"Everything old is new again..."
Disclaimer: I`m a coating junkie. However, I`m not convinced that it is the be-all, end-all for every situation, much like I`m not convinced that there is a BEST coating. Too many variables and too subjective a final judgment to be able to declare a BEST. There may be, however, a best for YOU...coating-wise. Likewise, there may be a BEST FOR YOU LSP that is *not* a coating.
As for "everything old is new again" I`d hazard a guess that many of the adjectives used to proclaim the superiority of coatings were/are used to describe wax and sealants as well. ANd whatever comes after coatings (and they *will* think of something) will use similar words to describe why their stuff is the greatest ever.
I will grant you that the hyperbole regarding coatings is significant, they`re the latest `technology` in surface protection...or at least that`s the impression that is presented to the general population. The significant issue I find with much of the marketing is the primary focus on `hardness`, the ubiquitous "It`s eleventy-billionH hard!"; I believe one vendor touted "10H" hardness coming out of the recent SEMA show and another touts "XXX has improved their formulations by incorporating nature’s hardest material into their formulations. The idea of infusing diamond powder aka carbon into their formulation started..." as what makes them "extra special"; I guess "carbon infusion" didn`t sound as glamorous.
But what does the hardness actual measure? Heck, Gyeon even named one of their coatings MOHS after the hardness scale of minerals, even though most coatings test using the pencil test, a much different measurement. It`s all just marketing in my mind. I see many certified installers willing to drop up to 10 coats of a pro-only product on paint but I`m guessing if i take a pin and lightly run it across the coated surface, it`s gonna leave a mark, no matter how many coats or how hard they claim it to be.
I think these coatings hold up forever in labs where manufacturers test them. But, the two coatings I`ve tried ain`t worth a crap exposed to the dirt / salt / snow where I live. Yeah, they bead great on the hood/roof - but the lower panels that get expose to everything are all toast after 10 days in PA snow/salt.
Your point on durability is quite valid but also dependent on products used. One of our coated cars made it through the 2016-2017 Winter in NE Ohio unscathed, both hood/roof/trunk and complete sides of the car...a quick foam and wash in the Spring and we were back in business...beading, sheeting and self-cleaning as well as a week after application. Another one of our coated cars looked/acted fine on hood/roof/trunk but from midway down the sides, the coating had completely failed/lost its beneficial properties. Decon`d, clayed, washed...no matter...nothing brought it back. Now many say just because the hydrophobic properties were absent, the coating could still be there but to me, when it loses it`s hydrophobioc/self-cleaning properties, it may as well be gone as that is the primary focus of a coating...for me.
Certain waxes seem to hold up a LITTLE better. But the real benefit is their ease of reapplication and cost per application. You can wax a car in 20 mins for under a dollar. It will look better as well.
The question of looks is totally subjective and some coatings have different looks designed into them; hard, candy gloss or deeper, warmer wax-like glow. I personally like the ‘relaxed high gloss’ look that the coating combos on our cars have…it just makes me look every time I’m near it.
Granted, I`ve never seen a coating that has `that look` like Pinnacle Souveran Paste does but unfortunately that Pinnacle look usually lasts until the first rainstorm and, in my experience, attracts a lot of dust. And even the vaunted Collinite 915 did not hold up too well when I used it on a fleet vehicle last winter. Did pretty darn good but did not lasting like a coating (neither vehicle was washed after application). FWIW, Collinite 915 is the only wax I have in my cabinet...it’s great stuff when a wax is the best for the situation.
I think it`s funny they are selling special primers, water spot removers, soaps, rejuvenators, and top coats for coatings now. I dunno - it just seems like a silly rabbit hole not worth going down. You can just easily apply another coat of Collinite regardless and be good for a long time.
Eh, browse around Autogeek or Autopia..countless, countless Quick Detailers, polymer-enhanced wash soaps and such that are non-coating specific. Likely more prevalent than coating-specific products.
As for my specific situation, all my cars require for maintenance are Gyeon Foam (when in the mood…just because #1 It Can’t Hurt and #2 It’s Fun), Gyeon Bathe (single bucket wash w/ Grit Guard), a Gyeon Smoothie Wash Mitt, (2) Platinum Pluffles to dry and some Kamikaze Overcoat to use as a drying aid, mostly because it makes drying so much easier.
This sounds like a marketing scheme: "Just drink the purple Kool-Aid and everything will be alright"
One of my "resolutions" for 2018 was to try a coating and experience for myself what all the hype is about.
Now I am beginning to wonder if it is just that: hype.
