How long will brand x car wax or paint sealant last?

[Mike Phillips]

How long will brand x car wax or paint sealant last?

New Sensationalism!




How long will brand x car wax or paint sealant last?

The above question is probably one of the most asked questions by people when it comes to choosing a wax or paint sealant. There is no definitive answer to this question because there are so many factors that have an influence or affect the length of time a protective coating will last that most of us have no control over, things like how a car is washed or the environment and climate our vehicles are exposed to.


Simply put...

"Anything chemically corrosive enough or abrasive enough to physically damage a modern, factory clear coat finish is also strong enough or abrasive enough to damage the micron, or sub-micron layer of protection you apply as a paste, liquid or spray-on wax"



What can you do to protect your auto investment?
The most important thing you can do is try to park your car under some kind of cover when not in use, like a garage or carport. The next most important thing you can do is keep the car clean so dirt, road grime and other contaminants cannot build-up on the surface, mix with moisture and attack the finish. Besides these two things, then next best thing you can do is to maintain a layer of protection on all the painted surfaces.

I've seen first hand the Uric Acid in a bird dropping etch paint in less than 10 minutes after the paint had been compounded, polished and sealed with two coats of wax.

A car wax, or a paint sealant is a Sacrificial Barrier Coating. That is it's a coating you and I can easily apply that will slow down the harmful effects of corrosive elements that land on the paint and/or anything else harmful that comes into contact with the paint. Key words being slow down, not 100% stop or prevent.

The idea being that as your car's finish sees wear-and-tear and the wax or paint sealant wears off or in other words, sacrifices itself so your paint doesn't have to sacrifice itself, that you and I can then wash the car to remove any loose dirt, clay the paint if needed to remove any above surface bonded contaminants, and then re-apply our choice of wax or paint sealant whether it's a liquid, paste or spray-on product.


The key is to,

"Find something you like and use it often"


If you find something you like then obviously you like,

• How it applies
• How it dries or doesn't dry in the case of a non-drying wax
• How it wipes off
• how it looks
• How you perceive it to last
• How you perceive it to protect

That's pretty much the majority of reasons we all wax our cars.

Then... if you do this often... your car's finish will always look new. It's only when you and I neglect our car's finish and the car is used as a daily driver and thus exposed to the elements and wear-and-tear, that finish goes down hill without intervention.


How often is often?

If you park your car in a garage and only drive it on sunny Sundays then you won't have to re-apply any company's wax or paint sealant very often in order to maintain that show room new look.

If you drive your car everyday, and for a portion of each day it's parked outside, for example when you're at work, and/or when you're home if you don't have a garage or covered parking at your place of residence to shelter the paint, then you will have to re-apply any company's wax or paint sealant more often in order to maintain that show room new look.

Pretty simple really...


The good news...
Modern clear coats are actually pretty tough compared to automotive paints commonly used before clear coat paint technology was introduced starting in the 1980's. For most people, the best defense is a good offense, so find a premium quality car wash that offers safe cleaning ability with good lubricating characteristics and maintain a layer of protection using your favorite wax or paint sealant.

[waxman1]

well i had a test hood that i had several 6 in by 12in areas,and put all kinds of waxes,sealants,etc and most lasted about the same. some were less than a mo,others were longer. all were applied by the instuctions on the bottle. it was a red s10 hood from a body shop that was slightly bent. paint was good. sat it on saw horses outside,washed it every wk.didnt treat any spot separate from the others. carbrite,mothes,meguiars,detail plus,pink wax,kit,turtlewax,eagleone, "oem " paint sealant,and others used. just what i had laying around.

[BobbyG]

Anyone that owns a car or truck should religiously maintain its finish much like they change the oil and filter.

Washing, Sealing, and Waxing the vehicles finish will help it keep looking fresh and bright almost indefinitely. Now you might want to throw in an occasional clay and polish but I think you get what I mean..

[James K]

All great info Mike, but if I may ask one question. When will autogeek start carrying sensationalism sealant? I would like to order some.

Thanks.

[slimnib]

If some say's to you . I buy my cars new and never keep them more than 3 years.
I have them hand washed every two- three weeks and I never wax or polish and they look great up to the date I sell it. I have no need to go through all that detaling stuff.

What is your answer?

[Mike Phillips]

If some say's to you . I buy my cars new and never keep them more than 3 years.
I have them hand washed every two- three weeks and I never wax or polish and they look great up to the date I sell it. I have no need to go through all that detaling stuff.

What is your answer?

"Find something you like and use it often"


Hey in the hypothetical situation you describe all I can say is more power to the person...

Doing nothing to a clear coat finish except washing it won't make it look better and better, sooner or later the quality will degrade just from swirls and scratches accumulated by washing and drying.

You might only see this degradation on a medium to dark color car, not a light color or especially as silver metallic finish but it's taking place.

I met a guy once that used the entry level Turtle Wax product on his Bronco's paint and the paint looked pretty good. The key to his success was to wash and wax often, i.e. maintenance.

Point being is I really don't care too much what a person uses or if they use nothing at all as long as they're happy.

[michelliot]

I have no need to go through all that detaling stuff.

Then why would you be a senior member with 509 posts

I'm confused

[jankerson]

If some say's to you . I buy my cars new and never keep them more than 3 years.
I have them hand washed every two- three weeks and I never wax or polish and they look great up to the date I sell it. I have no need to go through all that detaling stuff.

What is your answer?

You could go into the explanation...

You could look at their car and if it's swirled out and likely will be you could point that out.

Compare it to what you are driving...

But for the most part if someone is like that... Well you will have to decide if they are worth your time and effort to even begin a conversation.

And even if you did convince them to actually work on their car you will have to make a judgement call based on their attitude if you would really want to do it..... And deal with that type of person..... They are going to want the whole world for nothing believe me and it will never be right because they spent money on it......

[Evan.J]

Any one see that was from July of 2011?

[dpk20x]

Then why would you be a senior member with 509 posts

I'm confused

I think you need to re read what he wrote. He was asking for advice on how to deal with customers who said that sort of thing. Also this thread is over 2 years old