If you walk down the detailing aisle of any automotive store, you will see some bold claims on the many bottles of protection products. For example, xyz product will last up to 100+ washes, up to 1 year of protection, or even multiple years for some coatings.
So what does this really mean?
Most detailing products make claims based on tests done in a controlled lab environment. Therefore, depending upon the way you maintain or don’t maintain your vehicle and even the environment you live in, can all determine how long a product will last in the real world.
In you live in a very harsh cold area where roads are wet and salty all the time, even a sealant is not going to last very long. On the other hand, if you live in sunny California and have a nice garage for your vehicle then even a simple wax could last you several months.
No matter your environment though, proper preparation is one the major factors in increasing the longevity of your protection. If you simply wash a vehicle that hasn’t been maintained for months or years and throw on a quick layer of any protection, then that product isn’t going to bond completely to the paint. Any embedded dirt and other contaminants will be left in-between the product and paint, resulting in short-term protection.
One of the simplest ways to prepare your paint for a new layer of protection is by using a clay-bar. The clay-bar will remove any of the embedded contaminants and allow for a proper bond of protection to the paint. Whether you prefer a wax, sealant, or DIY coating, this one simple step is the most important in preparation.
Now that your paint is contaminant-free and protected, it is still important to maintain that protection with maintenance washes. Another big reason protection can prematurely fail is because of lack of maintenance. If you allow your vehicle to stay dirty for months at a time, that protection can be broken down faster by the dirt and grime sitting on the paint. Even long-term coatings are not an “apply and forget” product; they need consistent maintenance as well!
Think of any protection on your vehicle as a “sacrificial barrier”; by routinely performing proper maintenance washes and not allowing dirt and grim to build up, your protection can stay cleaner and will therefore perform longer. The longer you can keep up the “barrier”, the better!