Sealant comparison

[MattPersman]

Geez man those results are just like the kind that I get lol. I haven’t done this extensive testing but I have a hard time making crap last too. Makes you always wonder if it’s you when you see people claim months and months from some of these products.

I do know that dodo juice claimed at after the short term beading is gone from at least their wax products the protection is still there

How anyone could actually prove that is beyond me. Imagining the chemical companies that supply the UV inhibitors could actually tell some what of a story about it protecting paint and to what duration out in the elements applied the way it does.

Sure would be nice if someone actually came in and said don’t worry about what you are seeing the contamination and UV protection is still there long after the sheeting and beading

Thanks for sharing.


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[RippyD]

Agree on all your points. And to be fair, when I rinseless wash these I can clearly see the tape lines, so all the products are still there. Even with the last set on the hood, I could see tape lines between most of them months after application, which means something was still there.

But if water doesn't move off it any differently and there's no visual difference, what's it really doing? Culd be there's still some protection - I just don't know. And like you I'd be fine if somebody wants to educate us on what protection these are giving after they stop sheeting water.

You just gave me a thought: I supposed I could apply these to glass and then measure UVs coming through over time. Would be interesting to see if UV protection correlates to water sheeting. Need to see if there's a reliable and inexpensive UV meter.

[RippyD]

I need to correct the results above. Poorboys with Carnuba was clearing at some point. Not sure if I got it and Griots Finishing sealant switched or just missed it. Will restest and correct results today.

A couple of pics below. Here's an animation of the Sentra hood. This is the way to go. If I get a tripod and can figure out lighting for the Rover, this will demonstrate much better what's going on.

Here's the left side of the Rover hood about 2 minutes in. Water is gone from Dodo, 303, and SFX-4, mostly gone from BF Carnuba.


This is close to 3 mins taken from the left side. The bottom is SFX-4, which is clear. Next to that you can see Prima Hydro and Prima Slick not clearing well. On the right is P808 with water and toward the top on the right are Griot's Spray Wax (far right) and Nano Shock just to the left of it.

[RippyD]

I just did a quick test and got very different results. Some of these are still not performing, but most are. The order I've ranked them is generally right. I need to take more time later today and watch some video more carefully before I publish. I'll leave the previous results up but I'll call them inaccurate unless the new results validate them. I think these generally performing better. Will update as soon as I get time.

[JustJesus]

Amazingly, any time you blind test people these differences disappear. Placebo effect and choice-supportive bias.

That's one thing I set out to remove when I did a poll/survey that was also sort of a blind test. 5 waxes, side by side. Before the waxes were revealed, it was interesting to see what people were choosing and voting on. That was a fun thread for me. On the sister site, link here -> 5 Way Wax Test / Blind Survey

A couple of pics below. Here's an [animation] This is the way to go. If I get a tripod and can figure out lighting for the Rover, this will demonstrate much better what's going on.

I clicked the animation link, but just saw a "-" inside a circle. Like it was dead. Ever consider doing video? Seeing water behavior "real time" can help us see what's going on.

[RippyD]

I have videos, but the lighting is terrible as is my camera work. Would be more confusing (and nauseating) to share. Would be best to do a time lapse with a camera on a tripod, or a sped up video. Will work on it. Forgot to share that animation. Will look at that this afternoon as well. The white hood makes it more challenging.

Edit: trying re-sharing the link for the animation. Please try again.

[RippyD]

Updated results from this morning. Not dramatically different, but more fair to other products. Some move into the ok category from the dead category. The only difference I can think of is that I dried the hood after washing it this time. I usually just do a rinseless wash, rinse it, and then flood it. Could be that with soft water the soap needs the physical removal from a towel. Really not sure.

Dodo and Four Star are still clearing water the fastest and both under 30 seconds. No change here.

• Dodo Supreme Acrylic Spritz
• Four Star Ultimate Spray Wax

These were all between 40 seconds and 1:15. Nano Shock and SFX-4 are still the fastest.

• Nano shock
• SFX-4
• Mystery #4
• Megs 20
• 303 spray wax
• McKee's Fast Wax

Between 1-2 minutes below. Poorboys EX-P a little better this time.

• Blackfire Carnuba Spray
• Poorboys EX-P

Working, but longer than 2 mins. I had mixed up Poorboys with Carnuba and Griots Finishing Sealant last time. HD Poxy doing much better today.

• HD Poxy
• Poorboys Sealant with Carnuba

Barely working. I'm being as generous as I can. These are bordering on being in the last group.

• Prima hydro
• Griots spray wax

The last group are not sheeting water any faster than the areas with no sealant applied.

• Griots Finishing Sealant
• Prima Slick
• Rupes P808
• 3M Synthetic

[JustJesus]

The white hood makes it more challenging.

The blue hood is also challenging. Harder to see compared to the black one.

[dlc95]

EDIT: leaving this results up, but they may not be accurate. I did a quick test a day later and got better results. In the interest of being as fair as I can to all the products, I'd prefer to go with better rather than worse. I don't know why there's a difference.

--------------------

Did some testing with the pressure washer and rinseless washing. Pressure washed the hood, then flooded it and monitored. Then washed with N-914 @ 256:1 and flooded to compare results. Noticed a few things:

1. I was too impatient yesterday. Some of these are working, but very slowly.
2. Some of them aren't working. They may clear after 4-5 minutes and when I wash I can see tape lines, but they aren't doing much at all based on water movement.
3. I didn't see any significant difference in how these behaved after pressure washing or after rinseless washing.

The two fastest cleared water in under 15 seconds. The Dodo product is a little faster.

• Dodo Supreme Acrylic Spritz
• Four Star Ultimate Spray Wax

These next five took closer to a minute. The fastest of these was Nano Shock:

• Nano shock
• SFX-4
• Mystery #4
• Megs 20
• 303 spray wax

The next two took between 1-2 minutes:

• McKees Fast Wax
• Blackfire Carnuba Spray

This group was all 3+ mins. I stopped timing after 3:30.

• Poorboys EX-P
• Prima hydro
• Griots spray wax

The last group appear to not be working. After 3.5 minutes these didn't move water any faster than the areas without sealant. They eventually get clear of water, but so will the un-sealed areas.

• Griots Finishing Sealant
• HD Poxy
• Prima Slick
• Rupes P808
• Poorboys with Carnuba
• 3M Synthetic

Will try to get some pics posted - didn't have much luck getting usable ones.

I had problems with 808 dying quickly. I would literally spray on and wipe off. I don't believe I was getting adequate coverage with that technique. I then started priming my towel with a light spritz, sprayed the panel, slowly wiped in, and wiped off.

From that point I got the slick feel and longevity. They recommend a second application for more gloss and slickness, so I do that sometimes..

Was 808 slick initially after application?

[RippyD]

That's how I applied it, and seem to recall doing a 2nd application. If it was in the instructions on the bottle, I did it. Yes, 808 was slick after I applied it. I like to do the fingertip test on all these after I'm done. That's how/why I commented on HD Poxy feeling so different.

If this looks very different from what you've seen I can try it again. Maybe I didn't shake the bottle?

Edit: One more thought on this. I certainly have an obligation to apply these correctly and to allow every product to do it's best. But... if the application is finicky and I have to go over-and-above the printed instructions, that's on the manufacturer, not me. I'm trying to represent the average non-pro consumer/enthusiast who wants their car to look good. If following the instructions doesn't work well that's a product issue, imo.

For the products that are doing this poorly I can probably re-test them to be sure I didn't apply improperly. But I don't think it's reasonable to research how to get the best out of them unless I do this for every product.