Paint protection. It’s all futile.

[Kurtatron]

Water beading. Looks nice, but seriously? What scientific evidence is there that water beading is more than wishful thinking?

And UV protection? Oh please. I’ve watched the videos with UV meters. Max was like 3% UVA reduction.

Oxidation? I’ve seen no controlled study on this either.

It all smells like marketing to me. If I had the means, I would go to a junkyard and get a body panel from a late model wrecked vehicle and leave it exposed outside for years. One side “protected” by these products and the other left barren. I suspect the difference would be none!

Note, I am ranting about long term protection. Not aesthetics. The products make a car look pretty for sure, but protection seems like a lost cause to me.

Is there any empirical evidence that wax/coatings/sealants/ceramics, blah blah blah, do anything but make us feel better?

 

[RooflessVW]

Water beading. Looks nice, but seriously? What scientific evidence is there that water beading is more than wishful thinking?

And UV protection? Oh please. I’ve watched the videos with UV meters. Max was like 3% UVA reduction.

Oxidation? I’ve seen no controlled study on this either.

It all smells like marketing to me. If I had the means, I would go to a junkyard and get a body panel from a late model wrecked vehicle and leave it exposed outside for years. One side “protected” by these products and the other left barren. I suspect the difference would be none!

Note, I am ranting about long term protection. Not aesthetics. The products make a car look pretty for sure, but protection seems like a lost cause to me.

Is there any empirical evidence that wax/coatings/sealants/ceramics, blah blah blah, do anything but make us feel better?

You can very clearly tell which cars are cared for and which aren't as they age.

 

[buster]

It's a legitimate question. In theory a product with better hydrophobic properties will aid in self-cleaning. The higher the contact angle and sliding angle of the bead, the faster the water moves off the surface when driven or with forced air. Beading can also contribute to water spotting. Makes drying a car much easier though I have found.

In theory coatings have greater resistance to chemical contaminants and dirt. In reality, I don't know.

In between a true high solids coating and Sio2 spray sealant are your "coating lite" products - Can Coat/CQuartz Lite. They work very well for up to a year or so. They're so easy that for me they eliminate the traditional wax and many spray sealant products on the market.

I can say that Can Coat looked fantastic, provided exceptional water beading and sheeting and kept my truck looking good all the time.

As far as UV protection, probably not much. I'm not even convinced that the UVa/b inhibitors in Optimum Car Wax even work.

Coating technology is always improving, and the application seems to be getting better. Many are now single layer. Some are outdoor friendly.

I'm sure people that do it for a living can tell you more than I could. They see cars on a regular basis.

 

[CKN]

Water beading. Looks nice, but seriously? What scientific evidence is there that water beading is more than wishful thinking?

And UV protection? Oh please. I’ve watched the videos with UV meters. Max was like 3% UVA reduction.

Oxidation? I’ve seen no controlled study on this either.

It all smells like marketing to me. If I had the means, I would go to a junkyard and get a body panel from a late model wrecked vehicle and leave it exposed outside for years. One side “protected” by these products and the other left barren. I suspect the difference would be none!

Note, I am ranting about long term protection. Not aesthetics. The products make a car look pretty for sure, but protection seems like a lost cause to me.

Is there any empirical evidence that wax/coatings/sealants/ceramics, blah blah blah, do anything but make us feel better?

Why does my paint on my vehicle look so much better after a few year than my neighbors paint on his vehicle? Why-on a recent trade in the dealer told me it's one of the cleanest vehicles he has seen on trade in? AND-the trade in amount reflect that. (Way more than anticipated by about $1,900.000). That's evidence enough for me.

 

[Zee09]

It's all a wash when you get hit with stones..

 

[The Critic]

You can very clearly tell which cars are cared for and which aren't as they age.

Not always. Better washing techniques and frequency of washes certainly help with maintaining appearance, but I am doubtful that protection helps with actual paint longevity. My Prius paint started failing around the 10 year mark, same as all of the unmaintained ones that I've seen.

 

[Mazomopar]

Never understood the bragging rights that went with beading. Little beads lead to little circles that collect whatever. I always thought a sheeting action where the water ran off as a film would be more attractive. Up here I'm more concerned about what's getting washed off underneath. That'll add more lifetime and value than the paint job around here. 20 bucks a month at the carwash in the winter months is your best investment.

 

[SaberOne]

Back when my car was new, I was all giddy’ so I had ceramic coat put on by a boutique detail shop. Looked and felt good for a few weeks, but then it was like it never had it.

 

[JRHAWK9]

Up here I'm more concerned about what's getting washed off underneath. That'll add more lifetime and value than the paint job around here. 20 bucks a month at the carwash in the winter months is your best investment.

Unless the place uses recycled water, then you are just spraying salt water on it and making things even worse.

