Wolfgang SiO2 Paint Sealant versus Traditional Sealants - Test!

[acuRAS82]

Great test. Thanks!

Last night we had a a series of thunderstorms blow through which dumped rain on us for several hours. At one point before dark, I went out to take a quick look at the neighbors Cayenne wearing the Wolfgang SiO2 Sealant I applied back in June. Right now, despite being slightly dusty from being driven daily, the water was beading and sheeting great and didn't look much different than the CanCoat in my car. I'm pretty impressed.

Yeah, it’s very impressive. For those that didn’t read through this test the whole way, this car spent 24/7 outside, it went storm chasing whenever possible. It lived through full pollen season (May in Pittsburgh) and was washed 2-3 times a week during that time. The last month it has sat in mid-80s to mid-90s heat wave with very few days as exception. True life torture testing.

I have Sonax at #1 but it’s close at this point and WG SiO2 seems to self clean or release water droplets quicker. I’ll put all this in consideration whenever I decide to strip these and give one final update.

 

[acuRAS82]

Some quick post-rain shots from today 07/21/2020. Seems all protection is still present based on beading observation (middle roof looking pretty ugly though) and my previous hose tests were showing degraded LSPs, but not particularly “dead” LSPs.

 

[acuRAS82]

Final Update 08/19/2020 (near 4 months)

I’m glad I kept the sealants on to do their thing, but too many spots are accumulating contaminants (baggy test feels like sandpaper in some places) where most the sealant is dead and it’s time to move on.

There is a small case that all sealants are still alive based on my observations during rain.

My hose water is not as consistent as rain and as noted in my update on 7/18/2020, hose water after a wash can make an old LSP look completely dead. But it becomes apparent days later that beading and sheeting is back (albeit at a fraction of new application behavior).

So I had washed the car 2 days before this final water play. Weather was mild and sunny and the car wasn’t driven much. Good time to test the real-life, unmasked behavior.

Pics taken from hose turn-off, then every 2-3 seconds; then final pic is after a full minute.

Hood

- Still well:
1) Wolfgang SiO2
2) Four Star UPP

- Barely alive or pretty dead (takes a minute to sheet)
3) Jescar PL
4) WG DGPS

- Disqualified
5) BF: Accidentally got some spray wax on this area during drying aid process a few weeks ago. It was as dead or more than WG and PL at the time.



Back Roof

- Still well:
1) Wolfgang SiO2

- Dead
3D Poxy, PA MS, M37 High Def, PBL PS



Trunk

- Still well:
1) Sonax PNS
2) Collinite 476 (with the comeback!)

- Finally showing decent wear
3) Wolfgang SiO2

- Barely alive (takes a minute to sheet):
4) FK1000p
5) Collinite 845



Front Roof

- Dead:
1) Collinite 915

- Disqualified:
2) Poorboys EX-P: Got some PBL waterless wash on this area a week ago


FINAL attempt at ranking based on remaining performance to this point:

- Legitimately still going:
1) Sonax PNS (looks best at 4 months)
2) Wolfgang SiO2 (looks strong on hood/roof but degraded on trunk)
3) Four Star UPP (Still pretty good behavior)
4) Collinite 476 (hanging in quite well)

- Technically alive but slow sheeting and on last legs:
4) FK1000p
5) Jescar PL
6) WG DGPS
7) Collinite 845

- Dead and/or DQ’d:
3D Poxy,
PA MS,
M37 Hi Def,
PBL PS
Poorboys EX-P
Collinite 915
BF PS


There you have it. The contenders shifted in performance rankings throughout the 4 months but in the end, only PNS, WG SiO2, UPP and comeback Collinite 476 were in good enough shape for me to trust completely.

I’ll add one more post if I have any final thoughts after the fact.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Markymapo1]

Great update ! Thanks for posting

 

[DUBL0WS6]

While technically not 100% dead, all the products on the trunk should be reapplied unless they bead up under a fine spray of water.

 

[acuRAS82]

While technically not 100% dead, all the products on the trunk should be reapplied unless they bead up under a fine spray of water.

They bead during rain still. But they’re also gone now. The car is bare awaiting whatever comes next. These long term tests are brutal for my itchy trigger fingers.

Edit: One thing to note, the trunk is a slight trough. It’s higher where it meets the middle and slightly less higher where it ends going down to the trunk latch. The middle is slightly recessed from both sides, so when the car is parked on flat ground (which my driveway is about as flat as you can find in Pittsburgh), water tends to pool on it. But enough water will fall off the back since the back elevation is less than the rear window elevation. I know nobody cares, but it’s one of those intimate details about my car I notice, and hence makes water less likely to sheet off the trunk lid.

 

[briarpatch]

Three month update on my application of WG SIO2 on my truck. It seemingly rained here non-stop for a while, and in the three months, I've topped it three times...twice with WG SIO2 spray, and once with BeadMaker (for the wow factor at a family gathering). It's self-cleaning ability, when topped with the WG SIO2 spray, are very, very impressive.

As a side note, I used the SIO2 spray as a standalone on the roof, on one side and BeadMaker on the other (standalone), it barely outlasted the BM....disappointing.