Durability Test: Wolfgang SiO2 Paint Sealant

[Desertnate]

A few months ago, the hosts of this fine forum provided me a bottle of Wolfgang SiO2 Paint Sealant to try out. My first experience using it on my neighbors Porsche Cayenne was very positive (2017 Porsche Cayenne S Exterior Detail (https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/126923-2017-porsche-cayenne-s-exterior-detail.html)). The only problem was I don't see the vehicle all that often and I don't maintain it. This makes it really hard to learn much about a product beyond how well it goes on and how it looks.

So, in order to see what it's really like to live with Wolfgang's SiO2 Sealant, I've applied it to my own car and I'm going to run it all winter. The car is daily driven and sits out in the elements all day long when I'm at work and it will see a couple road trips. The weather here is typical just-below-the-snow-belt mid-west USA. It will experience snow, salt, ice, rain, cold, and long periods of being covered in grime.

As for maintenance, I'm not going to treat the car any differently than I would any other vehicle regardless of LSP. I'll wash it by hand when able (i.e. not too cold), otherwise it will be run though a touchless. If a QD spray is needed for any reason, it will be EcH2O.

Starting now, the clock is ticking. Let's see where this takes us. I applied two coats simply to ensure I covered everything evenly. For here on out, that's all it will get.

EDIT: I forgot to mention. Periodically, I'll be updating this thread with pictures and thoughts on how the sealant is holding up. I'm sure everyone assumed this to be the case, but I'll just put it out there to make sure my plans are clear.

Since I finished after sundown and today is another dreary, gray fall day, the best image I can offer from a really bright garage. The kind of conditions that make just about anything look good.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201026/7b6df4dfd7151f957688750d7702e59d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201026/24a1210fe97e4c9a93c62a9c32733bcf.jpg

A couple other notes from working on my car this weekend.

- Everything I said about the sealant from my first use still stands. The product is really easy to use and looks amazing

- The CanCoat I polished off was still going strong from a protection standpoint...12 months later. I'm sure regular applications of Cure and Elixr probably had a lot to do with it's long lifespan. There is no telling how much longer it would have lasted. However, after 12 months of life and environment and multiple QD and booster sprays, the car just didn't look as good. The paint started to look dull and lifeless.

[Mike Phillips]

Wow!

Looks freaking amazing!


:dblthumb2:

[acuRAS82]

Awesome job, I look forward to updates. I hope it does well.

[Desertnate]

Wow!

Looks freaking amazing!


:dblthumb2:

Thanks, Mike!

I have to admit, I uttered a "whoa!" when I walked into the garage this morning to drive to work. Can't wait for a sunny day to get a really good look. I've really been impressed by the look of the sealant.


Awesome job, I look forward to updates. I hope it does well.

Thanks. I'm curious too. I've never used a Wolfgang sealant for my own vehicle, and I haven't used any sealant in years. I'm really interested to see how this one behaves. Their is rain in the forecast for this afternoon, so I may get my first introduction to water behavior!

[Desertnate]

Here we go with the first update. Never thought I'd do one this soon.

We had hours of pouring rain yesterday, so the car was literally, "ridden hard and put away wet." I drove it home via a couple errands and parked it in the garage.

Water beading is shown below. I'd put them as better than any sealant I've used, but not quite like a coating. Not bad...just different. I didn't get any better pictures since because I didn't want to get my phone too wet. Also, the water beads do easily roll right off at fairly low speeds (around 45 mph) which provides a few hints the water sheading ability is pretty decent.

After sitting in the garage I didn't notice any water spotting, which is also a good sign. There is more gloom and rain today, so still no good chances of any bright sun pictures.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201027/f1390f65d30c82f68f0bea7850e2e87d.jpg

[Desertnate]

I just wanted to provide another update in case anyone is interested.

A couple of weeks ago before our weather finally turned cold for the winter, I had a chance to give the car a quick bath. The sealant is still holding up great, and as you can hopefully see from the picture, the sheeting is quite good as well. Water beading is still excellent also.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201210/ece3fc1c59f1606c6a5cc9f9ca072aaa.jpg

One thing I've noticed after living with this sealant for a while is the difference in the appearance compared to the coatings I've used on the car in the past. Maybe, this is a Wolfgang trait, maybe it's simply coating vs. sealant characteristic, but the car has a very "smooth" glossy wet look to it. Coatings in the past all have a very sharp reflective look which seems to highlight every crease and seam in the body panels...which on this generation of BMW there are plenty. I won't say it's better or worse because I like the look. It's just different.

At this point I'll also note I'm not sure where this test will go. The week of Thanksgiving I was put back on telework due to local pandemic conditions, so the car has gone from daily driver to garage queen until at least the beginning of the new year. We'll see where it goes from there. The weather has been unseasonably mild, so it really hasn't missed much while sitting in the garage. I'll still run this test until at least spring, but right now I'm not sure conditions will allow for much of a stress test on this product.

