Coating Vs Wax or Sealant

[Zubair]

Seeing many choose to coat because of longevity and time saving, I have a few questions:

Is a coating less prone or susceptible to swirling and scratching?

In the event of a swirl or scratch will the paint surface need to be repolished and the coating bought and applied again?

Can a coating be topped with a wax or sealant?

After applying the first coat does one wait 24 hours before applying a second coat?

How do the looks compare to waxes and sealants?

How does beading/sheeting compare to other lsp's?

Is the paint easier to keep clean after coating?

Is washing easier after coating?

Is the paint protection better than traditional lsp's?

Is there additional maintenance required for coating?

What are the pros and cons of coating?

If I think of more questions will post but for now would like to know the above as coating is not that big in my country.

[Mike Phillips]

Seeing many choose to coat because of longevity and time saving, I have a few questions:

Is a coating less prone or susceptible to swirling and scratching?

It can still be scratched or swirled but in most cases offers more scratch resistance than a traditional wax or synthetic paint sealant.

In the event of a swirl or scratch will the paint surface need to be re-polished and the coating bought and applied again?

Yes.

Can a coating be topped with a wax or sealant?

Yes. You lose the characteristics of the coating and gain the characteristics of the topper.

After applying the first coat does one wait 24 hours before applying a second coat?

Most coatings are not made to be "layered" you need to read the directions for each brand.

How do the looks compare to waxes and sealants?

I think most create a very glossy or glassy look...

How does beading/sheeting compare to other LSP's?

I'm going to say that varies between brands as there are various substances used for different brands.

Is the paint easier to keep clean after coating?

In my opinion and experienced the answer is "yes". But it's very important to still wash the car/paint GENTLY. I cover the topics of

• The aggressive approach to washing a car
• The gentle approach to washing a car

In my first how-to book. You'd be surprised that most people don't think about it.

Is washing easier after coating?

On you? Not really. You do the same amount of work, you now dip a wash mitt into a bucket, etc.

Is the paint protection better than traditional LSP's?

Longevity is better. I'm not sure if anything will stop a corrosive bird dropping from causing damage if left on the paint too long.

Is there additional maintenance required for coating?

Each brand on the market has their own recommendations and many have follow-up or maintenance products tailored to their coating.

What are the pros and cons of coating?

That would make a great standalone thread. As in, copy and paste that question and start a dedicated thread.

If I think of more questions will post but for now would like to know the above as coating is not that big in my country.

Not just for you but for all the members or lurkers that will read this thread into the future....

A tip to help yourself get great answers when you start a thread



Most people don't know how to use the multi-quote feature of vBulletin software or the "Edit View" feature of vBulletin software to break up a lot of questions like you posted to make answering them "read easier" like I did. So by asking just a few questions in a single post you'll get more and better answers.

When you ask a lot of questions a lot of the time you'll scare people away from answering because it's easer to not answer. Getting great answers is in part about making it easy for people to answer you.

We have great forum members too....

[Mike Phillips]

.....

How to use the "Editor Mode" to break a single quoted message up into smaller quoted sections


Just for reference....

[Zubair]

Thanks Mike for the responses and advice, much appreciated

[swanicyouth]

You should look into Synergy. It's a wax that has some coating like properties to it. It ain't cheap - but IMHO it's worth it for ease of use, maintenance is just applying another coat, and you just can re-apply after any polishing.

Also, you don't have to worry about high spots or coating failure. I've tried a lot of waxes - and Synergy is tough to beat.

If your like most of us, you will likely be polishing your car way before the coating expires. With Synergy - you can just slap on another coat and be done with it.

[Zubair]

Thanks, my questions are hypothetical as I am curious more than anything about coating and deciding if its a possibility in future. The Synergy looks good but at $200 ouch! I doubt I would move over to a coating as detailing-polishing/waxing for me is therapeutic,calming and relaxing, I just zone out for those few hours, so coating would take away from that experience.

[custmsprty]

[QUOTE= I doubt I would move over to a coating as detailing-polishing/waxing for me is therapeutic,calming and relaxing, I just zone out for those few hours, so coating would take away from that experience.[/QUOTE]

Well said