What is protection
Written by: Vinnie van Rooij
The term protection is used in autodetailing to refer to a product that is used to prevent damage to a surface, regardless if that damage is caused by liquids, solids or even gasses. These forms of protection come in many forms and shapes.
Contents
Many different forms
Protective products come in many different forms and shapes. An example of these are:
- Wax (both in liquid or paste form)
- Sealants (both in liquid of paste form
- Ceramic coatings (only in liquid form
- Plastic film
A losely term
The term protection should be used with care, because it might not be completely correct. The word ‘protection’ is mainly used to describe a product, material, object that prevents damage to another object or substance. In detailing, this term refers to products that help to minimize the effect something can have an a surface. This can be chemically or mechanically. An example would be a chemical cleaning solution that can cause surface imperfections on paintwork. Another example is the effect of acidic rain on paintwork.
A wrong synonym
Some products don’t offer true protection, but aid in easy cleaning. An example of this is wax. Wax will not protect against falling branches, rocks or even acidic rain. But because of its effect on water and dust, it will make cleaning the surface a lot easier. Because much less contaminants can ‘stick’ to the surface, they are easily washed off. The ease of cleaning helps to prevent swirls, decreases the need to clay or polish and increases the chance that bird dropping, chemical liquids and grime is easily washed off.
Pros and cons
Every form of protection has it’s pros and cons. Just a few are mentioned in this list.
- Wax
- Pro: very easy to use and apply, cheap, easy to store, can be made in liquid or paste form, easy to combine with sealant (hybrid), hides minor imperfections, easy to combine gloss with a deep color, easy to remove and reapply
- Cons: short life, needs to replaced, traps dirt, difficult with chemicals, very soft, offers minimal protection
- Sealant
- Pro: easy to use, easy to combine with wax (hybrid), gives a glassy look, can easily be reapplied
- Cons: always leaves the same look, shows imperfections, needs more preparation, difficult to get a glossy look or deeper colors, difficult to remove, offers very medium protection
- Ceramic coating
- Pros: very good durability, very chemical resistant, very tough, superior protection against scratches
- Cons: difficult to apply, shows imperfections, needs a lot of preparation, the same look, gives a sterile look. Expensive, difficult to remove
- Plastic film
- Pros: easy to remove, long durability, offers protection against small stones and sticks
- Cons: difficult to apply, expensive, can be visible, shows imperfections
Visible degredation
In most cases the state of the protective layer is judged by looking at the behaviour of water. Beading and sheeting are indications of the quality of a protective layer. In case these show that a protective layer has degraded to much, it is recommended to remove the layer and apply a new layer. However, there are some cases in which a protective layer can be revived. Ceramic coating respond very well to being washed with an acidic cleaning agent (such as certain wheel cleaners). These solutions remove much of stubborn dirt that causes the water behaviour to change, without affecting the ceramic coating in any way. This does NOT work with wax and most sealant, because these will degrade heavily by coming into contact with an acidic solution.
Polish Angel is a German manufacturer and seller of detailing related products. The brand sells shampoo, polish, protective products, but also polish pads, gloves and MF towels. Polish Angel is being sold around the world, but it only has distribution places in and around Germany and America....
Simoniz is an American brand of car detailing products that are being sold all around the world. They offer a wide range of products and services, aimed at creating a network of professional detailer who use their products....
Microtext is an Asian manufacturer of products aimed at automotive detailing and general car care. The brand has not reached much customers in Europe yet, but has been in business since before 2010....
Everybody who has washed a car, has seen the remains of insects on the front of the car. These spots are difficult to remove and create a risk of making surface imperfections. Removing them safely is key to prevent long term damage to the surface....
The term tree sap refers to several different type of contaminants that, generally, originate from the same source: a plant and/or tree. The most common use of the term "tree sap" is used to describe the resin that can seep through the bark and fall onto surface underneath the tree. Tree sap is incorrectly also used to refer to the fluids excreted by aphids....
A very frequent difference in liquid or paste products is the carrier within the product. This carrier can either be a water-based solution, or oil based. The largest quantity of a certain ingredients often determines what the carrier is. Within an emulsion, oil is dissolved into water with the use of an emulsifier. Technically speaking, the oil is still in suspension within the emulsion but is statistically distributed....
A pre-wax cleaner is a product that helps to prepare the surface for a layer of wax, the effects the product can have can differ from just preparation by cleaning, to filling swirls (like a glaze) and leaving an oily residue for added gloss....
Silicones are a group of polymers that are man-made and do not occur in nature. Within the world of detailing, polydimethylsiloxane is a very popular one. Silicones, just like polymers, have certain properties that can help a product perform better in a certain way. When a polymer contain any form of siloxane, it is a silicone....
Links to this article
There are no external links to this article. Yet.