UV and Infrared Resistance in Sealnts?

I

imported_RedlineIRL

New member
I have seen where some sealants claim to be highly resistant to UV and infrared radiation, BFWD is one I know of specifically. With regular use, can a product like these actually prevent slow fade? Is the protection, if any, enough to actually block UV rays from the finish of a vehicle, or is this just a marketing gimmick used to sell a product?
 
The "claimed" protection from UV's and such is actually due more to the "gloss factor" which reflects the UV's, than any additive to a sealant.

While it is possible (I have done it in some formula's) to add additives such as PPG's Solex to paint sealants, it doesn't stay there for long, will over a short period evaporate from the surface of the sealant.

A high gloss factor is what does the most good in my opinion.

Grumpy
 
The very nature of a wax or sealant is to be a sacrificial layer on the paint protecting it. The UV rays are going to degrade that sacrificial layer, but as long as there is always *something* there on top of the paint, UV rays are attacking it and no fading will take place.



IMHO most products that claim superior UV protection or that say they have additives to resist UV are overstating the significance of those properties. Do they potentially increase durability? Probably. However due to their fast-flashing nature, that improvement is minimal at best.



Now, with that having been said, coatings like Opti-Coat may be another story....
 
Dependent on reflective value of the paint colour; surface reflection will provide some UV radiation protection along with some sacrificial protection as the wax or polymers oxidizes. Some waxes and polymer sealants have ultra violet protection agents added when they are formulated, but be cognizant that the protection a microscopically thin layer can provide is limited. This renewable barrier is probably less than 0.1 µ (4 Mils) thick. It should be noted that Carnauba wax does not contain a natural ultra violet radiation protection it must be added, although polymers have in-built resistance to ultra violet radiation



There is no such thing as a permanent UV stabilizer, it a matter of physics, not chemistry. Ultra violet protection is a sacrificial and therefore a renewable protection; this is due to the UV protection layer being degraded by exposure to the elements (sun, sand, road or sea salt, and etc) so it is imperative that you renew it and it needs to be re-applied on a regular 45 to 60 day basis (dependent upon location climatic condition)
 
I've always assumed (yeah, yeah...I know :o ) that the whole UV protection thing is basically just ad-copy BS.



And I can't help but wonder...just how big of an issue is this...really? Seems to me that most any b/c paint, kept "well detailed" and LSPed, oughta generally do fine in this regard without any "special ingredients".



I kept the Volvo wagon outside 24/7, and its (really, *really* worn) single stage did fine with just Collinite on it. Considering how oxidized it was when I first got it, that sure surprised me.



The black trim finish on the tops of the doors would oxidize quickly though, and much to my surprise it did so quicker with BF (their older All Finish Paint Protection") on it than with Collinite.



Likewise, the '93 Audi was originally so oxidized that its service records had it described as "gray" instead of dark blue. While it doesn't stay outside much these days, it too is holding up fine with just Collinite on it, even the areas of complete cc failure.
 
Radiation Damage



Many natural and synthetic materials are attacked by ultra-violet radiation and products made using these materials may crack or disintegrate. This problem is known as ultra violet photo degradation, and is a common problem in products exposed to sunlight.



1. Infrared (IR) radiation dries out the binder system causing structural failure; it will dry the resin in paint; leading to oxidation. A paint surface will often show cracking as the resin binder dries out the paint draws up on itself forming ‘crow’s feet’. It will also dry out the oils and plasticizers in vinyl and other materials and may lead to structural damage (this is especially relevant to open top convertibles)



2. Ultra violet (UV) radiation exposure leads to gloss and colour instability (photo degradation or photo-oxidation) and surface fading stains. But before UV light can cause harm, it must first be absorbed. If it is not turned into heat or transferred to a nearby stabilizer molecule called a quencher, it breaks weak chemical bonds. This is the beginning of UV damage.



Some materials absorb UV radiation more readily than other materials. Materials that readily absorb (UV) radiation are quickly damaged...rubber, vinyls, gel coat fibreglass, and many other plastics.



When radiation is absorbed, it starts to break (cleave) weak chemical bonds, which leads to photochemical degradation (bleaching, (fading), discoloration, chalking, brittleness and cracking) all indications of UV deterioration. The bond cleavages resulting from UV absorption cause the formation of “radicals.
 
salty said:
I remember reading the Sal said UV protection is the first thing to go in sealants.
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Just read today on another forum how someone parked their car outside for the summer and it now has sun damage. Protected with multiple layers of Zaino.
 
I view it mostly as a marketing tool. I'm not saying those products don't offer some UV protection, but do I don't think it is doing much. I read somewhere that clear coat itself is all the UV protection you need. I've got a black, single-stage paint 15 year old car that I've had outside for the last nine years (don't know about before that), and I have zero oxidation or other sun-related issues. Keeping the surface clean is the most important thing, and if you abandon a car outside for a few years without touching it you are going to have some paint issues regardless of what products you had put on it.
 
