How to protect against UV clear coat damage?

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Jaha24k

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Jun 12, 2018
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Location
So Cal
Hello
I live in California and I’m also forced to park outside both at home and work. My car is literally outside all the time. I’ve never waxed any of my cars before and haven’t suffered clear coat damage until my last car. My current car is starting to experience clear coat failure and I’ve sealed it for the first time using nu finish.

What is an easy but effective protocol I can follow to protect against the environment my car is subject to? I’m planning on using nu finish twice a year for now with some spray on wax such as meguiars quik wax in between every other week or once a month. Will this be sufficient?

Thanks
 
Look for a good paint sealant that advertises UV protection, apply two coats and do it at least twice as often as it is advertised/supposed to last. Then try to park in the shade if possible. Aside from that there isn't much else you can do.
 
I think your plan will work longer than doing nothing at all.
Even if you don't was often, do you at least wash your car on a regular basis?

My vehicles are outside 100% of the time and what I have fallen in love with is quick detail or wax & dry type products(any brand). We don't have the intense heat here in NY State as in SoCal except in the summertime. However, I DO wash my vehicles on a regular basis and follow the washing with a qd/wd wipedown.

I use all of these products the same way whether they're a quick detail or wax & dry:

1st) I zip off all of the water w/ water blade, I then use microfiber towel(damp/rung out) to finish.

2nd) With a second microfiber towel(damp/rungout), I spritz the car or the towel itself and wipe the car as if I were drying it again but, using the qd or wd product.

3rd) DONE!
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Look for a good paint sealant that advertises UV protection, apply two coats and do it at least twice as often as it is advertised/supposed to last. Then try to park in the shade if possible. Aside from that there isn't much else you can do.

In addition, you can use a detailing spray (like Chemical Guys Hybrid V7 Optical Select High Gloss Spray Sealant & Quick Detailer) in between washes that also contains it's own UV protection.

That kind of product compliments any sealant wax with it's own added UV protection (after washes) in between semi-annual sealant treatments. It'll also make your car look even better after washes.
 
In the 40+ years I have been painting I can tell you with certainty there is no such thing as UV protection that last for more than a very short period of time if at all that can be applied over automotive paint.
The UV protection is in the clear coat, some cars have better clears than others Toyota, Honda and Chrysler vans up till just a few years ago had the worst cases of clear coat failure, regardless of you apply to these vehicles from new there is no way to prevent it other than to garage it during the day.

Clear coats fail for a few reasons..

Improper application of either the primer, paint or clear itself (yes it can happen at the factory), some primers have a dwell time that must be adhered to and paint should be allowed to dwell before applying a second coat and the clear.

Heat, this is a common one on cars that are getting older and someone removed the hood blanket and didn't replace it, now the hood is getting heated from both sides.
Dark cars get much hotter than lighter colored cars, you don't see much failure on white or light colored cars (silvers of any shade are a problem because of their high metallic content).

Material failure..

Inexpensive clear will yellow with aga and harden, once this happens its done, it looses its bond to the paint and falls away.
Contrary to popular belief factory paint is by no stretch of the imagination good paint unless its a very high price model or make.
Yes RR, MB, BMW, Porsche, Exotics, all use a premium paint system, GM paint is good, not quite as good in quality but good, it is applied a little thinner for flatness which US customers like (me too). German and most Euro customers demand orange peel,
Some years ago BMW started applying the clear much flatter and nicer IMO and the customers didn't like it, they mistakenly thought there wasn't enough paint on the car to them orange peel means thicker and more durable paint.

Pigment degradation..

This is common on paints with high metallic content, reds, and yellows mostly, the silvers get so hot it hardens the inexpensive clears that some manufacturers use and the red and yellow picments "die" quickly especially the reds.
When this happens the paint itself looses its bond to the primer and it loosens off taking the clear with it.

The color and type of paint used plays a greater roll in clear coat failure than anything else eg a light silver Honda or Toyota is a much better candidate than a white Chevy.
If your car is a good candidate either use a car port or cover it during daylight hours if you that much patience, just a top cover works fine as they are the areas that take the abuse.

Wash and wax the car as you would normally and forget anything that claims to be special for UV protection, it the real world doesn't exist.
 
I'm in the high desert now and cringe. My brand new rental looks like trash, the entire environment is abrasive and there's no avoiding the sun.

The best thing you could do would be to buy something to park it under so it's at least shaded while you're home.

Applying a quality sealant may help but the environment is going to chew that up and spit it out too.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Wash and wax the car as you would normally and forget anything that claims to be special for UV protection, it the real world doesn't exist

I respectfully disagree...those claims could not be made (UV protection found in a number of products) unless they were proven...otherwise those companies could be fined and/or the products forcibly removed from the market by the FTC. My uncle is a compliance officer for the FTC and could easily testify to that.

Here's an example of such a product...note the specific/detailed UV protection claims.

Chemical Guys Hybrid V07 Spray Detailer

You are right that they may be short-lived in effectiveness...but regular application of a post-wash wax (spray or other) product with UV protection works. Dark colors and constant sun accelerate the deterioration of any protection.

