Sealants vs Coatings

[SWETM]

Since you are working by hand I would look at McKees 37 Coating Prep Polish. It's a paint cleaner that don't leave anything behind and can be followed with application of a coating or sealant or wax. This way you get a cleaner surface before the CanCoat. And I would use this Coating Prep Polish after 4-6 months and reapply the CanCoat.

Coating Prep Polish, clear coat polish, best car polish

With coatings you don't get any filling ability from them. And since you clean the surface extremely and the added gloss by the coating. You more often than not get your paint defects more visible this way. That's one of the reasons you need a great finish to apply the coating on. And if you have paint defects I would consider to apply carpro essence by hand after the CPP. If you where to use essence by hand you need to do a panel wipe product wipe down before the CanCoat. Since the recommendation of essence is it has some filling ability. But would still do the CPP after a thorough decon with a tar remover and iron remover and claying. The last contaminants you get of with the CPP and essence gives you a filling of some defects. Maybe alot of steps but it is what I would do. Don't know if Gyeon Primer has a filling ability and how it works when applyied by hand there for the essence.

 

[Powerman]

Would be interesting to see, though. Guessing it would not bond well to EXO but ya never know.

It took so long just ironx and tarxing the top that I decided to go ahead and get the gtechneq crystal light.
Nice enough that autogeek is running a 25% off sale that I got enough for both my cars along with the coating prep.
Now to wait for it to stop raining.

I’m not sure from the descriptions where the C1 crystal lacquer would fit in this product line. If it’s designed to go on top of the other two products, if it’s a separate product with a different purpose or just a long lasting shine product.

My only worry is I can’t leave the van indoors for the 24 hour cure period without trying to rent a space. I can’t even find an easyup that’s tall enough for it so have to work in the early morning or late evenings under flood lamps.
I’m expecting some dust to get stuck in the surface.



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[SWETM]

C1 crystal laquer is a coating on it's own and need a clean paint to apply on. It's c2v3 liquid crystal is the topper in spray form from gtechnic. Like carpro reload and Gyeon Cure is.

GTechniq C2v3 Liquid Crystal

 

[Powerman]

It took so long just ironx and tarxing the top that I decided to go ahead and get the gtechneq crystal light.
Nice enough that autogeek is running a 25% off sale that I got enough for both my cars along with the coating prep.
Now to wait for it to stop raining.

I’m not sure from the descriptions where the C1 crystal lacquer would fit in this product line. If it’s designed to go on top of the other two products, if it’s a separate product with a different purpose or just a long lasting shine product.

My only worry is I can’t leave the van indoors for the 24 hour cure period without trying to rent a space. I can’t even find an easyup that’s tall enough for it so have to work in the early morning or late evenings under flood lamps.
I’m expecting some dust to get stuck in the surface.



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Here is the almost 20 year old van before polishing and coating.
I buffed it out after claying it for the first time about 5 years ago when I first ran into autogeek and used several other products for years to maintain it before the clear coat pealed off the top and plastic panels on the sides.

This is after its been treated with ironx and tarx but before I’m going to clay it using one of the “clay” cloths I got from autogeek.
My nephew is going to buff it out using my new rupes 21 and their UHS system.
Then it’s time for the coatings to go on.
The closeup shows the scratches that can’t be buffed out but the paint on the top is about a year old now and we just had the body panels and the hood repainted because of clear coat peeling (lower side panels) and clear coat failure on the hood.
Hopefully the UV protection provided by the coatings will keep it from peeling again.
The top, hood and sides were all painted with a “heavy solid” clear.




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[RippyD]

Late to this. My list for pros/cons of coating and sealants:

Coating pros

• More durable
• Many claim they are more self-cleaning (I haven't seen this)
• Some claim they look better than sealants (I haven't seen this)

Coating cons

• Cost
• Generally take more time and care to apply (some exceptions)
• Harder to maintain (for cars in weather)
• Can be more prone to spotting, spots often can't be removed
• Can't be easily touched up
• May collect road grime faster
• Most have a short shelf life - leftover product is not usable after a few weeks

Sealant pros

• Generally easier to apply
• Less expensive
• Easier to maintain and remove
• Can easily be reapplied when needed
• Long shelf life

Sealant cons

• Not as durable

 

[Desertnate]

Great summary, Rippy. Well said.

I would like to offer a counter point to your comments.

- Self cleaning: I think this is dependant on the coating. I've found the original McKees 37 coating to be better at self cleaning, but only to a point. If the car gets really filthy, i.e. winter conditions, those properties go away, but I do find it easier to clean. My wheels wearing CQuartz do stay much cleaner and can be 90% clean with only the blast of a hose.

