[nordberg]

Has anyone applied a paint sealant to their new car themselves? I really can't afford to pay anyone to do a job I can do myself....

[DazC]

I would read the how to guides on detailing world mate.

Normal sealants aren't too hard to apply IMO but I wouldn't tackle quartz coating myself as don't have the time or facilities to do so.

[nordberg]

Thanks, I'll have a look....

[Tengocity]

A lot of those sealants that last years rather than months need time to cure, and can't get wet in betweeen etc. I don't have the time or facilities for that either so will be paying for it to be done as well.

[d4springer]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

A lot of those sealants that last years rather than months need time to cure, and can't get wet in betweeen etc. I don't have the time or facilities for that either so will be paying for it to be done as well.

Yes agreed, I looked into doing this myself and decent paint sealer needed at least 24 hours to cure and my car won't fit in the garage, if it's done professionally at least you know it will be applied correctly, cured and then waxed afterwards etc...

[DazC]

It will likely be some of the best money you spend on your car.

A professional detail protects, looks great and makes cleaning much easier.

[brommy]

Originally Posted by DazC

It will likely be some of the best money you spend on your car.

A professional detail protects, looks great and makes cleaning much easier.

How long will the protection last?

I don't trust my skill or patience to do a good paint sealant job on my new F30 when I collect in March but if I knew that it could be done well by someone for less than say £300 AND it would last* for a couple of years, I'd be very interested.

* noticeable difference after prolonged exposure to 'real world' conditions, not some lab or TV ad evidence.

Genuine question - am I expecting too much for the protection durability or the cost?

[DazC]

You can get very hard wearing coatings but cost increases in line with longevity.

You get what you pay for as they say.

Best bet would be to call a good detailer and get their recommendations on the best balance per buck!

[BMWSKI]

One thing to consider if you want to 'detail' your own car once it's been 'detailed' professionally is that you can't wax / nano seal your own motor if it's had the likes of a G-Techniq treatment from new.
Apparently you can't go over the top of a G-Techniq application (a Crystal Laquer Based product) with a Polymer Based product. This means your original sealant coating will need to be machine polished off completely before other coatings can be applied. Now if you don't mind using a machine polisher on your motor then that's fine but I don't have the time to strip back my sealant and start again to be honest.
I'm a keen car cleaner so I would prefer a treatment that I can go over myself to try out other products on the market. I would be very skeptical of any product that says it will give you several years of protection.
I went for a Polymer Based Sealant so I can have a go with other nano-techs, waxes and polishes in the summer. This will then just keep adding to the protection rather than starting from square one again.
The main reason I chose a professional 'detail' was to give my car a thorough inspection before collection. The car is completely checked inside and out so any paint defects would've been picked up and noted to my dealer. Worth every penny if you ask me.
I know my car will need Clay Barring at some point but I will deal with that as and when.

Please note that I am far from experienced in this field but these are my findings having spoke to many professionals.

Good luck!

[brommy]

Originally Posted by DazC

You can get very hard wearing coatings but cost increases in line with longevity.

You get what you pay for as they say.

Best bet would be to call a good detailer and get their recommendations on the best balance per buck!

Wouldn't a detailer 'talk up' their more expensive treatments?

Also, where to find a 'good' detailer? I don't even know where to get it done:-
At the dealers before collection (do most dealers allow it?);
Nearer home but I'd lose the car for a day or two and it would have 200+ miles of 'contamination'.

My main worry is giving a so-called good detailer £300 for a half-hearted half-day job with £30 worth of chemicals OR finding that even after a 'good' job was done the reality is the protection starts to wear after 6 months and is non-existent after a year.

