Paint Sealant Application Constraints

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Here's the link to a more recent video and article I wrote on the topic of Textured Black Plastic Trim.

How to Clean & Restore Black Plastic Trim on Cars




And again, right now your trim does not NEED this product and process. In my opinion, it's better to be pro-active and protect the appearance with a dye made for this type of trim then to wait until the plastic has faded and developed Zebra Stripes and then try to fix or cover it up.


Back to the paint
As for applying some type of protective sealant onto the paint, simply spray the product on a microfiber towel folded 4-ways and then use the towel to apply the product. Have a second towel handy to remove any excess. This is called the 2-Towel Method. By spraying the product onto a towel instead of spraying the product onto the body panel - you avoid overspray on nearby surfaces - like Textured Black Plastic Trim.

Here's a TV commercial we made for My Classic Car with Dennis Gage. The commercial time limit is 29/30 seconds. So I wrote the script and it's TIGHT. I share a technique for spraying CERAMIC coatings onto a car, but the technique works for any spray-on product.

IMPORTANT
In the commercial I show spraying the product onto the towel by doing it in a way that I'm spraying AWAY from the vehicle. The reason why, is because the Bead Hero, (product I'm showcaing), is a true ceramic coating. If you leave any unseen or invisible overspray behind, not spread out and then removed, it will harden and then you'll have to polish it off. I tested this by spraying a single pump-spray onto the hood of one of my cars and allowed it to dry without wiping it off. Then over the course of three days, I would try to smear the product using my finger.

• 24 hours later, I could smear the product, but it was difficult.
• 48 hours later, I could smear the product but it was more difficult.
• 72 hours later - it was solidified. I had to machine polish the product off the hood.

Once I understood this, a light bulb went off in my head as I know most people spray - spray-on products DIRECTLY onto the vehicle. With a spray detailer, or a waterless wash, not problem. With a product that dries hard and bonds to the paint. Problem.

It's too easy for the spray nozzle to atomize a liquid and spread it over the area you want to treat and nearby surfaces. Because the liquid is clear, it's diffiicult to see. But here's what I know. If a person were to spray this product onto body panels and NOT remove any invisible overspray droplets on nearby paint, it will harden. Then if you ever do the Baggie Test, you'll think you have overspray paint contamination on your vehicle. But it's not overspray paint - it's the ceramic coating.

After figuring out all of the above, I ONLY use the 2-Towel Method for applying these types of products to vehicle.


Here's the commercial, again, it's limited to 30 seconds.



Here's a short video with Dennis Gage as we talk about Bead Hero.



Keep all this in mind if you pick any brand of spray-on ceramic coating. And this is not a sales pitch, just education. The techniques I share will work with any quality brand of spray-on coating.


And yes, I detailed the 1962 Corvette before filming to perfect the paint. Cool car.


Mike

Thank you again. I did have a few follow up questions after digesting all your articles and videos:

Do the spray on ceramic coatings such as Dr. Beasley's Bead Hero you demo in the video eventually require they be polished off for a new application in a year, or two or three, or can you just strip wash, clay, wipe with paint prep and re-coat when necessary? Fellow owners of this vehicle are complaining about thin clearcoat and thin paint, and advise against polishing too much.

Can a spray coating like Bead Hero be applied over PPF or do you just avoid the PPF coated areas? I'm seeing some coatings indicate theyre ok for PPF, yet others are more cryptic.

Also, just like taping to protect the plastic trim from polishes, compounds, or products containing carnauba wax, would you still need to tape off all the plastic as you did with the G Wagon when using a spray ceramic product like Bead Hero? Trying to understand if an errant wipe of a Bead Hero sealant soaked towel over plastic would negatively affect the plastic, IF it has already been coated with something like Over the Top or Dr. Beasley's Plastic Sealant?

On that note, I assume the plastic sealant products should be applied before the paint sealant so you can remove any excess errant plastic sealant from the paint with paint prep first, vs removing errant plastic sealant from your newly applied paint coating? Or do you recommend doing so the other way around?

Finally, is there any credence to the various ceramic drying aids that "boost" underlying ceramic coatings, and would that be advisable with something like Bead Hero? Or with all the plastic trim on this vehicle, should one avoid the use of a ceramic drying aid to prevent spotting or damage to the plastic? Someone recently suggested I use a car wash soap with a "shine" component that appeared to be polymer based that might be safer on the plastic trim.

tjonesdfw said:

Thank you again. I did have a few follow up questions after digesting all your articles and videos:

Do the spray on ceramic coatings such as Dr. Beasley's Bead Hero you demo in the video eventually require they be polished off for a new application in a year, or two or three, or can you just strip wash, clay, wipe with paint prep and re-coat when necessary? Fellow owners of this vehicle are complaining about thin clearcoat and thin paint, and advise against polishing too much.

