What is a true sealant?

[RANDAL]

Is a high quality wax the same as a sealant, or can it be used as one? Not really sure on the use of sealants. Have a rotary not a PC. LIVE in the salt belt here in Iowa. Lots of damaged paint surfaces on vehicles around here. Even the new fire trucks have scratches from the firemen washing them with the tire and wheel brushes. Should a person use a sealant on this type on situation or just use the waxes as they have in the past. On these truckes are also ? water spots, any way to remove that? RANDAL

[ZaneO]

A pure sealant is a synthetic (polymer) protectant that does not contain "wax." They usually offer superior durability over waxes.

Waterspots can be polished out.

[Jngrbrdman]

I don`t want to downplay the value of a sealant, but their main value is in durability and protection from UV rays. Look at sealants as waterproof sunscreen and waxes are not waterproof. They are both designed to enhance the appearance of your vehicle and protect from UV damage, but neither will really protect you from scratches and other damage very well. They might make some damage like water spots and bird bombs easier to clean up, but the damage can still happen. Given the choice I would suggest that you use a sealant, but you will still need to use a polishing compound to remove the damage from your paint first. The sealant is just the frosting on the cake.

[black bart]

Are you asking about you car or the fire truck. I had a friend that retired from a fire dept. and many times I have stopped by to visit with him at the station. Part of the job was to clean the truck after a run and it would make me cringe when I saw how they washed the truck. If they waxed it their would be three or four applying the wax and two or three wiping it off. It didn`t take long but the results were not all that great. These guy`s were firemen not detailers and only cleaned the truck because it was required to keep their job. If you are asking about the truck my guess is it needs to be polished to remove the scratches but then the guy`s on the next shift will wash it and when you come back on duty it will be scratched again.
Unless the chief or a captain takes it upon himself to learn something about proper care and enforces that procedure I see no cure.
One must also keep in mind that this truck is subject to a fire run 24/7 so advice like the normal procedure guys here use on their car is far to time consuming and complicated. A Polish to remove some of the scratches and a coat of wax that will hide some small scratches would probably be a more practical solution.

[RANDAL]

On the fire truck much easier to deal with the younger crowd than the cheif. He has known me all of my 42 years. I have a meeting tat the fire hall every month and look the newest truck over as I go past. Its a crew cab 4x4 1 ton Chevy they use for small blazes and grass fires. It is a volunteer fire dept. Maybe I should do this vehicle and maybe pickup some business through the winter from the guys. RANDAL

[black bart]

On the fire truck much easier to deal with the younger crowd than the cheif. He has known me all of my 42 years. I have a meeting tat the fire hall every month and look the newest truck over as I go past. Its a crew cab 4x4 1 ton Chevy they use for small blazes and grass fires. It is a volunteer fire dept. Maybe I should do this vehicle and maybe pickup some business through the winter from the guys. RANDAL

I live in a small town and we have a volunteer fire dept. I don;t think they ever wax but they do wash the trucks. Since they are inside nearly all the time not much fading.
Maybe you can get the guy`s to help and under your instruction they could learn to do it right.
Recently I did my pickup that had scratches and acid rain damage and I used M-80 on a polishing pad on my PC and it came out pretty good.
For my LSP I used Duragloss 105 It looks wet and has a lot of gloss with good depth and on the fire truck one coat would last a year or more since it sits inside most of the time. This can be bought at a Car-quest store for less than 10 bucks This would be Ideal for your situation. It is easy to apply and remove no way that they could screw up with this. Good Luck