Polymer and Acrylic Sealants
Sealants are a great way to protect your vehicles painted surfaces and increase the shine. They will adhere tightly to the clear coat for a barrier of protection with extended durability and UV protection. The surface should shine bright and vibrant after applying a sealant. The protection will last anywhere from 3 – 9 months depending on conditions such as: previous steps in the detailing process, manufacturer’s clear coating process, age and condition of vehicle, temperature, sealant used, how many coats are applied, hand or buffer application, type of pad or applicator, skill of detailer and more. All of these factors ultimately mean that finding out what works best for your particular vehicle takes a little bit of trial and error.
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How-To Apply Your Sealant
Sealants are great options for many reasons. They are typically one of the easiest products to apply and remove, while giving your paint one of the most important characteristics after properly prepping the paint, durable protection. This step will not remove swirls and other imperfections but it add a thin barrier of protection that makes future cleaning significantly easier and prevent certain imperfections from occuring. A variety of factors will affect the results of the detail such as: manufacturer’s clear coating process, age and condition of vehicle, type of product, hand or buffer application, type of pad or applicator, skill of detailer and more. All of these factors ultimately mean that finding out what works best for your particular vehicle takes a little bit of trial and error.
Prep Stage:
At this point the vehicle should be freshly washed, dried and already treated with clay bar, cutting polish, finishing polish and glaze if desired. For ease of use and best results the vehicle should be worked on in a shaded area where the paint is cool to the touch. Attach the appropriate pad to the Porter Cable 7424, centering the pad on the backing plate. Whether doing the application by hand or with a buffer be sure to match the aggressiveness of the product with the aggressiveness of the pad
Instructions for Sealing with a Porter Cable 7424:
- Dispense a few dabs of product around the outer edge of the pad. (Note: If the pad is brand new add a little extra product)
- With the PC off smear the product over a 18" x 18" area on the clear coat.
- To help spread the product thinly and evenly, turn the PC unit on at a low speed setting (about speed setting 3) and spread the product out evenly over the 18" x 18" section
- Increase the speed setting to 3.5 or 4 before you begin.
- Start in the top left corner of your 18" x 18" area and move the PC from left to right at a pace of 3 ” per second. As you reach the far side of your box, move the PC down enough so that you would overlap the previous pass by about 50%. Continue this pattern until you have passed over each part of the 18" x 18" box. Proceed to follow the same pattern with verticle passes and move the buffer left to right until the entire 18" x 18" area has been buffed.
- After completing a section or panel use a paint safe microfiber towel to wipe off any remaining excess product. Replace towel if it smears or becomes saturated with product. On average we recommend allocating 3 towels per coat to ensure no streaking from excess product build up.
- After a few panels take the time to remove excess product from the pad so it does not get saturated, or ideally, replace the pad with a fresh one at this time. To clean the pad, simply spin the buffer on a low speed and agitate it with a clean soft bristled toothbrush to remove product build up in the pores of the foam pad.
- Continue this entire process until the entire vehicle has been buffed.
- When finished, clean your pads immediately to extend the life of your pads and maintain the highest quality results possible.
Instructions for Sealing by hand:
- Dispense a few drops of product on the applicator pad.
- Outline your 18" x 18" area you plan on working in
- Start in the top left corner of your 18" x 18" area and work the sealant in small circles with little to no pressure moving from left to right, overlapping each pass by 50%.
- Repeat the same process moving up and down.
- After completing a section or panel use a paint safe microfiber towel to wipe off any remaining excess product. Replace towel if it smears or becomes saturated with product.
- Continue this process until the entire vehicle has been sealed
- Clean you applicator immediately after use to extend the life of your applicator and maintain the highest quality results possible.
After Applying Your Sealant...
When you have finished applying a coat of sealant, you should allow the product to cure on the paint for at least 24 hours. This is the time where the sealant cross links and forms the strongest protection. After the 24 hour cure period, you can apply a second coat of sealant or you may wish to top your sealant with a natural carnauba wax. Carnauba waxes further enhance the depth and gloss and really give off that wet look. It is also argued that carnauba waxes provide stronger protection than sealants for things like bird dropping etching or water spots.
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