View Full Version : To bead or not to bead
imported_jgv
04-20-2003, 05:32 AM
http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/7046beads-med.jpg
This is the question
http://smilies.sofrayt.com/%5E/_950/rain.gif
imported_jgv
04-20-2003, 06:05 AM
A few minutes latter:
http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/7046beads-ii.jpg
The one that doesn`t bead is dry, mine has watter. What`s the point of beading?
sheltem
04-20-2003, 10:22 AM
Good question .. I also dunno ;p
imported_matthew
04-20-2003, 10:51 AM
Originally posted by jgv
The one that doesn`t bead is dry, mine has watter. What`s the point of beading? Well if your moving (I.e. on a highway) the one that is beading will have the water go off and it will be cleaner.
Why don`t you go down and take a look, is the dry car dirty? I will bet yours will be cleaner when its dry.
imported_jgv
04-20-2003, 11:02 AM
Yes, and in the unprotected car, the watter minerals stay in the paint when it dries, while in the protected car they stay inside the watter beads (visible when it rains and the car has pollen).
sheltem
04-20-2003, 11:10 AM
Hmm. .... but some wax or sealants do not bead ... they sheet instead ... the car is still protected but no beading :D
imported_jgv
04-20-2003, 11:22 AM
Really? Which one? http://smilies.sofrayt.com/%5E/_950/greedy.gif
tkr128
04-20-2003, 11:27 AM
Yes, I have noticed this with my car also. In the parking lot at my school, my car is always wet after some rain while everyone else`s car has dried. I find it amusing when I`m driving and see the beads of water on my hood fly off.
Patrick
04-20-2003, 11:59 AM
I think you also need to consider the benefits of the car when its NOT wet/raining.....Beading normally indicates a presence of protection, which helps in eliminating dust, bird crap, sap etc...From adhering to your paint/clear coat. I think we would all agree, that to have a surface completely "sheet" itself dry, is the ultimate satisfaction....BUt that is like the perfect mouse trap, forever in dispute, and attainable "only if using product "X"....blah blah blah...
If the car isn`t beading and the water just clings to the paint in a sheet, it will of course dry off faster because it is much thinner. The water sheets because the paint has such low surface tension and doesn`t form big, tall beads the way it would if it was waxed.
Some products supposedly are "supposed" to sheet, but even those points are debatable because the terms "sheeting" and "beading" may mean different things and some people get different results than others. :nixweiss
Generally, I think "sheeting and clinging" are considered bad signs though...
Patrick
04-20-2003, 03:14 PM
Another case in point, good or bad ?
Dave N
04-20-2003, 10:05 PM
The one that doesn`t bead is dry, mine has watter. What`s the point of beading?
Even from the distance that the picture was taken, I can see a bunch of swirl marks and paint blemishes in the non-beading car; your car`s paint looks great! I think that is the point of beading (or the process that leads hitherto):xyxthumbs
The older Blackfire had sheeting properties, but I haven`t tried the new formulation...yet. I`ve read that Platinum beads at first, and then starts sheeting after a few weeks. But I haven`t tried platinum...yet.