Wolfgang Si02 Paint Sealant How-To
What is it? Liquid paint sealant that uses nano size particles of silicon dioxide for protection, gloss and slickness
What does it do? Seals and protects car paint while adding incredible gloss, depth and shine.
When do I use it? After first washing and drying paint in new and like new condition or after first doing any paint correction work to new or older cars.
Why should I use it? To protect your car's paint from anything that would attack it while give it a show car looking finish that washes and dries faster plus has a self-cleaning effect when it rains.
From the manufacturer:
Wolfgang SiO2 Paint Sealant
Self-cleaning and hydrophobic protection!
Wolfgang SiO2 Paint Sealant is an enhanced SiO2 formulated paint sealant that creates a durable layer of hydrophobic protection. This hydrophobic protection allows for water sheeting, extreme gloss, slickness and durability. The properties of Wolfgang SiO2 Paint Sealant even promote self-cleaning abilities. With protection against the damaging effects of any environmental contaminants, Wolfgang SiO2 Sealant give you months of shine and protection with just one application!
After all your hard, detailed and time-consuming amount of work put into detailing your vehicle, whether as a professional or as a hobby, you want your work to last. Every step has to count! Don't make the mistake of not sealing all your efforts with a paint sealant. Wolfgang SiO2 Paint Sealant will protect all the effort you put forth towards the car and keep it that way for months to come.
Wolfgang SiO2 Paint Sealant provides your car with a layer of protection and durability. This protection comes in the form of hydrophobic capabilities. These hydrophobic properties will allow water to bead and sheet off your car. This is helpful to keep your car clean as water won't stick to the surface, embedding itself in the paint and creating water spots, especially the water sheeting. Water sheeting can occur no matter if the panel is angled or flat. A surface that is hydrophobic, is also easier to clean.
Another benefit of Wolfgang SiO2 Paint Sealant is the look will emote on your car. The product itself will promote a finished shiny gloss that you will be able to see your reflection in. The hydrophobic protection will help keep the car slick, as water and contaminants will slide off the surface, helping to keep it smooth.
Wolfgang SiO2 Paint Sealant is an important step in the detailing process. Before you reach this step, it is important to wash, dry and prep the surface of your car before applying this paint sealant, because as it is a sealant, it will do just that... seal what is ever on the surface. Once you do reach the step involving Wolfgang SiO2 Paint Sealant, it is easy-to-use, no professional tools needed. Simply apply Wolfgang SiO2 Paint Sealant on a microfiber or foam applicator pad and apply to the surface one panel at a time.
After allowing the product to set on the surface for 15 minutes (you needed, a break anyway, right?), continue by buffing the product away with a microfiber towel. Keep that car nice and dry for 12 hours after the application and then your ready to show off your slick ride.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Shake well!
2. Apply to a cool surface out of direct sunlight.
3. Wash and dry entire vehicle before application.
4. Use Wolfgang Perfekt Finish Paint Prep to remove any remaining oils that would prevent the paint sealant from properly adhering to the surface.
5. Apply Wolfgang SiO2 Paint Sealant onto a foam or microfiber applicator pad and apply to surface, working one panel at a time.
6. Allow a cure time of approximately 15-20 minutes before buffing away with a microfiber towel.
7. Do not expose surface to moisture for approximately 12 hours after application.
My comments... When I first heard of this product I would need to use and review, I kind of thought, "Gee another Si02 product?" And yes, it is another Si02 paint protection product and there are a LOT of these on the market. but this one is different in that it is in the form of a lotion like liquid like a traditional liquid wax or paint sealant and what I like about this is I can MACHINE APPLY it. Woot woot!
I love Si02 products but the majority of them are tedious to apply. You must use a small foam block with a microfiber suede patch of cloth wrapped around the block and install the Si02 product to small sections of paint at a time. The results of course are totally worth it in my opinion and experience. But compared to machine application of anything, it takes longer, it requires more skill and it also requires more brain power in the context of FOCUSING ON THE TASK AT HAND. While machine application requires so little focus, just move the polisher over the paint. BOOM! You're done.
