Ceramic coating vs sealant.

[bossbrew]

I've been using GG AIO and Paint Sealant on my Night Blue GTI, and in general it looks great. Since this is a DD and I usually cover it at night (after a careful dust removal), I do see some minor marring in bright sun. So my question is, will a ceramic coating like Mckee's 37 Paint Coating protect better against this abuse? and will more than one layer help?
Also, is it recommended to use wax on top of a ceramic coating?

Thanks,
Dave

[Jay's 128i]

Welcome to Autogeek Dave, you will find a lot of answers here. First, great choice of car! Second, ceramic coatings are going to be more durable than sealants. Will this help with marring and scratches? The simple answer is yes and no. Some coatings are considered extremely hard yielding a 9H. Others simply last longer than sealants. However, anytime paint is touched, marring and scratches can occur. Now, I fall into the category of people that top their coatings. There are basically two groups- those that top and those that don't. Layering is always a debate on here. My mind says more things that cover my paint are more things that have to be fought through to get to it. So my finishing thoughts are to make sure you wash your vehicle correctly, throw on a coating, top it with a good wax and then don't touch your paint, lol. I'll pm you a great article I came across about coatings.

[bossbrew]

Thanks Jay, great reading! So adding a wax is the old sacrificial lamb?

Dave

[Jay's 128i]

That's how I see it. You lay down a coating (I love Polish Angel and can be found on AGs sister site Autopia), let it cure for the time the product dictates, then layer a wax on top of that. The wax takes the blunt of any trauma and the coating keeps on protecting.

[uhohitsstevo]

Mind sending me the PM with the article to?

[Eric@CherryOnTop]

Welcome Dave. I think you will have a lot better results avoiding marring if you lose the car cover. Any little bit of dirt that gets between the cover and the paint will cause scratches as the cover moves. Some people are pro car cover, I'm in the "I will never ever in my life use a car cover for any reason" camp.

Coatings help prevent scratches only insofar as they make the car easier to clean. I think all that stuff about added thickness and hardness is garbage. Coatings make the paint more hydrophobic and slippery preventing the adhering of grime.

[bossbrew]

Thanks ekennett,
I'll be keeping the cover (which I wash regularly) to keep critters and sap off! No garage space, no room for a carport.

[vobro]

I don't believe a coating will help you in your situation. At best they help with washing or drying marks and dragging, pulling and moving a cover is a form of mechanical abrasion. As for layering wax as a to take the blunt of trauma well I just don't think that is possible. Coatings,wax and sealants are for protection from the elements not ourselves

[Jay's 128i]

A little debate for vobro, here is my thinking. True any type of protecting is going to be thin. When I was talking about taking the brunt of the trauma it was also dealing with the info I sent bossbrew in a pm. As for the wax taking the abuse, I mean from things like the daily elements. I'm not talking about rubbing the paint (hence why I said to bossbrew to not touch the paint, lol). People have debated left and right about layering protection and it will be debated for a long time to come, I'm sure. But, if wax (used alone) creates a smooth surface and makes it harder for dirt and debris to stick to the surface of the car, that is a type of physical protection. A coating does the same thing albeit better. But, when you live somewhere that say has true acid rain, a coating is put to the test. Now, if you put wax on top of your coating, the wax gets hammered first, then if that breaks down, the coating does its thing (elements). But dare I say that in a small way, coatings and waxes can help with physical touch. There ar many articles that would claim that both help prevent marring, swirls and scratches more so than a bare auto.

[vobro]

Sorry but I'm of the camp of not layering. For me this goes back to when I I'd use wax over sealants, how do you know if the wax and the application process isn't degrading the sealant? As far as coating, why not stick within the family for topping? CQuartz has Hydro2 and Reload, Gtechnique,Polish Angel and PBMG have their equivalent. I have one car coated with Gloss Coat and for 1 1/2 years have used nothing but HyperWash or D114 and the coating is working near as good as new.

[AutowerxDetailing]

I've been using GG AIO and Paint Sealant on my Night Blue GTI, and in general it looks great.
There is a saying that goes something like "Find what you like and use it often." Sounds like your GG AIO is doing a good job of keeping your GTI looking great. A ceramic coating is going to replace the need to polish and add protection all the time; however, if you do accumulate wash damage you will need to polish away the coating to restore the surface. If you like to frequently polish and wax your car then a coating will, IMO, be a waste of time and money.


Since this is a DD and I usually cover it at night (after a careful dust removal), I do see some minor marring in bright sun.
Depending on your washing methodology and frequency, installing and removing your car cover is a likely cause of the minor marring you see in bright sun.


So my question is, will a ceramic coating like Mckee's 37 Paint Coating protect better against this abuse? and will more than one layer help?
Not really. Coatings in general will help mitigate light swirls but there is currently no coating on the market that will resist 100% of potential wash induced marring. Layering is only recommended if the coating is meant to be layered. Otherwise you might just be removing some of the previous layer with each subsequent layer you install. I've seen some companies recommend something crazy like 8-10 layers and that will supposedly make the car resistant to all kinds of damage. It doesn't... No matter how thick, or hard, or slippery, or whatever the coating is once it is cured there is no way to completely eliminate wash induced swirls. Think about it. You are dragging roughly shaped particles of dirt, micro rocks, and SAND (aka silica) across your paint. If one of these particles isn't fully encapsulated in some sort of soap or within the nap of your wash media IT WILL SCRATCH the paint and/or coating no matter what.


Also, is it recommended to use wax on top of a ceramic coating?
Generally wax will actually inhibit the beneficial characteristics of a high quality ceramic coating. Coatings have better dirt release, chemical resistance, and self cleaning properties compared to most waxes. While I think coatings are definitely one of the best forms of protection for your paint, especially on daily drivers, if you plan to keep waxing your vehicle you might be better suited by your original game plan of periodic sessions with your GG AIO.

[chet31]

I agree with Nicholas. Tried a "permanent" coating, but it gets swirled, bird-bombed, tree-sapped, etc. just like clear-coat. Couple that with the fact the sealants are so easy to use and so durable, I just use sealants. I can get my car 80% corrected, use a sealant, then not feel bad when I try to correct it further at a later date. Or nature intervenes and I need to correct a panel sooner rather than later.

[GSKR]

Welcome Dave. I think you will have a lot better results avoiding marring if you lose the car cover. Any little bit of dirt that gets between the cover and the paint will cause scratches as the cover moves. Some people are pro car cover, I'm in the "I will never ever in my life use a car cover for any reason" camp.

Coatings help prevent scratches only insofar as they make the car easier to clean. I think all that stuff about added thickness and hardness is garbage. Coatings make the paint more hydrophobic and slippery preventing the adhering of grime.agree.

[GSKR]

Stack 2'coats of hi temp wax and you will have what your looking for.nice shine big time durability quicker and cheaper.This product was mentioned over and over from a forum member.I decided to try it for 17.99 and was highly impressed.Doing this for such a long time now,I think a majority of the products are relatively the same and yield ok results.But this product is talked about on autopia.simple no back breaking removal no streaks and can be applied to the glass as well,but not the windshield.Ive done 10 cars with this stuff and extremely pleased.check out some utube videos on this stuff.

[bossbrew]

Great info everyone. I think that I'll probably stick with method I've been using, and try to be more careful with the cover. But when we sell the house in a few years...