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Product Test - Coating/Sealants

4K views 21 replies 5 participants last post by  Mantis 
#1 ·
First let me say that coating recommendation are a dime a dozen and as new products come out, they are always presented as the latest and greatest. I was (and still am a little) a person who would see a product be highly recommended and jump on it. As my shelves started to buckle under the weight of "new" products, I've slowed down some in buying the newest coatings.

With that said, here is a video review of about 20 products from Chicago Auto Pros. They put out good honest videos. They are trying products to see what works best for them. In this video they applied several different products but not only different brands but also different types of products (some are coatings, some are sprays and they even tested some windshield products. They used the car for a month and washed it twice. They are now showing those results. Really interesting.

A couple of things I noticed. A LOT of the products behaved the exact same way. Perhaps 70% of them. This helped put things into perspective for me. I've gone back to using Wolfgang Paint Sealant 3.0 because it just works. It is not new. It is not a "hybrid". It is not a spray on and do nothing product. But for me, it works well and lasts. There are spray on products that appear to work just as good. Does this mean I need to junk Wolfgang? No. I don't need to run out and get the newest great product.

For those that think F11 is the greatest... as I've always said... it is 100% crap. Sorry. It is still over priced, paid hype with fillers.



One thing I noticed is that... and perhaps this should be obvious... is that true coatings (ceramic and even graphene) and not just spray on "coatings" are far superior. Most companies seem to want to blur the line between these two and make it look like a simply spray on sealant is the same thing (as they call these, "ceramic coatings" and the like). While this test included a limited number of actual coatings, I did not recall seeing any that were bad.

Me, personally, from this test and others I have seen I really like 303's graphene product... and I'll be the first to say that I think graphene is mostly hype (that is, no better then ceramic sprays but at a higher price). I'm not trying to say it is needed to replace anything but if someone was looking for for a spray on product, I'd probably mention it.

Lastly, the video was a not a comparison video and it did not comment on things like gloss. Only durability after real world use.
 
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#2 ·
I just tryed NV Car Lustre and Jet
The Jet is suppose to be super hydrophobic and I can say it really seems to be.
The Lustre is also hydrophobic and its major factor is shine.
I have tryed product after product and I am super impressed with the Lustre product
the shine is incredible.
I put it on both my Charger Scat and the wife’s Audi SQ5.
The water beads the size of small peas.
296713
296714
 
#5 ·
I never had a problem with F11 it just takes multiple coats and doesn’t last
It works great as tire shine it makes the tires look new and not shiny.
Works good on the interior it does have some hiding quality’s on the paint and used as a topper it gives a nice look it just doesn’t last.
 
#6 ·
I never had a problem with F11 it just takes multiple coats and doesn’t last
It works great as tire shine it makes the tires look new and not shiny.
Works good on the interior it does have some hiding quality’s on the paint and used as a topper it gives a nice look it just doesn’t last.
F11 does not layer protection and it contains fillers. So at best what you are doing is temporarily filling in micro scratches. This washes off and your paint goes right back to looking terrible. It is doing nothing but temporarily making the paint look better then it is. If you look at real world testing you see that it does not last beyond one wash. There are a ton of filler sealants on the market that do just as well and at a 1/4 of the price.
 
#9 ·
First let me say that coating recommendation are a dime a dozen and as new products come out, they are always presented as the latest and greatest. I was (and still am a little) a person who would see a product be highly recommended and jump on it. As my shelves started to buckle under the weight of "new" products, I've slowed down some in buying the newest coatings.

With that said, here is a video review of about 20 products from Chicago Auto Pros. They put out good honest videos. They are trying products to see what works best for them. In this video they applied several different products but not only different brands but also different types of products (some are coatings, some are sprays and they even tested some windshield products. They used the car for a month and washed it twice. They are now showing those results. Really interesting.

A couple of things I noticed. A LOT of the products behaved the exact same way. Perhaps 70% of them. This helped put things into perspective for me. I've gone back to using Wolfgang Paint Sealant 3.0 because it just works. It is not new. It is not a "hybrid". It is not a spray on and do nothing product. But for me, it works well and lasts. There are spray on products that appear to work just as good. Does this mean I need to junk Wolfgang? No. I don't need to run out and get the newest great product.

For those that think F11 is the greatest... as I've always said... it is 100% crap. Sorry. It is still over priced, paid hype with fillers.



One thing I noticed is that... and perhaps this should be obvious... is that true coatings (ceramic and even graphene) and not just spray on "coatings" are far superior. Most companies seem to want to blur the line between these two and make it look like a simply spray on sealant is the same thing (as they call these, "ceramic coatings" and the like). While this test included a limited number of actual coatings, I did not recall seeing any that were bad.

Me, personally, from this test and others I have seen I really like 303's graphene product... and I'll be the first to say that I think graphene is mostly hype (that is, no better then ceramic sprays but at a higher price). I'm not trying to say it is needed to replace anything but if someone was looking for for a spray on product, I'd probably mention it.

