Protection Not Lasting

[Sac]

Anyone ran into a car that won't take any protection?

Friend of mine, his wife's SS sedan doesn't take any protection. It has seen both sealant(Paint Sealant, G&G and CG Jet Seal) and waxes(Buttery & Colinite 845) and nothing seems to last. Car is properly decontaminated/striped each time, even one-stepped it with orange polish/pad before applying. 

It has to be the car, both our trucks stay beading like crazy.  Any explanations on what's going on or tips to try? 

Edited November 17, 2017 by Sac

[Dan@Adams]

Hi Stephen,

Thanks for contacting us! That sounds strange indeed! Paint Sealant should net around 4-6 months of protection per application in most environments, and H2O Guard should be at least 1-2 months of awesome water beading per application. What part of the country do they live in? Does the car see extreme hot or cold temperatures regularly? Is it garaged or does it sit outside while at work for example? What type of process do they use for washing it - do they go through any automated car washes? Some of these factors could determine how long the sealant will last. Some automated car washes may use strong soaps and cleaners that could be stripping protection prematurely.

I used one application of H2O Guard on my SS sedan when I purchased it before polishing it and applying a final prototype of our Ceramic Paint Coating. It's been holding up strong for 14 months now, with Ceramic Boost used about every 2 months for maintenance. I drive the car in all sorts of rain conditions and drove it through most of last winter in the snow too.

I've worked on many Holden-built vehicles now (many GTO's, a few G8's, and my SS sedan) and their clear coats seem no different than other GM vehicles that I've worked on. Can you ask your friends if the dealership may have applied some type of paint protection onto the vehicle before purchase?

Standing by to help further!

[Sac]

25 minutes ago, Dan@Adams said:

Hi Stephen,

Thanks for contacting us! That sounds strange indeed! Paint Sealant should net around 4-6 months of protection per application in most environments, and H2O Guard should be at least 1-2 months of awesome water beading per application. What part of the country do they live in? Does the car see extreme hot or cold temperatures regularly? Is it garaged or does it sit outside while at work for example? What type of process do they use for washing it - do they go through any automated car washes? Some of these factors could determine how long the sealant will last. Some automated car washes may use strong soaps and cleaners that could be stripping protection prematurely.

I used one application of H2O Guard on my SS sedan when I purchased it before polishing it and applying a final prototype of our Ceramic Paint Coating. It's been holding up strong for 14 months now, with Ceramic Boost used about every 2 months for maintenance. I drive the car in all sorts of rain conditions and drove it through most of last winter in the snow too.

I've worked on many Holden-built vehicles now (many GTO's, a few G8's, and my SS sedan) and their clear coats seem no different than other GM vehicles that I've worked on. Can you ask your friends if the dealership may have applied some type of paint protection onto the vehicle before purchase?

Standing by to help further!

Hoping you was going to reply! lol 

Yes, big mystery for sure.. Never seen anything like it! The car is a daily and no garage so it sits outside all the time. It does not see any auto car washes, it gets washed properly. No different than our trucks and they don't react this way. We live in South Louisiana in a rural area. 

A dealer installed paint protection is what I keep saying, something is not playing well together. But I figured any dealer applied protection would be removed with the 1 step correction. 

We have a game plan of completely decontaminating it; Iron remover, clay, 1 step polish, alcohol wipe down & then reapply whichever product he wants and see where it goes from there. May have to branch out to the coating world.. 

   

Edited November 17, 2017 by Sac

[shane@detailedreflections]

3 hours ago, Sac said:

Hoping you was going to reply! lol 

Yes, big mystery for sure.. Never seen anything like it! The car is a daily and no garage so it sits outside all the time. It does not see any auto car washes, it gets washed properly. No different than our trucks and they don't react this way. We live in South Louisiana in a rural area. 

A dealer installed paint protection is what I keep saying, something is not playing well together. But I figured any dealer applied protection would be removed with the 1 step correction. 

We have a game plan of completely decontaminating it; Iron remover, clay, 1 step polish, alcohol wipe down & then reapply whichever product he wants and see where it goes from there. May have to branch out to the coating world.. 

   

A one step polish with correcting polish may not be enough to remove a properly installed coating. I’d start with a compound for that honestly. It’s more abrasive. That being said, a properly installed coating should bead water well. So I’m not sure what’s going on with it. 

I would attempt to figure it out before going the way of coatings. If not, you may put a kit of work in for little benefit. 

[Sac]

45 minutes ago, shane@detailedreflections said:

A one step polish with correcting polish may not be enough to remove a properly installed coating. I’d start with a compound for that honestly. It’s more abrasive. That being said, a properly installed coating should bead water well. So I’m not sure what’s going on with it. 

I would attempt to figure it out before going the way of coatings. If not, you may put a kit of work in for little benefit. 

Gotcha, will keep that in mind on the next attack plan as he has some blue polish. 

Its strange for sure, keep us scratching our heads.  

[shane@detailedreflections]

59 minutes ago, Sac said:

Gotcha, will keep that in mind on the next attack plan as he has some blue polish. 

Its strange for sure, keep us scratching our heads.  

Think of it this way...ceramic coatings are typically harder than clear coat (thus the improved scratch resistance). Correcting polish takes out very superficial surface damage such as swirls and spider webs. Even to remove scratches takes something more aggressive than correcting polish to do it efficiently. Some compound might unlock whatever is on the paint and let traditional products stick. Or allow you to prep properly to install a coating. 

Just thinking out loud.