- Looks: This is really subjective and product dependant as well. In my eyes, McKees 37 looks identical to 845 on many colors. Not a bad thing, but not what I was expecting. However, I noticed CQuartz UK on metallic gray paint was substantially more shiney than any other product I've applied to that car. Klasse, 845, McKee's, and a couple other products couldn't touch the look I gained with the CQuartz. It reall was and "ah-ha" moment as I finally discoverd something to really make that color pop.

- More time to apply and care: I think is is what you put into to. For application/prep, I'll always polish the paint, so the only difference is the panel wipe which is only a few minutes. When considering how much time is spent applying a sealant, letting it set, and then buffing it off, I find coatings to be actually faster in the long run. As for care, I don't get wrapped up in the boosters and everything else like some do. I care for my coated cars no different than I do one with a sealant, so nothing has really changed for me from that perspective.

- May collect road grime faster: I would hope not. Again, maybe this is product dependant, but I find coatings to build up slower under normal conditions. When winter sets in and the weather gets foul, I noticed no difference at all, but that's fine. No car will run more than a few minutes without getting a nice coating of salt and grime.

 

[RippyD]

Desertnate, good counter-points.

Self-cleaning: My self-cleaning comment wasn't meant to say that coatings don't help. Just that I haven't seen significantly better self-cleaning than I get from some sealants. Coatings can be great on wheels. So can sealants. Sonax Rim Sheild works about as well for me but has to be applied about every 4 months. It needs less prep work than a coating.

Looks: good points and I haven't used enough different coatings to say definitively. The problem is that when we apply them we can't objectively asses how they look. The wife test told me that a coat didn't really look better when I was sure it did. I think I get a similar look from Reload, but I have no way to measure this. Placebo effect and choice-suppotive bias make it very hard to tell what's real and what isn't in this case.

Time to apply: I get your point that in theory they can save time. If you polish once and get three years of self-cleaning from your paint this is very beneficial. I haven't seen it. In my experience sheeting starts to be impacted as soon as you get embedded road grime. You can clay it to get sheeting back, at the risk of marring your coating. So is a coating that doesn't perform or that has some marring still better than a sealant?

Road grime: Having tested several coatings, they all collected road grime at least as quickly as untreated paint. I live in an area where it rains 7 months out of the year, and tire-ejected water = road grime. So it could be worse in my conditions.

Coatings can be great. But when I compare them to getting ~6 months of water sheeting from Sonax PNS and other sealants I have a hard time putting in the effort to apply them and spending the money.

 

[Desertnate]

Coatings can be great. But when I compare them to getting ~6 months of water sheeting from Sonax PNS and other sealants I have a hard time putting in the effort to apply them and spending the money.

Funny you should mention this. I've got CanCoat sitting on my shelf ready for application this summer on a couple of my vehicles. While the chemical make-up varies, I see PNS, CanCoat, the new McKees 10-minute sealant, and probably a few others, as a unique catagory of very easy to apply, highly durable sealants. Being able to simply spray, wipe, and lightly buff the product, makes things so simple and fast it might negate the long term advantages of the coatings...at least to me. Using CanCoat will be a test of my theory. I can't wait to see how it goes.

 

[RippyD]

Yep. PNS is there for me. CanCoat is on my list to try.

 

[fightnews]

Hi
I apply sealants about every 4-6 months, and enjoy it

Is there any benefit for me to apply a coating?

Thanks in advance

Not really unless you like water spots. Do you use drying aids and spray waxes after washes?

 

[BudgetPlan1]

Not really unless you like water spots.

I wonder if water spotting is a climate/regional thing?

Of all the coatings I've used, both on well maintained and totally un-maintained vehicles, I've never run into water spots that weren't removed with a wash.

There were 2 instances where I thought I'd finally run into it (overhead copper pipe condensation dripping on hoods) and at first a dedicated water spot remover was completely ineffective. By the next wash a week or so later, the spots had disappeared on their own.

I dunno.

 

[The Guz]

I wonder if water spotting is a climate/regional thing?

Of all the coatings I've used, both on well maintained and totally un-maintained vehicles, I've never run into water spots that weren't removed with a wash.

There were 2 instances where I thought I'd finally run into it (overhead copper pipe condensation dripping on hoods) and at first a dedicated water spot remover was completely ineffective. By the next wash a week or so later, the spots had disappeared on their own.

I dunno.

Must be because I have not experienced water spots either with any of the coatings I have used.

 

[fightnews]

I wonder if water spotting is a climate/regional thing?

Of all the coatings I've used, both on well maintained and totally un-maintained vehicles, I've never run into water spots that weren't removed with a wash.

There were 2 instances where I thought I'd finally run into it (overhead copper pipe condensation dripping on hoods) and at first a dedicated water spot remover was completely ineffective. By the next wash a week or so later, the spots had disappeared on their own.

