Coatings Not Needed On Modern Clear Coat Paints?
- Thread starter Ronin47
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FUNX650
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- Dec 1, 2010
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BudgetPlan1
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- Dec 21, 2015
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"Rock hard clearcoat..." Guy has obviously never owned a black Subaru.
Self-aggrandizing wobbly sausage, methinks.
Self-aggrandizing wobbly sausage, methinks.
BudgetPlan1
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But what about the 10h coatings? That stuff is hard as diamonds, no? It can't be just marketing cuz I read it on the Interwebs!
Desertnate
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- Aug 5, 2013
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I'm with BudgetPlan1. While some clear coats are quite hard like my VW's, Toyota, Honda, and Subaru clear coats are REALLY soft and even a "consumer grade" coating like McKee's 37 is probably harder. I've experienced this personally. The clear coat on my wife's Toyota is so soft it can be marred when doing a swipe with your finger.
Setec Astronomy
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- Aug 31, 2010
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I'll admit to having skipped some of the video, but I thought the point was not how hard your clear is, but don't pay the dealer for those upsells.
Not like that video will really have much impact...those car dealers have their audience eating out of the palm of their hand!
Me: You got a new car?
Coworker: Yeah
Next day car's not there
Me: What happened to your new car
Coworker: It's at the dealer for the interior and paint protection
Me: Oh no you didn't buy that...how much did it cost?
Coworker: It was free!
Me: No it wasn't....
Coworker (angry): Yes it was!!!
Me: Yeah, it was free because you paid $800 more than you should have for the car
Coworker: But it was super-fantastic-harder-than-diamonds-infused-with-viagara coating!
Me: oh, ok, that sounds worth it then
Not like that video will really have much impact...those car dealers have their audience eating out of the palm of their hand!
Me: You got a new car?
Coworker: Yeah
Next day car's not there
Me: What happened to your new car
Coworker: It's at the dealer for the interior and paint protection
Me: Oh no you didn't buy that...how much did it cost?
Coworker: It was free!
Me: No it wasn't....
Coworker (angry): Yes it was!!!
Me: Yeah, it was free because you paid $800 more than you should have for the car
Coworker: But it was super-fantastic-harder-than-diamonds-infused-with-viagara coating!
Me: oh, ok, that sounds worth it then
Desertnate
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Even worse than that scenario are the dealerships who put that stuff on all their vehicles upon delivery. The customers don't even get a say and it makes it even harder to negotiate a price.
Setec Astronomy
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- Aug 31, 2010
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But that way they are protected on the lot!! That's way better than the plastic they put on at the factory.
Mike Phillips
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- Dec 5, 2022
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Just to chime in....
I have not watched the video, no time right now but I will just add that waxes, sealants and coatings are basically sacrificial barriers to "help" prevent damage.
Also, a smooth surface will resist degradation better and longer than a textured or scratches/swirled surface. Paint is going to become worn so to restore an optimal surface (a smooth surface), will require polishing and then couldn't hurt to add a sacrificial barrier.
Plus.... for "Car People", (and not everyone is a car person), we like our rides to look good and good looks come from polishing and waxing/sealing/coating.
FWIW
I'll try to watch the video when I return from the salvage yard.
I have not watched the video, no time right now but I will just add that waxes, sealants and coatings are basically sacrificial barriers to "help" prevent damage.
Also, a smooth surface will resist degradation better and longer than a textured or scratches/swirled surface. Paint is going to become worn so to restore an optimal surface (a smooth surface), will require polishing and then couldn't hurt to add a sacrificial barrier.
Plus.... for "Car People", (and not everyone is a car person), we like our rides to look good and good looks come from polishing and waxing/sealing/coating.
FWIW
I'll try to watch the video when I return from the salvage yard.