[brommy]

Originally Posted by BMWSKI

One thing to consider if you want to 'detail' your own car once it's been 'detailed' professionally is that you can't wax / nano seal your own motor if it's had the likes of a G-Techniq treatment from new.
Apparently you can't go over the top of a G-Techniq application (a Crystal Laquer Based product) with a Polymer Based product. This means your original sealant coating will need to be machine polished off completely before other coatings can be applied. Now if you don't mind using a machine polisher on your motor then that's fine but I don't have the time to strip back my sealant and start again to be honest.
I'm a keen car cleaner so I would prefer a treatment that I can go over myself to try out other products on the market. I would be very skeptical of any product that says it will give you several years of protection.
I went for a Polymer Based Sealant so I can have a go with other nano-techs, waxes and polishes in the summer. This will then just keep adding to the protection rather than starting from square one again.
The main reason I chose a professional 'detail' was to give my car a thorough inspection before collection. The car is completely checked inside and out so any paint defects would've been picked up and noted to my dealer. Worth every penny if you ask me.
I know my car will need Clay Barring at some point but I will deal with that as and when.

Please note that I am far from experienced in this field but these are my findings having spoke to many professionals.

Good luck!

Interesting, especially about using a detailers services to effectively check the paint and trim before collection. I wonder if many dealers allow this as they could start trying to blame the detailer once he had got his hands on the car.

[BMWSKI]

Originally Posted by brommy

Interesting, especially about using a detailers services to effectively check the paint and trim before collection. I wonder if many dealers allow this as they could start trying to blame the detailer once he had got his hands on the car.

To be honest I would probably pay an inspector the same amount as my Detail cost me if it meant my car was checked over thoroughly before handing over my hard earned cash.
I don't think they would have a case for blaming the detailer though.
Just my opinion...

[Jim-Bow]

Do it yourself isn't a bad option, certainly don't pay the dealers to do it as they just rub over a washed car with a supaguard sponge and buff off 10-15 mins later.

If you're going to part with £100s then get a pro to do it as they'll properly polish and prep the paintwork to remove any defects marks from transit etc before sealing the car.

Personally I went for DIY, initially I was going to buy the supaguard sponge that the dealers use (£10 from ebay) but in the end used some Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection, needed an hour to cure but did a fab job and was incredibly easy to use and buff off (I'm your average ham fisted car washer) and if I keep it coated with a decent wax it'll certainly protect the car for 2-3 years.

My handiwork:

[brommy]

Originally Posted by BMWSKI

To be honest I would probably pay an inspector the same amount as my Detail cost me if it meant my car was checked over thoroughly before handing over my hard earned cash.
I don't think they would have a case for blaming the detailer though.
Just my opinion...

I was thinking of a detailer pointing out a light scratch or two and the dealer saying it was fine until the detailer spend time with the car.

I like the idea of paying a good detailer to spend a full day with the new car at the dealer so I can collect it fully protected for a year or two. I'm not sure it will work like that in reality though.

[nordberg]

Originally Posted by Jim-Bow

Do it yourself isn't a bad option, certainly don't pay the dealers to do it as they just rub over a washed car with a supaguard sponge and buff off 10-15 mins later.

If you're going to part with £100s then get a pro to do it as they'll properly polish and prep the paintwork to remove any defects marks from transit etc before sealing the car.

Personally I went for DIY, initially I was going to buy the supaguard sponge that the dealers use (£10 from ebay) but in the end used some Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection, needed an hour to cure but did a fab job and was incredibly easy to use and buff off (I'm your average ham fisted car washer) and if I keep it coated with a decent wax it'll certainly protect the car for 2-3 years.

My handiwork:

Looks great! I presume it beads nicely and grime is easier to wash off than it would be otherwise?

[DazC]

A lot of dealers won't allow detailers to work on the car at the dealership.

[Jim-Bow]

Originally Posted by nordberg

Looks great! I presume it beads nicely and grime is easier to wash off than it would be otherwise?

Beading looks great, although I haven't needed to wash it yet (did the work last week) the torrential rain we've had since I applied it means it's been pretty much self washing.

