Durability Test: Wolfgang SiO2 Paint Sealant

[Desertnate]

It's been a little over a month, so I thought I'd provide an update.

The weather has been unseasonably dry, but over the last month the car has seen a little snow, light road salt, and construction site mud on the road which led to a trip through a touchless wash. Yesterday, as a welcome back to commuting for work, it was treated to heavy rain and drizzle all day. Overall the car has sat in the garage since Thanksgiving and only been driven for short errands or a longer weekend drive to keep everything charged up and the tires round.

So far, the sealant is holding up nicely. I noticed after both the touchless wash and yesterday's rain, it "self-cleans" better than other sealants I've used and performs similar to a coating. Water beading is still good as you can see in the picture. Sheeting seems to be steady as well based on the rate the beads roll off the car while being driven.

[Sizzle Chest]

Thanks for the test and updates!!!

[acuRAS82]

It's been a little over a month, so I thought I'd provide an update.

The weather has been unseasonably dry, but over the last month the car has seen a little snow, light road salt, and construction site mud on the road which led to a trip through a touchless wash. Yesterday, as a welcome back to commuting for work, it was treated to heavy rain and drizzle all day. Overall the car has sat in the garage since Thanksgiving and only been driven for short errands or a longer weekend drive to keep everything charged up and the tires round.

So far, the sealant is holding up nicely. I noticed after both the touchless wash and yesterday's rain, it "self-cleans" better than other sealants I've used and performs similar to a coating. Water beading is still good as you can see in the picture. Sheeting seems to be steady as well based on the rate the beads roll off the car while being driven.

Was the touch-less wash one of those drive-thru touch-less or was it the park and wand spray? Not that it matters, just curious because the cleaning chemicals in washes definitely play a role in longevity. Good to see the sealant is still doing well after 3 months including some salt and touch-less.

[Desertnate]

Was the touch-less wash one of those drive-thru touch-less or was it the park and wand spray? Not that it matters, just curious because the cleaning chemicals in washes definitely play a role in longevity. Good to see the sealant is still doing well after 3 months including some salt and touch-less.

I was talking about a drive-thru touchless car wash, i.e. pull it into a bay and the robot arms spray all sorts of who-knows-what all over the car and then rinses it off. The one I frequent is pretty nice because it has an underbody spray option which is great for removing salt from the underbody and wheel wells. I think I'd call the bay/wand places simply a coin-op DIY wash. Funny thing is the place I take my car has all three options; bays with wands, one touchless, and two "tunnel of swirls" with brushes.

Funny side note about running the car though the touchless with this product. After I drove home and inspected the work I noticed a distinct line across the lower portion of my rear fenders on both sides. It was so crisp and distinct it looks like some of the 50/50 tape lines you see in people's posts. Above the line it was perfectly clean and below the line was the mud/salt/grim. Where the robots pressure heads sprayed, the Wolfgang shed the grime quite well and appeared perfectly clean. Where it didn't get sprayed...well...it stayed dirty. Often when I've used sealants in the past and ran through the touchless I could see remnant of the salt and grime that didn't totally wash away. My car is black, so it's pretty easy to see.

As I'm typing this, it's starting to snow and it's actually sticking to the ground, so maybe I'll actually get a chance to give this sealant a torture test after all....

[waddell64]

I knew I should have bought this when they were offering the 35% off sale, I just didn't want it sitting in my basement for a few months before I could use it.

Question for the group, I have a 2020 GMC Sierra - black, daily driver, sits outside all the time. Currently, it has Blackfire Hybrid Wax on it as the main protection applied in November and I think I applied some Blackfire Spray Wax on it sometime in December on a warm day. When spring emerges, I think the paint will still be in decent shape. I have some Blackfire OneStep here at the house, but is that a polish I could use prior to applying Wolfgang SiO2 Sealant? My thought is the sealant in OneStep, won't play nice with the Wolfgang SiO2 sealant even with wiping it down Perfect Finish prior to application.

I was thinking about getting some Wolfgang Finishing Glaze or Total Swirl Remover to use as a polish prior to application of the Wolfgang SiO2. What does everyone else use?

-Adam

[R/TED]

Do you have a polisher? If so, I would do a test spot with finishing glaze and a polishing pad. If you like the results continue on. If not, do the same with total swirl remover with a light cutting pad. After you are satisfied with the results, apply the Sio2 sealant. I have the sealant on my wife’s 2020 Tucson. Look and durability are fantastic. I use the Wolfgang SIO2 spray as a maintenance topper. Great combo.

[waddell64]

Do you have a polisher?

Yes, I have a Porter Cable 7424XP. I think I'll put an order in for both the Finishing Glaze and Total Swirl Remover when I order the SiO2 Sealant.

Thanks for the tip on the Wolfgang SiO2 spray.

[Desertnate]

You can get away with layering sealants much more easily than you do a coating.

The instructions for this Wolfgang sealant do say to do a wipe down with a panel prep before application, but I bet you could polish out the vehicle with the Blackfire and then follow up with a layer of this sealant and still be fine. Durability might not be as good since the sealant in the Blackfire will keep the Wolfgang from being applied to a bare surface, but I doubt you'd see any other ill effects.

[briarpatch]

Yes, I have a Porter Cable 7424XP. I think I'll put an order in for both the Finishing Glaze and Total Swirl Remover when I order the SiO2 Sealant.

Thanks for the tip on the Wolfgang SiO2 spray.

I will second the notion of the WG SIO2 sealant and then the SIO2 spray as a topper....it is a very good combination....posted this pic AGO's sister site...Autopia...tiny little beads from a very light rain

[R/TED]

Yes, I have a Porter Cable 7424XP. I think I'll put an order in for both the Finishing Glaze and Total Swirl Remover when I order the SiO2 Sealant.

Thanks for the tip on the Wolfgang SiO2 spray.

No problem, good luck!