I wonder what that sacrificial barrier does? I've noticed that no matter what lsp I apply I get nice water beading, but, that layer doesn't prevent road film from sitting on the paint after driving in the rain, for example. I don't notice that it's easier to remove bug splatter (without a lsp so long as I get to the splatter, it comes off easily). I'm still trying to learn why I'm applying waxes, sealants, and coating for anything other than pure aesthetics and that really only applies when the car is clean and that goes away after the first rain anyway. Of course, I only have two daily drivers that I do this work on, so I could be missing a whole lot of information and experience...
Desertnate
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There is no way put anything on your vehicle that would act as you describe. The product would have to make the surface frictionless and somehow able to repel water before it lands. In the case of pollen, rain, road film, etc stuff in air will land on your vehicle and sit there until you take it off. If something hits your vehicle when it's wet, it will dry and leave something behind.
LSP's are designed to be the barrier that keeps all of that grime from landing directly on your paint. It also provides some measure of protection from the sun. Those vehicles you see driving around with clear coat failure on the horizontal surfaces were probably never waxed/sealed.
Not all LSP's are created equal. Some will do a better job defending against stuff like bug splatter, but any good one should make clean up and washing easier than bare paint.
Think of the LSP like the latex gloves you wear when changing the oil. They keep the oil off your hands and from getting into your skin.
BudgetPlan1
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- Dec 21, 2015
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For me, coatings provide:
- Ease of maintenance: Aside from winter in NE Ohio (where nothing keeps car clean), Spring/Summer/Fall means much less washing of vehicle due to hydrophobic, self-cleaning aspects of coatings. I wash *much* less to maintain the appearance I find acceptable. Heck, sometimes I pull my car out of the garage into the rain if it's heavy enough to remove accumulated dust/pollen. 2 outta 3 of our cars are black so they tell all.
- Resistance to environmental 'incidents': Have a black 2004 Corvette that was literally ensconced in multiple layers of a certain Z coating popular among Corvette folks. Somewhere along the way, waterspots etched the clearcoat...permanently. Bird bombs needed pretty much instant removal or else they would leave marks but with coatings I am much less susceptible to these incidents. I have numerous trucks at work coated with numerous products and one got a direct hit in the middle of the hood, which I then left there for 2 weeks, truck parked outside in summer sun when not being driven. When I went to remove bird bomb, it came of easily (PB Bird Sh*t Remover) and it left no trace (coating was Gyeon Mohs). Our coated cars are much less susceptible to water spotting; it can rain in the morning, sit out in the afternoon sun and leave very little spotting; the beads are very small and evaporate without leaving a trace most of the time.
- Some very slight resistance to marring: While nothing is gonna protect you from scratches, I do believe that it will *slightly* protect from *some* self-induced swirls from my lazy wash techniques.
Everyone has different opinions and experiences but for me, coating has made my life significantly easier and our cars consistently look better with less effort. I like clean cars but I don't like cleaning cars...and the bottom line is waxes and sealants never provided me with the 'successful laziness' that coatings do. And that's good enough for me.
WillSports3
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- Jun 13, 2016
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That's kind if interesting that ceramic pro got used as an example in the video...The reason for be sacrificial layer when you get down to it, modern day clear coat has a half life of about 5 years. After that it starts to degrade, and then you get your peeling clearcoat. Wax, ssealants, and coatings protect against that to make your clearcoat last longer. The other part of it is anything that could damage your clearcoat is on the lsp instead of your paint.
When it comes to coatings, it adds some marrying resistance and scratch resistance. Your little oopsie will be much less of a big deal comparatively speaking, like if your wash mitt is a bit dirty and you didn't dunk it in your rinse bucket, you won't get swirl city. Sure don't buy protection from the dealership but... A good ceramic coating will protect your cars paint and everything inbetween.itll do a great job as long as you understand the context of the protection and what the coating is actually doing.
When it comes to coatings, it adds some marrying resistance and scratch resistance. Your little oopsie will be much less of a big deal comparatively speaking, like if your wash mitt is a bit dirty and you didn't dunk it in your rinse bucket, you won't get swirl city. Sure don't buy protection from the dealership but... A good ceramic coating will protect your cars paint and everything inbetween.itll do a great job as long as you understand the context of the protection and what the coating is actually doing.