Only thing I'm still considering is how to coat the windows, have used rainX in the past which is good but I don't like the smearing on the wipers, may just do the sides and much needed rear (coming from a hatchback I still reach for the rear wipe only to be dissappointed)

[HiBee]

Originally Posted by BMWSKI

One thing to consider if you want to 'detail' your own car once it's been 'detailed' professionally is that you can't wax / nano seal your own motor if it's had the likes of a G-Techniq treatment from new.
Apparently you can't go over the top of a G-Techniq application (a Crystal Laquer Based product) with a Polymer Based product. This means your original sealant coating will need to be machine polished off completely before other coatings can be applied. Now if you don't mind using a machine polisher on your motor then that's fine but I don't have the time to strip back my sealant and start again to be honest.
I'm a keen car cleaner so I would prefer a treatment that I can go over myself to try out other products on the market. I would be very skeptical of any product that says it will give you several years of protection.
I went for a Polymer Based Sealant so I can have a go with other nano-techs, waxes and polishes in the summer. This will then just keep adding to the protection rather than starting from square one again.
The main reason I chose a professional 'detail' was to give my car a thorough inspection before collection. The car is completely checked inside and out so any paint defects would've been picked up and noted to my dealer. Worth every penny if you ask me.
I know my car will need Clay Barring at some point but I will deal with that as and when.

Please note that I am far from experienced in this field but these are my findings having spoke to many professionals.

Good luck!

Where did you get that info from

I may have picked you up wrong, but once professionaly detailed with nano/ceramic protection & wax coatings, what's to stop putting extra layers of wax on ?
My motor has Max Protect sealant, without any wax coating. It has lasted almost 10 months, without any top up of waxing. Carefully washed over the past months. It's due a top up. Although the beading isn't too great now, but still impressive. Agree it isn't cheap but worth it in the long run.
Wouldn't let my dealer/valet anywhere near my motor before it was delivered

[Scoobsheister]

I've just detailed my car today - see new thread raised for pictures - and i used a sealant (Werkstat Acrylic Kit for paintwork, Planet Polish for wheels and exhausts).

There really isn't anything complicated to it, the products I have used are middle of the road products and would expect around 3 months or so if you weren't going to top it up at some point but the joy of sealants is that most you can just spritz another layer on the car after your usual wash to add to the protection.


Take anyone advising you that a coating will last 2 to 3 years with a pinch of salt - most coatings will require topping up to maintain protection levels.

[DazC]

A very basic clean which is used to do all the time simply entailed - wash, clay bar, wash, dry with micofibre towel, apply AG super resin polish, buff, cure, apply AG HD wax, buff.

This always left a lovely finish and the protection lasted for a few months but you could top up with a quick detailer to prolong this.

Products cost about £50 and took about 3 hours or so.

[MarkG_M5Comp]

Originally Posted by Jim-Bow

Only thing I'm still considering is how to coat the windows, have used rainX in the past which is good but I don't like the smearing on the wipers, may just do the sides and much needed rear (coming from a hatchback I still reach for the rear wipe only to be dissappointed)

Let us know what you decide/how you get on, this is something I need to look into - not used RainX for donkey's years.

[Rich9600]

Originally Posted by DazC

A very basic clean which is used to do all the time simply entailed - wash, clay bar, wash, dry with micofibre towel, apply AG super resin polish, buff, cure, apply AG HD wax, buff.

This always left a lovely finish and the protection lasted for a few months but you could top up with a quick detailer to prolong this.

Products cost about £50 and took about 3 hours or so.

Almost exactly the same regime for me. However, I use DoDo Juice. Their supernatural range costs a wee bit more but it's worth it. I put in a quick hand polish stage occasionally, after clay baring, if I feel I need a bit more shine.

Finish with DoDo Supernatural carnauba wax, sealed with its matching Supernatural acrylic sealant spritz.

3-4 hours work, 3-6 months protection. More if you don't have to remove paint contamination, tar soots etc, by starting again. You can just top up with the sealant spray to extend the 3-6 months to about a year before too much normal dirt is caught in the wax layer and must be removed.

For normal washes I use the matching DoDo Juice Supernatural Shampoo at the correct concentration. Apparently it is sympathetic to the wax/sealant longevity.