IMHO (and proselytizing):
-Unless Coatings---any Coating---are afforded the opportunity to fully cure, whether it's by natural or unnatural conditions (IR lamps come to mind) before they are exposed to car washing chemicals, environmental contaminates, rain/acid rain, etc., etc...
-there will always be the chance that their characteristics will be compromised. That includes longevity/durability.
"I can't spare my vehicle(s) for up to 30 days, or more";
"That's not practical out in the real World"...
are often the refrains heard.
Well:
Maybe it would be best to wait until that required time for Coatings to: Totally Cure..is available.
Sounds unfair, perhaps. But perhaps true, as well.
Folks not being able to wait:
A harbinger of the "need" for Coating boosters?
For dedicated Detail Sprays for Coatings, too?
Just thinking out loud.
Bob
Bob you go on about your proselytizing any ol' time ya' want now, ya' he-ah'.
In the three vehicles I spoke of, TWO were my own. My wife' Denali being one, and that one gets babied by me at least. Yes she drives it daily, rain or well.... rain. We don't have snow and ice (and lack of salt and or sweet beat juice by default) but it's garaged nightly, and all weekend. My G35 has been in the rain TOTAL about 8 times since new in late 2005. Only 2 of those were driving in the rain, as in a rainstorm. Once was we rented a lake house back in the early summer of 2006 thinking it had a 2-car garage (which it did but it was locked) and the day after we got there it rained every day for pretty much the entire week. Didn't drive it, it just sat there. But we did have to drive it home in the rain. All the other times were where it just got caught in a passing rain shower. Then the third vehicle was a customers car (thread posted here on AG).
My G hasn't been driven 300 miles since November, yet the coating isn't anywhere near what it was then. My wife's truck needs refreshing. The customers Mazdaspeed I need to check out when he comes back from vacation, at which point I'll hand him the NEW BOTTLE of BOOSTER telling him that he MUST use it.
Sometimes coatings don't last as long as wax.
Seems to be more than the truth if you ask me.
If I apply a coating that requires some type of maintenance spray and may or may not loose its water repellency/slickness over a short period of time - what's the point?
I know my wax isn't going to "fail", I can renew it easily by applying another coat, and I can get like a zillion applications per tub. Not to mention I don't really have to worry about product shelf life or some "filler" on the paint causing my wax to fail.
So, I have a wax coating on my car. What's the diff? Unless you buy into somehow a coating can decrease scratches. If you believe that, I have a bridge in NY to sell you.
Does seem to end up getting rather expensive does it not?
I can say one thing. Application methods/practices IS/ARE NOT a factor on the ones I've done!
Has me thinking a bit 'out loud' as well. If, just if, one has a prime steak it too can last "up to three years", *IF* they very quickly grab their Food Saver Vacuum Sealer bag, place it inside, vacuum that puppy, and put it at the very back of their dedicated storage freezer not to see the light of day until the anniversary of the day it was placed in said bag 1096 days later (taking into account at least one Leap Year).
So with that in mind, I'm off to search the internet for a Food Saver bag that's big enough to slide my car into, with hopes that I'll be able to get my newest "permanent coating" to last even 730 of those 1096 days!
(May not be as expensive as trying to get it to last that long constantly re-applying whatever it takes to GET it to last even 180 of those 1096 days!) :dunno:
