Wax, Sealant or Coating?

What do you prefer and why?

Oh boy.......... You just opened Pandora's box. Lol

For me, It's an AIO then a wax. Time is my enemy, and I have no garage. Could never get my truck as "surgically clean" as needed for a coating, and the results I get are more than satisfactory for me on my paint.

Just started with da polishing.

Im liking what i started with:

Wg dgps: longer term protection
Ps21 carnuba on top...grew up using mother carnuba wax and love the wet gloss look and enjoy hand waxing

Waxes and sealants for me, depends on the vehicle.

Toolhead said:

Just started with da polishing.

Im liking what i started with:

Wg dgps: longer term protection
Ps21 carnuba on top...grew up using mother carnuba wax and love the wet gloss look and enjoy hand waxing

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Not a bad route to go. Just make sure you clay and do a little prep before you seal.

Sealants and waxes for me. I like the durability of a good sealant and the look of a good wax. I also enjoy the process but completely understand those who don't and prefer a coating.

ScottH

Sealants and coatings for me. It seems like waxes attract a lot more dust and dirt. Cleaning and drying a coated car is so easy plus you get much better and longer lasting protection.


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Sealants. Have a coating on my hood and front fenders. It's held up 2.5+ years, still shiny, good product (Optimum Opti-Coat I believe it was called back then). But it's like sandpaper to the touch, has RIDS, has sap marks. I use sealant on the rest of my car. It's silky smooth and 80-90% defect free. I can clay it when I want, I can compound it when I want. If I have a couple of hours, I can polish it, seal it (takes 30 minutes or less), then come back a week or a month or 3 months later, polish it some more, slap some more sealant on it. With the coating, I feel locked in once it's down, like I have to baby it. But if I bought a new car, and it was 100% defect free, and I didn't want to touch it for 2-3 years, I would use a coating, I get why they're popular.

I've progressed across the entire spectrum over the last 15 years or so and started with waxes. Durability and time was what drove me to each new type of product.

When I started out with high carbauba waxes I loved the look and application, but durability measured in weeks meant I was waxing the cars every 2~3 months. When I discovered sealants which lasted at least six months, it was life changing; especially being able to make it through an entire winter. I have now moved on to coatings it has been a similar experience. Being able to go a 1~1.5 years between full scale detailing of my vehicles is great. I can now sequence them out across time to where I never really do more than one a season rather than all of my family vehicles every spring and fall.

I'm still tempted to try Sonax PNS but other than that, consumer grade coatings are it for me. Only a garage queen would take me back to waxes.

I like them all. After finding AG I used Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant topped with Fuzion. That is one hell of a combo! Last July I put Wolfgang Uber Ceramic Coating on. At first I said that was the one and only time, I would never do another coating. I was mentally burnt from all the prep work, first time and all. Had a couple high spots, usual rookie stuff. But then the next day I opened the garage to check it out, I am sold. Coatings for me. The candy/glassy look is awesome, IMO the car stays cleaner, washes easier, and it last awhile. I have no plans on replacing it until next spring.

chet31 said:

Sealants. Have a coating on my hood and front fenders. It's held up 2.5+ years, still shiny, good product (Optimum Opti-Coat I believe it was called back then). But it's like sandpaper to the touch, has RIDS, has sap marks. I use sealant on the rest of my car .

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This is what turns me away from coatings, when I got my car new a few years ago the dealer worked with a local detailer that was opticoat certified and offered a "discounted price". I declined but went to the detailer a few weeks after anyway, that was during the height of popularity for opticoat and I wanted to see in person what it looked like. When I went and spoke with the detailer after seeing I knew somewhat about detailing, he said if I love to wash the car and enjoy the satisfaction of correcting your paint, he would advise not to get the car coated, because it was pain to get rid of defects. I am intrigued with the newer consumer grade coatings but timing is not on my side. So for now I just use Powerlock sealant topped with collinite 845.

When I get another car if it's new I am actually thinking about going a whole separate route. I might do a high end ppf on the front end and roof. I have seen some of the newer ppf that self heal and if installed professionally and taken care of, you cannot tell where it begins or ends.

I saw this posted on a detailing Facebook group, it shows a ppf that covers parts of front fender and hood, and how the owner still uses improper wash techniques but the ppf is still flawless but the uncovered parts has swirls.




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I am now using sealants for customers and a coating for me and the Mrs. The only time I use a wax is to top my coating in the high impact bug squash areas twice a year. Down here in FL we get 2 "love bug" infestations a year. I top the nose, side view mirrors and the front 1/3 of the roof where the majority of bugs hit.

While I still love the glow a good, quality natural wax provides, I have found them much too perishable in this climate. I love detailing but don't really want to wax both family cars every week. For that reason, I provide my customers with a sealant as LSP if they're paying for one. I may not see them again for a while and a wax would be long gone.

I pretty much only use coatings. It lasts the longest and I'm careful with how I touch my paint so I don't really have added swirls. I don't really bother with sealants or waxes unless it's just a layer of protection before I polish and coat the car in a few months. So far I've made it through a solid year and a half, iron x and tar X on my car in the spring, no contaminants on the paint so I'm happy. For me if it's my car and I'm going to be doing paint correction, I might as well coat it.

custmsprty said:

Waxes and sealants for me, depends on the vehicle.

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I Agree! I like waxes and sealants or some cases a sealant topped off with a wax. I did the coating and it wasn't for me. My preference is the sealant and wax. IMO you can't go wrong with either method if you prep it right.

I prefer sealing last but sometimes I'll top it with spray wax. After 20 plus years though I've Been looking into coatings but I guess I'm old school cuz I have not made the jump yet. Not sure I will ever too


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On my own vehicle I've had all three. I still love a sealant like PNS, FK1000p, or 4star topped with Fuzion. I've never found anything that looks as good in every lighting condition and has gotten as many compliments. Plus the sealants mentioned last 6-9 months. I polish the car twice a year so a coating in my case doesn't make sense.