I had a 1993 Celica for 13 years. Not once during that time did it see the inside of a garage. It spent that entire 13 years in the Palm Springs/Las Vegas/St. George sun. I kept it waxed with various Meg's products (all nubas) and the paint looked factory new when I finally got rid of it. Don't think it's possible for a car to see more UV/IR than it did, either.



So I'm with Accumulator in this one. Keep it clean, keep it waxed/sealed.
 
This is one of those areas where I wish the auto detailing community was more science-based than all of the anecdotal evidence we commonly count on. Unfortunately, I'm not UB Scientist, but I'm sure someone has the ability to do some scientific-type LSP testing of UV protection and all other "protections" as well.
 
Ron Ketcham said:
While it is possible (I have done it in some formula's) to add additives such as PPG's Solex to paint sealants, it doesn't stay there for long, will over a short period evaporate from the surface of the sealant.
Click to expand...



TOGWT said:
There is no such thing as a permanent UV stabilizer, it a matter of physics, not chemistry. Ultra violet protection is a sacrificial and therefore a renewable protection
Click to expand...



Agree with both of these statements. Same goes for interior products that claim UV protection.



TOGWT said:


this is due to the UV protection layer being degraded by exposure to the elements (sun, sand, road or sea salt, and etc) so it is imperative that you renew it and it needs to be re-applied on a regular 45 to 60 day basis (dependent upon location climatic condition)
Click to expand...



I wonder if that lifespan is a little on the generous side?
 
D&D Auto Detail said:
Just read today on another forum how someone parked their car outside for the summer and it now has sun damage. Protected with multiple layers of Zaino.
Click to expand...



There are two parts to ultra violet radiation; infra red radiation, which causes heat damage and ultra violet light that causes photo degradation. Its this combination that does so much damage to a paint surface, and although the glass offers some protection, it also damages the interior materials



[I wonder if that lifespan is a little on the generous side?] It's very difficult to generalize, as UV exposure varies so much by state / country
 
lostdaytomorrow said:
This is one of those areas where I wish the auto detailing community was more science-based than all of the anecdotal evidence we commonly count on. Unfortunately, I'm not UB Scientist, but I'm sure someone has the ability to do some scientific-type LSP testing of UV protection and all other "protections" as well.
Click to expand...



An independent test laboratory could, for a fee, test products for UV resistance. I'm not sure individual product manufacturers would be interested in funding such testing as many don't contain UV protection anyway.



The real answer is a sacrificial layer of wax over a highly reflective sealant etc
 
lostdaytomorrow said:
This is one of those areas where I wish the auto detailing community was more science-based than all of the anecdotal evidence we commonly count on.
Click to expand...



That might be an awfully tall order, what with all the variables involved :think:



I *have* seen vehicles that had the basecoat faded, like right through the clearcoat, and yeah the cc looked OK too (but I didn't measure it). So this kind of thing *does* happen, but eh....all sorts of things happen :nixweiss
 
TOGWT said:
There are two parts to ultra violet radiation; infra red radiation, which causes heat damage and ultra violet light that causes photo degradation. Its this combination that does so much damage to a paint surface, and although the glass offers some protection, it also damages the interior materials



[I wonder if that lifespan is a little on the generous side?] It's very difficult to generalize, as UV exposure varies so much by state / country
Click to expand...



Actually "Infra Red Radiation" is not part of "Ultra Violet Radiation". Infra Red is the source of heat you feel from light, but it is on the bottom end of the visual spectrum where as UV is on the top end of the visual spectrum all the way up to X-Rays.



The acronym ROY G BIV is a method to realize the location of Infra Red, UV and visual light within the spectrum:

Infra Red

R=Red

O=Orange

Y=Yellow

G=Green

B=Blue

I=Indigo

V=Violet

Ultra Violet



So in conclusion...something that says it contains a UV blocker and filter typically will never touch Infra Red light and if it does impact IR then it is negatively impacting the Visual Spectrum as well...which would be undesirable.
 
TOGWT said:


An independent test laboratory could, for a fee, test products for UV resistance. I'm not sure individual product manufacturers would be interested in funding such testing as many don't contain UV protection anyway.



The real answer is a sacrificial layer of wax over a highly reflective sealant etc
Click to expand...

Back in the late 80's, when AI was seeking the Chrysler Master Shield business, we had to submit samples for this very type of testing.

It was performed under various protocals.

One was the use of 4 different base/clearcoat paint systems, three were OEM assembly plant systems and one refinish system.

The test results document was somewhere in the area of 20+ pages, detailing enough documentation to make your head explode!

AI has to submit new samples for testing when ever any new resins are used, etc.

Thank goodness Chrysler's lab does all the work and doesn't charge AI for the work.

Grumpy
 
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