I'm happy to say I was not only surprised by how nice the product looks but just as important, how SUPER EASY it is to wipe off and how SLICK and SLIPPERY it makes your paint feel. All pluses when it comes to any type of last step product for car paint.
The key thing....
The key thing about a product like this is paint condition. This type of product has ZERO paint cleaning ability, it is a NON-cleaning Si02 paint sealant and what this means is the paint MUST be in perfection condition in order to use it and get the maximum results and performance from the product.
My test vehicle
I normally try to use a German manufactured car when using product from Wolfgang as it fits the German theme better, but the reality is, this product is formulated to bond to car paint, specifically URETHANE car paint. So the product doesn't care if you use it on a Chevy, a Mercedes-Benz or even a Yugo - as long as the paint is smooth and clean.
1967 Camaro Convertible
Now to the untrained eye, this Camaro probably looks pretty good?
To the trained eye, it needs a lot of damage repair.
Mottling
Paint mottling is the term used to describe what looks like a grainy surface texture after respraying. It's DIFFERENT than Orange Peel. Orange Peel, as the name suggests, looks like the surface texture of an orange peel, with high spots, (mountains), and low spots, (valleys). What was interesting to me was the fenders did not have the mottling texture, in fact they had a nice flat surface with excellent D.O.I. or Distinction of Image.
Here's the section of the hood I'm going to get a close-up shot of - I'm framing-up this shot so you can see where I'm looking. I couldn't capture the mottling appearance from this far away.
Now that I've moved my camera in closer and used my finger to give the camera something to focus on - NOW you can see the mottling. Buffing won't fix mottling just like buffing won't fix orange peel. So I'm going to machine damp sand the hood.
Deep RIDS
Besides the mottling, there were a few areas with RIDS or Random Isolated Deeper Scratches. for these I'll frame-up the shot and the take a close-up to showcase these defects.
There's some wacky deeper scratches on the driver's side of the hood next to the edge.
There are actually some arc scratches in this area that only appear with a swirl finder light....
See them? Going against the grain of the straight-line scratches? The owner has no idea where these came from.
Machine Damp Sanding
When it comes to machine sanding someone else's toy? My rule of thumb is I do my research first, then measure the paint thickness and then proceed. Because I didn't think this was a super high quality paint job, I chose to play it safe and used 3M Trizact #5000 in 5" and 3" sanding discs.
Here's the hood machine damp sanded....
This is a 3M Trizact 5" #5000 grit sanding disc.
It perfectly fits onto my G9 with a 5" Griot's backing plate.
Here you can see a foam interface pad in-between the backing plate and the sanding disc. The foam interface makes for a smoother sanding process as it allows the face of the sanding disc to conform to the curve of a panel. It also decreases the aggressiveness of the sanding a little making it much safer when working on someone else's toy.
Here's the Trizact 3" #5000 grit sanding disc...
I prefer the compact size of the now discontinued Griot's 3" Mini Polisher for machine sanding but you can use the new replacement, the Griot's G8.
And here you can see the foam interface between the backing plate and the sanding disc.
Here's the machine damp sanded hood after wiping off the sanding slurry.
Even though the sanding marks are still in the paint, you can now see the increase in distinction of image in the reflection of the overhead tube lights. This means my goal is accomplished.
Removing the sanding marks Next up I need to remove the #5000 grit sanding marks. When you machine damp sand with such a high grit just about any orbital polisher will work, heck you can even remove the sanding marks by hand if you have the skill level.
Synergistic Chemical Compatibility
Years ago while still working at Meguiar's and running their forum, I coined the term, Synergistic Chemical Compatibility, it's always great to see others use terms I've coined for the detailing industry.
Here's what this term means:
The chemists that formulate the first step products, since they know what's in them, they are better able to formulate the follow-up or next step products. For this reason, there's a synergistic chemical compatibility among the products and/or product line. Using one product designed to be used after the results of the previous product is a system approach.
