Sealant comparison

[RippyD]

Have a PW and will try this. Will also try again with my pressure sprayer - it seems to mist very well.

[RippyD]

Contact angle has always been a measure. Which is why it's common to see a 110 contact angle on many coating descriptions.

I get this. I can't seen to find my water droplet contact angle measurement tool. Want loan me one?

[Cruzscarwash]

I get this. I can't seen to find my water droplet contact angle measurement tool. Want loan me one?

It's in the mail

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[RippyD]

Mother nature helped out. I walked outside this morning and it was just barely drizzling out - misting. So of course I checked the hoods! Still hard to get good pics that compare, but grabbed a couple that are usable. I need to drop post-its s with notes on them next time so I can reference what different areas.

Summary of what I saw: most of the sealants had smaller beads than the non-treated parts of the hood. I'm sure there were variances in beading size, but they weren't obvious with one exception. The areas that are not sheeting water had larger beads that were almost indistinguishable from the tape lines. So some decent correlations here.

This is the left side up by the windshield of the Rover. SFX-4 had noticeably tighter beading than anything else on the hood. BF Carnuba is to the right of it. You can see the tape line pretty clearly.


One more from the left side looking across the front of the hood toward the right. Tape lines are visible. Not a lot of difference in beading.


Another across the front of the hood. You can see the drops getting bigger as it transitions from McKee's Fast Wax (working) to Griot's Finishing Sealant.


Pic of the right and middle sections of the Sentra hood. I don't see any difference.

[RippyD]

Washed and dried the Sentra Hood today then hit it with water. Everything still working. The middle section is now outperforming the left. No idea why. DG Rinseless still working best.

Sentra hood video

Note that DG Rinseless mixed 8:1 comes in at ~$0.08 per oz mixed as a QD, about 1/2 that if bought by the gallon. Compare this to Aquawax at $0.45 per oz or Opt Spray Wax at $0.88 per oz. It's already done as well as those two in terms of durability. To be fair, those were in the Winter and got rained on every day. Probably need to test all the best spray waxes
and QDs under similar conditions.

[davidc]

I knew that DG Rinseless is good but never thought it would be better than straight Aquawax. Now the question is why.

Dave

[RippyD]

Guessing dry vs. wet weather. Will do side-by-side this summer and see how it goes.

[RippyD]

Checked both hoods the other day. Rinsed to remove pollen and other debris, washed with N-914 at 128:1, rinsed again, and dried.

Here it is a few seconds after hitting it with water. The two products in front that were the fastest have slowed down. If you look to the upper left you can see that SFX-4 is now clearing much faster than everything else.


Same thing taken from the left side.


A few seconds later Dodo Supreme, Four Star, McKee's Fast Wax, and Mystery #4 are moving water.


On the right side you can see Nano Shock working well. Megs #20, Poorboys EXP, and 3M Synthetic are starting to move water. HD Poxy less so.

Harder to see in this one. Griots Finishing and Poorboys Sealant not doing much. On the left from McKee's Fast Wax is clear. Right front Megs #20 is mostly clear. Above Megs Poorboys EXP is sort of working, 3M Wax is doing ok, HD Poxy not doing much. To the left of those nothing working well except Nano Shock.


20 seconds or so later you the right side has cleared except for HD Poxy.


Left side is mostly clear. 2nd row in from the left side Rupes 808 and Prima Hydro are not really clearing any faster than the areas with no product.


Looking from right to left across the hood you can see Poorboy's Sealant and Griot's Finishing Sealant not working well.


Summary: These look about the same as last time in terms of what's working and what isn't. The two fastest products have slowed, and SFX-4 is now performing the fastest.

Animation of the Sentra Hood. Right side (DG Rinseless as a QD) still doing the best. Middle section is just a little better than nothing. Ech2o+Reload seems to be working about the same rate as the section with nothing on it.

[Cruzscarwash]

So would you think that using DG for your wash let's say every 2 weeks would give you endless protection?? Especially if the surface is covered with a good sealant like PNS or fk100p?

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[RippyD]

Good question. I'll have to see what it does at rinseless dilution. But the answer is I think so. If you wash with something that leaves protection or use a QD/Spray wax every 2-3 weeks this seems like a solid option. And even with a very durable sealant, I always get more shine with a QD or a spray wax over it.

The other answer is "how would you know?" If I apply a sealant that lasts 6 months and then top it every 2 weeks with Aquawax, I'm going to get great beading and sheeting. Did the sealant last longer or is it just the Aquawax working? I don't know. This could maybe be a long term test to to see if a 2nd sealant helps a first one last longer. I tend to think if you're going to apply a spray every 2-3 weeks it doesn't matter much.