PAINT SEALANT or WAX

DETAILERS - which product do you prefer for final protection on the vehicles you detail, a paint sealant or a wax?

Why? How do you apply your chosen product by hand, rotary buffer; orbital or dual-action tool.

Regards

Bud-
Your question is geared for pros and the best answer is a sealant that goes on easy by DA or orbital, wipes off easily by hand or machine, can be applied to the whole car at once, and lasts even through commercial car washes . My limited testing of Auto Magic Banana Magic indicates it is a good choice .

I use Zaino All In One Z-AIO , which can be machine-applied but must be kept off of vinyl trim to prevent stains and is expensive .

One intriguing possibility is to hand apply Zaino Clear Seal Z-CS, which requires no final wiping or buffing .

A single coat of hand-applied Zaino Z-2 Pro is effective and fast . Hand application gets old fast, though, when pros have to do it all day . If I use Z-2 or Z-CS, I always polish with Griot's Machine Polish #3 first .

Unless all necessary polishing is done separately beforehand, one is usually better off with a one-step product that polishes as well as protects the finish .

Carnauba waxes tend to be vulnerable to commercial car wash chemicals .

What is the difference between a wax and a paint sealant?

Bud-
Tough question ! I'm not sure there's a perfect distinction in every case . I will say that I consider products derived from natural waxes such as Carnauba and Bee's wax to be waxes . Examples include Meguiar's Gold Class Carnauba, Malms, Griot's Show Car Wax and AM's Wet Wax .

I consider products made from synthetic ingredients but made to immitate the properties of natural waxes to be " waxes " . A good example is Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax. AM's Banana Magic may be one .

I call a product a " sealant " if it is synthetic and made to last a long time . Examples include Zaino, Duragloss, Klasse, AutoGlym, Toughseal and some of AM's " Polymer Sealant " products .