McKee's 37 Paint Coating Not Resistant to Salt?

[Desertnate]

Four months ago, I applied the M37 paint coating to my wife's daily driver. The application was very easy and the results turned out flawless. I was really happy with how everything turned out...at least until a week or so ago.

Recently we had a day of unseasonably warm weather, so like any good Geek, I broke out the hose and buckets. While washing and rinsing my wife's car I noticed the coating was holding up extremely well on all of the horizontal surfaces (hood/roof) and vertical surfaces in front of the wheels (i.e. front quarter panels, front bumpers, and grill). However, on the vertical side panels where salt and typical winter road grime is sprayed, and to a lesser extent on the rear hatch, there was a very distinct line in water behavior. Above the "spray line" the coating was holding up beautifully and water seemed to almost bounce off the surface. Beading was very tight and sheeting was quite rapid. Below that "spray line"...nothing. At all. In fact, even after washing those areas twice, the water would cling to the surface like you'd suspect from an area with no LSP at all. Even when doing a flood rinse a layer of water stuck to these vertical surfaces.

What made this even more concerning was I immediately followed up by washing my car which wears a 4-month old, single layer of Collinite 845. The water behaved like you'd imagine...glorious beading and very rapid sheeting when flood rinsed. There was no "spay line" on the sides or rear hatch. When clean, the surface behaved as a clean car with a good layer of LSP should.

Our winter has been almost non-existent this year. The roads have only been salted heavily twice and both cars have had almost identical cleanings over that time. This leaves me wondering why a coating, even budget friendly consumer grade, would not hold up better than a quality traditional LSP. With the degradation I'm seeing right now from salt spray, the coating hasn't even lasted 4 months in mild winter conditions. I was hoping to get at least a year of protection as the 2-year claims are probably not realistic. At this point I'm going to end up having to re-coat all lower surfaces on half the car, or polish the whole thing and go with another product.

Was it to much to expect the M37 coating to hold up to typical winter salt conditions?

[Setec Astronomy]

They are spraying a lot of weird brines on the roads these days (and beet juice). Although I would have expected two washings to have removed anything, is it possible there is still some de-icing film clinging to the coating? What wash did you use?

[WillSports3]

Have you tried spraying an apc on the affected areas to see if it's just not broken down enough contaminates? I know with my car that's coated, there's no beading and only a very slow sheeting on my lower panels before I wash it and really clean it.

[Mantilgh]

I would try a couple test spots to see if it makes a difference.

Maybe one with a strong APC, and one with IPA, or maybe a spot with both.

I guess they don't want this brine rinsing off the road so it may not rinse (or wash) off the paint easily either.

[Desertnate]

They are spraying a lot of weird brines on the roads these days (and beet juice). Although I would have expected two washings to have removed anything, is it possible there is still some de-icing film clinging to the coating? What wash did you use?

Around here, they still use what appears to be the traditional rock salt. You see the trucks dumping loads of it all over the roads, and it quits working when the temps are sub-freezing. This area is a little behind the rest of the country and they haven't started using some of the more "exotic" methods to keep the roads clear. There could still be something stuck to the surface, but it sure looked clean when I was done.

I'm using PB's Super Slick and Suds. It has always seemed to cut through grime well and I like how lubricates the surface while washing. At first I thought glossing agents or something in the soap was interfering with the coating, but that wouldn't explain the distinct line I'm seeing down the doors.

Have you tried spraying an apc on the affected areas to see if it's just not broken down enough contaminates? I know with my car that's coated, there's no beading and only a very slow sheeting on my lower panels before I wash it and really clean it.

The weather has turned cold again, so I haven't had a chance to go after the areas with an APC or even a clay bar to see if that helps. I'll keep that in mind the next time I get a chance to hand wash.

[pilotpip]

Did they use the massive amount of crap on the roads in Illinois that they used on the west side of the area?

[fly07sti]

This was kind of my experience with this coating with the exception of it was under the DP label.
To me we shouldn't need to spray an apc or anything on these coatings to restore there lsp characteristics. If his other vehicle with 845 is performing better than a coating, that's kind of a let down with the coating.

[Setec Astronomy]

Around here, they still use what appears to be the traditional rock salt. You see the trucks dumping loads of it all over the roads, and it quits working when the temps are sub-freezing. This area is a little behind the rest of the country and they haven't started using some of the more "exotic" methods to keep the roads clear. There could still be something stuck to the surface, but it sure looked clean when I was done.

I'm using PB's Super Slick and Suds. It has always seemed to cut through grime well and I like how lubricates the surface while washing. At first I thought glossing agents or something in the soap was interfering with the coating, but that wouldn't explain the distinct line I'm seeing down the doors.

At least in my area they stripe a brine (I understand it's magnesium chloride) sometimes several days ahead of the storm. It dries and gives them the advantages of having all the roads covered with something as soon as the snow starts (instead of playing catch-up with the salt trucks), and is supposed to keep the snow/ice from "sticking" to the road surface making subsequent plowing/salting more effective. It's also supposed to be the most corrosive compound (MgCl) to car structures used for this purpose.

One other thing to keep in mind is oil and other stuff from the road that can get mixed in with the salt if it's the first time it's precipitated in a while.

Anyway, keep us posted on what you find out about if the coating has failed.

[Setec Astronomy]

This was kind of my experience with this coating with the exception of it was under the DP label.
To me we shouldn't need to spray an apc or anything on these coatings to restore there lsp characteristics. If his other vehicle with 845 is performing better than a coating, that's kind of a let down with the coating.

I dunno, maybe I've been out of the loop with this stuff, but I remember there being some threads about Opti-Coat building up contaminants on top over time (just like would build up on your CC) and that some sort of decon might be required periodically to restore the "lsp characteristics". I can't remember if it was Rasky or Zach suggesting that even a coated car needs to be washed regularly to keep this from happening (and disappointing the customer).

[fly07sti]

I dunno, maybe I've been out of the loop with this stuff, but I remember there being some threads about Opti-Coat building up contaminants on top over time (just like would build up on your CC) and that some sort of decon might be required periodically to restore the "lsp characteristics". I can't remember if it was Rasky or Zach suggesting that even a coated car needs to be washed regularly to keep this from happening (and disappointing the customer).

I would understand doing a stronger "decon wash" if it had been a while, but he said it's been washed the same as his vehicle which has a traditional lsp and it's performing good.
I enjoyed the slickness and ease of using it but it didn't hold up for me on 2 different vehicles.