Is sealant dead?

I dont know what I am going to do with my waxes/sealants after I opti-coat my car.

Hmmmm.
 
Funny looking through this thread. I didn't realize I had posted on here 5 months ago and how my opinions have changed.

I like the look of a freshly waxed car. But I hate waxing now haha. I enjoy the wash process much more now. After I am done washing, the last thing I wanna do is spend more time applying wax. And then having to worry about dust already having landed on the surface and rubbing it in during the buff-off stage.

Maybe I would enjoy it more if I got payed. But on my own ride, not so much.
 
timaishu said:
I dont know what I am going to do with my waxes/sealants after I opti-coat my car.

Hmmmm.
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This is the reason why I haven't applied OC2.0 to my car yet. I already applied it to my uncle's van and friend's civic. Still have 30 cc's left. If I apply it to my car then I know all my sealants will be wasted.

timaishu said:
Funny looking through this thread. I didn't realize I had posted on here 5 months ago and how my opinions have changed.

I like the look of a freshly waxed car. But I hate waxing now haha. I enjoy the wash process much more now. After I am done washing, the last thing I wanna do is spend more time applying wax. And then having to worry about dust already having landed on the surface and rubbing it in during the buff-off stage.

Maybe I would enjoy it more if I got payed. But on my own ride, not so much.
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I'm the opposite way. I enjoy applying sealants and waxes on my own vehicle. I love removing it and seeing it glow afterwards. I dread doing it for others even if it's paid because at that point, it's a job and not leisure anymore. In the end, the car's not yours. I don't look forward to waxing other people's cars.
 
I can see your point.

I also feel on a deeper level, my opinions have changed because I am witnessing my beloved altima's paint degrading and just overall wear and tear that I cannot stop.

I guess I just want to put something on her that will preserve her current looks as long as possible. Im gonna give her an intensive polishing as a last hurrah, coat her. And then utilize careful wash technique and when I have the urge, Ill apply a wax even though it wont stick long.

Its becoming really hard to care like I did when I first bought her now that the roof's clear is starting to fail. My right front fender clear peeled off and I did a diy fix, and both front and rear bumpers I realized are also repaints(wasn't informed when I bought it) as the rear bumpers clear is peeling off and both the front and back dont match the factory very well.

I would bet that if I had a brand new car, I would likely apply sealants/waxes as I did before for the reasons you stated above.
 
I see a lot of coated cars either poorly prep by detailers full with holograms, another drawback here in tropical country is that the coat can't withstand the pollution here, almost every coated cars develop water mark etching on their coated surface.
 
kimtt said:
I see a lot of coated cars either poorly prep by detailers full with holograms, another drawback here in tropical country is that the coat can't withstand the pollution here, almost every coated cars develop water mark etching on their coated surface.
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Interesting. I would think sealants would allow the clear to etch.
 
timaishu said:
I can see your point.

I also feel on a deeper level, my opinions have changed because I am witnessing my beloved altima's paint degrading and just overall wear and tear that I cannot stop.

I guess I just want to put something on her that will preserve her current looks as long as possible. Im gonna give her an intensive polishing as a last hurrah, coat her. And then utilize careful wash technique and when I have the urge, Ill apply a wax even though it wont stick long.

Its becoming really hard to care like I did when I first bought her now that the roof's clear is starting to fail. My right front fender clear peeled off and I did a diy fix, and both front and rear bumpers I realized are also repaints(wasn't informed when I bought it) as the rear bumpers clear is peeling off and both the front and back dont match the factory very well.

I would bet that if I had a brand new car, I would likely apply sealants/waxes as I did before for the reasons you stated above.
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Sounds like it's time to sell or trade it on another vehicle with much better paint.
Just saying. For the work you have/will put into it, it might be best to move on, something.:)
 
ShaunD said:
Sounds like it's time to sell or trade it on another vehicle with much better paint.
Just saying. For the work you have/will put into it, it might be best to move on, something.:)
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I almost did that a few months ago for another altima. It was a code red SE-R.

I had the money, but no job. I thought about it for several weeks before the sensible side of me took over.

My car was already payed off, there is no way I would get much for my car in a trade in so I would have to fork out a few G's, and I had no job.

If I had a job, I honestly think I would have done it. It just sucks being an autogeek with crappy paint.
 
No, sealants are not dead.

There will always be car wax and sealants because not everyone wants to pay for a coating to be applied to their cars paint.

If you're a pro and not charging AT LEAST $300 to apply Opti-Coat then you're seriously underselling yourself. Our shop offers a "new customer" package with a 2 step polish and OC applied for an intro price of $350.

It's a no brainer really for the client but many do not want to pay that much so we offer a 1 or 2 step polish with Opti-Seal for $225.

Full paint correction with OC starts at $500.

So polymer sealants still have a place, as do waxes, because the people who know about the new coatings is minute compared to those who know about and use waxes.
 
kronos said:
They do. Especially with hard water. Coatings prevent etching from hard water spots?
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No the coatings dont stop etching. However, the etching will only be in the coating so it can be corrected with NO LOSS of clearcoat.
 
Old Tiger said:
No the coatings dont stop etching. However, the etching will only be in the coating so it can be corrected with NO LOSS of clearcoat.
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Wow! Best post ever! So true Jim! Last time I checked, it was easier to reapply a coating then respray clear!! OT is DA MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Old Tiger said:
No the coatings dont stop etching. However, the etching will only be in the coating so it can be corrected with NO LOSS of clearcoat.
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The coat will need to be polished and removed to fix the etching, so the customer will need to pay for new coat. Am I right?
 
Dr Oldz said:
Wow! Best post ever! So true Jim! Last time I checked, it was easier to reapply a coating then respray clear!! OT is DA MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Thank you Dr! I know it isnt enough to turn you to the dark side. I think you would be happy with an OC or OG coating that you apply your nubas to. OC acts like new clear and nubas work great on new clear. Food for thought Jim!
 
kimtt said:
The coat will need to be polished and removed to fix the etching, so the customer will need to pay for new coat. Am I right?
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If you dont remove all the OC and use Optimum polish, remove the defect and walk away! If you remove all coating in a spot, you can add the new OC to the spot they say. I personally would remove OC from the whole panel and reapply.
 
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