Quantification of water beading

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JHZR2

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Hello,

One thing Ive never known is, how do you know if water is beading on your paint properly?

Is the metric used that when one sprays (or it rains) onto the surfaces, you see the water drops form into little balls and bounce away?

Or is the metric that when you have sitting water on a surface, that instead of laying flat and wetting the entire surface, it will be dispersed into lots of small 'puddles' that then quickly slide off when the vehicle moves?

Thanks for answering my dumb question...

JMH
 
OK, so its entirely contact angle and the indication of how stationary water wets a surface.

OK, got it..

Thanks,

JMH
 
The other method besides water beading is just to tell if it is slick feeling with a dry towel when clean. If you feel any traction/friction or squeak, it needs wax or sealant.
 
yeah but I found that that method would have me waxing every other week or three... yet the water did not wet the surfaces, as a well-waxed surface should...

JMH
 
A German brochure on car care that my wife had, by Shell I think it was, suggested waxing when the bead size became greater than about 1/4in as I recall (6mm or something).

Contact angle is a standrd measure, but hard to do.
 
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