Alright sealant freaks, school me!!

mhadden said:
I've been using UPGP with no problems. Though, I must admit I never got into the Zaino thing. Just like the OP, there's something about them that I don't like or trust. I guess I'll have to eventually buy it and try it myself. UPGP is a bite when you want to apply multiple coats (12 hour waiting time), but when I had a weekend to spare on the CR-V, it paid off.
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I found this interesting. You trust a product that claimed to be world champion and has an unproven track record vs. one that has been praised for more than 5 years?



I personally like Ultima, but found that the look dropped after 6 weeks (not noticable by itself, but compared to JW twins and Zaino, very noticable) and beading fell of hard at the end of the 3rd month.



Now I guess it would be fair to test UPGP vs. Clear Seal vs. OS since they are all the same, but the thing is, I don't like spray on-walk away products. I am the type of person who always wants the best product, look, for my car. So I understanding using a spray on-walk away sealant for the time saving aspect, but it would always bother me to know that better stuff is out there, even if it takes longer to apply. I personally would put 5 coats of Zaino against any LSP out there (even if the look is "different) on most color paints.



So I am the type of person who will spend 5 hours getting 100 percent as opposed to 10 minutes getting 95 percent, because it will drive me crazy knowing the other 5 percent is out there.



But I have paralayed this OCD into a profitable bussiness that I love doing, so :D
 
TH0001 said:
I found this interesting. You trust a product that claimed to be world champion and has an unproven track record vs. one that has been praised for more than 5 years?



I personally like Ultima, but found that the look dropped after 6 weeks (not noticable by itself, but compared to JW twins and Zaino, very noticable) and beading fell of hard at the end of the 3rd month.



Now I guess it would be fair to test UPGP vs. Clear Seal vs. OS since they are all the same, but the thing is, I don't like spray on-walk away products. I am the type of person who always wants the best product, look, for my car. So I understanding using a spray on-walk away sealant for the time saving aspect, but it would always bother me to know that better stuff is out there, even if it takes longer to apply. I personally would put 5 coats of Zaino against any LSP out there (even if the look is "different) on most color paints.



So I am the type of person who will spend 5 hours getting 100 percent as opposed to 10 minutes getting 95 percent, because it will drive me crazy knowing the other 5 percent is out there.



But I have paralayed this OCD into a profitable bussiness that I love doing, so :D
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The first step is admitting you have a problem, haha! Seriously thought, there's nothing wrong with seeking perfection, Lot's of people can't tell the difference between 95-100% so for them the WOWA is the $h1T!
 
Two cents from the snowy Catskill Mountains of Upstate New York. My current routine is a full detail in May with 2 coats of Zaino Z-2 Pro, and than periodic CS-Z, with a last coat of CS-Z being applied at the end of October. It's been 6 months, and the cars (3 or them) are still beading pretty much as I remember from last October. Others may have different results, but as far as winter durability is concerned, I very pleased with Zaino.
 
Zaino is one of the best. I don't like the marketing, though. Sal Zaino has everyone convinced that somehow Zaino won't bond to anything other than a Dawn-washed, Z-AIO (used to be Z1) prepped surface and you need to mix up a batch of ZFX-activated Z5, then layer it 2 times (with Z6 in between) and then top coat it with Z2. All of that is fine and does work, but it scares so many people away, thinking they'll need a whole weekend to was their car. The truth is that you DON'T need anything except their sealant, either Z2 or Z5 will do. It's a good product, but I think too much emphasis has been put on selling all the ancillary products (which are good, but not necessary).
 
detaildoc said:
Tried many, keep going back to UPGP. Zaino still looks too plastic for my taste.
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Me too, at least on some paints. I like Werkstat now. I have tried Z8 on Werkstat and it's pretty sweet.
 
Zaino works better on an oil free surface. I've used Z2pro without ZFX and it works but not as well and not for as long. Western PA has some harsh conditions and Zaino has been the most consistant for me with proper prep. Collinite's pretty good stuff too.
 
buja said:
nothing beats the convenience and ease of Optimum Opti-Seal , and there's no denying that.



as for the quality of sealants in general, it is up to individual preference.

just like how you mentioned that zaino is not for you, some ppl love it.



given that the prices of such products are reasonable and competitive these days, no harm in trying them all out.

after all that's the joy of being in this detailing scene. try as many as you can , and enjoy the results
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I completely agree with this post.