Lastly, the video was a not a comparison video and it did not comment on things like gloss. Only durability after real world use.
My Son introduced me to that channel and I have been watching them ever since. The Coating videos are cool and I just watched the 1 month wash last night. I'm not surprised in many of the results. F1 top coat always seemed like a Gimmick product but sometimes you never know, it could have been really good.

My Son and I have basically a problem with detail products. It's kinda awful and great at the same time. For the last 4 years we have been running through brands up and down searching for the right combo for the garage.

Paint coating are proabably the funnest as you get that instant results. Interior products we keep our interiors so clean we basically can use just about anything to maintain except a good leather cleaner and conditioner.

We started our Journey off of my Detailing experience and as a hobbyist detailer now with Maguire's. I have been using their products since I was a detailer back in the 90's and I felt overall they made the most complete line. Then I discovered Griots Garage and Chemical Guys basically at the same time followed by Adam's Polishes. We got a full line setup from all 3 companies and between our 3 cars we where testing all of them basically at the same time. Each company makes excellent stuff and as you said some work basically the same.

Now my Son's latest product venture is Ammo from New York. It's another detailing channel we watch and with winter hitting here in Pa , Ammo has these 2 pretty cool products he had to try out. This will bring along the rest of the Ammo products and we will compare them again all the others we have.

But back to the coating, I grew up Paste wax and all these spray coatings are so easy to apply and work very good, I still prefer a paste wax job. I enjoy the process of putting it on , and taking it off. Call me old fashion but there is just something so right about it.

I'm down the Ceramic Rabbit hole in the sense of spray coatings and I have not done a full actual Ceramic coating. I'm not that guy who likes to do a once a year coating, I much prefer to do it way more often as I actually look forward to doing so. I'm very cool with products only lasting a few months as most of these do or longer and I like to use their toppers.
 
#13 ·
I would love to fine a product that sheets when it rains.
The Lustre sheets when you wash the car but beads on the top surfaces in the rain.
It is slippery and sheets off the side when you rinse the car off.
I only was the car with water and most of the brake dust rinses off with just hose pressure
If I had a dollar for every product that came highly recommended by the internet I would be a rich man.
I have sent more products back as the claims they made are bull.
I don’t power wash or use a foam cannon and never use any harsh detergents on my painted surfaces.
The Charger is my daily driver and sits outside 24-7 and gets the dew wiped off every morning with micro fiber towels
I have retired my water blade
Nothing better than a clean Muscle Car !!!!
 
#14 ·
Water blade. Those were the fad, as well as the California duster. I still use a window squeegee on the Jeep to pull water off the hood and top panels. And I will fess up that I used a Calif Duster a time or two back in the 80s.
 
#17 ·
I really like spray products because they reduce time required and they minimize the need to touch the paint. Luckily, Dodge clear is pretty hard and therefore harder to scratch, so touching the paint isn't as much of a concern. I am in the process of putting two layers of Ceramic Pro 9H and one coat of Topcoat over my entire car. The front end is done, and now that the rest of the PPF has been applied, I will be finishing it up here soon. I love the durability of coatings, but I dislike the unforgiving nature of them.
 
#19 ·
My thing is if I have to do maintenance once a month aka topper on a ceramic coating I might as well just use a product that will last a month.
Plus the fact of the cost of the ceramic and the fact I have only been keeping a car 2 to 3 years before trading it in.
I retired to Florida and I don’t golf,fish,or drink or smoke so I have to spend my money on a toy.
I know it sucks to be me 😱
 
#20 ·
I get your logic and somewhat agree with it. Ceramic coatings are expensive and offer a high level of protection but need maintenance just like anything else. Proper maintenance can extend the life of that coating easily months with toppers.
Let me tell you how easy it is to put a topper on your car. You do a full wash and dry, there are proper ways to do this I can go over them if you need. Then you use a topper which is a mist on spray and wipe it off. It might take you 15-20 minutes MAX if you have a larger SUV. The Charger you can get done in 10-15 minutes no problem. Again mist on and wipe off. Can't get any easier then that. There is no cure time there is no wax on wait wax off and then fighting with the Wax off, it's so easy and simple and makes all the difference in the world.
 
#21 ·
Ceramic coating applications are expensive, but doing it yourself costs a lot less. The initial investment for the DA, pads, and compound may be expensive, but then you have them in your arsenal for future use. It takes a long time go go through a bottle of M110 or M210 if you use it sparingly. I am fortunate enough to work at a shop that allows me to use Ceramic Pro which is not a consumer product, but Cquartz is a great consumer coating that costs less than $100.
 
#22 ·
Anytime you can do it yourself will always save you money. If you never ran a D/A or Rotary it's a learning curve. Time is now at least a weekend for someone to perform these steps or more. If you willing to give up 2 to 3 days then I say absolutely go for it. The next time will be a lot shorter.
D/A's make paint correcting a lot easier then learning a Rotary. A Rotary you can do a lot of damage a lot quicker then you can with a D/A. To me the D/A is like a toy as I grew up Rotary. I like the D/A as it's so damn easy to use.
 
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