[acuRAS82]

It’s all good about the amount of stress, just let us know and keep us updated.

I know exactly what you mean about the smooth versus sharp. A number of SiO2 Sprays are either one way or another.

[waddell64]

Please keep the updates coming; this product might make it onto my Spring buy list.

[briarpatch]

Please keep the updates coming; this product might make it onto my Spring buy list.

And it should. This is what goes on my personal vehicles, and I love it. Super easy application and wipe off, with outstanding results.

[Desertnate]

And it should. This is what goes on my personal vehicles, and I love it. Super easy application and wipe off, with outstanding results.

I agree based on what I've experienced so far. It's easily my favorite sealant at this point.

The updates will continue to flow, they just might not be as frequent or as interesting as I planned. Regardless, I'm in it for the long haul and there is still most of the winter ahead of us!

[Desertnate]

It's been a little over a month, so I thought I'd provide an update.

The weather has been unseasonably dry, but over the last month the car has seen a little snow, light road salt, and construction site mud on the road which led to a trip through a touchless wash. Yesterday, as a welcome back to commuting for work, it was treated to heavy rain and drizzle all day. Overall the car has sat in the garage since Thanksgiving and only been driven for short errands or a longer weekend drive to keep everything charged up and the tires round.

So far, the sealant is holding up nicely. I noticed after both the touchless wash and yesterday's rain, it "self-cleans" better than other sealants I've used and performs similar to a coating. Water beading is still good as you can see in the picture. Sheeting seems to be steady as well based on the rate the beads roll off the car while being driven.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210126/8a670581b2f99821a608b474614e16ee.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210126/6dd6338211b5d29640d7e3579a778a52.jpg

[Sizzle Chest]

Thanks for the test and updates!!!

[acuRAS82]

It's been a little over a month, so I thought I'd provide an update.

The weather has been unseasonably dry, but over the last month the car has seen a little snow, light road salt, and construction site mud on the road which led to a trip through a touchless wash. Yesterday, as a welcome back to commuting for work, it was treated to heavy rain and drizzle all day. Overall the car has sat in the garage since Thanksgiving and only been driven for short errands or a longer weekend drive to keep everything charged up and the tires round.

So far, the sealant is holding up nicely. I noticed after both the touchless wash and yesterday's rain, it "self-cleans" better than other sealants I've used and performs similar to a coating. Water beading is still good as you can see in the picture. Sheeting seems to be steady as well based on the rate the beads roll off the car while being driven.
Was the touch-less wash one of those drive-thru touch-less or was it the park and wand spray? Not that it matters, just curious because the cleaning chemicals in washes definitely play a role in longevity. Good to see the sealant is still doing well after 3 months including some salt and touch-less.

[Desertnate]

Was the touch-less wash one of those drive-thru touch-less or was it the park and wand spray? Not that it matters, just curious because the cleaning chemicals in washes definitely play a role in longevity. Good to see the sealant is still doing well after 3 months including some salt and touch-less.

I was talking about a drive-thru touchless car wash, i.e. pull it into a bay and the robot arms spray all sorts of who-knows-what all over the car and then rinses it off. The one I frequent is pretty nice because it has an underbody spray option which is great for removing salt from the underbody and wheel wells. I think I'd call the bay/wand places simply a coin-op DIY wash. Funny thing is the place I take my car has all three options; bays with wands, one touchless, and two "tunnel of swirls" with brushes.

Funny side note about running the car though the touchless with this product. After I drove home and inspected the work I noticed a distinct line across the lower portion of my rear fenders on both sides. It was so crisp and distinct it looks like some of the 50/50 tape lines you see in people's posts. Above the line it was perfectly clean and below the line was the mud/salt/grim. Where the robots pressure heads sprayed, the Wolfgang shed the grime quite well and appeared perfectly clean. Where it didn't get sprayed...well...it stayed dirty. Often when I've used sealants in the past and ran through the touchless I could see remnant of the salt and grime that didn't totally wash away. My car is black, so it's pretty easy to see.

As I'm typing this, it's starting to snow and it's actually sticking to the ground, so maybe I'll actually get a chance to give this sealant a torture test after all....

[waddell64]

I knew I should have bought this when they were offering the 35% off sale, I just didn't want it sitting in my basement for a few months before I could use it.

Question for the group, I have a 2020 GMC Sierra - black, daily driver, sits outside all the time. Currently, it has Blackfire Hybrid Wax on it as the main protection applied in November and I think I applied some Blackfire Spray Wax on it sometime in December on a warm day. When spring emerges, I think the paint will still be in decent shape. I have some Blackfire OneStep here at the house, but is that a polish I could use prior to applying Wolfgang SiO2 Sealant? My thought is the sealant in OneStep, won't play nice with the Wolfgang SiO2 sealant even with wiping it down Perfect Finish prior to application.

I was thinking about getting some Wolfgang Finishing Glaze or Total Swirl Remover to use as a polish prior to application of the Wolfgang SiO2. What does everyone else use?

-Adam