Anybody Want To Discuss Sealants

B

BLM

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 12, 2024
Messages
556
Reaction score
705
Been giving some thought to my preferred sealant going forward. Not going to do a ceramic coating. I realize there are some good ones but as much as i maintain my paint with regular washes and treatments i feel a coating is just not needed.

Have been doing a lot of video watching and research. Have seen many comparisons of products. Amongst the things i considered are ease of application, longevity and to a lesser degree the cost.

After a fair amount of consideration my leading canidates are Jescar Ultralock and Turtle Wax Seal and Shine and think i will use both of them. Both are solid products and easy to use. The Seal and Shine couldnt be easier to apply and remove and ill use the Ultralock when i feel like busting out my polisher.

As toppers im thinking of using Optimum Car Wax over the Seal and Shine and when i use the Ultralock ill top it with TEC 582. Partially because both of those are good products and I also already have a gallon of each.

Opinions and suggestions?
 
My opinion is, how do traditional sealants even exist? With the introductions in 2007 of Zaino Clear Seal, Optimum Opti-Seal, and Ultima Paint Guard Plus, the WOWA (Wipe On, Walk Away) revolution was upon us. How this didn't immediately obsolete all other sealants is beyond me.

I'll explain...the form of all the creme sealants goes back to when the extent of research you could do was reading the backs of the bottles in the auto parts store, or maybe calling up a company like Meguiar's or Mothers and talking to someone and they might send you a little mailer with some cursory information. So until 20 years or so ago, sealants, liquid waxes, all had some sort of cleaner in them, to make sure the sealant would bond to the surface, and this lead to the heavier body and residues, and besides, the thicker the product and the more you put on, the better it works, right?

The reality was that whatever was left on the surface after buff-off was only molecules thick, and with the advent of the internet and forums like this, enthusiasts such as ourselves were doing a very good job of cleaning/polishing/prepping the paint, so some enterprising detail-product manufacturers said, in parallel apparently, let's just make a product that only has the active protectant product in it, along with some solvent carrier.

That product will be good for every surface on the car, paint, glass, chrome, plastic and rubber trim, no one has to worry about any cleaner residue to buff off, just let the solvent evaporate and you don't even need to buff! And if you apply too heavy, just go back and buff the excess. We have Sal Zaino, Dr. G, and David B/Rick Vaal to thank for this revolution, which apparently flopped, because there are still tons of creme sealants around.
 
I think Jescar would be a pretty good choice.
I was a Meguiar's guy before I dove deeper into the detail world and have different brands. But I bought M27 for a vehicle and maintain with M799, and the Megs Hybrid Ceramic family products. I know there are other great products out there, Jescar being one of them, but my Megs history and other details have me on this. I love the smell first off, to me I love going in the garage the next day or 2 and still smelling it in there. Ease of use, it does bead water off good enough to make me happy, and the Megs Ceramic products are easy to find to maintain.

But if I ran out of it all I already thought I would grab Jescar and maintain it with their (Jescar) spray as well.
 
This year my daily just got Tec 582 after every other hand wash. That seemed to do just fine.

I have used TW Seal and Shine and it’s solid, but can be a bit streaky sometimes. Not a huge deal to me for a daily driver.

Whatever you do is going to be more than 98% of the population and it’s going to look great.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Think the frequency of application is more important than using a specific product. I currently use a drying aid mixed up with Distilled water/ optimum quick detailer and optimum car wax or have used the TEC 582. I think they do a better job if used after towel drying the vehicle rather than spraying on the wet vehicle.
Would you still use that home brewed Optimum drying aid if you had the SI02 based Ultralock on the vehicle? The OCW now has a sticker on the product that says something about it having ceramic protection but I see nothing in the description about that. Maybe it's just a couple drops so that can say ceramic infused.
 
Last edited:
BLM said:
Think the frequency of application is more important than using a specific product. I currently use a drying aid mixed up with Distilled water/ optimum quick detailer and optimum car wax or have used the TEC 582. I think they do a better job if used after towel drying the vehicle rather than spraying on the wet vehicle.
Would you still use that home brewed Optimum drying aid if you had the SI02 based Ultralock on the vehicle? The OCW now has a sticker on the product that says something about it having ceramic protection but I see nothing in the description about that. Maybe it's just a couple drops so that can say ceramic infused.
Click to expand...

Yeah spray on the wet car on light protection like those is for drying aid. Adding slickness to towel to prevent marring. If wanting to dry and protect using a stronger sealant makes sense.

But if doing every wash those things should protect fine. Take pretty good care of my paint and after 2 years of sealant I’m going back to a coating.

The wash, dry, and results are just so much nicer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I prefer a more robust sealant and then hit it occasionally with a topper for appearance sake and extend the life of the sealant.

While I rarely use sealants any more, my current hands down favorite is Wolfgang's Ceramic Paint Sealant. I apply it with my DA and remove it by hand. Application/buffing is the easiest I've experienced with any sealant product. It's also the most durable at 7+ months in my environment. Looks are outstanding, and for the first 5 of the 7 months, the water behavior is very near coating-like without any toppers.

I also enjoyed using 845 and still have some in the garage, but the Wolfgang will be the one I reach for first if I ever need to use a sealant on one of my cars.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top