Durability Test: Wolfgang SiO2 Paint Sealant

[acuRAS82]

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.

As Desertnate mentioned, you can get try One Step and it might not be a big issue layering WG SiO2 on top. But if you want to ensure a bare surface and buy the WG dedicated polishes, you can probably get away with the Total Swirl Remover. It finishes very nicely on most paints with an orange pad. It will do light correction on softer paints with a white pad and finish perfect. It’s a very versatile polish.

Obviously use a paint prep wipe after polishing because TSR and FG are oily.

[Desertnate]

To add on to this advice, I'd say use whatever polish you want to.

Just because you're applying a Wolfgang sealant doesn't mean you have to use their polishes too, although they are high quality products. I'm pretty sure I used two different polishes on the car because I was trying to kill off old bottles sitting on my shelf. The key is to just make sure you remove all the residue in order to get the most out of the sealant.

[Desertnate]

Another six weeks have passed, so I thought I'd offer up an update. Sadly the latest version of Tapatalk will not run on my phone, so I don't have a way of easily/quickly uploading any pictures.

Due to some work being done to my house and my garage being turned into a materials storage facility, the car has sat out 24/7 since Feb 1. This also lined up to the time winter finally decided to make an appearance, so the car was subject to nearly four weeks of sub-freezing temps and snow on an almost daily basis. Salt and heavy road grime became the order of the day. For the last two weeks we've seen quite a bit of rain. Needless to say the car has seen the worst of it. Over this time, I've taken it through the touchless car wash once and hand washed it twice.

At this point I'm starting to see the sealant starting to degrade, but not horribly. The water beads are not as tight and uniform like they once were. They are starting to get the big, fat round beads you typically see with many sealants or waxes. Sheeting has slowed noticeably as well. When washing the car the water doesn't slip right off and a flood rinse doesn't leave the car mostly dry like it once did. Again, nothing terrible, but it used to be really good. With the slowing of the sheeting action, the self cleaning has dropped off some too. We're starting to see pollen build up and I've noticed a hard rain won't rinse the car as cleanly as it did last fall.

By my rough calculations, I'll hit the 5-month point next week. Based on what I've seen so far, the sealant should easily make it another month, maybe two. My only question right now is where the lifespan of this product would be if the car didn't live in the garage for nearly two months while I teleworked every day and the weather hadn't been unseasonably mild and dry until February.

[DUBL0WS6]

I have used the Wolfgang spray SIO2 sealant over the Wolfgang spray ceramic coating. The addition of the spray sealant really upped the wetness.

[Willbeen]

Another six weeks have passed, so I thought I'd offer up an update. Sadly the latest version of Tapatalk will not run on my phone, so I don't have a way of easily/quickly uploading any pictures.

Due to some work being done to my house and my garage being turned into a materials storage facility, the car has sat out 24/7 since Feb 1. This also lined up to the time winter finally decided to make an appearance, so the car was subject to nearly four weeks of sub-freezing temps and snow on an almost daily basis. Salt and heavy road grime became the order of the day. For the last two weeks we've seen quite a bit of rain. Needless to say the car has seen the worst of it. Over this time, I've taken it through the touchless car wash once and hand washed it twice.

At this point I'm starting to see the sealant starting to degrade, but not horribly. The water beads are not as tight and uniform like they once were. They are starting to get the big, fat round beads you typically see with many sealants or waxes. Sheeting has slowed noticeably as well. When washing the car the water doesn't slip right off and a flood rinse doesn't leave the car mostly dry like it once did. Again, nothing terrible, but it used to be really good. With the slowing of the sheeting action, the self cleaning has dropped off some too. We're starting to see pollen build up and I've noticed a hard rain won't rinse the car as cleanly as it did last fall.

By my rough calculations, I'll hit the 5-month point next week. Based on what I've seen so far, the sealant should easily make it another month, maybe two. My only question right now is where the lifespan of this product would be if the car didn't live in the garage for nearly two months while I teleworked every day and the weather hadn't been unseasonably mild and dry until February.

Great test of the sealant and much appreciated. I applied the same to my car about a year ago. I didn't get a chance to test the durability as I sold the car in September...although I washed it a couple of times per month with the WG Si02 wash which I was hoping would make the sealant effectively last a year.

[Markymapo]

Great update on longevity. If I still had my M4 this would be at the front of the line.

[Desertnate]

Great test of the sealant and much appreciated. I applied the same to my car about a year ago. I didn't get a chance to test the durability as I sold the car in September...although I washed it a couple of times per month with the WG Si02 wash which I was hoping would make the sealant effectively last a year.

I really don't think the sealant/wax infused washes will extend the life of any LSP. Those products are good for giving a little boost to the shine and I've found some make drying the car a little easier. However, I wouldn't count on them to offer much protection.

Hitting the LSP with a good spray sealant every couple of weeks would be the way to go if you are trying to extend the life of your sealant. At that point it's the spray sealant taking the abuse from the environment and not the base LSP. If you time applications correctly, you could theoretically go a very long time before it totally wore out.

[Desertnate]

As of Saturday, 17 April 2021, this test has come to an end when I polished the sealant off in preparation to apply a coating. If my math is correct, the Wolfgange SiO2 Sealant was on my car for eight days short of seven months.

I didn't end the test because I didn't like the sealant or it had degraded to the point I needed to apply something new. The opposite is true. I really liked this sealant and the stuff simply wouldn't die! Time and weather work against me in the spring when it comes to coating applications, and with a busy month ahead of me I couldn't wait any longer.

When I washed the car on Friday evening, the sealant was still making a strong showing of being present and working. In fact, after a couple good washings with Hyperwash, it might have actually IMPROVED from my last update. To the end it looked pretty good and grime, bug splatters and bird droppings were fairly easy to remove.

Overall I liked this sealant and it is really the only "modern" sealant I've used. Before jumping to coatings I used the Klasse Twins and then Collinite 845. Neither are exactly new! This sealant was far, far easier to apply, appears to be more durable, looks great, and has some coating-like (but not identical) water behavior. Where 845 tends to give a carnauba like deep glowing shine, the Wolfgang tends to be more glossy and reflective.

I'm not confident this test really stressed the Wolfgang sealant to it's full measure. My car spent the time between Thanksgiving and New Years mostly parked in the garage while I teleworked. It sat out through all of February and March which did subject it to some appalling winter weather, so that might of made up for the "easy" life it experienced before that. I'd be confident in saying it will last six months, maybe longer depending on climate.

[waddell64]

I picked up a bottle based on this thread to apply to my daily driver - black GMC pickup that sits outside 24X7. I plan on applying it here in the next month. Hoping it will last until the fall, which sounds very doable based on your test. Will hit it with Wolfgang SIO2 rinseless wash and Wolfgang Uber Silica Spray on occasion as a booster.

Thanks for this test.

[Desertnate]

Paring the sealant with the rinseless wash and the spray sealant should easily get you through the summer and much longer. I purposely didn't top this sealant with anything or use any "enhanced" soaps just to see how long it would last all on it's own. Boosting occasionally with a spray sealant should extend the life of the base LSP quite a bit.