# Wheel Sealant vs Wheel Guard: The side-by-side test!



## tompinney (Jan 29, 2006)

Over the past few months I haven't had the time to care for my car much from the detailing point of view due to me building and fitting a custom gearbox, poly suspension bushes and set of Koni Sport shock absorbers. To finish the work off I fitted my newly refurbished alloys and decided now was as good a time as any to get back into detailing my car with a side by side test on these two wheel sealant products.

So here are the alloys when I got them at a bargain price too, the photos show why.









First task was the prep them ready for a mate of mine to respray them. I started by sanding out the lesser marks to leave me with this

















As you can see there were some more severe deeper marks which were taken car of with the use of some filler leaving my mate the following to respray









Once the wheels were returned to me they were washed and given a coat of Carklack 68 followed by a single layer of Poorboys Wheel Sealant on two of the wheels and a coat of Chemical Guys Wheel Guard on the other two.

Here are my partners in crime...








Both products were very easy to apply and left a similar finish, however I felt the Wheel Guard was the easier of the two to buff off.

And here are the refurbed and polished rims, looking partucularly wet and glossy if I may say so myself!


























It was then off down to Micheldever Tyres to get a round of Toyo Proxes T1-Rs fitted. They did a top job as ever and kindly put the directional tyres on the rims in such a way that I could have the wheels with Wheel Sealant fitted to one side (nearside) and the Wheel Guarded rims fitted to the other side (offside) so that I can compare the durability of the two side by side. Here's what the car looked like the day they were fitted

















And heres what she looked like during the winter to show the difference the rims and lowering makes









Now two weeks on I have done several hundred miles worth of driving to and from work plus my trip to and around the Nurburgring so in all I reckon I have covered somewhere in the region of 2000miles without cleaning the wheels so today I gave them a clean to see how the sealants were holding up. No special wheel cleaners were used, I simply gave all the wheels a wash with Megs HyperWash and a wash mitt and the brake dust put up no resistance whatsoever. Sadly there are no befores because I was racing to beat the rain, but here are the afters taken in the nick of time before the heavens opened!

Nearside (Poorboys Wheel Sealant)

















Offside (Chemical Guys Wheel Guard)

















So far both products are holding up amicably given the variable weather conditions of late and the driving I've been doing. At this stage there is nothing to seperate either product in terms of durablility or appearance. I shall update this when the situation changes.

Oh and here is a gratuitous parting reflection shot


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

Nice little test, it will be intrsting to see who it goes. 

The Carlack will put up a little resistance on its own as well i guess


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## Neil_S (Oct 26, 2005)

Looks brilliant as ever Tom, some great mods and the car looks fantastic lowered.


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## HC1001 (May 27, 2007)

Nice test....hope you enjoyed the nurburgring.....:thumb: I'm hopefully off there next year sometime....


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## beedie (Mar 15, 2006)

looks good, i always find the test of a wheel sealant is how much comes off just by pressure washing.
and yes they are looking wet for silver, are the clearcoated?


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

Looking good :thumb:


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## Wozza (Mar 3, 2007)

Good write up and good results :thumb: I find that any nearside wheels always get dirtier than offside wheels, I am guessing due to road cambers, more water on nearside etc. 

I have now sacked my wheel waxes in favour of Jetseal 109 :thumb: , a lot of people are using it now and the results are impresive.


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## wd40 (Jun 20, 2007)

Nice little test you`ve got going there mate !!:thumb:


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## Neil_S (Oct 26, 2005)

Did you use powerflex bushes Tom? How do you rate the new bushes?


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Nice test there, car's looking spot on too...

I've not used the Poorboys Wheel Sealent myself, but personally found the Wheel Guard to perform well below par in durabuility stakes - lasting nowhere near as long as the old Smartwax Rim Wax or Swissvax Autobahn... Indeed, 1Z Glanz Wax lasts significantly longer for me and allows better flake ping.


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## wd40 (Jun 20, 2007)

Neil_S said:


> Did you use powerflex bushes Tom? How do you rate the new bushes?


