Menzerna Poly Lock Sealant (life?)

[HUMP DIESEL]

I say life, but what is the amount of time I can get out of this sealant in South Carolina before I need to re-apply? What do you guys see on the life of the sealant?

HUMP

[Evan.J]

Plenty of factors can change how long a wax or a sealant will last ad it will be different for everyone.

Here is a great artilce of the topic:



How long will brand x car wax or paint sealant last? (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot-topics-frequently-asked-questions/30447-how-long-will-brand-x-car-wax-paint-sealant-last.html)

New Sensationalism!
http://www.showcargarage.com/gallery/files/1/sensationalismjpg.jpg



How long will brand x car wax or paint sealant last?

The above question is probably one of the most asked questions by people when it comes to choosing a wax or paint sealant. There is no definitive answer to this question because there are so many factors that have an influence or affect the length of time a protective coating will last that most of us have no control over, things like how a car is washed or the environment and climate our vehicles are exposed to.


Simply put...

"Anything chemically corrosive enough or abrasive enough to physically damage a modern, factory clear coat finish is also strong enough or abrasive enough to damage the micron, or sub-micron layer of protection you apply as a paste, liquid or spray-on wax"



What can you do to protect your auto investment?
The most important thing you can do is try to park your car under some kind of cover when not in use, like a garage or carport. The next most important thing you can do is keep the car clean so dirt, road grime and other contaminants cannot build-up on the surface, mix with moisture and attack the finish. Besides these two things, then next best thing you can do is to maintain a layer of protection on all the painted surfaces.

I've seen first hand the Uric Acid in a bird dropping etch paint in less than 10 minutes after the paint had been compounded, polished and sealed with two coats of wax.

A car wax, or a paint sealant is a Sacrificial Barrier Coating (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot-topics-frequently-asked-questions/28566-sacrificial-barrier-coating-purpose-wax-synthetic-paint-sealant.html). That is it's a coating you and I can easily apply that will slow down the harmful effects of corrosive elements that land on the paint and/or anything else harmful that comes into contact with the paint. Key words being slow down, not 100% stop or prevent.

The idea being that as your car's finish sees wear-and-tear and the wax or paint sealant wears off or in other words, sacrifices itself so your paint doesn't have to sacrifice itself, that you and I can then wash the car to remove any loose dirt, clay the paint if needed to remove any above surface bonded contaminants, and then re-apply our choice of wax or paint sealant whether it's a liquid, paste or spray-on product.


The key is to,

"Find something you like and use it often" (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/24310-find-something-you-like-use-often.html)


If you find something you like then obviously you like,


How it applies
How it dries or doesn't dry in the case of a non-drying wax
How it wipes off
how it looks
How you perceive it to last
How you perceive it to protect
That's pretty much the majority of reasons we all wax our cars.

Then... if you do this often... your car's finish will always look new. It's only when you and I neglect our car's finish and the car is used as a daily driver and thus exposed to the elements and wear-and-tear, that finish goes down hill without intervention.


How often is often?

If you park your car in a garage and only drive it on sunny Sundays then you won't have to re-apply any company's wax or paint sealant very often in order to maintain that show room new look.

If you drive your car everyday, and for a portion of each day it's parked outside, for example when you're at work, and/or when you're home if you don't have a garage or covered parking at your place of residence to shelter the paint, then you will have to re-apply any company's wax or paint sealant more often in order to maintain that show room new look.
Pretty simple really...


The good news...
Modern clear coats are actually pretty tough compared to automotive paints commonly used before clear coat paint technology was introduced starting in the 1980's. For most people, the best defense is a good offense, so find a premium quality car wash that offers safe cleaning ability with good lubricating characteristics and maintain a layer of protection using your favorite wax or paint sealant.



:dblthumb2:

[swanicyouth]

My guess is 3-4 months. Maybe 6 if the weather is nice. PL will do better in the summer when it's very hot because it's a synthetic sealant and the sun won't "melt" it off, as hot sun can shorten the wax life of a carnauba wax. There are too many factors to predict it though: weather, temperature, how the car is stored, how often it's driven, and how often it's washed are a few factors to consider. Also, how the paint is prepped could affect longevity.

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Forum member Swanicyouth (Steve) did a test a while back. Some good reading in here.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/product-reviews/60946-sealant-test-powerlock-blackhole-wolfgang-dgps-blackfire-wd.html

[swanicyouth]

^^^ yes PL is very chemical resistant. But, I don't know if that has a direct relationship to longevity. As, I couldn't take into account UV factors, heat, and the degradation brought on by time.

Basically, PL is some good chit.

[Mike Phillips]

Ha ha... I forgot I wrote that article...

I read the title of this thread and was going to chime in and say pretty much what my article above reads.

The big picture is this, how long any wax, sealant or coating lasts on a car's finish depends on how the car is "touched".

Wash the car with a couple of bricks and nothing is going to last very long, not even the paint.

Wash the car carefully, like I explain in my how-to book under "The careful approach to washing a car" and you will give whatever it is you've applied to the paint the best chance of lasting the maximum time.


:)

[Mike Phillips]

I touch on this topic here too...

Clearcoats are Scratch-Sensitive (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/74234-clearcoats-scratch-sensitive.html)




But to the OP, if you prep the paint correctly, apply the Menzerna Poly Lock Sealant according to directions, and then wash the car carefully, you can probably get 3-4 months protection.

:dunno:

[scshaysc]

Hump,
I live in Greenville, and use Powerlock on my car. I get about 5 months before I need to reapply (still beads, but you can tell it is time). My car is parked outside M-F during the day, and garaged all other times.

I will say I love Powerlock. Easy on and off. I have put it on using a GG polisher, and by hand. By hand seems to be easier to me. Right now it's my favorite.

Shay

[02xtreme07SS]

I really like Powerlock. On my wife's '09 Rav4, which is garaged at night and she parks in a parking garage at work, I get 5-6 months of SOLID protection. Now on my '12 Rav4 which is parked outside 24/7, I get good protection for 3 months. After 3 months the protection begins to fail and by month 4 it's virtually non-existent. This is my experience based on 2-coats of PL per application, applied 12 hours apart.

[The Critic]

Powerlock is excellent. My dad's van is wearing two coats and is still beading strong after 3 months. However, his van is garaged every night and has only been washed three times since application.

[Pureshine]

I get about 4-6 months out of 2 coats of power lock.

[Znig22]

I live in Greenville as well and use WGTS 3.0 from what I hear is a lot like powerlock and I get around 6 months if the surface is clayed and well manicured during those 6 months along with garage kept. But with all this rain we have had that plays a roll in wax longevity.

[custmsprty]

I like WG 3.0 and Blackfire WD much better than Powerlock, my PL is tossed in a corner gathering dust. It barely lasted 2 months this past summer down here in Florida. I just got the Black Label Sealant today so I plan on comparing that to the WG and Blackfire.