Please see recent thread:
https://www.autopia.org/forums/car-detailing-product-discussion/188411-messing-coatings-final.html
For me, it’s not (all) hype. My (black) cars stay much cleaner, requiring little attention from me. What the above referenced thread began as was a quest to find a product combo that worked for me (and my inherent laziness in maintenance). It’s kinda morphed into a hobby now, for whatever reason I just like using and seeing the results of different coatings. However, my primary needs are low maintenance, environmental stain resistance/etching and I have little concern for claimed ‘impact’ hardness…I just like a reasonably clean car with little intervention from myself. Aside from PPF, ain’t nothing gonna protect you from the harshness of daily use, with regard to scratches, rock chips and flying objects. I have no real need for anything beyond a 2-year coating on a daily driver as the world is gonna mess my stuff up by that point, that point being where the daily effects mar the paint enough to require some polishing. If I was really, really OCD about daily driver appearance, I’d just be using CanCoat (for hydrophobic/self cleaning and staining/bird bomb protection) and polishing every Spring. But I’m not to that point…yet.
As I have a fleet of vehicles at work to ‘play with’, I also get to see how the coatings hold up in some pretty harsh usage conditions. Walking through the lot and warehouse each day I get to see both co-workers cars and fleet vans coated in a variety of products. It’s *usually* very obvious which ones have been coated and which ones have not…although I oughta try a sealant on one sometime to get an actual representation of coating v. sealant v. wax. I’ve seen the coating v. Collinite 915 last winter and while 915 did quite well, it faded months before the coated vehicles did (and coated vehicles received NO attention as far as paint maintenance goes; no wash, no booster, no toppers…no anything)
I agree completely. I might be missing something (like "it increases the hardness, so use it just for that"), but it sounds to me like people are still doing as much stuff after applying the coatings as I do with conventional LSPs, if not more. Eh, guess every situation is different, but still...
Depending on how in-depth a wash routine is, in my mind an LSP is an LSP and can either be maintained at a high level or ignored for longer periods of time. I find that coatings let me ignore the maintenance for longer periods of time.
The actual biggest time-saver for me in maintenance, however, is not the paint coating but rather the wheel and tire coating. Blast it with pressure washer prior to washing, give it a little wipe-down afterwards. No nasty wheel brushes, towels, cleaners or tire dressings. Wheel cleaning used to take about 45 minutes, now it takes maybe 5 minutes.
That’s the ticket - people spending hundreds on special soaps, primers, top coats, coatings, etc.. I gotta lol.
But if I was selling this stuff - I’d be all over touting the benefits
Admittedly, the buy-in cost was high for the products I ended up using on my own cars, likely close to $450 per vehicle. Going forward this Spring, though, will probably be down to about $125 to get thru 2018 season on 3 cars, washed at most weekly, more likely bi-weekly.
Maybe I’m picky - but when I’m evaluating the coating - I’m evaluating it on the dirtiest spot of the car - usually the lower panel in front of the rear wheel for me. At that spot, the beading becomes abysmal after a few weeks in PA salt / snow / sludge. Yes, vehicle has been properly cleaned. Of course, they all bead well forever on the hood & roof.
So, to me - it seems a lot of these coatings will hold up well in ideal conditions - but I’m questioning weather any of them hold up to real road sludge on the bottom panels.
Yeah, certain waxes hold up better there than others...On the other hand, it cost me less than 50¢ to reapply them with ease.
I’ll let ya know next Spring how the coatings hold up on my personal car. My daily winter commute is 70 miles round-trip, 5 days a week, on 3 of the worst/busiest freeways in Cleveland area. If this stuff doesn’t make it thru, then I will re-think coatings…or keep chasing that stupid Unicorn. Many coatings base their longevity claims on years, which to me is disingenuous at best. I’m guessing the coating on wife’s black Corvette will hold well beyond claimed 24-36 months as it’s stored every winter and, while used in all weather in summer as her daily driver, it’s still nowhere near the usage my 20k mile a year, daily driver gets; Vette is generally a 10k mile a year car, Spring, Summer and Fall. And her daily driver at other times does sit outside in the driveway, usually covered in leaves all Fall, but still doesn’t see the miles mine does. At the end of the day, if coatings hold up on my car I’ll likely be convinced…if not, will have to look in other directions. I will say that all the Fleet Vehicles I coated last winter needed a quick wash and decon last fall but for the most part, looked really good (from 10ft) 95% of the time…so there is *something* to this coating stuff…but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the ‘be-all, end-all’ solution for everyone.
And FWIW, the main “Detailing Stuff I was Wrong About in 2017” is that buying 32oz bottles of things you want to try is *not* the way to go. I dunno, I just liked the feel to 32oz bottles but aside from those that became my favorites, probably 60% of the stuff I bought in those large bottles were sent away for others to try, most being pretty much full. Like many things in my life, it “Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time”; boy, that list just seems to grow daily.
Not such an issue now that I`m settled on what I like, but I`m still using up a lifetime`s supply of also-rans