Best paint protection for non-car people

[funkymonkey1111]

Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Meguiar's Fast Finish.



This. This. This is all a non-car person needs. It can be purchased anywhere. It works great and is easy to apply.

 

[avacado11]

So I ended up reading more about sealants/waxes and it turns out just because it breads doesn’t mean it’s protecting the finish.

How true is that statement? I figured if everybody uses beading as the standard measurement of protection, manufactures will just create a product that beads like crazy. But 10 years down the line your paint could be faded...you wouldn’t know until it’s too late. I get that sheeting water means less chance of contaminats getting trapped onto the surface, but what about UV, acid rain etc.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: avacado11
So I ended up reading more about sealants/waxes and it turns out just because it breads doesn’t mean it’s protecting the finish.

How true is that statement? I figured if everybody uses beading as the standard measurement of protection, manufactures will just create a product that beads like crazy. But 10 years down the line your paint could be faded...you wouldn’t know until it’s too late. I get that sheeting water means less chance of contaminats getting trapped onto the surface, but what about UV, acid rain etc.


They statement could be true. One thing that sold me on the Menzerna/Jescar Power Lock sealant was it states that it protects against the elements, etc, and UV rays. To me that mattered, many of the labels and advertisements regarding waxes and sealants seemed to skip over UV rays. If anything is going to fade and ruin paint it will be UV rays IMO. As far as water beading, it does that real well too. FTR I am no authority on waxes or sealants, I did my homework, and I am pretty good at observing things.

 

[nthach]

Klasse AIO with the silver bottle sealant.

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
One thing that sold me on the Menzerna/Jescar Power Lock sealant was it states that it protects against the elements, etc, and UV rays. To me that mattered, many of the labels and advertisements regarding waxes and sealants seemed to skip over UV rays. If anything is going to fade and ruin paint it will be UV rays IMO. As far as water beading, it does that real well too. FTR I am no authority on waxes or sealants, I did my homework, and I am pretty good at observing things.


I am going to order and try the Power Lock the next time Autogeek has a 25% off and free shipping sale.

 

[avacado11]

I just picked up some MrFix 9H ceramic coat off eBay to test out. Stuff came to like $23 for 60ml so it’s not gonna be a big loss if it turns out to be [censored]. There’s a guy on YouTube who did a comparison test of all waxes/sealants/ceramics and surprisingly I saw some off the shelf products that lasted pretty long(5-6 months). The only I remember is turtle wax ice carnuba wax. By the time all of the sealants/waxes took a dump, most if not all of the ceramics were looking dull, but still beading. Didn’t want to spend $100+ on something that will look dull 6 months later.

I would definitely buy power lock if I didn’t have so many other waxes just sitting on the shelf. Mothers synthetic, mothers carnuba cleaner, turtle wax super hard shell. I need to use this stuff up, or atleast a majority of it, before I start building up on car stuff again.

 

[HYUNDAIFAN0001]

Originally Posted By: avacado11
what’s a good method and/or product that will keep a car protected for a long time with minimal maintenance?

My parents are not car people and they let the cars go unwashed for 2-3 months at a time. They usually just rinse the car down each time and if lucky they’ll use the classic soap & brush method then air dry. They currently use turtle ice wash&wax soap.

I have collinite 845 which so far works great on my car(only been on for 1 week), but I’m thinking about ceramic coating my parents cads. But is the CC really worth the extra money if it doesn’t get touched up here and there with a spray wax? I rather have them drive a dirty car then me having to do paint correction every 5-6 months from improper drying

The keys to any lasting exterior vehicle finish are:

1) A good washing to start with
2) Clay-bar the vehicle to remove all sorts of surface contamination (tree and bug residue, pollutants in the air, road surface materials, etc.)
3) Address any scratches or surface swirls with applying a good polish as needed
4) Apply a longer lasting sealant/wax (Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid is incredibly easy to apply and leaves no residue on black/dark trim, unlike Nu Finish, which is harder to work with and leaves a residue). Meguiar's lasts roughly 6 months on average, and is a polymer protecting coating. Turtle wax is a wax blend and lasts 3-4 months on average.

Some folks do a spray surface wax touch-up at washing time, just to sustain the protection. I prefer to simply repeat the 4 steps above every 5-6 months to keep things at their best.

Ceramic coats are also good for those who want to spend larger amounts of money and get about 12-18 months protection. The consideration is that if waiting to redo the ceramic treatment...how much contamination does the exterior get in that long a timeframe? Even ceramic coatings can't guaranty that a clay bar tratment isn't needed to get off new contaminants after months of time have passed since the last treatment. It's for that reason...more frequent 4-step treatment (as listed above) helps avoid more serious issues rather than wait a year or more with ANY protective product, regardless of (false or true) claims for endurance.