Sealant comparison

**gregpack** · 10-21-2018, 09:24 AM

Still catching up on old data. These washes occurred in mid September. I had hot weather here and daily highs were in the 90s. I had some troubleshooting work to do on two different units and washed six times in one day doing test washes. Although the chemical is still strong I'm putting it down on a thoroughly cooled wet surface, so those repeat applications are a little easier on the sealants.

By the way, if you're wondering about the long term chemical effects of a touch free car wash on painted surfaces, My truck is my "test vehicle" and has been washed thousands of times over the past eighteen years. I often let the presoak product dry on the surface. The paint is still in good shape for such an old vehicle. My wife's former Tahoe is a 2003 model and although not washed as much still looks very good. I do believe those chemicals can prematurely fade and degrade plastics, but I have no control vehicle to compare to. Also, anodized black trim that has not been clear coated does not fare well. Early 2000s Mercedes and PT cruisers had this problem and as a result the presoaks would cause a streaky "rainbow" appearance on the trim around the windows. It would polish out with a cleaner wax, but would return if washed again. I may try a few dressings on trim in the future and see which ones survive the best. One caveat: I do not use an low ph presoak which contains Hydroflouric acid. HF is the same ingredient in Meguiars wheel brightener. It works well on inorganics in snow melt compounds but over time could potentially cloud glass. I don't know what the long term effects, if any that presoaks containing HF on painted surfaces are.

Spray and Wipes: It was during this test day that we had optiseal fail. Ultimate fast finish has been compromised but is beading better. Sonax PNS is still going strong, but because of high product costs I do not really put that product in the same category as the other two. In the future I may try using a AIO (D166) covered by ultimate fast finish and see if I can get equal durability or if the D166 compromises UFF.

Liquids& Paste: Except for poxy, all other liquids sealants seems to be working. Meguiars ultimate paste wax is compromised but still technically seems to be working.

**gregpack** · 10-21-2018, 09:34 AM

OK, guys, we're here at about the 15 wash mark. Chronologically this is only over ten days, but this is the equivalent of over three months of once weekly washes.

Here's the pic of the products again:

And here is a shot of the truck on the final rinse pass as my wash finishes up:

**gregpack** · 10-21-2018, 10:01 AM

Live observations that the camera didn't or isn't catching:

Meguiars UFF lasted longer than optiseal

Meguiars Utimate Paste is still there but is likely going to be the next to fail. With the potential trim staining a paste can cause I see no reason to use it so it is being culled from the product line.

Sonax Polymer Net Shield is lasting nicely but it's behavior is changing slightly so I predict it will fail quicker than the more durable liquids. It has way outperformed the other spray on wipe offs. Cost aside, it looks to be a great choice for those that want a SOWO type product.

Both Duragloss products are still working , but 501 beads better and is likely going to outlast 105. Both last long enough that either is likely a good choice for an AIO if they are easy enough to use and offer enough corrective abilities to make the user happy (I haven't really evaluated that). I predict 501 will be longer lasting though.

Jescar Power Lock gets a big thumbs up! Easy on, easy off and very durable. This will likely be my liquid sealant of choice, and due to its' impressive performance I'm tempted to buy some colorlock and try it.

Collonite 845: I confess I've always heard people on here sing the praises of that product and am embarrassed to say that I have never tried it. It is still beading water like a duck's back and unless something dramatically changes looks like it might be the longevity winner.

Final note-I've always heard touch free car washes will "strip wax" and although true, it appears there are plenty of products that are reasonably durable and can withstand the chemical bath a reasonable number of times.

**ScottH** · 10-21-2018, 07:51 PM

Awesome test Greg. Thanks for those latest results. PS if you think Colly 845 is durable, try 476. You will be even more amazed.

ScottH

**Cruzscarwash** · 10-21-2018, 08:02 PM

A few things are they failing or just being masked because of the soaps/chemicals used?? Maybe try a reset wash and then drive through again just to make sure??

Also so I'm clear in case I missed something this is a touchless wash correct so no brushes??

Originally Posted by gregpack

Live observations that the camera didn't or isn't catching:

Meguiars UFF lasted longer than optiseal

Meguiars Utimate Paste is still there but is likely going to be the next to fail. With the potential trim staining a paste can cause I see no reason to use it so it is being culled from the product line.

Sonax Polymer Net Shield is lasting nicely but it's behavior is changing slightly so I predict it will fail quicker than the more durable liquids. It has way outperformed the other spray on wipe offs. Cost aside, it looks to be a great choice for those that want a SOWO type product.

Both Duragloss products are still working , but 501 beads better and is likely going to outlast 105. Both last long enough that either is likely a good choice for an AIO if they are easy enough to use and offer enough corrective abilities to make the user happy (I haven't really evaluated that). I predict 501 will be longer lasting though.

Jescar Power Lock gets a big thumbs up! Easy on, easy off and very durable. This will likely be my liquid sealant of choice, and due to its' impressive performance I'm tempted to buy some colorlock and try it.

Collonite 845: I confess I've always heard people on here sing the praises of that product and am embarrassed to say that I have never tried it. It is still beading water like a duck's back and unless something dramatically changes looks like it might be the longevity winner.

Final note-I've always heard touch free car washes will "strip wax" and although true, it appears there are plenty of products that are reasonably durable and can withstand the chemical bath a reasonable number of times.

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**Markymapo** · 10-22-2018, 10:05 AM

Based on all the data from these studies posted I put Collinite 845 on F150 a few weeks ago (my winter drive in northeast PA) will see how it holds up. My nonwinter drive (except when the roads are free of salt n snow n slush) is a Cayman S which I put Duragloss 111, looking forward to seeing how it holds up ( since it is a fair weather drive it should las pretty long). Thanks again for all this info.

**Cruzscarwash** · 10-22-2018, 10:28 AM

I'd like to see fk1000p tossed I'm this car wash mix

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**RippyD** · 10-22-2018, 12:44 PM

Great info, gregpack.

Markymapo, what year is your Cayman? Probably my favorite car, esp the flat 6 models. Trying hard to get my wife to swap her Boxster S for a Cayman S. Actually hoping for a GT4. (Friend of mine has a Cayman R for sale, which is also tempting.) How do you like DG 111 on your Cayman in terms of looks? Did you apply with DG 601, or by itself?

**gregpack** · 10-22-2018, 04:25 PM

Originally Posted by Cruzscarwash

A few things are they failing or just being masked because of the soaps/chemicals used?? Maybe try a reset wash and then drive through again just to make sure??

I'm going to assume not necessary because all the products are getting the same treatment. You can see which ones are still beading nicely HOWEVER, I will say that if I spray water on my dry hood many of these products are still beading. So they may still be offering some level of protection. I'll be the first to admit that this "study" is unscientific, but if greater hydrophobic qualities= greater protection then you can make some assumptions by their observed behavior.

Originally Posted by Cruzscarwash

Also so I'm clear in case I missed something this is a touchless wash correct so no brushes??

Correct, this is a touch free wash. I have a friction wash I may try soon and attempt to accelerate failure of products.

**RippyD** · 10-22-2018, 04:54 PM

100% with you. I often get inconsistent results after washing. That's why I started drying or waiting a day to check sheet. No idea what the cause is. As you mentioned, if it's not consistent across products does that say something about them? Not sure. I also get good beading on the areas of my hood with no product, which makes it even more confusing.