Appearance: wax vs sealant

[AKT]

I'm not sure if this totally fits into this discussion but I'll toss it in anyways...

A couple of weeks ago a someone recommended Meguiars Paint Protect to another forum member but mentioned something along the lines of "it won't add gloss" or "doesn't do anything to improve the looks"... I've always disagreed with that assertion and whenever I hear it I can't help but wonder if the person saying has ever actually used the product themselves..

That same day I decided to do a little test on my own hood in order to show that contrary to popular belief, Meguiars Paint Protect does indeed add gloss, darken paint, and you can definitely see a difference.

I took these pics a couple of weeks ago, but never got around to posting about it until now.

1st I rinsed my hood in order to get the majority of the dust/dirt off. As we can see there's a healthy layer of protection already on the paint.





Then I wiped it clean using Mckee's N-914 and taped my hood down the middle in order to provide a 50/50. I then applied Meguiars Paint Protect on the left side of my hood and let it cure for 3-5min. before wiping it off.



Here's the after shots. 50/50 for all the people who claim it does nothing in terms of looks...





Picture speaks for itself.



Sealants get my vote.

The color does get darker or well-defined.

[AKT]

The color does get more "defined"

[PouncingPanzer]

All subjective. The whole warm shine vs. soft shine vs. crisp shine debate lol. Also, the quality of the surface you're applying it to plays a much larger factor in the post-protection shine and depth.

[Riff]

I'm not sure if this totally fits into this discussion but I'll toss it in anyways...

A couple of weeks ago a someone recommended Meguiars Paint Protect to another forum member but mentioned something along the lines of "it won't add gloss" or "doesn't do anything to improve the looks"... I've always disagreed with that assertion and whenever I hear it I can't help but wonder if the person saying has ever actually used the product themselves..

That same day I decided to do a little test on my own hood in order to show that contrary to popular belief, Meguiars Paint Protect does indeed add gloss, darken paint, and you can definitely see a difference.

I took these pics a couple of weeks ago, but never got around to posting about it until now.

1st I rinsed my hood in order to get the majority of the dust/dirt off. As we can see there's a healthy layer of protection already on the paint.





Then I wiped it clean using Mckee's N-914 and taped my hood down the middle in order to provide a 50/50. I then applied Meguiars Paint Protect on the left side of my hood and let it cure for 3-5min. before wiping it off.



Here's the after shots. 50/50 for all the people who claim it does nothing in terms of looks...





Picture speaks for itself.



Sealants get my vote.

Excellent test! There's definitely a difference that's easy to see. Even in just pictures.

I plan on running a few tests similar to this with different waxes and sealants.


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[ron3033]

Like Holy wow!! I am brand new, and signed up to the forum after I saw your photos of your car. Amazing! Could you give away your secret? I bought a used Challenger that needs a better shine, as the original owner just drove it. All photos are amazing, but the one showing the bikes is so neat. Sure would like to know what you used in each photo, and what you truly believe is the best of all Thanks ron3033

IMO, you'll see far more of a difference in a well polished fully corrected finish vs what you will ever see between waxes, sealants and coatings. Fully correct and beautify your finish and you'll catch the attention of onlookers for sure.

That said, the main difference I do notice with a coating is that the car seems to have a wet-candy appearance to it that is slightly above that of a great wax or sealant. Again, very subjective and my opinion when comparing the overall appearance of my vehicle done with both. I don't have a great side by side to compare but I will share that here are four photos I've posted here in various threads before. All show a different combination of products used. I'll leave it to your imagination as to which one shows a full carnauba wax, a synthetic sealant, a hybrid of the two and a ceramic coating.