Why isn't everyone using coatings if it is "better" than sealants?

[silverfox]

Mike makes a good point but I suspect some of those who make a living selling coatings know the owners don't understand them and probably won't take care of their cars all that much which in turn brings them back for more business. Those who can easily put on a spray sealant in ten minutes are likely the kind who will take care of their cars on a regular basis.

[WillSports3]

Actually I would say that coating boosters are essentielly a small shot of the coatings particular choice of compounds to make your coating like new again. It's not to say that the coating itself won't last but that you have to care for it like any lsp. Look at wheel coatings, you can just wash off the brake dust with regular shampoo after its coated but it's not to say you don't need to wash it after you coat it.

Look at PBL coating boosters and the detailing spray, as well as reload and the GTECHNIQ spritz. They all contain the same ceramic as the original coating they're made for and it's just to make the coating last longer. I know there's guys here who've made their coatings last 3 years for themselves.

I also remember someone here who used glosscoat on their roof and didn't wash the car at all for two years but after he washed the roof it was still beading. Sure it needed to be heavily washed and cclayed because free sap had baked on this car for a year but the coating held on. A coating can only be looked at as another type of LSP versus a magical bubble. You care for your sealants, wax and coatings all differently.

While I would never have a professional coating done, I think it's worth it to pay like 60 bucks (Canadian) for me to buy a bottle of coating and do it myself. The biggest difference for me is I know I can wash the car and clean the interior but the one thing I don't need to do is re - apply LSP. That being said, I do have to agree that nothing will resist certain things indefinitely, whether it be tree sap, bug guts or bird bombs. The biggest difference for me is with a sealant, I've had to repolish to get slight etchings off from a bird bomb that snagged my hood during a 20 minute drive but I don't have any etchings now from bird bombs on my car after a 12 hour shift at work.

[axel06]

check out the manufactours warrenty on paint its like 5 years after that the uv protection is 50 percent gone add another 3 years you will only have 25 uv protection left on the clear. a coatings with uv protection will add to the life of the uv protection hopefully extending the life of the uv protection from the factory clear

[wn1998]

I have not read the comments but I know I love detailing! I like the fact that I "Get to" apply a sealant to my car every 4-6 months! I enjoy the "process"!

[natewood70]

I have not read the comments but I know I love detailing! I like the fact that I "Get to" apply a sealant to my car every 4-6 months! I enjoy the "process"!

Well... You can still apply a sealant if you want. I mean, what's the harm in adding more and more protection to the paint?

Sure some will say "That's what a coating is for!" But, in my mind, it will act as another defense mechanism for your paint. So, if you continue to layer protection on top of what is there not only will you preserve your paint, but it should help to preserve the last line of defense before clear coat/paint. In this case (keeping it in context of this thread) it would be a coating.

[Cruzscarwash]

so I have PBL, M37 and Cquartz, im going to do a small side by side of them on my test hood and put it on in the yard to get sprinkled on and then baked all day in the sun. id be willing to add a sealant in the mix if you guys want to toss out one that you would want to see go head to head with the others and if I can then find a sample of that sealant. each test area will be about 1-2 ft areas of a black hood.

[Junebug]

Interesting read. I remember years ago some guy (in England I think) did 50 coatings of Zaino on his car. The prevailing view at the time was that he probably removed a layer previously applied every time he added one. Me? I kinda liked BFWD and got a good 2-3 months out of it and it was easy enough to apply that I just kept the car slick with quarterly applications. I never got into the coating thing. I heard several folks complain the surface wasn't slick and or it was PITA to apply not to mention the price. At the time a buddy of mine swore he could coat a car with what I considered a crazy small amount of product. I know there was no way I could do that. Now that I retired from detailing and just killing time today, I see by this thread that not that much has changed. Oh, and I wash my car every 2-3 months and could care less. I moved on to trying to have the nicest lawn, and has anybody else noticed fire ants have taken over?

[Rsurfer]

Interesting read. I remember years ago some guy (in England I think) did 50 coatings of Zaino on his car. The prevailing view at the time was that he probably removed a layer previously applied every time he added one. Me? I kinda liked BFWD and got a good 2-3 months out of it and it was easy enough to apply that I just kept the car slick with quarterly applications. I never got into the coating thing. I heard several folks complain the surface wasn't slick and or it was PITA to apply not to mention the price. At the time a buddy of mine swore he could coat a car with what I considered a crazy small amount of product. I know there was no way I could do that. Now that I retired from detailing and just killing time today, I see by this thread that not that much has changed. Oh, and I wash my car every 2-3 months and could care less. I moved on to trying to have the nicest lawn, and has anybody else noticed fire ants have taken over?

Whoa, 2-3 months before washing..you will be excommunicated from AG . LOL

[WillSports3]

I wonder if coatings are just seen as snake oil by a lot of people who are used to certain methods of detailing cars. I know when I first started detailing, I wondered if it was just too good to be true.

[silverfox]

Once the coating gods started marketing coating boosters and coating soaps and coating protective coating toppers I stopped paying attention. It's obvious what's going on