please forgive the ignorance since i'm completely new to car detailing.....

i just did my first BASIC detailing job this past weekend: wash (meg's gold class), polish (klasse AIO), seal (klasse high gloss sealant) - skipped the clay bar since it wasn't needed.

my question is: even though most waxes and sealants say they last for a LOOOOONG time, especially the Klasse high gloss sealant which states 1 year........ how do they really last that long. i mean, i KNOW they're overstating the durability, but let's just say any carauba wax or any sealant like klasse.......wouldn't rain just wash it off in a matter of a day? wouldn't a car wash also wash it off immediately? seems strange that it could stay on for months.

intuitively, i would think that a car wash itself or even a couple of hours of rain would just "wash off" the wax or sealant completely.

 

well when you see still see the water bead that is a good indicator that the wax/sealant is still doing its job. I like the err on the side of caution and wax every 2-3 months anyways.

 

water beading is your indication. Sealant lasts longer (mine almost a year, diminishing results of course). Wax run me about 1-2 months. It rains here a lot

 

Most of those statements are based off of ideal conditions.. ie: garaged, perfect weather with no outside factors working against the product. The product will bond to the surface and from that point, its a matter of the elements breaking it down to reduce the durability. Sure, a car wash down the street who uses harsh soaps and chemicals can wash it off with no problem. A mid-summer rain shower however, probably wont harm it much at all. But when carnaubas tend to break down in good conditions, is under hot sun. Most tend to break apart around 180 degrees iirc and thats not too hard to reach (think July temps under hot sun on a black car!). The surface of the wax can crack and leak some oils in the carnauba, which eventually wash away... reducing the durability, protection and shine
Like everyone said, beeding is a pretty good indicator of durability and sealants are more durable than carnaubas at a trade off of wetness and depth/warmth.

 

Chris, I washed my cars this weekend with poor boys slick and suds and the surface it not that smooth as it was when i applied sealant last week. I put a nice coat not too heavy let it sit for an hour to get a good haze and buffed it off with the blue pad then finished with a micro...Maybe I need another coat?

 

You could apply an additional coat if you'd like. The slick feeling will typically diminish not too long after the initial application, but the protection is still there. I dont think theres a product out there that'll stay as slick to the touch after weeks/months as it was the day it was applied. EXP has good durability though, so you're in good shape... its really optional for you at this point so soon after.