To seal or not to seal

[RayRay231]

Hi all,
Been reading on this site for years, but first time post. Has anyone used sealer on their.car, if so which one and how did it turn out?

[srhutch]

Are you talking topside or underneath?

[Maniac]

I'd suggest a visit to detailing world website. This will hold all answers for you, what to use how and in what order and when. I use sealant topped with wax and it lasts several months with simple wash and wax top up techniques.

[RayRay231]

I should of said body work sealant, (after you polished the car). I've been on the detailing world too, but i always find it varys on car / manufacturer of how it comes up and which one was the best.

[stevo///m3]

I should of said body work sealant, (after you polished the car). I've been on the detailing world too, but i always find it varys on car / manufacturer of how it comes up and which one was the best.

This I absolutely compulsory, Ray! Makes everything easier and better provided you do the preparation well - this will take you time but will pay you back over time. You'll "seal in" your good polishing work; it will much better protect the paint against the elements; your maintenance washes will become easier, better and quicker; you'll love the way it beads for loads of months afterwards and so on...

I am using PoorBoys EX-P. As you can probably tell from the above, I'm a fan. I'm coming to the end of the bottle, having sealed about 3 or 4 times IIRC and will choose something else next time - I'm leaning towards Chemical Guys Jet Seal - having said that, it is quite a bit more expensive and if I ended up with another bottle of PoorBoys, I certainly wouldn't be disappointed.

If you want to up-the-ante, you can wax over the top of sealant to your heart's content if waxing is your thing - I have done that before and many details will also do this. For me these days, from my personal experience, I don't find that wax gives half of the benefits of sealant and - for me at least - is more time consuming. This is based on the fact that any polishing/waxing/sealing basically involves stripping back and getting the paint super-clean before applying your products. Whereas the sealant seems to last me in the region of 6-8 months protection before I start to notice a deterioration, I notice the wax lasts a lot less time - maybe a month or so - meaning that the amount of prep I would need to do for waxing regularly would be done 6 times more often than for sealant.

Whilst we're on the subject of sealing, I'd also highly recommend sealing your wheels with a specific wheel sealant. Plenty of threads on here you can look at. I am using Chemical Guys Wheel Guard (I think that is what it is called) and again, can't speak highly enough of it. Two coats once you've cleaned and polished them and your wheel washes basically become ridiculously easy to get them back to showroom conditions.

HTH

Stevo

[RayRay231]

Thanks guys for the messages. I've got a gun metal grey and not sure which sealant to use. Poor boys black hole or white diamond? The paint work is in fantastic shape for its age. Just want it to have that liquid effect to really make it pop!

[patriot66]

Thanks guys for the messages. I've got a gun metal grey and not sure which sealant to use. Poor boys black hole or white diamond? The paint work is in fantastic shape for its age. Just want it to have that liquid effect to really make it pop!

Poorboys Blackhole and White Diamond are filler glazes not sealants. Poorboys sealant is EX-P. My Zed is Sterling Grey and I don't use a sealant as I strip back, glaze and wax on a regular basis to keep it looking fresh and sharp. I am currently using Blackhole topped off with a 50:50 blend of AG HD Wax and 50cal Pentawax. Really pleased with the results from this combination. I can also recommend Collinite 845, Fusso Soft 99 Dark and Poorboys Nattys Paste Wax Black

[RayRay231]

Thanks patriot66. your car looks amazing, just the finish i am after. Sorry, I must have got them mixed up. Is it worth doing both sealant then glaze etc, or stick with glaze and wax? I usually strip and decontaminate it and build the layers up. HD Wax is great too, last for about six months before the beading has gone.

[patriot66]

Thanks patriot66. your car looks amazing, just the finish i am after. Sorry, I must have got them mixed up. Is it worth doing both sealant then glaze etc, or stick with glaze and wax? I usually strip and decontaminate it and build the layers up. HD Wax is great too, last for about six months before the beading has gone.

Thanks mate. You could possibly glaze then seal it but if your going to build up multiple layers of wax I can't really see much point in applying sealant. I always think that sealants are for people that don't like/can't be bothered applying wax on a regular basis. You cannot beat the look of a freshly waxed car !