would buy a nice wine cooler before putting my waxes in the fridge. jmo

 

My waxes are all in the basement which stays cool year-round. I think that is sufficient. I think I have an old mini fridge from college that I might use though!

 

I keep mine in a plastic dresser thing that was $10 at walmart. Stays a nice even temp, so hopefully nothing happens to them.

 

I keep mine in the basement. It's always the same temp and nice and dry...:shrug:

 

vintage is really soft so i put it in the fridge before i use it

 

I think considering I have a garage fridge I should put my waxes in there.....

 

Car care products should not be stored at temperatures below 35 - 40oF, if they freeze they will become unstable and therefore unusable, ideal storage temperature range- 50- 75oF with an average humidity range. Most car care products have a ‘useful life’ of approximately 2-3 years provided they are stored as above.

Do not store at temperature extremes (i.e. very hot or cold) as heat will destabilise emulsified products (wax, polymer sealants, polishes, etc) and avoid extreme temperature swings as the chemicals will become unstable. Most car care products (including Polymers) will separate and are no longer usable after being subjected to freezing temperatures

The chemical composition of waxes rarely ever change regardless of what form it is in, whether it is melted to a semi-liquid or remains as a semi-solid. Temperature has little to no effect as far as inhibiting the shelf life of wax, a cool temperatures and constant humidity will slow the evaporation of solvents from the wax, thus keeping the wax softer and easier to use over a longer period of time. Do not allow to freeze and avoid temperature swings

 

As do I.

I started with the fridge because zymol, which I used to use, told me to. I now stick with it because of frequency of use. I'm stuck with a small garage with not much space in it. So the stuff like APC, which I use a bunch of, are on the shelves, while the LSPs, which I use less frequently per car, stay in the fridge.

I know some folks keep theirs in the climate controlled portion of the house, that just sounds like so much hassle.

So...fridge for me.

 

Same here. I keep all my waxes in the crisper drawer. My mom watches the baby as well as cooks for us while we're at work and thought I lost my mind when she noticed the wax in the fridge.

I keep everything else inside the house since the temps get too hot down here.

 

Looks like I'll be moving my polishes and LSP's into the house.

 

I store mine in a spare closet in the house. 65-75 degF is consistant enough for me.

Becides my fridge is too full of beer to put wax in it too!

 

I've been using zymol for years, and I've never placed them in the refrigerator.

 

Dom Colbeck of Dodo Juice addressed this question in a Detailing World thread:

I keep my waxes in my basement. My wife would never allow me to invade her refrigerator with my car stuff.

 

Isn't Zymol very high in Silicone?

I read elsewhere that Zymol was very high in Silicone as well as many other very high end waxes. And that they didn't need to be refrigerated. At least this is what I read.

 

[Isn't Zymol very high in Silicone? ]

Like all Carnauba waxes their carrier system is solvent, they us Montan oil not silicone.

FWIW-
Emulsions- emulsifiers and emulsions can seem like mysterious concepts but actually are very common. Milk is an emulsion of milk fats and solids held in suspension by an emulsifier called casein. Oils and polymers are often suspended in an emulsion and used as a carrier system in waxes and polymer sealants.

Oil will not spontaneously mix with water, but the presence of a surfactant provides a decrease in surface tension that allows the formation of small droplets of oil in the bulk of water (or vice versa)

Compounds, polishes, waxes and sealants are most commonly comprised of very tiny droplets (emulsion) of solvents, abrasives and active ingredients held in suspension in a water solution by emulsifiers