Sealants have become quite popular nowadays for car paint protection. There is even fabric protection for the interior, rust paint protection for those that live by the sea and even paint protection film is the new thing though is quite expensive at the moment. Ok back to sealants they are known for their long lasting effect at the protection (a good quality paint protection sealant can protect the car’s paint for more than five years) and for the vast range of protective functions they perform. Paint protection sealants that have an acrylic PTFE formula can protect auto paint from weather extremes such as acid rains, solar exposure and snow. They can protect vehicles from ultraviolet radiation and also from various external agents such as bird droppings, dirt and grime and even roadside pebbles that might shoot out and hit at the car’s surface when other vehicles are driving by.
However, the aspect that has really made these car paint protection sealants famous is the fact that they are quite easy to apply. In fact, they are so easy that most people try to get them in DIY kits and apply the protection through the instructions that are mentioned on the packaging of the product. This helps them to reduce the cost of applying the paint protection down to 25% of what they would have spent had they hired a professional applicator do the job. But, if you are planning of applying these paint protection sealants yourself, you should first know their manner of working.
Here is a simplified explanation of how these sealants will work at protecting your car’s paint.
Usually, the paint protection sealants like the acrylic-PTFE sealants mentioned above will be applied in two stages through two different units. The first unit contains a solvent-based sealant while the other contains more active ingredients of the PTFE.
The car is first completely cleaned and the parts that should not get the paint protection are masked with plastic tape. The first stage of application is done with the solvent-based sealant. The car is then left to be. After some time, the solution matures on the car. When this happens, the solvent part of the sealant dries up completely. This brings the solute molecules (containing the acrylic and PTFE) closer to the pores of the car’s paint. As these solute molecules wedge closer into the pores, they scrape out all the foreign materials that have embedded into the pores. These foreign materials might be too miniscule to be seen clearly by the human eye, but when they are present on the paint of the car, they can make the whole surface look quite ungainly. Hence, the first part of the process is mostly about cleaning the surface of the car.
Now, the second unit of the sealant is applied. This contains PTFE as the active ingredient. When it is applied onto the paint, it will immediately form a chemical bond with the paint molecules. This will cause the PTFE molecules to stretch out over the surface. This chemical stretching surface is what improves the reflectivity of the car’s paint surface and makes it look much sleeker and shinier.
It must be understood here that because the car paint protection sealants work by creating chemical bonds they can last much longer. Other methods are just superficial, but car paint protection methods need just one coat because of their chemical nature and they can last much longer.
Dont forget your interior with a good fabric protection, those that live by the sea or prone to rust easily a good rust protection unit will save you money
And those that want to try out the paint protection film on the market go for it!