Sealants, Ceramic, Glass Coatings, these are all names used to describe a protective coating that is applied to the surface of a vehicle. At times, it can be confusing due to the interchangeable names, but we will offer this simple guide to help you understand exactly what you are looking for. To be clear, we will use the term ‘sealant’ in this run through and by this, we are referencing coatings which crystallise onto a surface and are designed to offer protection for 1 year or more.
We are going to discuss sealants that anyone can purchase and ignore the professional only applied sealants. So, here are three things you need to know to help you choose the best sealant for you.
1. Durability – Pick What’s Right For You
1-Year, 2-Year, 5-Year, we’re sure you have seen many coatings promising you the world when it comes to durability. In laboratory conditions, under controlled tests, any of these sealants could provide you unlimited years of protection. Got a classic car that comes out only once or twice a year? Put one of these sealants on the paintwork, and you won’t ever need to reapply ever again.
Sealants will only truly degrade because of abrasive or harsh chemical contact. Think of the lacquer on your car, it will tire over time due to these two factors, but it doesn’t just fall off of the car. This is similar to most other forms of protection you can apply, even a quick detailer. What differs with sealants is the bond to the surface is much stronger, meaning stronger abrasion or stronger chemicals are needed in order to remove them.
Pick a durability which works for your maintenance routine and the car's life cycle.
- If you’re trading your car in every 3 years, why do you even require a 5-year sealant? Most reputable manufacturers will give their sealants a real-world durability test, so you can pick something which is close.
- Do you like going through the process of applying the product and is it also just more of a hobby rather than an exercise of protecting your car? Choosing a 3-year sealant in this case would make the next year's “detail” a little harder to do.
- Lastly the maintenance wash, if you aren’t going to take all the necessary steps for a safer wash, you will not get the full term from a sealant. Aim for the longest lasting to give you the best chance of protection over the years or select something with a 1-2 year durability and apply annually. Professional sealants may come with much longer warranties but also come with all the T&Cs. This is why they can offer the longer 100,000Km or 10 year warranties.
2. Ease of Application – Know what you’re doing.
Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a first-time enthusiast, easy application is at the top of most peoples' wish list for sealants. Application can be split into three sections. Physical application, after application and conditions.
Physical application, fairly simple on this one, is it an easy to apply coating? Does it give you a longer working time? Does it require 100 microfibre cloths? Does it need 6 layers? Better application should mean a better bond to the surface and a better performance overall. Most sealants will be in the same ballpark for application but reading reviews or instructions will give you a better picture of what you will need to do.
After Application, something that a lot of beginners overlook is the cure time. If a manufacturer has stated the cure time is 24 hours, they mean it. Within this period if the coating gets wet, they can leave spots all over the surface, which you may not be able to remove without a machine polisher. If you have access to indoor storage, this is the ideal. If not, choose a sealant which has a shorter cure time or select days in the year when rain will not be an issue (easier said than done in the UK).
Conditions, not something that gets mentioned very much in a detailing studio as many of them have controlled climates, but for those that need to apply coatings outside or in an unheated garage, working conditions can be critical. A sealant's curing time will be dictated by two main factors, humidity, and heat. A hot, dry day with direct sunlight? The sealant is going to flash-off as soon as it hits the surface, this is not recommended by anyone. Working in the opposite conditions - cold and humid? Application may be easier but curing could need extending. Too hot is a no-no and too cold is a check with the manufacturer for best application.
3. Single Layer or Dual Layer – Know the benefits
With the development of sealants over the last 10 years, many manufacturers have been able to hewn in on 5 main performance properties: Hardness, Gloss, Chemical Resistance, Bonding and Water Behaviour.
Hardness - measured to the pencil scale (not the mohs scale) most are around 10h.
Gloss - unless you are choosing a matte sealant, all will enhance the gloss levels of the surface.
Chemical Resistance - this can differ a lot but using better quality maintenance products will mean you can ignore this as a potential issue.
Bonding - how strong is the bond after the sealant has cured? The stronger the bond the more difficult it is to remove.
Water Behaviour - hydrophobic sealants look more dramatic, but sheeting sealants will technically keep the vehicle cleaner for longer.
As mentioned, manufacturers have been able to tailor these properties to their preference in more recent years. Most brands tend to offer a core sealant which will give you performance in the region of a 7/10 for each of the above. Then, a second sealant in the range could offer 10/10 for Gloss and Water Behaviour, but fall down in the other categories.
Outside professional sealants, which aim for hitting 10/10 in all categories, and to get the best protection on the surface, you would need to explore a base sealant (normally as part of the core sealant). With the base coat installed, the top sealant can then be laid down on top, giving you that extra gloss and water behaviour.
Beading or sheeting is up to you, but either will be a vast improvement to nothing at all. Manufacturers don’t normally produce sealants available for purchase to enthusiasts for self-installation that offer the full 10/10 performance for bonding/hardness. This is just in case the application goes wrong as you may end up needing to wet sand an area to remove the remnants - not something you want to discover the next morning on your beloved car! It is important to choose a single layer or dual layer beforehand as many require the sealants to be applied within a few hours of each other, not something that you can change a week later.
To summarise:
- Assess all the variables before deciding the durability level of a sealant. E.g. how long will you keep the car? Is it a classic that covers no miles? Is it a daily driver covering lots of miles? Will it be properly maintained in future maintenance washes to give the sealant the best possible chance of maintaining performance?
- Select an application that you are happy with, well within your knowledge and skill level
- Decide if you want a single layer application or dual layer application beforehand
