Sealant Roundup

K

ko1234

New member
Currently I am using Klasse SG as my sealant. I bought the Klasse twins before I discovered Autopia. I've read that the looks of KSG are not the greatest and that there are better products available. Although KSG doesn't look bad for me, especially after two coats, I think I can find a sealant with better depth and gloss with just one coat. I've seen before and after photos and videos on the web of other sealants and I'm tempted to try them.



I have read so many "which product is best" threads by now that I know opinions vary; there is no "best" product in any category. Advice is typically to try a few products and decide for yourself which works for you. While I agree this is a good way to explore detailing products, I am only a hobbyist. I have a full time job and detail only for fun. It is not economical for me at this point to accumulate several products to try.



My other hobbies are not exactly cheap either. This doesn't help when I tell the wife I want to try a new polish. :argue:



Some detailing suppliers offer small samples, which is great, but not all of the products I want to try are available in samples. I have Menzerna FG400 for a compound, which I love and will probably stick with. I have M205 for a finishing polish. It's been good, but I'd like to try HD Polish and Menzerna SF4500 (PO85RD). My goal is to find a sealant I will be very pleased with.



The sealants I am most interested in are:



  • HD Poxy
  • Menzerna Power Lock
  • Blackfire Wet Diamond (samples available from AutoGeek)
  • Opti-Seal
  • DG 105/111

I'm also tempted to try Opti-Coat, but I'm on the fence about trying out coatings. Perhaps I'll stick with traditional sealants for now.



Would anyone be willing to sell or trade small amounts (~1 oz) of the above sealants so I can do some comparisons? I will surely post the results here on Autopia... for science! :nerd1:
 
KO, welcome aboard! Assuming you are in the USA, I'll send you a 3oz sample of HD Poxy for $5 (to cover the shipping). I've also got a new bottle of DG 105.
 
tom p. said:
KO, welcome aboard! Assuming you are in the USA, I'll send you a 3oz sample of HD Poxy for $5 (to cover the shipping). I've also got a new bottle of DG 105.
Click to expand...



Thanks, Tom! You are most gracious. Yes, I am in the US. I will send you a PM with more info.
 
Any of those sealants will be easier to use than klasse glaze. Wipe-off is gonna be waaaay easier :)



Klasse has fantastic durability, though, ime.
 
ko1234 said:
Currently I am using Klasse SG as my sealant. I bought the Klasse twins before I discovered Autopia. I've read that the looks of KSG are not the greatest and that there are better products available. Although KSG doesn't look bad for me, especially after two coats, I think I can find a sealant with better depth and gloss with just one coat...
Click to expand...



FWIW, I always thought KSG looked best around the fourth coat, though I'd apply six or so for maximum protection and durability.



With only one coat, about the only product I'd trust (protection-wise) is FK1000P, and I'd get another coat of that on there pretty fast too.



But then I've never tried Poxy and plenty of people think that it really is all that....
 
jlb85 said:
Any of those sealants will be easier to use than klasse glaze. Wipe-off is gonna be waaaay easier :)



Klasse has fantastic durability, though, ime.
Click to expand...



I noticed this during application. KSG is by far the most difficult to remove, even if it's applied thin.
 
toyotaguy said:
that many coats...might as well apply 22PLE, or Cquartz, or exo
Click to expand...



The nice thing about KSG is you can always add a layer after a wash. Also you can make a QD/Booster by adding 3 parts water to one part KSG. And lastly, KSG does a great job at filling in minor swirls, better than anything else I've used. And it fills for a long time.



ko1234 said:
I noticed this during application. KSG is by far the most difficult to remove, even if it's applied thin.
Click to expand...



Sure its harder than most, but if you apply thin and its not too humid, its not that bad at all. You either have to remove it quick or wait 12+ hours for it to be really easy.
 
Another nice thing about the KSG is the way it can protect against minor marring, even from what I consider rather significant contact-events. No, it's not a coating, but I've never had *any* other conventional LSP provide that kind of protection; I've had "oops!"es that should've resulted in really bad marring, but nope...no damage at all thanks to the (heavily layered) KSG.



Heh heh, all this talk about it makes me think about doing one of my vehicles with the stuff next time I have a big redo.



toyotaguy said:
that many coats...might as well apply 22PLE, or Cquartz, or exo
Click to expand...



AFAIK, those don't lend themselves to spot-repairs the way a conventional LSP (e.g., KSG) does, and the layers can be built up over time, doing as much/little as circumstances allow.



ko1234 said:
.. KSG is by far the most difficult to remove, even if it's applied thin...
Click to expand...



Huh, I hear that now and then, but I've simply *never* experienced it :nixweiss Maybe it's because I always fog the surface with my breath when buffing off LSPs, but for some reason my KSG simply wipes off almost effortlessly just like most any other LSP.



Eh, if it's not the right LSP for somebody, then OK by me. Plenty of other products to choose from these days.
 
I'm in the honeymoon phase with Wolfgang DGPS 3.0 right now. I've only used it on one of my vehicles so far (space grey BMW), but loving it.



I have not tried KSG, yet.
 
Dan said:
Sure its harder than most, but if you apply thin and its not too humid, its not that bad at all. You either have to remove it quick or wait 12+ hours for it to be really easy.
Click to expand...



I waited overnight to buff it off (about 14 hours) and it was still significantly harder to buff off than the other 3 products (DG 105, BFWD, and HD Poxy). I spread it as thin as it would go and still haze. It was humid when I applied it and when I buffed it off though.



I'm still going to test all 4 for longevity, but I've pretty much already eliminated KSG (because it can be finicky and because it contains glaze) and DG 105 (because it contains cleaners). I knew this going into the comparison. Still I wanted to throw them in the mix. I would gladly use either on customer's cars though.
 
I'm looking for more sealant samples for round 2 to put up against the winner of round 1:



  • 4 Star UPP
  • WGDGPS 3.0
  • Auto Finesse Power Seal
  • Sonus SFX-4 Paint Sealant with Polycharger



Please PM me if you are interested in trading or selling a 1-3 oz. sample of any of these. Thanks!



By the way, it's coming up on 3 weeks since application of round 1 products. I'm going to post beading and sheeting videos of round 1 soon.
 
Dan said:
Also you can make a QD/Booster by adding 3 parts water to one part KSG.
Click to expand...



How does it perform over sealants other than KSG? On the KSG bottle it says that KAIO should be used prior to applying KSG to ensure optimal bonding. I wonder how well this KSG "QD" spray bonds to other products.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top