Looking for a durable sealant

[hondajake]

Opti Seal - I easily get 6-8 months of beading....

[Jaretr1]

Its not a sealant technically a wax, but its as good as one: collinite 845. 6 months durability easily.

[glfnaz]

Its not a sealant technically a wax, but its as good as one: collinite 845. 6 months durability easily.

This^^^^^^

[Calendyr]

Zaino is the one thing mentioned here that I have experience with. Its durability always underwhelmed me and so I'm looking for better.

Menzerna PowerLock and WGDGPS sound the best so far from what I reading.

Ammo doesn't have enough of a following to make me comfortable paying that much.

Still looking into Finish Kare, Duragloss, PBL and DP lines... So much experience in these forums, its difficult to not waste time on such a small thing.

I have never tried Ammo Skin. What I do know is that Larry makes his products with no compromise to quality. I would not be surprised if Skin was the best sealant on the market. I can't use his products because of the price, it would make no sense for my clients. If I had a high value car, I would try it for my own personal use. Maybe you should too.

[Calendyr]

I don't like when people post durability in months. It's so dependant on what that specific car faces. Ok so you get 6 month with X product but an other person could get 2 months or a year depending on the various factors that affect sealant durability.

A car that sits outside 24/7, is in a harsh environment, is getting washed at least once a week, gets washed with dish soap and a car brush and dried with a shammy will not get the same durability of what ever product used as a car that sits in a garage, lives in a mild environment and is getting washed and dried properly with quick wax applied each time it's washed.

I wish there was a standard test done by someone so we could compare durability but throwing numbers without any reference is not doing anyone a service IMO.

[cardaddy]

Ahhhhhh.... Now THAT "What is a durable sealant" is a singular question with literally dozens of 'perfect' answers.

As has been mentioned here, Wolfgang, Menzerna, Duragloss, Collinite, Optimum, and I'd add Meguiar's M21 2.0 are all great sealants... and those are of the WOWO variant. I'd also add Blackfire, Wolfgang and Gtechniq Silo Seal (as well as possibly C2v3 although it is on the border between coating and sealant).

The differences between them though are as varied as the names. Generally the WOWO versions will have that ever so 'tactile' feel to the touch. You CAN feel those sealants on paint with your fingers, not exactly 'oily' but certainly you know it's there to the touch. Whereas with WOWA variants they look/behave more like a coating. It's more sterile to the touch, doesn't tend to hold on to your fingertips as such, yet the *protection* is alleged to be just as good, (if not better).

Then there are the variants such as spray wax/sealants. Meguiar's ULW or M156 and Duragloss 951 are probably the most popular around here. Make no doubt, 951 is a sealant (of sorts) being a polymer based spray wax that can AND DOES provide protection that out lasts the time between washes, (which can be weeks, if not a couple of months depending on whether or not your vehicle is garaged).

The key I would reckon is just how much "durability" do you want/need? Pretty much anything out there these days will last 6~8 weeks, (as in the spray wax/sealants) with some (to at least claim) lasting 6~9 months.

That of course is why so many say they don't want a coating, all of which provide
durability LONG outlasting how long you'd actually want to leave it on the vehicle without buffing it off, and/or trying something new. Considering the cost per ounce /per application that line of thinking is certainly viable. But if the consideration is purely one of "durability" then a coating would be the only answer.

Disclaimer: I personally like sealants, all sorts of types, all sorts of manufacturers as I like 'fiddling' with, adding more, trying different, and OMG 'layering' all sorts of different products. YET.... I have put coatings on everything I own, and have topped them ALLL with some sort of 'sealant' and ALWAYS end up buffing/polishing them off in no more than a years time (if not sooner).

[PaVaSteeler]

I'm trying the Duragloss route this year. 4 parts DG #105 to 1 part DG #601 (polish bonding agent) and hand apply, let haze then buff off.

Doesn't have any residual "oiliness" feel to it, and I'm loving the deep shine.

[Loach]

As far as I'm concerned, real durability is anyone's best guess.

I'd like to know where I can find the published information that is guiding manufacturers to use a specific ingredient in their sealant based products that these manufacturers are using to gauge their own durability claims with. There has to be a main bonding ingredient in these products that we should be able to look at and find the tests to show the results of why this ingredient is being used over a different type.

Doing all of these water tests, I hate the fact that even though I can represent a difference in how these products behave with water, this information tells me nothing to gauge real durability if I'm not sure if the main bonding ingredient is the one that is forcing the water to behave the way it does.

[dlc95]

As far as I'm concerned, real durability is anyone's best guess.

I'd like to know where I can find the published information that is guiding manufacturers to use a specific ingredient in their sealant based products that these manufacturers are using to gauge their own durability claims with. There has to be a main bonding ingredient in these products that we should be able to look at and find the tests to show the results of why this ingredient is being used over a different type.

Doing all of these water tests, I hate the fact that even though I can represent a difference in how these products behave with water, this information tells me nothing to gauge real durability if I'm not sure if the main bonding ingredient is the one that is forcing the water to behave the way it does.

I believe Bob refers to the MSDS sheets to decipher the technicalities.

[dlc95]

I don't like when people post durability in months. It's so dependant on what that specific car faces. Ok so you get 6 month with X product but an other person could get 2 months or a year depending on the various factors that affect sealant durability.

A car that sits outside 24/7, is in a harsh environment, is getting washed at least once a week, gets washed with dish soap and a car brush and dried with a shammy will not get the same durability of what ever product used as a car that sits in a garage, lives in a mild environment and is getting washed and dried properly with quick wax applied each time it's washed.

I wish there was a standard test done by someone so we could compare durability but throwing numbers without any reference is not doing anyone a service IMO.

So much truth there..