Wolfgang SiO2 Paint Sealant versus Traditional Sealants - Test!

[Lonnie]

acuRAS82:
Thank you for sharing your evaluations of and experiences with sealants. I can say with confidence that Autopians such as yourself who take the time to post their photos and type out extensive information as you have done, not to mention buying the various car-care products and using them on your own personal vehicle as a "test mule" are invaluable to this Autopian detailing fraternity/community. We all benefit from your efforts and it is not lost on myself of the influence this forum has had on my detailing craft/skills/methodologies and product purchases, and for that I and many others are deeply grateful.

I do like the fact that you mentioned Collinite 915 Marque D`elegance wax. It is THE one LSP I have used extensively for a long-lasting carnauba-llke look. It may be "old school", but for someone who IS "old school", it still appeals to me (Wax on/wax off).

That said, car-care manufacturers new offering of ceramic waxes and post-wax application ceramic sprays has piqued my interest. It is the next advancement in car-care products and if it can provide "old school" application and removal methodologies with new SIO2/ceramic care-care chemical technology and desired LSP characteristics at an affordable price (at least to a hobbyist such as myself), I am all for it.

 

[Accumulator]

I bought my UPP in 2018. Mine is tan...

Ah, OK...at least now I know which of mine is the older one Not that I`ve ever noticed any functional diffs...I do wonder whether they`ve improved it in a huge way since I got mine, but I`m too gun-shy to try it again since I`ve latched onto the FK.

Accumulator, I would not worry about a small test area of mine discrediting your recommendations. You’ve used this over and over, as have many others here. My instance is a first use applied to a tiny area. No one should let my result keep them away from such a highly praised product.

Well, I do want to know about these differing experiences and you`re one more of the "but then OTOH..." counter-examples that I want to always mention as part of the usual "!YMMV!" caveats. I`m pretty, uhm...adamant...about my recommendations, but IMO that means I gotta be especially responsible about `em not biting anybody too.

 

[acuRAS82]

acuRAS82:
Thank you for sharing your evaluations of and experiences with sealants. I can say with confidence that Autopians such as yourself who take the time to post their photos and type out extensive information as you have done, not to mention buying the various car-care products and using them on your own personal vehicle as a "test mule" are invaluable to this Autopian detailing fraternity/community. We all benefit from your efforts and it is not lost on myself of the influence this forum has had on my detailing craft/skills/methodologies and product purchases, and for that I and many others are deeply grateful.

I do like the fact that you mentioned Collinite 915 Marque D`elegance wax. It is THE one LSP I have used extensively for a long-lasting carnauba-llke look. It may be "old school", but for someone who IS "old school", it still appeals to me (Wax on/wax off).

That said, car-care manufacturers new offering of ceramic waxes and post-wax application ceramic sprays has piqued my interest. It is the next advancement in car-care products and if it can provide "old school" application and removal methodologies with new SIO2/ceramic care-care chemical technology and desired LSP characteristics at an affordable price (at least to a hobbyist such as myself), I am all for it.

Thank you for the kind words Lonnie. I learned so much my first few years on this forum that I’m happy to donate a panels and some free time for others to know one additional real life experience. This place and AGO are amazing.

I am a staunch supporter of ceramic waxes and now this ceramic sealant. I find that the waxes and sealants aren’t just coatings in a paste or think liquid, they definitely share some attributes of traditional waxes and sealants beyond the application aspect. PBL Synergy, Dodo Nano wax and now I’m finding with Kamikaze Infinity Wax have a definite deep reflection and smoothness not consistent with regular ceramic products. When I apply them I tend to go “Oh yeah, that’s my old favorite carnauba look”. But they also share the glassy, hard looking ceramic appeal. And of course they have excellent water behavior. WG SiO2 seems to be DGPS on beading steroids. And the performance sticks around at a high level from what I’ve seen.

 

[acuRAS82]

Final Update 08/19/2020 (near 4 months)

I’m glad I kept the sealants on to do their thing, but too many spots are accumulating contaminants (baggy test feels like sandpaper in some places) where most the sealant is dead and it’s time to move on.

There is a small case that all sealants are still alive based on my observations during rain.

My hose water is not as consistent as rain and as noted in my update on 7/18/2020, hose water after a wash can make an old LSP look completely dead. But it becomes apparent days later that beading and sheeting is back (albeit at a fraction of new application behavior).

So I had washed the car 2 days before this final water play. Weather was mild and sunny and the car wasn’t driven much. Good time to test the real-life, unmasked behavior.

Pics taken from hose turn-off, then every 2-3 seconds; then final pic is after a full minute.

Hood

- Still well:
1) Wolfgang SiO2
2) Four Star UPP

- Barely alive or pretty dead (takes a minute to sheet)
3) Jescar PL
4) WG DGPS

- Disqualified
5) BF: Accidentally got some spray wax on this area during drying aid process a few weeks ago. It was as dead or more than WG and PL at the time.



Back Roof

- Still well:
1) Wolfgang SiO2

- Dead
3D Poxy, PA MS, M37 High Def, PBL PS



Trunk

- Still well:
1) Sonax PNS
2) Collinite 476 (with the comeback!)

- Finally showing decent wear
3) Wolfgang SiO2

- Barely alive (takes a minute to sheet):
4) FK1000p
5) Collinite 845



Front Roof

- Dead:
1) Collinite 915

- Disqualified:
2) Poorboys EX-P: Got some PBL waterless wash on this area a week ago


FINAL attempt at ranking based on remaining performance to this point:

- Legitimately still going:
1) Sonax PNS (looks best at 4 months)
2) Wolfgang SiO2 (looks strong on hood/roof but degraded on trunk)
3) Four Star UPP (Still pretty good behavior)
4) Collinite 476 (hanging in quite well)

- Technically alive but slow sheeting and on last legs:
4) FK1000p
5) Jescar PL
6) WG DGPS
7) Collinite 845

- Dead and/or DQ’d:
3D Poxy,
PA MS,
M37 Hi Def,
PBL PS
Poorboys EX-P
Collinite 915
BF PS


There you have it. The contenders shifted in performance rankings throughout the 4 months but in the end, only PNS, WG SiO2, UPP and comeback Collinite 476 were in good enough shape for me to trust completely.

I’ll add one more post if I have any final thoughts after the fact.

Thanks for reading.

 

[wannafbody]

I think I`m going to start rating product life by how hard bird poop is to remove. After several days of baking in the sun, if it wipes off with ease, protection is still there.

Water behavior is tough to judge at times due to wash products affecting beading. Still good to see other peoples results.

 

[acuRAS82]

I think I`m going to start rating product life by how hard bird poop is to remove. After several days of baking in the sun, if it wipes off with ease, protection is still there.

Water behavior is tough to judge at times due to wash products affecting beading. Still good to see other peoples results.

Ah yes. Bird poo resistance would be a very critical durability trait to compare. But also a terrifying experiment, lol.

 

[Accumulator]

FWIW, Bird-bombs continue to come right off all my FinishKare`d stuff, even *MONTHS* (well over a year on some!) and nothing`s ever etched through it yet no matter how long I wait to clean it off. Guess I`m Mr. YMMV on this one, huh?!?

acuRAS82- Thanks for that Final Update! Heh heh, I`ll forever scratch my head over your results (that UPP!!) but I suppose it`s no big surprise that the two, uhm.."less carnauba".. Collinites did so well. Those seem to be the usual solutions people turn to when the FK1000P (or whatever) doesn`t hold up. Nice to know that their post-VOC stuff still works so well.

 

[mc2hill]

Thanks for this test and the updates!