Sealant comparison

**RippyD** · 07-24-2018, 08:57 AM

Originally Posted by Cruzscarwash

Your last chart and the chart you just posted have much different results for multiple products, or I I'm missing something I'm translation.

Not missing anything. The original one I posted was off by a mile. A sort in the spreadsheet went badly and I had results with the wrong products. Moving too quickly and didn't read the darn thing before posting.

**RippyD** · 07-25-2018, 11:48 PM

Did the hood of the new car tonight. I shared that it was white, which is not ideal. It's also another Sentra. You can read about that below.

Prep process:
1. Washed with Reset.
2. Clayed with real clay (didn't want to use up my clay mitt on this car)
3. Polished with Mystery polish. (AG sells this company's products, but not this specific polish, so can't reveal)
4. Did 1/3 of the hood with McKee's Coating Prep polish. Mystery polish says it's sealant/wax ready, but I wanted to see if there was a difference

Clay after doing 1/2 the hood. Guessing this car has never been clayed before (it's a 2011).

Polish, pads, and tape line for McKee's Prep Polish.

Applied two Si02 touchless sealants - Hydro Blue and Hydro2 - and FK #215 by hand. Did the two touchless first, then dried and did the FK. I let it cure for 15 mins or so - it was about 85 degrees out. It seemed dry. (Why FK #215? See below.) EDIT: I removed the touchless sealants with a pressure washer.

Some Q&A that's mostly irrelevant - feel free to skip this.

Q: Why, WHY, WHY another Sentra!?!?!? This is what my kids asked. They are not happy.
A: We needed another car for teenagers to drive. We had ~$6K budget for used car and started looking. It's ugly out there. I have a preference for Mazdas. The paint seems to suck but mechanically I think they're ahead of many others. Could not find one that was decent in this price range. The closest one I found was $5500, badly needed both front wheel bearings, had 30% of the firewall insulation scratched away by rodents, needed 4 tires, and had 105K miles. They guy would't budge on the price. Similar story for Toyotas and Hondas in this price range. Absolutely filthy interiors from smokers and people asking $7K+ for cars with 100K+ miles. Looked for some smaller American cars, didn't find anything compelling. VW is out for me as a used car - didn't even look (no offense to VW lovers). So after looking at too many cars this Sentra came on the market. Arizona car and shows it (rubber is badly cracked, headlights fogged, etc.). Mechanically sound, 80K miles, doesn't go very fast. Seems like a great kid car.

Q: Why FK #215?
A: Because I have it and decided to test it. I just need to get it down and measure it so I can have it behind me. Not really doing AIOs, but it's here. I'll do HD Speed as well since I have it and somebody asked.

I also assumed that #215 won't last longer than the SiO2 products I applied. I didn't want some 25 week product keeping the hood tied up into the new year. If they all fail in 2-3 weeks that would be very convenient for me.

**Hatchman** · 07-26-2018, 06:25 AM

Great thread! Thanks for all the info! Agree a used Sentra is a great kids car. And I have shopped for a $6K used car, just a beater to get back and forth to work, catch rock chips and door dings, and like you said, for that money it is mostly beat up, smoked up, scratched up, dirty junk out there. Ended up spending $12K just to get something decent.

**RippyD** · 07-26-2018, 09:15 AM

Agree on the car. Once I get to the $10K range I may ask well consider a new car. The local Kia dealer occasionally has an ad car Kia Soul for about $12.5K. I've seen Nissan Versas and Ford Fiestas in the same price range.

This white Sentra has some terrible rock chips, smells a little inside, has a broken tail light assembly, and may need new rubber around the windows. All manageable. Kids are going to stink it up anyway and bang it up anyway, so not any of it matters much.

**Cruzscarwash** · 07-26-2018, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by RippyD

Agree on the car. Once I get to the $10K range I may ask well consider a new car. The local Kia dealer occasionally has an ad car Kia Soul for about $12.5K. I've seen Nissan Versas and Ford Fiestas in the same price range.

This white Sentra has some terrible rock chips, smells a little inside, has a broken tail light assembly, and may need new rubber around the windows. All manageable. Kids are going to stink it up anyway and bang it up anyway, so not any of it matters much.

After it was all said and done I got a new Ford focus for $9.5 out the door

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**JustJesus** · 07-26-2018, 11:51 AM

Originally Posted by Cruzscarwash

After it was all said and done I got a new Ford focus for $9.5 out the door

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New?!? Wow, great deal Cruz!!!

**Cruzscarwash** · 07-26-2018, 11:55 AM

Originally Posted by JustJesus

New?!? Wow, great deal Cruz!!!

Yes, had 5 miles on it, it was an amazing deal, base model of course but it got the job done.

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**RippyD** · 07-26-2018, 02:32 PM

Wow... I would easily have done that. The kids are going to kill the car in 50K miles regardless, so having a warranty and new everything saves me maintenance costs. Will have to search harder for new deals next time.

**Markymapo** · 07-26-2018, 02:36 PM

Any updates to the chart (after correcting sorting error). Nice work

**RippyD** · 07-26-2018, 03:18 PM

I fixed the chart in the original post. Here it is again updated as of today. No new testing done since last post, but 3 projects added and more days elapsed. Some guidance to keep in mind as you look at the results:

My testing process is evolving. I wasn't timing water sheeting previously. I'm now using ~1 minute as my cut-off or comparing to un-treated areas
Winter vs. summer conditions, outside vs. garaged, and other factors need to be considered
I recently discovered that not drying after washing seems to impede sheeting, so some of the earlier tests may have under-called durability
Longevity is only one factor. Cost, ease of application, and preference are all important. Ex: If you like to use a drying aid every 2 weeks, longevity doesn't really matter
I'd like to re-test at least 10 of these to check for variation and to make sure my initial results were valid (or not)
Look at the results as relative comparisons - which ones generally last longer than others. Your results will be different.
I'm just some idiot with a lot of products. Please consider that. I have no real experience or training in detailing car products. I'd pay attention to what Mike and the other pros here have to say.