I do a yearly application of Krown. Zero rust on the underside after 2 winters in the same state you live in.

 

[Kurtatron]

Not always. Better washing techniques and frequency of washes certainly help with maintaining appearance, but I am doubtful that protection helps with actual paint longevity. My Prius paint started failing around the 10 year mark, same as all of the unmaintained ones that I've seen.

Right. Conflicting evidence. They’re just not any apples to apples, long term, studies afaik. I want to do something of my own, but I don’t have the means of doing so, being in an apartment. But I never understood why water beading was so lauded.

I think primary protection is the factory applied clear coat, and that thing’s lifespan can’t be extended significantly by products, imo.

 

[CKN]

Here we go again. There is a very sophiscated water recycling system that is used at most car washes. Local regulations usually demand some portion of water used is recycled. The anti-automated car wash guys can't be convinced of any benefits to a commercial car wash.

Where it snows and salt is used-You have two choices. Not do anything and you will see rust. Which is very expensive to repair. If it can be repaired at all. OR-perhaps paint correction on a car that's been through a wash 100's of times. DIY is not pleasant in the winter time.
That's the choice.
So-I will leave it at that.

 

[Zee09]

Bad paint on a new car isn't helped by anything other than a repaint most likely.

 

[buster]

Never understood the bragging rights that went with beading. Little beads lead to little circles that collect whatever. I always thought a sheeting action where the water ran off as a film would be more attractive. Up here I'm more concerned about what's getting washed off underneath. That'll add more lifetime and value than the paint job around here. 20 bucks a month at the carwash in the winter months is your best investment.

Yeah, you often hear people say sheeting is better, but the problem is there are no known chemistries that are designed specifically to sheet based on what the chemist from B&B Blending has said. Beading and sheeting go hand in hand. In other words, a good beading product that is very hydrophobic, will also sheet water extremely fast. I don't think you can have one without the other.

 

[Vern_in_IL]

If you are not parking your car in a garage/carport, paint care is futile.

 

[JRHAWK9]

Where it snows and salt is used-You have two choices. Not do anything and you will see rust. Which is very expensive to repair. If it can be repaired at all. OR-perhaps paint correction on a car that's been through a wash 100's of times. DIY is not pleasant in the winter time.
That's the choice.

Three choices. The third being the best of the three. There are multiple fluids out there, take your pick.

Passenger Vehicles

 

[Wrenchturner44]

Water beading. Looks nice, but seriously? What scientific evidence is there that water beading is more than wishful thinking?

And UV protection? Oh please. I’ve watched the videos with UV meters. Max was like 3% UVA reduction.

Oxidation? I’ve seen no controlled study on this either.

It all smells like marketing to me. If I had the means, I would go to a junkyard and get a body panel from a late model wrecked vehicle and leave it exposed outside for years. One side “protected” by these products and the other left barren. I suspect the difference would be none!

Note, I am ranting about long term protection. Not aesthetics. The products make a car look pretty for sure, but protection seems like a lost cause to me.

Is there any empirical evidence that wax/coatings/sealants/ceramics, blah blah blah, do anything but make us feel better?

Waxes, sealnts, polymers etc are all meant to be sacrificial agents as a shield against the elements. Many of today's cars never see a hand applied coat of wax or sealant. In reality though, applying one of these not only adds the sacrifical coating process but also helps deep clean a lot of imbedded dirt making the exposed top layer much more polished and clear.

 

[chris719]

I’m a big fan of paint protection film. The rest just makes it easier to clean and maybe shinier.

 

[Mazomopar]

Remember how good your Rambler looked after you used rubbing compound as the first step to remove the oxidized red paint, then turtle wax or whatever to add shine. Looked good for the summer, then do it all over again for winter. How many mils of paint did that elbow grease take off every time..

 

[Vercingetorix]

Have to wonder what the chemist guys at BASF and PPG think of this wax/ ceramic stuff. I bet they laugh their behinds off at all the money being spent.

 

[97prizm]

Water beading. Looks nice, but seriously? What scientific evidence is there that water beading is more than wishful thinking?

And UV protection? Oh please. I’ve watched the videos with UV meters. Max was like 3% UVA reduction.

Oxidation? I’ve seen no controlled study on this either.

It all smells like marketing to me. If I had the means, I would go to a junkyard and get a body panel from a late model wrecked vehicle and leave it exposed outside for years. One side “protected” by these products and the other left barren. I suspect the difference would be none!

Note, I am ranting about long term protection. Not aesthetics. The products make a car look pretty for sure, but protection seems like a lost cause to me.

Is there any empirical evidence that wax/coatings/sealants/ceramics, blah blah blah, do anything but make us feel better?

I will say that when I had my geo back in the day I wash waxed and used a synthetic sealant. At 16 years old the paint looked like new. My 2005 Neon already has peeling paint on the roof.