Re: SiO2 Ceramic Spray Sealant comparison test
Quote:
Originally Posted by
lloydrm
Nice thread, great comparisons.
Do you notice a significant difference between these coatings and the paste waxes, so far?
I recently read a thread of your comparing waxes (very nice, btw) and it does not seem like you get much more (longevity, self cleaning ability) from these coating. But maybe I am missing something. Or maybe I just like waxes.
Tough question! I had one comparison with SiO2 waxes in early spring where almost none of them lasted the way I expected or have seen in the past. Not sure if it was too cold during application/curing or whether my prep spray of choice really did a good job. I also washed with harsh soap. I’ve since moved on to prep sprays and my opinion about beading is that colder water does not bead as well as warmer water in warm weather. Anyways, I ended up stripping those, but I don’t necessarily know if they were dead, clogged or just showing poor performance due to poor weather. I have seen 5-6 months out of Synergy and I know others have seen that or more, but as an example it looked poor after a month or two.
But I think you may be referring to the sealants thread which is still currently going on the Acura. Those are doing well and probably benefitted from being applied during warmer days and possibly the fact traditional sealants may be less finicky than SiO2-heavy waxes or spray sealants.
Regardless, hopefully this high level, general opinion partially answers your question:
1) Traditional sealants seem least finicky as far as preferred application environment. Most traditional sealants will last 3-6 months for me in mild weather. They are really good at keeping contaminants out and resisting etching. But they seem to have the least durability to harsh chemicals. They don’t self clean very well.
2) SiO2 Sprays I like to put into two categories: maintenance spray and coating lite, but there are some very durable maintenance sprays that last quite awhile too. Some maintenance sprays only last a month or two in mild weather but others can probably go 4-5-6 months. I think most SiO2 Sprays have pretty good resistance to chemicals. They are very easy to apply with the only issue usually being streaking. But as for speed, they apply quickly. There is such a massive variation between SiO2 spray sealants that I would generally say they do not last as long as traditional sealants across the board but the ones with highest longevity certainly can coniete or exceed top sealants. Especially in poor weather conditions.
Coating Lites seem very resistant to chemicals, can last 6-12 months even in bad weather and are harder to apply or at least if you do screw up and leave a high spot it’s a bigger deal. Great self-cleaning.
3) Ceramic waxes I will just say are in the middle, and I personally think most have that warmth that sealants lack. The good ones should get 6 months, about the same as the better sealants and SiO2 sprays in mild weather, but should be more resistant to poor weather. They self clean very well but maybe not quite as good as top tier SiO2 Sprays. I e had no issues with etching for these except one giant bird crap on top of Enigma Wax.
Re: SiO2 Ceramic Spray Sealant comparison test
I got a little crazy typing above because I’m passionate about this topic and can’t turn my brain off. To answer your question more simply, from my own experiences: the top traditional sealants, SiO2 spray sealants and Ceramic waxes should all get similar duration of around 6 months max in mild weather. As weather brings more rain or snow/salt, I think sealants will die off first, Ceramic waxes and spray sealants should be close in resisting these with the same strength..
I think most sealants get you at least 3 months, same with most Ceramic waxes. SiO2 Sprays are all over the place with claims and actual durability and if you blindly pick from a group you might get 1 month or 6 months it’ll anywhere in between.
Re: SiO2 Ceramic Spray Sealant comparison test
The thing that I wonder about is if the base ceramic coat is solvent based and if the topper is water based, do they actually bond to each other or does the water based topper end up being washed off by rain or hand washing.
Re: SiO2 Ceramic Spray Sealant comparison test
Quote:
Originally Posted by
wannafbody
The thing that I wonder about is if the base ceramic coat is solvent based and if the topper is water based, do they actually bond to each other or does the water based topper end up being washed off by rain or hand washing.
According to topper product descriptions, it shouldn’t matter since they state they can be used on any existing coating. I assume Essence is solvent based but I would need to smell to make sure. I’ve never had an issue with anything bonding to it. Essence is a poor beader and therefore it’s pretty apparent when things fail on it, they bead poorly and remain poor rather than go back to sheeting immediately, at least that’s my observation when I do short term tests.
Re: SiO2 Ceramic Spray Sealant comparison test
Quote:
Originally Posted by
acuRAS82
I got a little crazy typing above because I’m passionate about this topic and can’t turn my brain off. To answer your question more simply, from my own experiences: the top traditional sealants, SiO2 spray sealants and Ceramic waxes should all get similar duration of around 6 months max in mild weather. As weather brings more rain or snow/salt, I think sealants will die off first, Ceramic waxes and spray sealants should be close in resisting these with the same strength..
