Liquid vs Spray Sealers and Waxes

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BLM

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Would like to hear some preferences and downsides of each variety.

As far as liquid products they can last longer than sprays. However they are more involved to apply and remove. Also at least when I use them I have to remove the residue from all the cracks and crevices. Also I prefer to apply them with a DA so there is that to deal with.

There are some high quality spray products. They are quicker to apply and remove and there is no residue to deal with. However being clear products one can't tell if they got full coverage or if areas were missed. Some of them don't last very long. With more spray products being brought to market this may be the way the industry is headed.

20 years ago some of these same comments could be said when comparing paste vs liquids. Today pastes are a very small percentage of the products used.
 
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Spray sealants & waxes are great for areas such as wheels compared to liquid sealants and especially paste waxes. That being said, I pretty much never apply these sort of products or anything whatsoever to wheels as I don’t think they offer much if any benefit.

As far as spray vs. liquid sealants, Sprays have their place when you want to do a quick finishing touch but any significant protection usually comes in the form of a dedicated liquid vs. spray and I like to apply by hand vs. machine polisher.

For 1: I tend to toss the foam applicators after using them because trying to keep them around becomes messy + I can never find a good small plastic bag when I need 1 + they never really clean up to the point where they’re ever like new again. Same would happen if I were to use a pad on a machine, the pads would wind up penetrated with lsp that never fully washes out which would lead to cross contamination between lsp’s + I have better control applying by hand.
 
BLM said:
20 years ago some of these same comments could be said when comparing paste vs liquids. Today pastes are a very small percentage of the products used.
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I would disagree with your timeline here, liquid waxes were well entrenched 20 years ago, and OCW was already on the market by then and pretty sure DG Aquawax was also. But I can't argue with the premise that liquid sealants/waxes are heading the way of pastes. I'm still surprised that the introduction of WOWA sealants in 2007 didn't quickly destroy the market for non-spray products.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I would disagree with your timeline here, liquid waxes were well entrenched 20 years ago, and OCW was already on the market by then
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Agreed but 20 years ago more were still using the pastes.
 
My experience with spray sealants is they don't last as long as a liquid wax.

I've used a few spray waxes and they will hang around for anywhere from a few weeks to 2~3 months at the longest. Liquid sealants have lasted much longer for me. Collinite 845 would last around 5~6 months, Klasse SG around 5 months, and Wolfgang SiO2 Paint sealant lasted 6~7 months.

Depending on your environment and detailing routine, both have a place.
 
BLM said:
Would like to hear some preferences and downsides of each variety.

As far as liquid products they can last longer than sprays. However they are more involved to apply and remove. Also at least when I use them I have to remove the residue from all the cracks and crevices. Also I prefer to apply them with a DA so there is that to deal with.

There are some high quality spray products. They are quicker to apply and remove and there is no residue to deal with. However being clear products one can't tell if they got full coverage or if areas were missed. Some of them don't last very long. With more spray products being brought to market this may be the way the industry is headed.

20 years ago some of these same comments could be said when comparing paste vs liquids. Today pastes are a very small percentage of the products used.
Click to expand...
I use a spray sealant when drying the car after washes. I use a cream(Ultralock Plus+) after a lengthy decon wash or polish session. The Ultralock is super durable over 6 months in my experience and comes off effortlessly. You can do a mid-size sedan in about 30 minutes or so. I had a solid 6-7 months of good performance over a winter with limited washes. The spray option, done as often as I do it, is also a fine choice. Can't go wrong.

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For the FJ, which is parked outside 24/7, I found that a spray sealant, like the NV Jet/Lustre combo had the best longevity, followed by a liquid wax, Collinite 845, then a paste wax, which was Dodo Juice Light Fantastic, but that is a soft wax, and then comes all the spray waxes, like Meg's Quikwax, Nextzett Perlglanz, and TWHS Ceramic Wet Wax, which is now 5 years old, so basically expired, as per Sheepstar's test.

Edit to add I often use something like Ech2o or Boss Gloss as a drying aid, and they add something, but they're not spray waxes.
 
Liquid sealant vs a good spray wax is close, maybe six months for the extreme performers but usually around three.

The spray ceramics I'm getting well over six months on stuff outside 24x7.

I know most of us don't wait until a product is dead to reapply on a car. I test stuff around the house that is outdoors and painted, for example the heat pump.
 
I will chose cleaning ability and gloss over longevity because if they claim 6 months or 4 months etc,

That to me is in the ideal perfect conditions (which of course)
Depends where you live in the world, how much you drive, where you park, weather conditions etc, etc,etc
 
Tasmania said:
I will chose cleaning ability and gloss over longevity because if they claim 6 months or 4 months etc,

That to me is in the ideal perfect conditions (which of course)
Depends where you live in the world, how much you drive, where you park, weather conditions etc, etc,etc
Click to expand...
This is exactly why I will continue to recommend Ultralock Plus+ to everyone. I did my Jetta with it in mid-October 2021. One coat while in my poorly lit parking garage. I didn't have wash facilities at the apartment, and was addicted to the soft water at my parents house, so to wash it I would have to drive 1 hour one way. In the winter that wasn't ideal, so Between application and the following April the car was washed maybe 4 times. It was still performing that following spring, after marinating in rock salt and calcium chloride much of the winter. Very impressive for my first impression on a brand. A lasting impression.

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