It's also why a regimen of at least 2-4 true details with a protective product that bonds to the clear-coat (polymers with UV protection are designed to do just that) also "partner" with the clear-coat to sustain a solid protective finish.

My brother's red Corvette has been washed regularly and treated for years with a UV post-wash detailing spray containing UV protection. He has virtually 0 color fade, despite about 60% being in the sun. My brother does the 5-6 step detailing process monthly.

All that said...any paint with even strong protection that sits all day, every day in the sun risks paint fade...unless the detailing with UV protection is done much more frequently.
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
I'm in the high desert now and cringe. My brand new rental looks like trash, the entire environment is abrasive and there's no avoiding the sun.

Applying a quality sealant may help but the environment is going to chew that up and spit it out too.

I can believe it...rental car companies only wash their vehicles but virtually never apply wax (other than liquid wax in a car wash) or other protection.

In addition...desert winds (often containing sand particles) are almost like putting the finish in a sand-blaster over time. Not good.
 
It may protect for a short time but thats all. Define long lasting protection, a day, week, month, year? Sunblock provides long lasting protection *until you take a shower.
I see paint damage all the time, some cars have had their paint taken care of others not but the end result is they both need painting.

You keep talking about polymers and bonding, no offense but that's not totally correct. Clear coats are designed to resist adherence of contaminates, all you are doing is trying to add another clear coat of something on top of a clear coat.
As I have said before you would need a solvent to soften and permeate the clear coat like a blending clear does anything else just sits on top.

Snake oil and car appearance product make all kinds of claims and few are ever in court for anything, their statements are too ambiguous to be nailed down to anything specific.
What I posted is factual information based on real world observation not product reviews, advertising or articles written by self proclaimed experts.

You talk about your brothers car but obviously didn't read where I said GM uses a decent paint system. You can disagree all you want but you cant change the process of physical paint degradation over time or stop it with whiz bang in a bottle.

I do agree if the product did offer any sort of protection against UV and was reapplied before that protection was depleted you may get some benefit but you are probably looking at once a week, realistically that's not happening for most people once the newness has worn off.
Its been my experience that the real world and the theoretical world reside in different universes.
 
Keeping the car clean is the first and foremost step in protecting the clearcoat. As dirt and minerals from the rain sit on the clearcoat surface they can heat up and create tiny craters in the clearcoat which starts the process of degradation. Adding a durable sealant or coating helps to resist this process.

The new SIO2 sealants and coatings are very slick to the touch which allows rain drops to sheet off which is better than beading. In addition, dirt buildup is easier to wash off either with a hose or a good rain storm. It is not a 100% solution but it is a selling point as these sealants become more popular.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Snake oil and car appearance product make all kinds of claims and few are ever in court for anything, their statements are too ambiguous to be nailed down to anything specific.

Agree. Ambiguity is Nu Ambiguity Finish's middle name, it says polish on the container but it's not a polish. Sadly...those "glowing generalities" confuse consumers through their misrepresentations.

That differs from something like UV protection, which can be verified/vetted.

Originally Posted By: Trav
You keep talking about polymers and bonding, no offense but that's not totally correct. Clear coats are designed to resist adherence of contaminates, all you are doing is trying to add another clear coat of something on top of a clear coat.

There's chemistry in play.

Yes...clear-coat is designed to resist adherence, however...the most current generation of micro-polymers adhere to clear coat. If that product happens to include UV protection chemistry...all the better.

It's not as doomsday/no hope for protection as some make it sound.
Originally Posted By: PimTac
Keeping the car clean is the first and foremost step in protecting the clearcoat. As dirt and minerals from the rain sit on the clearcoat surface they can heat up and create tiny craters in the clearcoat which starts the process of degradation. Adding a durable sealant or coating helps to resist this process.

Yup.

Here's a good piece outlining the high level summary of auto UV protection:

UV Protection and Coatings
 
Thank you for proving my point. Clear coat does contain UV inhibitor as part of its chemical makeup. I said..

Quote:
The UV protection is in the clear coat, some cars have better clears than others


The article you linked to says..

Quote:
The UV stabilization is an indispensable element of the plastic coating in the automobile exterior. In ideal circumstances, these are multi-layer systems. The coating of plastics begins with the application of a primer, which has a binding effect on the basecoat, that is then applied over the primer. Finally, a clearcoat containing the light stabilizers for UV protection seals the coating system.


Are you trying to prove something here? Why bring NF into this again, you need help man.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Trav
Thank you for proving my point. Clear coat does contain UV inhibitor as part of its chemical makeup. I said..

Quote:
The UV protection is in the clear coat, some cars have better clears than others


The article you linked to says..

Quote:
The UV stabilization is an indispensable element of the plastic coating in the automobile exterior. In ideal circumstances, these are multi-layer systems. The coating of plastics begins with the application of a primer, which has a binding effect on the basecoat, that is then applied over the primer. Finally, a clear-coat containing the light stabilizers for UV protection seals the coating system.


Nobody disputed clear-coat containing UV protection....most of us were talking about something useful on top of the clear-coat finish...even listing specifics.