I think most sealants get you at least 3 months, same with most Ceramic waxes. SiO2 Sprays are all over the place with claims and actual durability and if you blindly pick from a group you might get 1 month or 6 months it’ll anywhere in between.
This is great info. No need to apologize about sharing your experience and knowledge. I learned a lot. Thank you.
Re: SiO2 Ceramic Spray Sealant comparison test
Would be very interested to see Overcoat and Cosmic Spritz added into the mix too :)
Re: SiO2 Ceramic Spray Sealant comparison test
Quote:
Originally Posted by
atbalfour
Would be very interested to see Overcoat and Cosmic Spritz added into the mix too :)
When Acura vertical panels become available, I’ll have more room for new products to test and these two will be included, along with some never-talked-about goodies. :)
Re: SiO2 Ceramic Spray Sealant comparison test
Update 07/18/2020 (5+ weeks):
Reference:
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...6f213e18.plist
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...f533871216.jpg
Back Roof
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n6W...&feature=share
Front Roof
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fl5f...&feature=share
Continued Observations:
- Feynlab still a bit behind but not looking any worse; closing gap??
- WG CSC still looking great, better than VS1, though they both are behaving great.
New Observations:
- M37 now looks to be the weakest of the back maintenance sprays. Interesting because M37 claims longevity similar to the “Coating Lite Wannabes” in the row above. I had made a decision to leave M37 out of the big boys row and now it has surpassed Feynlab as the least hydrophobic at 5 weeks.
- Bead-It has lost a little bit of performance but not bad.
- TW looks like it has fallen a step behind IGL and Wowo’s. Hard to see being the furthest in the video but I get to see from everywhere.
If I had to put together a list of best performing at week 5:
T-1) WG CSC
T-1) Wowo’s CS
T-1) IGL Premier
4) VS1
T-5) BF SiO2 Spray
T-5) Britemax Remax
T-5) TW
8) Feynlab
9) Jescar Bead-It
10) M37 365
SiO2 Ceramic Spray Sealant comparison test
[QUOTE=acuRAS82;2176254]Mini-Update 07/27/2020 (~7 weeks):
Reference:
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...6f213e18.plist
Quick pic after a rain yesterday:
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...65cc520d43.jpg
Quick observations:
- IGL looks best.
- Feynlab looks like it’s improving
- Britemax leading maintenance sprays in row 2
- Blackfire begins to show some degrading
- Mckees and Bead-It are the most degraded
Sorry I forgot to take a pic of the front roof, but WG CSC and VS1 are still looking good.
Re: SiO2 Ceramic Spray Sealant comparison test
Thank for fenylab update I almost bought it instead I got wowo crystal seal. I have been very impressed wowo in the end wolfgang and IGL is my guess for top spot but very close behind would be wowo
Re: SiO2 Ceramic Spray Sealant comparison test
Quote:
Originally Posted by
William_Wallace
Thank for fenylab update I almost bought it instead I got wowo crystal seal. I have been very impressed wowo in the end wolfgang and IGL is my guess for top spot but very close behind would be wowo
Yeah, the Feynlab just doesn’t have top performance at the start here. Maybe it lasts a long time though, we shall see.
On a separate note, I also have Feynlab Ceramic Lite... nothing to use it on anytime soon though. Maybe the synergy there helps the ceramic spray show true potential or whatever. I really want to like Feynlab, it’s so affordable.
Re: SiO2 Ceramic Spray Sealant comparison test
When are you gonna start playing with Nova Jet. Maybe do your top three from this test vs nova Jet
Re: SiO2 Ceramic Spray Sealant comparison test
Quote:
Originally Posted by
William_Wallace
When are you gonna start playing with Nova Jet. Maybe do your top three from this test vs nova Jet
I got others to use against the Nova boys. Wanted to add Cosmic, Viking, OC as well. See how it hangs with the big boyz. But including top 3 from here will probably be a good idea too. If I do that test on the Acura hood/roof/trunk (when I close out the sealant test) I can fit 9-12 easy.
Re: SiO2 Ceramic Spray Sealant comparison test
Quote:
Originally Posted by
acuRAS82
I got others to use against the Nova boys. Wanted to add Cosmic, Viking, OC as well. See how it hangs with the big boyz. But including top 3 from here will probably be a good idea too. If I do that test on the Acura hood/roof/trunk (when I close out the sealant test) I can fit 9-12 easy.
I would like to see bigger section personally (your test do you)
But feel would be easier for us to see in the picks. I like the line up that you had set..
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Re: SiO2 Ceramic Spray Sealant comparison test
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Coatings=crack
I would like to see bigger section personally (your test do you)
But feel would be easier for us to see in the picks. I like the line up that you had set..
Noted.
Acknowledged.
Under consideration.
Fine, I’ll do bigger test areas.