To Bead or Not To Bead...

[Brenton]

...actually, that isn`t the question. There has been a subtle debate here and there about whether beading tells us anything about wax or sealant durability. Some say there is protection after beading, another said that you get beading long after protection has ceased. I`m left with some questions.

I never wait long enough with my own truck to text. I`m working on it all the time, and not really interested to use it to find out how long products work. And I`ve got two kinds of customers: the ones that I`ll see every three months, and the ones that won`t come back until next spring or fall and I know there isn`t much left on their car. But they want to know how long they`ll get in coverage from my service, since the guy down the street promises a 1 year shine and protection with two coats of Teflon sealant one after the other (and btw, has a 5 year sealant).

On top of that, I`ve got an LSP that requires the removal of all wax, and you`d be amazed at wax residue I`ve found on fenders that have sat at junkers for years--not usually on straight panels, but elsewhere.

So....
1. How can you tell how long a product really lasts?
2. How long will I get from the sealants I`m using: NXT Tech, EX-P, and SG?
3. The guys down the street add a second layer right away. Will layering add more durability?
4. Shouldn`t sealants cure between layers? If no curing time, is there any benefit to layering?
5. Is there any such thing as a 1 year sealant or a 5 year sealant? I`ve been telling my customers 6 months for synthetic and 6-12 weeks for wax if they avoid drivethrough car washes.

[joyriide1113]

...actually, that isn`t the question. There has been a subtle debate here and there about whether beading tells us anything about wax or sealant durability. Some say there is protection after beading, another said that you get beading long after protection has ceased. I`m left with some questions.

I never wait long enough with my own truck to text. I`m working on it all the time, and not really interested to use it to find out how long products work. And I`ve got two kinds of customers: the ones that I`ll see every three months, and the ones that won`t come back until next spring or fall and I know there isn`t much left on their car. But they want to know how long they`ll get in coverage from my service, since the guy down the street promises a 1 year shine and protection with two coats of Teflon sealant one after the other (and btw, has a 5 year sealant).

On top of that, I`ve got an LSP that requires the removal of all wax, and you`d be amazed at wax residue I`ve found on fenders that have sat at junkers for years--not usually on straight panels, but elsewhere.

So....
1. How can you tell how long a product really lasts?
beading, slickness, gloss and shine
2. How long will I get from the sealants I`m using: NXT Tech, EX-P, and SG?
nxt id estimate 4-6 weeks, with ex-p id expect 6-8 weeks, and with klasse sg id expect 12-16 weeks. all this with only one application of each product
3. The guys down the street add a second layer right away. Will layering add more durability?
nope! its just make his first layer more even.
4. Shouldn`t sealants cure between layers? If no curing time, is there any benefit to layering?most sealant require 12 hours or more between layers. selants like zaino or even liquid glass (old school) are sealants that can be layered multiple times in one day. yes, if it is layered correctly u`re durabilty of the selant should be greater.
5. Is there any such thing as a 1 year sealant or a 5 year sealant? I`ve been telling my customers 6 months for synthetic and 6-12 weeks for wax if they avoid drivethrough car washes.
no! only way possible would be if the car was permanantly garaged. there are tooo many elements in our enviroment plus washing inhibits lond durabilty like that. u can most like get a years worth of protection with klasse or zaino but probably only if u applied 3-4 applications and the car was maintained properly. a lot of the five year protections are scammes. they charge huge amounts of money and require u to bring the car back a couple times in a year to "boost" the sealant. when wht they really do is just add another application. rip off!

have u ever seen water bead on a freshly polished surface. it beads like mad. the beads are tight and spread out perfecly even. this leads me to think this. once the paint is perfect one places their protection. the protection is exactly that. it protects the polished surface by leaving a thin layer between the paint and the water, therefor keeping the smooth surface smoother and cleaner longer. once the beads start diminishing it means that the surface isnt evebly protected.

sure some surfaces bead when not even being waxed at all, but they never bead like a wax. never liek the tight perfectly round beads u get from a freshly polished and waxed surface.

another thing to take into consideration is that different surfaces have different surface tensions so not all cars will bead like the other. u just have to take notice what type of beads u get and the changed that occur thru time.

[CharlesW]

u just have to take notice what type of beads u get and the changes that occur thru time.

This seems to be the only way I can ever know/guess that my protection needs renewing.
As far as beading goes, I love products that bead, but I once read that ingredients that cause the beading are often added to wax/sealant for just that reason. To give the consumer the beading he desires.
This could become a very technical discussion and I will be completely lost. I never know the why`s, I just know what I like.

Charles

[NYV6Coupe]

Until someone can provide a better way of determining whether or not protection still exists, I have to go by "beading implies protection still exists" and "lack of beading implies time for more protection".

Yes, I can smear vaseline on my paint, buff it off & I`ll see beading from what`s left .... that`s silly to imply vaseline protects but it sure will produce some nice water beads.

Some products produce tight, tall water beads & some products will sheet water off the car so, in the absense of any valid protection measuring method, you`ve got to go with you gutt feeling & do what you "feel" you need to do to protect your paint.

[CharlesW]

you`ve got to go with you gutt feeling & do what you "feel" you need to do to protect your paint.

Yep, just do another application every 4 to 6 weeks and you should be good to go.
Then there`s those days that you have time and decide you should do it again even though you just did it last week.

Charles

[Beemerboy]

Durability I feel depends on condition that the car is stored and cared for.....I have customers that I see once a year and they do nothing but wash in between... There cars still have some beading but that I feel its because of the clear coat gives back a certain amount of beading....

To address the questions....I don`t think that beading always means protection, it does mean some but I have seen waxes that bead like crazy and two weeks later there is little to none left....


I feel the quality of the product is a key factor in the durability and that`s not based on price per-unit or the amount of beading the product gives off.....The Wolfgang & Poorboy sealants that I have used keep the car looking great for weeks on end not a huge amount of beading but they still keep the paint looking clean, shinny, somewhat swirls free and smooth feeling. I feel like that is protection of the surface.

[HondaMan]

Hey...it`s all a guess.

Last winter, I winterized my Honda Civic with AIO + 3 layers of SG. The car was garaged all winter, even though it went out in occasional rain, snow, and drove through sand/salt on the roads. Last March/April, the car after a washing still felt pretty slick -- especially since I know what a car with no LSP`s feels like (namely, my mom`s 1994 Camry which went 2+ years between washes/waxes/detailings)..

This year, my car loses it`s garage priviledges so I am definitely gonna want to match last year`s winterizing. And maybe take off any salt/dirt with a quick hosing sooner than I let it stay on last winter (tough to wash the car in the winter in the NY-NJ area, obviousley).

Key variables are:

(1) Garaged or outside alot?

(2) How often driven (esp. if it`s garaged: if the car is inside 4-5 days per week, you can easily have multiple LSP`s last close to a year)

(3) Weather: if the car never sees rain or snow, another poisitve for longevity of LSP`s.

(4) Care: If the car is regularly driven, is it washed every few weeks? If so, the LSP`s will last longer, esp. in winter when salt and grime can`t stay on the finish.