Then we were told "Wash and wax the car as you would normally and forget anything that claims to be special for UV protection, it the real world doesn't exist."...which of course (as the article points out) isn't true. There ARE in fact micro-polymer products (one was specifically linked) that in fact DO include added UV protection.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
In the 40+ years I have been painting I can tell you with certainty there is no such thing as UV protection that last for more than a very short period of time if at all that can be applied over automotive paint.
The UV protection is in the clear coat, some cars have better clears than others Toyota, Honda and Chrysler vans up till just a few years ago had the worst cases of clear coat failure, regardless of you apply to these vehicles from new there is no way to prevent it other than to garage it during the day.

Clear coats fail for a few reasons..

Improper application of either the primer, paint or clear itself (yes it can happen at the factory), some primers have a dwell time that must be adhered to and paint should be allowed to dwell before applying a second coat and the clear.

Heat, this is a common one on cars that are getting older and someone removed the hood blanket and didn't replace it, now the hood is getting heated from both sides.
Dark cars get much hotter than lighter colored cars, you don't see much failure on white or light colored cars (silvers of any shade are a problem because of their high metallic content).

Material failure..

Inexpensive clear will yellow with aga and harden, once this happens its done, it looses its bond to the paint and falls away.
Contrary to popular belief factory paint is by no stretch of the imagination good paint unless its a very high price model or make.
Yes RR, MB, BMW, Porsche, Exotics, all use a premium paint system, GM paint is good, not quite as good in quality but good, it is applied a little thinner for flatness which US customers like (me too). German and most Euro customers demand orange peel,
Some years ago BMW started applying the clear much flatter and nicer IMO and the customers didn't like it, they mistakenly thought there wasn't enough paint on the car to them orange peel means thicker and more durable paint.

Pigment degradation..

This is common on paints with high metallic content, reds, and yellows mostly, the silvers get so hot it hardens the inexpensive clears that some manufacturers use and the red and yellow picments "die" quickly especially the reds.
When this happens the paint itself looses its bond to the primer and it loosens off taking the clear with it.

The color and type of paint used plays a greater roll in clear coat failure than anything else eg a light silver Honda or Toyota is a much better candidate than a white Chevy.
If your car is a good candidate either use a car port or cover it during daylight hours if you that much patience, just a top cover works fine as they are the areas that take the abuse.

Wash and wax the car as you would normally and forget anything that claims to be special for UV protection, it the real world doesn't exist.



Trav: excellent post ... had noticed the orange peel and wondered why … several good points … Thanks
 
Jaha42k: when you get your next car get a car cover and use it.
Too late for your current car's finish. I wouldn't bother unless you get it resprayed, but, upholstery and dash plastics got the same dose of UV so even if you get a new paint job you'll soon see those things go bad.
 
Originally Posted By: 4WD
Originally Posted By: Trav
In the 40+ years I have been painting I can tell you with certainty there is no such thing as UV protection that last for more than a very short period of time if at all that can be applied over automotive paint.
The UV protection is in the clear coat, some cars have better clears than others Toyota, Honda and Chrysler vans up till just a few years ago had the worst cases of clear coat failure, regardless of you apply to these vehicles from new there is no way to prevent it other than to garage it during the day.

Clear coats fail for a few reasons..

Improper application of either the primer, paint or clear itself (yes it can happen at the factory), some primers have a dwell time that must be adhered to and paint should be allowed to dwell before applying a second coat and the clear.

Heat, this is a common one on cars that are getting older and someone removed the hood blanket and didn't replace it, now the hood is getting heated from both sides.
Dark cars get much hotter than lighter colored cars, you don't see much failure on white or light colored cars (silvers of any shade are a problem because of their high metallic content).

Material failure..

Inexpensive clear will yellow with aga and harden, once this happens its done, it looses its bond to the paint and falls away.
Contrary to popular belief factory paint is by no stretch of the imagination good paint unless its a very high price model or make.
Yes RR, MB, BMW, Porsche, Exotics, all use a premium paint system, GM paint is good, not quite as good in quality but good, it is applied a little thinner for flatness which US customers like (me too). German and most Euro customers demand orange peel,
Some years ago BMW started applying the clear much flatter and nicer IMO and the customers didn't like it, they mistakenly thought there wasn't enough paint on the car to them orange peel means thicker and more durable paint.

Pigment degradation..

This is common on paints with high metallic content, reds, and yellows mostly, the silvers get so hot it hardens the inexpensive clears that some manufacturers use and the red and yellow picments "die" quickly especially the reds.
When this happens the paint itself looses its bond to the primer and it loosens off taking the clear with it.

The color and type of paint used plays a greater roll in clear coat failure than anything else eg a light silver Honda or Toyota is a much better candidate than a white Chevy.
If your car is a good candidate either use a car port or cover it during daylight hours if you that much patience, just a top cover works fine as they are the areas that take the abuse.

Wash and wax the car as you would normally and forget anything that claims to be special for UV protection, it the real world doesn't exist.



Trav: excellent post ... had noticed the orange peel and wondered why … several good points … Thanks


+1
 
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