Carnauba wax is made from the Carnauba palm (Copernicia prunifera). The Carnauba wax itself is the coating on the surface of the leaf, the wax is extracted from the leaves by either scraping or beating the wax to loosen it. It's then collected and processed which usually involves refining and bleaching depending on the quality of the wax. The resulting wax is molded into blocks and then shipped to product manufacturers who use the carnauba wax in a variety of products from car wax through to lipsticks.

Carnauba wax is used as a vehicle wax as it's one of the hardest naturally occuring waxes which when applied to vehicle bodywork will give a lasting, durable and highly glossy shine to your vehicle. The effect of carnauba wax is to help to further disguise any swirl marks or micro scratches in the paint, carnauba wax has a similar visual effect of wet paint so on a well maintained paint surface it can be stunning.

In its natural state carnauba wax has a yellowish-white or light green colour, and is actually solid. To make it a practical product it must be combined with some kind of solvent.

There are two forms of carnauba wax on the market, paste and liquid, which differ in the amount of water or solvents in each product. Pure Carnauba will be diluted with water/solvents to form either a paste or a liquid. When applying a paste wax, the friction caused during the application will help to melt the wax. Liquid waxes are easier to apply.