I dunno.

Do u inspect the paint under a bright light? Sometimes they might look gone outside if your not looking close

Those little dots you see in the light are everywhere. there is no way u guys don't have them. You just don't see them water spotting is a widely know coating problem

 

[fightnews]

If my car wasnt black I probably wouldnt be able to see them. You wont see them on a white car

 

[BudgetPlan1]

Do u inspect the paint under a bright light? Sometimes they might look gone outside if your not looking close

First noticed them when parked in garage under 5K ceiling lights; didn't really notice them outside too much beforehand; quite obvious when it garage, depressing, really.. 2 weeks later, gone. Not little spots but actually outlines of beads, discolored centers. Drops that had dried in sun. Now they are no more...

Those little dots you see in the light are everywhere. there is no way u guys don't have them. You just don't see them water spotting is a widely know coating problem

I guess i just don't run across that kinda thing on our black cars, I just don't see it. Now it may very well be there I suppose, but if I don't see it in my garage or when out and about, I suppose it's irrelevant to me if it really is there.

Guess i can't say with absolute confidence either way but if it is there, it doesn't bother me.

 

[fightnews]

First noticed them when parked in garage under 5K ceiling lights; didn't really notice them outside too much beforehand; quite obvious when it garage, depressing, really.. 2 weeks later, gone. Not little spots but actually outlines of beads, discolored centers. Drops that had dried in sun. Now they are no more...



I guess i just don't run across that kinda thing on our black cars, I just don't see it. Now it may very well be there I suppose, but if I don't see it in my garage or when out and about, I suppose it's irrelevant to me if it really is there.

Guess i can't say with absolute confidence either way but if it is there, it doesn't bother me.

Yeah I agree you would never notice mine if you weren't looking at the fine details but once I get that light out they are there and they really don't come off without a polishing.

Its the reason all of these companies come out with toppers that are marked as resistant to water spotting. Unfortunately even the toppers are more prone to spotting.

I can understand some people not caring about them but they do exist and they are relevant in detailing especially when comparing sealants and coatings.

 

[BudgetPlan1]

Yeah I agree you would never notice mine if you weren't looking at the fine details but once I get that light out they are there and they really don't come off without a polishing.

Its the reason all of these companies come out with toppers that are marked as resistant to water spotting. Unfortunately even the toppers are more prone to spotting.

I can understand some people not caring about them but they do exist and they are relevant in detailing especially when comparing sealants and coatings.

Now ya made me haul out all my lights this morning. Scangrip headlamp, penlight, handheld and tripod light and all I see is is the effects of 22k miles of daily use. I'm thinking I might prefer water spots to that...

I still gotta stick with "I see no water spotting" after looking at your pics on a larger monitor as opposed to my phone. I dunno, interesting topic for sure.

 

[Eldorado2k]

Now ya made me haul out all my lights this morning. Scangrip headlamp, penlight, handheld and tripod light and all I see is is the effects of 22k miles of daily use. I'm thinking I might prefer water spots to that...

I still gotta stick with "I see no water spotting" after looking at your pics on a larger monitor as opposed to my phone. I dunno, interesting topic for sure.

This is what he actually sees...

Lol! I’m only kidding.

 

[Powerman]

Here is the almost 20 year old van before polishing and coating.
I buffed it out after claying it for the first time about 5 years ago when I first ran into autogeek and used several other products for years to maintain it before the clear coat pealed off the top and plastic panels on the sides.

This is after its been treated with ironx and tarx but before I’m going to clay it using one of the “clay” cloths I got from autogeek.
My nephew is going to buff it out using my new rupes 21 and their UHS system.
Then it’s time for the coatings to go on.
The closeup shows the scratches that can’t be buffed out but the paint on the top is about a year old now and we just had the body panels and the hood repainted because of clear coat peeling (lower side panels) and clear coat failure on the hood.
Hopefully the UV protection provided by the coatings will keep it from peeling again.
The top, hood and sides were all painted with a “heavy solid” clear.




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I must be doing something right, my wife found a “ I want to buy your car” card tucked in the the diver side window this morning.




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[SWETM]

Yeah I agree you would never notice mine if you weren't looking at the fine details but once I get that light out they are there and they really don't come off without a polishing.

Its the reason all of these companies come out with toppers that are marked as resistant to water spotting. Unfortunately even the toppers are more prone to spotting.

I can understand some people not caring about them but they do exist and they are relevant in detailing especially when comparing sealants and coatings.

Don't you have the same problem with a wax or sealant with the same maintance?

Where from do you think you are getting those water spots? As in when washing or rain or sprinklers overspray or another way.