How long do these sealants generally last...

[akimel]

Re: How long do these sealants generally last...

And with variable weather conditions, do you really even want to stretch your wax intervals to once every six months?

Quite right. Durability is not irrelevant to me, but I can't imagine myself waiting six months between waxes, unless required to do so by the weather. For example, I applied a coat of Ultima Paint Guard Plus to my wife's CRV in late October. This was the fourth (or maybe even fifth) coat I had applied to it since we bought it in May. Winter has prevented me from sealing it again. I can say that the sealant is still beading well after three months. I am planning on stripping off the sealant with a paint cleaner in April and re-doing everything. I am undecided whether to try to stretch out the present protection until then or whether to add a coat of something if weather conditions permit. I'll probably just wait things out. At this point I am curious to see how long the protectant will last. And once spring arrives I will be back waxing the CRV every other month or so, whether it needs it or not.

But with my S2K I haven't been so indifferent. I applied two coats of Blackfire Wet Diamond in late October and have topped it twice with Ultimate Quik Wax, not because I saw any evidence that the protection was failing but just because I wanted the car to look as good as possible. And when spring arrives, I'll do a full detail and will return to waxing Luthien every month!

So how many people who care about detailing, who care about how their cars look, actually allow their cars to go six months before wax/sealant applications?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: How long do these sealants generally last...

The problem is that Durability is perceived differently from person to person, and car to car. For example, I have just one coat of M21 2.0 on my white Ford Ranger applied 5 months ago and it still has tight beads and a great shine. While on my wife's black Subaru, I've seen maybe only 3 months from 2 coats of Zaino Z2 which is supposed to be a really durable sealant. The exception is that her car is outside 24/7 and driven 6 days a week. So I'm going to make a general statement that most sealants will see anywhere from 1-6 months depending on the car and surrounding conditions.

A very astute observation, and pretty much spot on. A very durable wax or sealant that is subject to extreme conditions won't last as long as a less durable product that is pampered in a garage and only brought out on rare occasions. The relentless downpours of rain we've had the past week here in SoCal will kill a wax fairly quickly, whereas our usual warm, clear, dry weather will allow for great durability in most cases.

Exposure is everything when it comes to wax longevity. For those of you who take great pleasure in waxing your cars and consider it therapy, longevity is probably a non issue since you're waxing so often anyway. But for a daily driver that sits outside 24/7 and lives in a very wet environment, you're almost forced to wax regularly since you're subjecting any wax to a very tough test indeed.

It wouldn't surprise us to find that most quality sealants on the market are pretty darn close in terms of overall, usable life span. And with variable weather conditions, do you really even want to stretch your wax intervals to once every six months?

[Caress Detailing]

Re: How long do these sealants generally last...

The problem is that Durability is perceived differently from person to person, and car to car. For example, I have just one coat of M21 2.0 on my white Ford Ranger applied 5 months ago and it still has tight beads and a great shine. While on my wife's black Subaru, I've seen maybe only 3 months from 2 coats of Zaino Z2 which is supposed to be a really durable sealant. The exception is that her car is outside 24/7 and driven 6 days a week. So I'm going to make a general statement that most sealants will see anywhere from 1-6 months depending on the car and surrounding conditions.

[Clutch34]

Re: How long do these sealants generally last...

I'll take a look into that, thanks!

[ColonelCash]

Re: How long do these sealants generally last...

M20 --> Collinite 476s or 845 (insulator wax) would be a good maintenance program 476s is a hard paste wax, 845 is a liquid. I have a few of each 476s seems to last longer, but 845 is REALLY easy to work with.

[Clutch34]

Re: How long do these sealants generally last...

Thanks for the input ColonelCash. I do intend on topping the sealant with a wax, most likely M26. Don't have any yet, but I will soon enough!

[ColonelCash]

Re: How long do these sealants generally last...

I'm a big fan of Collinite products. I know it wasn't on your original list, but I can get 5 months out of an application of 476s on a steady basis. Would last longer with better surface prep I'm sure. Also, M16 is another long lasting LSP. Neither will darken your paint like M26, but will provide gloss and great protection.

[Clutch34]

Re: How long do these sealants generally last...

What's the process for adding another coat of wax and/or sealant a few months after the first application? Just wash the car and apply the new wax or wash, clay, wax or something different..?

[Lasthope05]

Re: How long do these sealants generally last...

Well, since #21 is pretty much the Mirror Glaze version of NXT 2.0...and i used NXT 2.0 last August, and now its January, so thats about 6 months and i still have relentess water beading and full signs of wax protection

Nxt2.0 has never lasted more than 2-3 months for me. Do you use UQD or UQW? If so I think this is what you are still seeing beading wise. When you use topper products like these you never know when your true base LSP is still there or not and its the topper product that is actually beading and not the original LSP.

Of all the sealants in my arsenal FK 1000P is my favorite for looks, durability and slickness.

[Clutch34]

Re: How long do these sealants generally last...

Cool, exactly what I wanted to know, thanks stang_krazy!

[Daniel Kinder]

Re: How long do these sealants generally last...

Well All I can say is that I used to be a weekend/mobile detailer and had great results and call backs for most of my clients when I used either one of these products on their vehicles.

As for my own personal vehicles, mustang was garaged kept for a long time and mainly just did a weekly wash with a quik detail and usally about every couple months give or take a week or so I would apply some cleaner/wax.Without getting to specifically about 3 times a year I would clay then apply #80 and either #26 and #21 over that or #16 over #26 or #21 over #16 just kept things interesting and loved to experiment with different combo's.

And another thing I liked about #21 was that when I got in a hurry and didn't tape off or ran out off tape you could get away without having streaks on your rubber/trim surfaces when #21 got on them.

And talk about a gloss and the richness of color in a paint even when the customer just wanted a fast wash and wax!

All in all I will say that the sealant will last about 3 to 4 months if applied with 2 thin coats, and on a daily driver that gets washed maybe onced a week and parked under shade.

Thats just my opinion maybe others will chim in with something different or their experience but our weather has been pretty crazy the last couple 3 or 4 years best I can remember.

Hope that helped.

[speed3blackmica]

Re: How long do these sealants generally last...

it should...i've never read any bad reviews on NXT 2.0 except for the streaking problem some people say it has, but its usually because they are either not waiting long enough for it to dry or waiting TOO long.

[Clutch34]

Re: How long do these sealants generally last...

really ? NXT 2.0 has been nothing but the most durable wax i have ever used

hmm...that's interesting..

Not sayin that you're wrong or anything, just a little different then what I've been reading up. I'm glad it's working so well for you though! I actually have some NXT 2.0 right now that I won at Nick's get together here in Dallas when Mike Phillips came down. Just waiting to get over with my DAT so I can try it out. Hopefully it works just as well for me as it does for you!

[speed3blackmica]

Re: How long do these sealants generally last...

really ? NXT 2.0 has been nothing but the most durable wax i have ever used

[Clutch34]

Re: How long do these sealants generally last...

Well, since #21 is pretty much the Mirror Glaze version of NXT 2.0...and i used NXT 2.0 last August, and now its January, so thats about 6 months and i still have relentess water beading and full signs of wax protection

I had read up on NXT 2.0 and there were some complaints that it didn't last very long. But I guess that could be why #21 is "pretty much" like NXT 2.0 -- do the same thing, just a little more durable..?