Sealant comparison

[Prange]

RippyD, outstanding job.

Thank you for all the work you're putting into this. It's much appreciated.

[Vegas1]

RippyD, outstanding job.

Thank you for all the work you're putting into this. It's much appreciated.

Agreed! Thanks!


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[Markymapo]

Thanks for the update. Looking forward to the next readout

[RippyD]

Added 9 products to the Rover. These have all been tested before, but I like to see at least 2 tests per product. More than 2 if I see high variability.

I washed it as usual. Then polished it with DG 652 (Pre-cleaner #2). This seem to be a paint cleaner. Not sure if it has any cut. I used it because it was sitting there and I don't recall using it before. I did 4 panels with 1 LC white pad. Should have used 2 - the pad was filthy. Other have said it dusts badly. I got 0 dust. Maybe it gets dusty if you overwork it or let it dry too long? I used it inside, did 2 passes, and removed it quickly. It comes off easily.

Just to be safe I think went over the DG 652 with DG squeaky clean and washed the car with Reset again. I applied these products in the garage with a heater going. It's about 55 degrees in there, but will be warmer under the tarp I threw over the car. No rain expected for the next few days so I can get it back in the garage to finish baking for another night or two.



I accidentally removed an application of Bead-It on the passenger side front door that wasn't done. I'll removed that test from the spreadsheet. The sealants that needed to cure before being removed got at least 30 minutes and I gave them all the finger wipe test to ensure they were dry.

I added:

Duragloss 111
Stoner Bead Max
303 Graphene
Opt OptiSeal
Jescar Power Lock+
Dodo Red Mist
Sonus SFX-4 (NOTE: This looked bad. It separated and no amount of shaking would make it look homogenous).
CarPro Reload
Scholl Concepts Barracuda Speed Wax

Optiseal wins for ease of application. Wipe on and walk away is very nice. The ones that need to cure are not my favorite. Not a lot more effort, but you have to wait and there's the risk of removing too early: DG 111, Bead Max, 303 Graphene, Power Lock+, SFX-4. The others are wipe-on-wipe-off: Red Mist, Reload, Barracuda. If I'm going to wait for something to cure, it may as well be something that lasts a long time.

Passenger side:

• SFX-4: passenger side, front door, front
• DG 111: passenger side, front door, middle
• Power Lock+: passenger side, front door, rear
• Bead-It: passenger side rear door, front
• Bead Max: passenger side rear door, rear
• Bead Max: passenger side, rear panel

Driver side:

• OptiSeal: driver side, front door, front
• Red Mist: driver side, front door, middle
• 303 Graphene: driver side, front door, rear
• Barracuda: driver side, rear door, front
• Reload: driver side, rear door, rear
• Reload: driver side, rear panel

[Prange]

Optiseal plays nice with every sealant or wax I've used. I've tried it underneath and on top, no issues. And a bottle lasts near forever.

[RippyD]

Washed with CarPro Reset and a Big Red Sponge, as usual.

There is some issue with most of the newly applied sealants taking longer than expected to sheet water. I suspect that these didn't cure fully due to the temperature. I had them in the garage with a heat going, but they were at ~55+ degrees for 10 hours, then outside in colder temps, then rained on 2 days later. It could be this is not enough heat to get these to cure. I'll see how they do, but these tests may have to be discarded. For example, newly applied Bead-It is taking 8 seconds to sheet water. This can't be right. I'll work on getting the garage warmer. The bigger issue is keeping the car in there long enough to ensure good curing. Need think about this.

Video
Passenger side:

• SFX-4: passenger side, front door, front - 4 seconds
• DG 111: passenger side, front door, middle - 3 seconds
• Power Lock+: passenger side, front door, rear - 4 seconds
• Bead-It: passenger side rear door, front - 8 seconds
• Bead Max: passenger side rear door, rear - 2 seconds
• Bead Max: passenger side, rear panel - 1 second

Driver side:

• OptiSeal: driver side, front door, front - 5 seconds
• Red Mist: driver side, front door, middle - 2 seconds
• 303 Graphene: driver side, front door, rear - 2 seconds
• Barracuda: driver side, rear door, front - 7 seconds
• Reload: driver side, rear door, rear - 7 seconds
• Reload: driver side, rear panel - 8 seconds

[RippyD]

These results are from last Saturday, 11/20. I washed the car with CarPro Reset and a Big Red Sponge. The newly applied sealants are all done. They should all be performing well, so I have to assume they didn't get enough heat and/or time to cure. (Assuming this is a chemical reaction taking place when they cure, they will cure faster with more heat and more slowly with less heat. Below some temp they likely cure so slowly that they essentially won't cure. Not an expect - just recollecting from my college chem 100 years ago.)

