Waxes, Sealants, Coatings...all are
types of products used to "seal" the paint.
What you have done in your above example, IMHO, is to compare the different price-points between a paint-sealing product that is a Sealant...
and a paint-sealing product that is a Coating.
BTW:
That is not a:
"4 ounce bottle of paint sealant for $80"!...It's a Coating.
Apples and Oranges, as the saying goes.
Bob
Thanks for clearing that up for me Bob, that helps! As I said, I AM a noob!
I see now,
THIS is what I should have compared it to, right?
Well even there though, other than the initial sale price, there's a substantial difference in price. $50 vs $80 for 4 ounces. It's debatable, I'm sure, which is actually a better value (the Pinnacle may last so much longer that it comes out cheaper), but still. To me, as a newbie, the $50 price point is kind of on the upper end of what I'd spend. Reason being? I don't really know what I'm doing well enough to know what that would do for me. Baby steps! $80, I wouldn't even consider at this point; not until I feel more comfortable about my options when it comes to topping the paint. As I've mentioned before, too, even if something is a good value; you also have to consider 'startup cost' for a newbie.
If you're going to do your first paint correction, you'll need a DA polisher, pads, compound, polish, pad cleaner, microfiber towels. But then, to do it right, you need it clean! So, you need car wash, grit guards, wash mitts, clay. Then afterwards you'll want to protect your hard work! So you begin to shop for sealants and waxes and things like that.
Before AutoGeek I used a dirty sponge, a small 2 gallon bucket, and armor all car wash. Topped with Meguiars paste wax using the applicator the wax came with (black with dirt) that I never cleaned. So when I began to learn more, and realized 'yeah, I wanna do it right from now on!', then, well, it gets expensive quick! So don't underestimate the value of the lower price point products for newbies! Even if the other stuff lasts longer, it balloons my 'startup' price by the hundreds to run the higher end stuff. $30 more for something that last longer might seem like a no brainer. But what about when you also need to spend $25 more x3 for polishes on top of $100 more for the better polisher and so on and so forth. Adds up quick! Plus, believe it or not, there are cost conscious people in this hobby. People who just want to inexpensively care for their daily driver!
I dunno. I AM a complete newbie, so I'm certainly not an expert. But when I have options like a $10 wax, a $20 sealant, a $50 paint coating, and an $80 paint coating with varying levels of performance; it doesn't feel redundant or overlapping to me. It's like a Mustang V6 vs a Mustang GT. Several thousand dollar price difference for the same Mustang. For some, the V6 is a no brained; why pay for performance you'll use, like, never? For others, they wouldn't even consider a Mustang with less than 8 cylinders, so, duh, the GT! Funny how products at varying price points and levels of performance seems to help you reach a broad audience!
rops:^^^
