Sealant

[Gordie]

I've decided that I'll be keeping my Yaris for another couple of years. With this in mind I'm going to give it an extra special spring clean this year instead of the normal good waxing. I'm planning going over the paint with a clay bar and then Colour Magic, then a couple of coats of Toyota's own polish which I find pretty good. My problem is that I want to put a sealant on to keep the polish before I finish it off with about 3 coats of wax. Has anyone any favourite sealant that they recommend?

It might sound a wee bit over the top but I do like a clean car. lol

Thanks

Gordie

[alfiejts]

You either want a sealant or a wax, not both. They both do the same job.

What you want is to clay it to remove the surface contaminants.

Then a polish to smooth the surface (for hand use, Altoglym SRP is hard to beat)

Then if you really want to treat it, apply a "glaze" that fills in the swirls and gives it a "wet look" finish (I use Poorboys Black Hole which is for dark cars and they do a similar but light product for light colours)

Then apply several coats of sealant or wax.

They reckon that if you have a metallic car, then a sealant like "Werkstatt Jett" gives you a much more transparant coating than a wax (which is slightly opaque) so you get a more transparent surface finish which allows the metallic bits to shine through better.

For solid paints, wax is the preferred product, cos you just want a protective shine without the need to see any sparkly bits.

Just whipped over our Roxy on a warm day the other week and even though I didn't clay it, a quick go over with quick detailer to clean it, a new coat of glaze and two coats of sealant have made it come up a treat - a great "wet look" shine....

[Gordie]

That's great advice, just what I was looking for. What do you think of the Colour Magic idea? I've used it sometimes if my drying blade leaves a light scratch. The Poorboys glaze sounds great, my car is Vivid Blue which is quite bright. I like the Toyota polish so thought I might try and use that or just keep it for summer 'top-ups' What do you thnk?

Gordon

[stantheman1]

You have the first stage right by useing a clay bar (just be careful you don't drop it on the floor as you probably know you'll have to bin it, a useful tip is to place an old dustsheet under the panel you're working on and that way if you do happen to drop it then all is not lost) the next stage would be to use a polish to clean the surface and remove/mask any imperfections and as already mentioned AG Super Resin Polish would be a good choice, but if you want to go with what you've already got then I would give the Colour Magic a miss as when you come to use the Toyota polish then all you'd be doing is removing the last product you applied. You could then apply a sealant or wax such as any one on the shelves at say Halfords or go with something more 'exotic' from mail order, if you choose the former then Mer is hard to beat as it gives a long lasting protected shine for relatively little money. If you choose the mail order route then the world is your oyster with products such as Acrylic Werkstatt, Dodo juice, Zaino, Collinite, Swissvax but to name a few.

You can apply a wax on top of a sealant but not vise versa but again not much point. A good choice would be to use Turtle wax 'Extra Gloss' or AutoGlym EGP on top of your prefered sealant for an awesome shine and finish that is hard to beat.

My apologies for the long winded reply but it's a minefield out there when it comes to 'detailing' a car.

[stantheman1]

That's great advice, just what I was looking for. What do you think of the Colour Magic idea? I've used it sometimes if my drying blade leaves a light scratch. The Poorboys glaze sounds great, my car is Vivid Blue which is quite bright. I like the Toyota polish so thought I might try and use that or just keep it for summer 'top-ups' What do you thnk?

Gordon

Dont use drying blades, sponges and chamois leathers as they all inflict scratches, for more (much more) info on how to best look after your paintwork then go to www.detailingworld.co.uk

But don't blame me if you get hooked!

Good Luck!

[alfiejts]

Assuming that your Toyota polish is a real polish, then the last thing you want to do is use it for a "summer topup".

A real "polish" doesn't add any protection - it actually removes any protection you have as its designed to flatten the paint surface and make it "raw and smooth" before you then start to add the protection using other products.

Some polishes have "fillers" in them that then fill in swirls somewhat but basically, with a polish you're scrubbing the paint clean and flat....

So the last thing you want to do once you've been over it with wax or sealant is polish it again - because that will remove any protection you have and you'll have to start again.

By all means use the polish if you plan to "go back to square one" and start all over again building up the various layers of protection, but if you're just after a quick top up in the summer, use a "quick detailer" to clean the surface and to top up the protection (there was an autoexpress review of these a few weeks ago that you can reference online).

[Gordie]

That's great, thanks everyone. I think I'll go over it with the clay bar, I have a Bilt-Hamber one, then polish it and wax. I have a great indepenant motor factors near me which has some great stuff so I'll get some decent wax there. I'm planning on 2 or 3 coats of wax if I can. I've got rid of my drying blade, I never cared much for it anyway, I've bought a special drying cloth that's got good reviews. I've read the Auto Express reviews on polishes and wax and I think they've blurred the edges between them a bit.

Gordon

[d4d7]

That's great, thanks everyone. I think I'll go over it with the clay bar, I have a Bilt-Hamber one, then polish it and wax. I have a great indepenant motor factors near me which has some great stuff so I'll get some decent wax there. I'm planning on 2 or 3 coats of wax if I can. I've got rid of my drying blade, I never cared much for it anyway, I've bought a special drying cloth that's got good reviews. I've read the Auto Express reviews on polishes and wax and I think they've blurred the edges between them a bit.

Gordon

I got a 2005 silver Yaris diesel with 41000 miles on it, I am keeping mine until it goes bang or crash.I to have read Auto Express reviews and have a local motor factors which are cheaper and better than Halfords.I have only washed my car with hose apart from few weeks ago used a car cleaning bay power washer to get salt off.Did use buckets of water once (during hose pipe ban) and drying blade but this scratched paint probably because didnt get all grit etc off car.(have heard people scratching cars with them though).I use traffic film remover all round lower part and under arches and underneath.The Range shop has a Kent wash mit for £3.99.Turtle wax one in Halfords £9.00.I used Meguiar clay bar (but getting the Bilt as you can use water with it.)and Comma polish and the car is now very shiny and glass smooth.I have not used yet but have Farecla wax top.This was tested on 5th gear against more expensive waxes and won.You only need water to remove tree sap and the polish should last at least a month.You only need to wash car with cold water if you wash regular.When beading reduces its time for more wax.I have also used Hammerite on rear suspenion etc because they all rust there.Doing front before winter as well.For glass use water and small amount of vinegar and use newspaper to apply will just need micro fibre towel to get rid of any smears.