Opti-Seal has worked very good for me. Not only is application very easy (you wipe it on and walk away), I have found it's durability to be very good. The final kicker is the fact that it also looks great, with good wetness and even some depth (for a sealant).



As stated above, I love trying new stuff, and Sealants have been my real weakness. My current favorite is OS, but try as many as you can over the next 6 months to a year and see what you like.
 
TH0001 said:
I found this interesting. You trust a product that claimed to be world champion and has an unproven track record vs. one that has been praised for more than 5 years?



I personally like Ultima, but found that the look dropped after 6 weeks (not noticable by itself, but compared to JW twins and Zaino, very noticable) and beading fell of hard at the end of the 3rd month.



Now I guess it would be fair to test UPGP vs. Clear Seal vs. OS since they are all the same, but the thing is, I don't like spray on-walk away products. I am the type of person who always wants the best product, look, for my car. So I understanding using a spray on-walk away sealant for the time saving aspect, but it would always bother me to know that better stuff is out there, even if it takes longer to apply. I personally would put 5 coats of Zaino against any LSP out there (even if the look is "different) on most color paints.



So I am the type of person who will spend 5 hours getting 100 percent as opposed to 10 minutes getting 95 percent, because it will drive me crazy knowing the other 5 percent is out there.



But I have paralayed this OCD into a profitable bussiness that I love doing, so :D
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Your "test" would have been far more meaningful had you chosen to apply the UPGP properly, ie with UPPP. I found it interesting that when this was pointed out to you, you solicited a donation of the product, but failed to respond to my offer to send you some (for free, of course). When you are starting out looking for a particular outcome, that desired outcome is far easier to achieve.
 
mrfjsw294 said:
My 3 coats of Z wore off in just 3 months of mild fall weather. But the shine and depth was simply amazing!



It just boggles me that two different people can get two totally different results from the same products.
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As I've been saying for some time, it's because we've been conditioned to believe that beading is a measure of durability.



With sealants, beading is a measure of beading. Nothing more.
 
I would recommend the Z-AIO, and Z-CS combo for an easy "wax" job. It's going on 5 months on my sister's accord. http://www.autopia.org/forum/detailing-product-discussion/101002-06-accord-protected-z-aio-z-cs-vs-real-world.html



It's experienced some winter conditions (except snow/freezing rain), heavy rain and hot temps all in the past 4-5 months, and I believe it's still holding up.



The best durable combo I've used was Z-2pro x 2 with ZFX, and topped it with Z-CS on that same car a year ago, and got at least 8 months of protection without using any wax booster or QD.
 
Alfisti said:
As I've been saying for some time, it's because we've been conditioned to believe that beading is a measure of durability.



With sealants, beading is a measure of beading. Nothing more.
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So how do you judge the durability of a sealant?
 
Rob Tomlin said:
So how do you judge the durability of a sealant?
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I pick some characteristic that I value and refresh the sealant when that characteristic shows an unwelcome change. Which is basically the same thing I do with *any* LSP.



With UPP it's slickness, with KSG it's smoothness, dirt-shedding, and the "SG feel" (though I usually refresh the KSG as soon as the beading drops off a little). With BF I went mainly by feel, when it felt less smooth/slick I reapplied.



The sealants are probably still doing their job after the above-mentioned changes, but as soon as something I value drops off, I want to make it IMO-right again. It's not like that results in frequent sealant applications, with the exception of the UPP (and I'll sometimes just use the UPP spray or even UGE to refresh it).
 
Accumulator said:
I pick some characteristic that I value and refresh the sealant when that characteristic shows an unwelcome change. Which is basically the same thing I do with *any* LSP.



With UPP it's slickness, with KSG it's smoothness, dirt-shedding, and the "SG feel" (though I usually refresh the KSG as soon as the beading drops off a little). With BF I went mainly by feel, when it felt less smooth/slick I reapplied.



The sealants are probably still doing their job after the above-mentioned changes, but as soon as something I value drops off, I want to make it IMO-right again. It's not like that results in frequent sealant applications, with the exception of the UPP (and I'll sometimes just use the UPP spray or even UGE to refresh it).
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That makes sense. I have used UPP as well, and must say that the slickness disappears pretty quickly.



Accumulator, can you check in on this thread and give your opinion?



http://www.autopia.org/forum/machine-polishing/106306-curious-your-rotary-pad-size-type.html
 
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