In keeping with this idea, I'll use the Wolfgang Uber Compound to remove the sanding marks and then buff out the rest of the car. After this I'll follow with the Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover.
For the compounded step I'll use the Lake Country 6.5" Force Hybrid Orange Foam Cutting pads and for the polishing step I'll use the Lake Country 6.5" Force Hybrid White Foam Polishing pads.
8 Section Passes I did 8 thorough section passes and then wiped off the residue and took these pictures.
It's not until I get my camera closer where it can focus on the actual surface can you see the true results. See the clear or defined lines of the overhead florescent tube light bulbs? This is what I was aiming for, removing the mottling by flattening out the paint by sanding. Then removing my sanding marks to restore gloss and clarity and BOOM - SUCCESS!
Now the paint on the hood will match the paint on the fenders and in more simple terms, the Camaro will look like it's supposed to look, like a freaking show car! I teach every skill you see in this write-up in all my car detailing classes. Attend one and flatten out your learning curve and have fun too.
And for perspective, here's how the paint looked before - you cannot see the lines of the overhead florescent tube bulbs.
This is where the other deeper scratches were along the side of the driver's side hood...
Fast forward - all the paint correction work is over...
About 4 hours later I've finished the compounding and polishing and now it's time to wipe off the polish. I always stack up all the buffing pads I used for a project to show others how many pads it takes to do the job right. Remember, as you work a panel your pads become WET with product. A wet cutting pad no longer cuts. A wet polishing pad no longer polishes. The only way to work effectively, that is the only way to not waste time - is to switch out to a clean, dry pad often.
If you look closely, the top has been restored also - I'm using Autogeek Cover-up Towels to protect the treated vinyl from splatter dots from my spinning buffing pad.
I used 3M Painter's Tape to cover up and protect the fresh air grill intakes from splatter dots.
Removing the tape so I can remove the POLISH RESIDUE LINE
After the polishing step, I remove the tape so when I wipe off the film of polish I can at the same time wipe-off the POLISH RESIDUE LINE that will outline where the tape was.
Then of course, gently remove the polish. Remember - it takes hours to buff a car and only seconds to put scratches back into the paint. Make sure your towels are clean and NOT contaminated.
All wiped-down...
The polish has been removed and I'm ready for the next step....
Now that I have the proper condition paint I can now use the Wolfgang Si02 Paint Sealant
Step 1: Use the Wolfgang Perfekt Paint Prep to remove any residual oils from the polishing step, or any other substances so the Wolfgang Si02 Paint Sealant can form a proper bond to the paint.
Step 2: Apply the Wolfgang Si02 Paint Sealant by hand using a clean foam or microfiber applicator pad.
Wipe, wipe wipe....
Awe heck, I'm too lazy to apply anything by hand, so out comes the FLEX Cordless Finisher with a 7" RUPES white foam finishing pad to make this process faster and easy.
BOOM! I probably covered the entire car in under 15 minutes.
Directions on the bottle state to wait for 20 minutes.
20 minutes are over - time to remove the sealant.
Wipe, wipe wipe....
And here are the final results....
Review
First - I was told by someone that has used this product that the wipe-off was a tick sticky. Nope. Not an all. In fact, I would say it is one of the easiest products to wipe-off that I've ever used.
Second - Most Si02 products do not leave paint feeling slick or slippery. In fact, most leave just the opposite, they make the paint feel rubbery. As in a microfiber towel doesn't GLIDE over the paint it STICKS to the paint. And I also know that most people HATE it when their car's paint is not slick or slippery after applying something. If you know what I'm talking about then I'm sure you agree. Well this product not only creates incredible gloss, depth and shine, it also leave the slickest most slippery finish behind that I can remember. I was totally impressed. And wipe-off was SUPER EASY!
Third - And even better, this product can be machine applied! This is a new home run product. There's everything to love and nothing to dislike.
