New coatings?

[chefwong]

I could never wash our dark cars like that....
I need me some water and lots of it...

[TTQ B4U]

I could never wash our dark cars like that....
I need me some water and lots of it...

haha! No fear my friend. I've washed my Audi and the van rinseless like that for a long while. ZERO issues. 480gsm Eagle Edgeless Rags soaked in solution, 16 folds per Gary Dean Method and Wolfgang Uber. Plenty of water. Rags weigh about 1.2lbs+ when soaked.

I usually do the van with about 1.5gals. The Audi the same sometimes 2 depending on much I put into the wheels. It varies depending on if I feel like doing the whole wheel vs just the face.

[chefwong]

Water conservation rules or by choice...

[MrOneEyedBoh]

I'm going to go with the M37 paint coating . 1 year is good for me.

[TTQ B4U]

Water conservation rules or by choice...

Choice. I have hot and cold water in a heated garage (no drain though) so in winter my drive would freeze as the water drains outward.

Overall though, I just can get it done faster and cleaner / less fuss by doing a rinseless. 1hr from start to perfect show car finish wheels and all.

With the correct technique there's no more chance of marring or scratching than with a bucket. If anything I think it's safer as there's no re-introduction of a dirty rag or mitt. I did the van with (7) 16x16 rags including 1 for drying using a total of 1.5 gals of rinseless solution.

[Jeremy1976]

I just cannot warm up to coatings here in Wisconsin. The winters are too harsh and contaminants will bond to the paint regardless of what you have on it. I just use either Collinite 845 or WG Paint Sealant on my personal cars. They get detailed twice a year and washed weekly during the winter. Even with that, come spring time the paint is peppered with iron deposits.

Specifically for Wisconsin coatings in my opinion are a waste of time and money and do not do anything that a good wax or sealant wont.

[Mike Phillips]

Regular washing is critical to getting the most out of a coating.

I highly agree but I think this is where the "problem" come in.

How many people regularly wash their car and regularly was their car GENTLY, like I show in this video.







We all know not to scrub the paint when washing. We all know to only use a clean, contaminant free wash mitt when washing and the appropriate car wash soap. But do the customers of coatings?


If the vehicle is not washed often then road film will build up. This is one of my favorite all time articles as it explains road film and where it comes from.


Road Film - If you drive your car in the rain your car has road film





Driving in the rain - For most of us it's unavoidable








And of course, if a person doesn't wash their vehicle carefully, using great technique, a clean wash mitt and a good soap then chances are very good they will put swirls and scratches into the paint. This is probably the most common way cars get swirls and scratches.


So coatings are great. Heck I keep one on our Mercedes-Benz. But I also wash it often and wash it correctly. Because I don't think the masses know how to wash their car correctly nor on a regular basis, I'm not sure applying a coating to their car and then skipping out on any other form of paint cleaning or paint polishing past one year will maintain the appearance created at the time the coating was applied.

Now if the same person gets a wax or synthetic sealant applied and "knows" they must re-wax or re-apply the sealant at least once a year then in most cases, some type of paint prep process is performed and thus the appearance created from the previous detailing session is restored.

So I'm still not ready to say 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, etc. year coatings are a great idea for daily drivers. And especially if like Chad comments, the vehicle is not wash regularly and as I comment, correctly.


Just my two cents...

[Mike Phillips]

1 year is the max I would go because I can't keep my hands off my car,

I think your sentiment reflects, (no pun intended), how the majority of any person that hangs out on a car detailing forum or in the car detailing FB world, thinks and acts with their car. Thus longevity is not a factor for people into detailing their own cars.

[BadgerRivFan]

I just cannot warm up to coatings here in Wisconsin. The winters are too harsh and contaminants will bond to the paint regardless of what you have on it. I just use either Collinite 845 or WG Paint Sealant on my personal cars. They get detailed twice a year and washed weekly during the winter. Even with that, come spring time the paint is peppered with iron deposits.

Specifically for Wisconsin coatings in my opinion are a waste of time and money and do not do anything that a good wax or sealant wont.

I have to respectfully disagree. Last winter I had Collinite 845 as the LSP on my daily driver, and WGDGPS 3.0 as the LSP on my wife's daily driver. Late this fall, I polished both vehicles and applied Gyeon CanCoat to my car and WG Uber Ceramic Coating to my wife's. Both vehicles are rinseless washed weekly to try and stay on top of all of the salt, sand, and road grime. To date I have not had any issues with bonded contaminates using these coatings. I've found that they perform equally as good and perhaps better than 845 and 3.0. I am in southern Wisconsin (Madison) so perhaps the winter road treatments used in this area differ from those in other parts of the State. I have also not experienced any issues with excessive iron deposits on any of my vehicles... I will continue to use coating products for my daily driven vehicles especially during the winter months.

[vobro]

I disagree, my daily drivers have been coated and come spring time the vehicles are in noticeably better shape than with sealant or wax. Yes I'll have iron particles,tar and over all filth but the cars clean up way easier with less work. I also wash weekly and have found the coated cars rebound better, when the cars are really bad I'll just power wash then follow with a rinsless. Of coarse coatings are not miracle products but after 5 winters I'll never go back to sealants, as far as your waste of time comment my time is my most precious commodity right now and I spend less time on keeping my cars to a geek level