Click to expand...

Didn't you say this is brand new? If so, while the factory paint is thin - it's safe to do a light polish. It's safe to do multiple light polishes. The BIG PICTURE is to take care of the paint so you don't have to polish it. The protective layer left behind for ANY brand of anything is super thin, so after a few years, my guess is most of it will have dissipated via normal micro-abrasion - i.e. washing the vehicle.

Instead of thinking of it as,

I must re-polish the car to remove whatever is protection ingredients are still remaining on the surface


Instead, think of it like this,

After a few years of exposure to the elements and normal-wear-n-tear, I'm going to re-polish to RESTORE that factory new appearance AND then apply some protection.


After a couple of years from being parked mostly outdoors, the finish is going to become contaminated and need claying and polishing - if you want to restore and matain the gloss and shine, plus the health of the paint.

tjonesdfw said:

Can a spray coating like Bead Hero be applied over PPF or do you just avoid the PPF coated areas? I'm seeing some coatings indicate theyre ok for PPF, yet others are more cryptic.

Click to expand...

Generally speaking, Bead Hero and/or ANY brand of spray-on protection can be used on any hard, smooth surface.

tjonesdfw said:

Also, just like taping to protect the plastic trim from polishes, compounds, or products containing carnauba wax, would you still need to tape off all the plastic as you did with the G Wagon when using a spray ceramic product like Bead Hero?

Click to expand...

Not if you use the two-towel method so you control or reduce and even eliminate overspray. Thus it's a non-issue. Depends on how neat or sloppy a person is.

tjonesdfw said:

Trying to understand if an errant wipe of a Bead Hero sealant soaked towel over plastic would negatively affect the plastic, IF it has already been coated with something like Over the Top or Dr. Beasley's Plastic Sealant?

Click to expand...

I've never SOAKED a towel as you only use small amounts of product at a time. Once you dampen one side of a folded microfiber towel, as you move around the car you only need to mist a few sprays onto the towel and then apply this to a panel or section of a panel. And again - this would apply to any brand of spray-on protection.

And just to note, the reason you dampen one side of a folded microfiber towel is because is you try to spread out a liquid with a DRY microfiber towel you end up fighting yourself because as you're trying to spread the product the DRY cloth is trying to ABSORB the liquid.

Once you dampen one side - this problem goes away.

tjonesdfw said:

On that note, I assume the plastic sealant products should be applied before the paint sealant so you can remove any excess errant plastic sealant from the paint with paint prep first, vs removing errant plastic sealant from your newly applied paint coating? Or do you recommend doing so the other way around?

Click to expand...

Both way work. It does tend to be cleaner to tackle plastic trim first followed by paint for the reason you listed. That said, if you're careful applying anytingi to exterior plastic trim, there shouldn't be much in the way of accidental product on the paint. And if there is - it will wipe off easily.

tjonesdfw said:

Finally, is there any credence to the various ceramic drying aids that "boost" underlying ceramic coatings, and would that be advisable with something like Bead Hero?

Click to expand...

Drying aids are nice to use if you take ownership of the car washing process. Otherwise - you don't need one. If you do wash and dry your own vehicles, then a drying aid simply makes rubbing a dry towel over scratch-senstive paint less aggressive. And if there's some ceramic protection in the drying aid - it's so miniscule, it's really not an issue.

The safe way to use a drying aid is to blow most of the water off the vehicle with a powerful leaf blower, and this is much easier AFTER you've applied some type of water beading protection.

After blowing the majority of the water off, then mist the drying aid onto a microfiber drying towel and then use the towel to gently wipe the body panels as this will remove any of the normal tiny water marks left behind by just blowing with compressed air.

tjonesdfw said:

Or with all the plastic trim on this vehicle, should one avoid the use of a ceramic drying aid to prevent spotting or damage to the plastic? Someone recently suggested I use a car wash soap with a "shine" component that appeared to be polymer based that might be safer on the plastic trim.

Click to expand...

Again, the amount of active material as in the amount of any ceramic or any other protection ingredient included in a drying aid formula is miniscule enought that's its' really a non-issue.


I can appreciate you do your research before gathering your supplies and tackling the project, but I would caution you to have balance. Don't turn something that should be simple into rocket science - as is the norm in the car detailing world. LOL


Hope the above helps...

Mike