I used to have them on my escort cossie when the originals gave up!!!.
What a difference they make like !!
Going to get some for my evo when the need arises!!!!:driver:


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## barber (May 8, 2006)

i love your car!


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## tompinney (Jan 29, 2006)

Neil_S said:


> Did you use powerflex bushes Tom? How do you rate the new bushes?


I used SuperFlex, not PowerFlex, but its the same difference, just the Powerflex bushes are genereally easier to fit because they are two part affairs rather than single piece bushes like the superflex. If you get a set and want any tips/help fitting them let me know!

There was definitely a noticeable improvement. I fitted them with the OE shocks and ran them for a while before fitting the Konis so that I could see if there was a difference. Made the car noticeably more firm, but not uncomfortably so, and definitely made the car more 'pointy' if you get what I mean. Definitely £350 well spent on them!



barber said:


> i love your car!


Why thank you!


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## barber (May 8, 2006)

got a bit carried away, its looking real nice now though

I am also superflex'd all the way around on my metro, all anti-roll bars, drop links ect, combined with the lowering - the only limit is the tyres and your bravery :lol:


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## roy_newell (Jun 2, 2007)

Love the car Tom, looking superbly clean. I also have a nightfire turbo. Just needs lowering and 17s and will look something like yours


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## Thomas-182 (Mar 5, 2006)

Great post mate, good job, the wheels do look excellent & make a massive difference to the car.


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## mike_wall15 (Jun 13, 2006)

Wozza said:


> I find that any nearside wheels always get dirtier than offside wheels, I am guessing due to road cambers, more water on nearside etc.


Yeah totally agree. The back wheels are never too bad either when compared to the fronts.
I would therefore expect the nearside front to lose in this battle


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## Neil_S (Oct 26, 2005)

tompinney said:


> I used SuperFlex, not PowerFlex, but its the same difference, just the Powerflex bushes are genereally easier to fit because they are two part affairs rather than single piece bushes like the superflex. If you get a set and want any tips/help fitting them let me know!
> 
> There was definitely a noticeable improvement. I fitted them with the OE shocks and ran them for a while before fitting the Konis so that I could see if there was a difference. Made the car noticeably more firm, but not uncomfortably so, and definitely made the car more 'pointy' if you get what I mean. Definitely £350 well spent on them!
> 
> Why thank you!


Sweet, I'll check out the Superflex. I think when the A4 gets a suspension upgrade I'll go the whole hog and fit coilovers, new bushes and an RS4 anti rollbar


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

Neil - have you seen the diameter of an RS4 ARB - it is a big fat mumma


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## Neil_S (Oct 26, 2005)

GlynRS2 said:


> Neil - have you seen the diameter of an RS4 ARB - it is a big fat mumma


23mm compared to my pathetic 18mm, I'm not sure if the chaps are using the ARB from the B5? Theres a great guide on tyresmoke on how to do it.


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## acrebo (Jul 30, 2006)

I'll be interested to see which performs better over the next few weeks, if any. 

Where's the best place to buy Jetseal?


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## chris wheela (Jun 22, 2007)

i've bought some poorboys wheel sealant for my alloys, they are three days old and have been on the car for 3 days, should i seal them asap, is this important?


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## Glossmax (May 9, 2007)

acrebo said:


> I'll be interested to see which performs better over the next few weeks, if any.
> 
> Where's the best place to buy Jetseal?


Most of the forum traders do Jetseal check out there websites under the "forum home" section



chris wheela said:


> i've bought some poorboys wheel sealant for my alloys, they are three days old and have been on the car for 3 days, should i seal them asap, is this important?


Give them a good clean and get some protection on them asap. It will make them look better, stay cleaner for longer and make them a lot easier to clean.

Interesting test can't wait for the result.


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## acrebo (Jul 30, 2006)

Cheers for the respnse Pug, I only found C&S that showed it for sale, but CW&W also do it so will be picking up some from them in due course.


