Coatings made in the U.S.A.

[rlmccarty2000]

It seems to be a natural progression (with progress not always being a good thing) from wax to sealant to coating. If you can get better gloss and protection from a coating why bother with wax (on a daily driver). I like to wax my car, it`s soothing, but when the temperature hits 100 in the shade in South Georgia, I`m not going outside unless I have to go. Waxing just for the sake of waxing is a hobby to be enjoyed. I coat my wife`s car and offer it to my friends and family that are not going to take care of their paint.

[FIDOAG14]

I coat my wife`s car and offer it to my friends and family that are not going to take care of their paint.

That is a great point, I seal my wife`s car and wax my own.
That is dead on though.

[silverfox]

Coatings imo are not suited for anybody who is anal about having a show car shine, even if it`s your DD. Why? Because as mike Phillips had written and proved... Even a garage queen or a show car needs to be polished once or twice a year to maintain a show car shine. The paint will dull even sitting in a garage 24/7. The point is that coatings are great for cars that are not maintained or babied which is about 95% of car owners. For the other 5% who demand that "extra something", the old fashioned way is still very much alive and well.

[yg1829]

For me coatings are a way to preserve my clear coat. Believe me I`m OCD...I baby and take great care of my vehicles but there is no way I am going to polish it twice a year. I don`t even want to do it once a year with how thin factory clear is.

A coating can keep my vehicles looking very very good for two years so I only have to lightly polish and recoat. To me that`s perfect. The less clear I have to remove the longer my DD`s paint will last.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[DetailZeus]

Fun thread. I think a lot of this goes back to LSP "theory" i.e. "why am I putting this on my paint". I`m sure you`ve all discussed this before.

For me, I could care less about "sheeting" but care more about "shedding". I want my lsp to repel dirt/droppings/bugs/spots and allow more of them to come off when I hose down the car then my clear coat would alone. From what I`ve read here, it sounds to me coatings are great at this but there are many waxes/sealants/hybrids that rival or better the coatings in shedding ability.

I`ve only had experience with sealants but I`m quite satisfied with applying my WOWO three or four times a year. It`s pretty much idiot proof in application, even moreso than the spray sealant I tried (gave me some streaks).

What I`d like to see is some coatings with filling ability. If the coating could cover about what i`d remove with a finishing polish, then you`d have my attention.

[rlmccarty2000]

DetailZeus, give CarPro Essence a try. I is a coating with a mild abrasive and filling capabilities. You can apply another coating over the top of Essence without an IPA wipe down saving you some time. I would suggest using a microfiber pad to apply Essence to get the most out of its cutting/polishing ability.

[XxBoostinxX]

For me coatings are a way to preserve my clear coat. Believe me I`m OCD...I baby and take great care of my vehicles but there is no way I am going to polish it twice a year. I don`t even want to do it once a year with how thin factory clear is.

A coating can keep my vehicles looking very very good for two years so I only have to lightly polish and recoat. To me that`s perfect. The less clear I have to remove the longer my DD`s paint will last.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

This is how I feel as well. Preservation of my clear coat is my main concern and how easy it is to take care of my car is second.

[FIDOAG14]

For me it`s all about that deep wet look, which I get from a traditional wax.
Obviously I want to preserve my clear coat as long as possible but I also know in the back of my mind that I will probably be trading in for something else before I get to that point.

That being said, the next car I buy will be receiving a coating...

Very interesting thread though, and those podcasts were enlightening to me.

[porta]

CPC Corporation is sold in Europe as https://www.gen-3glasscoat.com. And this is a nice coating; I have used it myself.

[512detail]

this is a good read

for me.. the two layers of PBL on my SRT challenger are just to provide a sacrificial layer if ever needed

I do and will always wax on top of my coating.. I think half the time I forget there is even a coating under there.

My car is black. My wash methods are good but obviously not good enough and short of blow drying my car I think its inevitable to expect some micromarring, which I have witnessed...and one thin layer of Nattys covers that up real quickly.

Now if I didn`t have a garage for my car-- yeah I`d probably not wax the coating because I get bored at home and end up in my garage with a wax pad and a jar of Nattys in hand.


I enjoyed having the coating on my truck for over two years but I am kind of happy I can now play with waxes and sealants again.

[Loach]

Meguiar`s Deep Crystal M188 coating is quite hydrophobic in all the demonstrations that I`ve seen. It beads and sheets water beautifully, I`d love for it to be available here in the States so I can test it out. I`ve always been puzzled about the sheeting vs. beading debate because the most aggressive beading products will produce the fastest water sheeting. And the least aggressive beading products (sheeting types) will still produce significant beading. The two water behaviors are linked.

Furthermore, no detailing product out there that gets any regular use is designed to produce a true hydrophilic surface. Nor would I want that type of behavior, it comes with its own set of problems. So beading vs. sheeting, it`s a moot point for me. I get significant water spotting if hard water is left to evaporate from the paint no matter if I`m using an aggressive beading or a less aggressive sheeting type, spotting that is surprisingly comparable between the two types.

What people want out of a coating is the additional chemistry that makes it more physically and chemically resistant when compared to waxes and sealants, and they want the visual representation that it has survived on the paint throughout the duration of its much longer advertised lifetime. One problem for producers is convincing people that the actual coating layer might outlast its ability to repel water at a significant rate. And the difference between many coatings on the market is some can produce a water behavior that can be easily measured well beyond other offerings. Some repel aggressively at the start and this aggressiveness can be diminished quickly. Some can repel less aggressively at the start and this less hydrophobic property can be visually measured for a very long time. And some win on both the short and the long term.

But they all seem to have one thing in common, they certainly aren`t hydrophilic at the start and they will all produce significant beading until they get to the point to where people question whether or not the layer has still survived on the paint. I just don`t like the idea that something is popular and selling well in Asia and Europe that I can`t purchase here. So I say to Meguiar`s - bring us that coating!

[OpenRoad]

Wax doesn`t last in the DRY, hot clime we live in. Wax seems to "vaporize" in a dry & SUNNY loc. Any surface that beads after washing typically results in more, more, more..."dirty spots" on the surface of the car. Particularly noticeable on a black car, or other "deep colors". Just more problems visible on the finish. Even with a dedicated softened water supply (our development has very hard water),... any product that "beads" equates to more "stuck dirt", despite "sheet rinsing" with softened water. Any product that collects/creates more "spots" is worthless `round here.

Coatings are the way to go, if your ride spends time in a dusty/arid clime. Not likely to apply to most of the US? But.......?