I'll throw out the tests for the sealants I applied Oct 29th. Everything else is done. Bead-It and Bead Max both went over 6 months. Reload went about 3 months.

Video
Passenger side:

• SFX-4: passenger side, front door, front - 20 seconds
• DG 111: passenger side, front door, middle - 15 seconds
• Power Lock+: passenger side, front door, rear - 17 seconds
• Bead-It: passenger side rear door, front - 16 seconds
• Bead Max: passenger side rear door, rear - 15 seconds
• Bead Max: passenger side, rear panel - 6 seconds

Driver side:

• OptiSeal: driver side, front door, front - 14 seconds
• Red Mist: driver side, front door, middle - 13 seconds
• 303 Graphene: driver side, front door, rear - 13 seconds
• Barracuda: driver side, rear door, front - 14 seconds
• Reload: driver side, rear door, rear - 14 seconds
• Reload: driver side, rear panel - 20 seconds

As of now there are no products working on the Rover. I need to do a better job of getting heat to help cure these sealants, or wait for March or April to re-apply.

Correction edit: at 6 seconds, Bead Max on the passenger side rear panel is still working, but 6 seconds is far too slow given how recently I applied it. So it's not working well. Everything else is working at about the sheeting duration with no product.

Spreadsheet is updated and the tests for sealants applied a few weeks ago have been removed.

[RippyD]

Trying this again. I didn't tent the car with a heater last time. With the tarp used to tent the heater I'm seeing temps where I applied product between 64 and 74 degrees F. That may get warmer during the night, or that may be as much heat as it can trap. Not sure yet.

Edit: Checked after a couple of hours and the coolest temp under the tarp is 74, the warmest is 78. I think it's going to work just fine giving those 8 more hours under there.

Edit2: Check a couple of hours after the last check. Coolest temp was 72k the warmest near the heater was 92. Maybe next time I'll used a small fan to move the air around.

The passenger side doors now have 303 graphene, Optiseal, Dodo Red Mist, Scholl's Baracuda, and Tec Ceramic Detail Spray. Griots 3-in-1 Ceramic is on the way and I need to test CarPro EliXir again. I'll try to get those and a few others added next week.

Passenger side:

• 303 Graphene: passsenger side, front door, front
• OptiSeal: passenger side, front door, middle
• Red Mist: passenger side, front door, rear
• EliXir: passenger side rear door, front
• Tec CDS: passenger side rear door, rear

I washed those panels with CarPro Reset right before applying product. I let the products and the panels warm up to at least 60 degrees before applying. I did not use DG Squeaky Clean or any other product to remove the previous sealants like I usually do. I wanted to get them heating up ASAP. Based on how those panels performed I don't think there is much product left. It's a small risk but I think it should be fine.

These will get ~11 hours at 64-74 degrees. I think (or hope) that will be adequate. It's going to rain tomorrow, so they will get wet as soon as they go outside tomorrow morning.

[RippyD]

Tested this 5 products applied. Washed with CarPro Reset as usual.

It did not go well. Even with heat these products did not cure well. I suspect the issue is them getting wet ~11 hours after being applied. The 303 Graphene bottle says it can get we immediately after being applied. Perhaps they mean a little water, rather than getting rained on. This suggest to me that these sealants (maybe most sealants?) need a day in warm weather without rain to cure correctly.

Passenger side (video):

• 303 Graphene: 13 seconds
• OptiSeal: Passenger side: 18 seconds
• Red Mist: 20 seconds
• EliXir: 11 seconds
• Tec CDS: 3 seconds

Unfortunately, I guess this means I'm done until Spring unless I can get the Rover indoors for 24 hours+ with some heat.

[RippyD]

Short update: still around. I moved and am trying to get the old house ready to sell. No free time for car stuff. Hoping to get some products applied by mid-June to start testing. Unlikely before then.

We have a had a few days warm and dry enough to apply product, but not may. It's been a wet May here.