What to seal with after Menzerna FG400/SF4000

[ACR]

Collinte?

Not a fan of collinte, have to tape edges of the car etc. Optimum spray wax seems to hold up well, very easy to apply

[ACR]

Surprised no one has a fav or suggestion. Midnight express is a no go, ANY company that markets their product as "specially formulated for dark colors" is full of crap and I don't trust them for shit

[Slithr]

I don't think Junkman recommends any sealants/glazes, as a properly polished car wouldn't need any. Not sure what he recommends for wax.

[Vprbite]

Sealant is the same as a wax.

It protects the paint, whatever shape that paint may be in (it will not fix any problems in paint, like swirls or scratches.) Ideally, paint would be perfect. Then a wax or sealant protects it, makes water bead, etc. I have found with our hot weather out here, a good sealant worked much better than wax most of the time. Thogh you can use a sealant (which is hard) and do a coat of wax over that. Extra protection is one supposed benefit. People also say it increases the shine.

Personally, I sealed with griots and am extremely happy, drove through a storm and when the rain stopped the water flew off like I was blowing it with a leaf blower. The car looked shockingly clean. I saw no need for anything extra. Some people say that the wax over the sealant will make it shine better. It may. That's for you to decide. It won't remove swirls or things like that. But may do a better job of showing off the well prepped paint underneath the sealant. I liked the sealant a lot though.

[Junkman2008]

For some reason, I never saw this thread. Allow me to correct some misstatements here.

Collinte, which? Junkman2008 recommends cutting and polishing but I never saw him recommend a sealant or wax

I have a video specifically dedicated to a sealant. Since you've named it (Midnight Express), I'm assuming that you must have glanced through it. I say glanced through it because I actually recommend either that product OR HT-62, which is the non-dye/non-abrasive containing version of Midnight Express. It is called Terminator Polymer Sealant.

Surprised no one has a fav or suggestion. Midnight express is a no go, ANY company that markets their product as "specially formulated for dark colors" is full of crap and I don't trust them for shit

Yes and no. If the product contains a coloring dye, then it is made for whatever color the dye is. If it contains no dye, then that company is full of crap.

I don't think Junkman recommends any sealants/glazes, as a properly polished car wouldn't need any. Not sure what he recommends for wax.

What you said is true for GLAZES ONLY. After a car has been polished, you ALWAYS want to add some type of protection in the form of a sealant and/or wax. ALWAYS. You don't want your paint exposed to the elements without some form of protection on it.

Sealant is the same as a wax.

Not exactly. Sealants are a man-made product that last significantly longer than a wax. A wax is a naturally created product, as in a carnauba wax. A carnauba wax is a obtained from the leaves of the palm Copernicia prunifera, a plant native to and grown only in the northeastern Brazilian states of Piauí, Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte. Mother nature creates carnauba.

It protects the paint, whatever shape that paint may be in (it will not fix any problems in paint, like swirls or scratches.)

That completely depends on the product. Some sealants like the aforementioned Midnight Express contain a very mild correcting abrasive (polish), which will do some minor paint correction when properly applied with a machine. Some of the more crappy sealants and waxes contain "fillers", which will mask some very minor damage. That's what you find being sold most of the time at your local big box auto stores.

Ideally, paint would be perfect. Then a wax or sealant protects it, makes water bead, etc. I have found with our hot weather out here, a good sealant worked much better than wax most of the time. Though you can use a sealant (which is hard) and do a coat of wax over that. Extra protection is one supposed benefit. People also say it increases the shine.

And THOSE people would be smoking crack.

As for what I personally use, I like HT-62. Once it has properly cured and been wiped down a second time (the way all sealants are applied), I top it off with either Collinite's Super Doublecoat Carnauba Paste Wax or Collinite’s Marque D’Elegance Carnauba Paste Wax.

[Vprbite]

I suppose by saying sealant is the same as was, I meant that the intended effect is the same. Protection of the paint. Whether that paint is in perfect shape or not is up to the person and their prep, the wax or sealant won't do that for you. I.E. If you put sealant on badly swirled paint, you will get great water beading on your badly swirled paint.

And as far as them not fixing paint for you, the ones that do have light cutting ability I don't consider standard waxes or sealants. Griots has a 2 in one sealant that is supposed to fix very small and light imperfections. So in cases like that, the sealant or wax will fix some stuff in paint, but I consider those a subsection of waxes and sealants.

Just trying to clarify my answer. The reason I answered the way I did, is often times people think that waxing their car will fix sworls or paint, and that is not necessarily the case. Not trying to step on your toes or contradict you junjman, you know we are friends and I respect your contributions and skill. Just wanted to clarify my answers.

[Junkman2008]

No problem at all buddy. I understand and agree with your clarifications. I only went into more detail also because of all the misconceptions associated with waxes and sealants in general, and to fully address the OP's questions.

[BOOSTED]

Mine was sealed with Swissvax Shield. Its not the most expensive wax , but not the cheapest either. I am very very happy with it though.

http://autoobsessed.com/shop/swissva...110-p-820.html