Looking to take my first dive into Paint and Surface Coatings

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willowcat11

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I have found my rhythm with the Sealants and other car care products I have been using. I have been using mostly WOLFGANG Sealants on the Outside and Inside of my Car for a few years now, and have Loved them.

I am now hoping to find a longer and more durable protection in coatings. I'd like to stick with the PBMG brands, since I have developed a strong confidence in their products and customer service. I'm not sure if the Mckee's Coating provides as much Durability as the WOLFGANG and/or the Pinnacle Black Diamond Coatings. If it does, then that's cool. If not, then I am asking which Coating, Wolfgang or Black label would best best to choose?

Thankyou kindly all!
 
Maybe I should ask a better question. Do you guys feel it's worth it to upgrade from using paint Sealants to a Coating?
 
There are a number of members here who have stated that they have given up on coatings and that they are returning to waxes and sealants. I'd like to hear from some of those members on their reasons why.
 
willowcat11 said:
Maybe I should ask a better question. Do you guys feel it's worth it to upgrade from using paint Sealants to a Coating?
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Yes. No question. There's really nothing special about applying a coating in terms of difficulty or tricks learned. Key is to prep properly, correct the finish, etc. as the polish under any LSP is just as if not more / most important of anything you'll be doing.

If this is your first time, go with McKee's coating. Stupid simple to apply and looks/works fantastic and that's the old formula as an opinion. I have yet to try the new stuff. Have some just waiting on my next customer for it.
 
I have WolfGang sealant on one and Optimum Gloss Coat on the other. The sealant is closer to wax and requires more washing because it does not self clean if parked outside. The Gloss Coat will clean itself (almost) in the rain as long as you don't drive in the rain and get road grime on your ride. When you do get it dirty from road grime it cleans effortlessly. The coating looks glass like and nice but sealant seems to turn more heads with the deep look that Garage Queens deserve. Daily Driver=Coated Garage Queen=Sealant,Wax.
 
I am very pleased I made the switch from a sealant to coatings. The biggest gains for me are the ease of routine maintenance and the time saved in not having to re-apply an LSP every six months. Right now I'm looking at doing an 18-month cycle using McKee's 37 coating.

With all that said, I do think coatings force you to keep up with your maintenance washes more than a sealant would in order to preserve the water behavior we all love. If a car goes a long time between washes or gets really dirty over the winter, it may take a few washes and/or a light claying to bring back the beading/sheeting most of us equate to the product still being present on the vehicle.

I don't top my coated cars, but I do wipe them down with a QD spray simply to knock out water spots since I don't have a shady area to do washes. I highly doubt that does much to improve things or extend the life of the coating.
 
I absolutely find my car is both easier to wash and even looks better between washes when its dirty because of the coating vs. my former sealants. It's black too.

Just my opinion and experience.
 
Paul A. said:
I absolutely find my car is both easier to wash and even looks better between washes when its dirty because of the coating vs. my former sealants.
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Looking good when dirty is a good point. All of my cars, (gray, black, dark red) look better all the time too. Since coatings sheet water better than most wax/sealants I've found a good hard rain works wonders to knock off a light coating of dust/dirt and *almost* serves as wash.
 
Absolutely agree, Nate! Down here in Tampa we get some really good pounding, aggressive (but short duration) rain and, yes, it's almost like a wash with a coating vs. wax or sealants.
 
Mike went with the black label on his wife's car. Must be a good one out of the PBMG choices.

Coatings are great. Makes you able to downsize your addiction collection to just a handful of bottles.

The maintenance soaps are important. Don't go using the wash and wax soaps that will make your coating not do what your coating should do.


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Coat everything; paint, wheels, tires, rims, exterior glass. Life is much easier, car stays cleaner longer, looks better longer, uses less products to keep it so, less towels, brushes and applicators to clean after washing car. With everything coated, maintenance/washing cleanup has been reduced to 2 dryint towels for paint, a waffle weave drying towel to dry wheels and a car wash mitt, all of which have no noticeable dirt on them after wash (including wheel only towel). Gyeon Bathe is the only product used during wash, save for monthly use of SiO2 booster while drying car.
 
Thankyou for all of these awesome responses guys!

Right now are most Coating choices pretty even, thus personal preference being the biggest factor in choice. Or are there some than out above the rest?

Thankyou!
 
I can only talk about the two coatings I've used. The Blackfire Paint Coating and McKee's 37. Blackfire was a nightmare to apply, McKee's 37 was a dream and not much harder than applying a spray wax.

You might want to start with McKee's as your first try, and then "graduate" to some of the upper market coatings that take a bit more finesse to apply.
 
Optimum gloss coat so easy a caveman can do it.


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