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## tompinney (Jan 29, 2006)

Pug_101 said:


> Interesting test can't wait for the result.


Quick update: Two weeks further down the line (just coming up to a month since first application) and close to another 1000 miles added and theres still nothing to tell between the durability of the two products.

I Gave the wheels a quick once over with a soapy wash mitt again at the weekend and the brake dust put up no resistance and theres no sign of the nearside wheels suffering more than the offside.


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## Glossmax (May 9, 2007)

acrebo said:


> Cheers for the respnse Pug, I only found C&S that showed it for sale, but CW&W also do it so will be picking up some from them in due course.


Don't forget Jetseal 109 works very well on the paintwork too and some great results have been achived using Chemical Guys Wet Mirror Finish under it. Check out the "show it off" section for details.


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## RobDom (Oct 26, 2005)

I found PB wheel sealant to perform better than WG. Nowadays I use WS with Collinite 476S wax on top (after glue & tar remover then claying them), which beads like crazy for ages and brake dust just wipes off very easily. I will try Jetseal109 soon though, having just got some from C&S.


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## blr123 (Oct 26, 2005)

One thing about the PB's Wheels Sealant.........don't leave it on long before buffing up as it will be a nightmare to get off.

I normally apply wheel sealant/wax as soon as we're finished with water and buff off when the detail is finished i.e. it's left on there all day.......I won't be doing that again with PB's Wheel sealant it took me forever to buff it up  

Bryan


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## 2548 (Jul 19, 2006)

I Jetseal'd my new alloys over an initial coat of Wheel Guard. They are really glossy and smooth!


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## Car Key (Mar 20, 2007)

Good test Tom :thumb: However, my near-side gets twice as dirty as my off-side, so would of been an unfair test using my car. I do a greater proportion of country laneing, but I’m surprised Tom’s road mileage, doesn’t at least get his n/s a little more dirty – but it appears not(?)

If I did this test, whether my car got dirtier one side or not, I’d split each wheel in half, 50/50 – both sealants on each wheel. Whether one side got dirtier, wouldn’t matter, and you’d have a side-by-side comparison.

A similar test comparing Jetseal would be interesting.


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## Glossmax (May 9, 2007)

53WRX said:


> I Jetseal'd my new alloys over an initial coat of Wheel Guard. They are really glossy and smooth!


got to ask, The trays :doublesho what are they?


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## 2548 (Jul 19, 2006)

Err, wheel packaging :thumb:


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## Glossmax (May 9, 2007)

got you. looked like plastic to me, but must be the white poly stuff


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## 2548 (Jul 19, 2006)

Nope boring answer is poly. Keeps them nice and steady not to mention protected while they get a good buffing.


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## tompinney (Jan 29, 2006)

Car Key said:


> Good test Tom :thumb: However, my near-side gets twice as dirty as my off-side, so would of been an unfair test using my car. I do a greater proportion of country laneing, but I'm surprised Tom's road mileage, doesn't at least get his n/s a little more dirty - but it appears not(?)
> 
> If I did this test, whether my car got dirtier one side or not, I'd split each wheel in half, 50/50 - both sealants on each wheel. Whether one side got dirtier, wouldn't matter, and you'd have a side-by-side comparison.
> 
> A similar test comparing Jetseal would be interesting.


All A-roads to get to work for me, so no fairness issues from one side to the other for me. Very few lanes on my regular driving routes. Now if I was at my fols place in devon it would be a different story!

As for 50:50 per wheel, its an interesting idea that I didn't think about at the time. It would appear to be a 'fairer' test, but in all honesty when I did the wheels for this test I wouldn't have had the time to mess around doing 50:50 per wheel. Maybe someone else can try that


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## Scott134 (Jun 18, 2007)

Just wondering how you'd know which half of the wheel had which sealant on if you did it that way??? 

Anyway, really useful test. Thanks. Will be interesting to see how long they both last as well.
Oh and car looks fantastic, I love Nightfire Red.


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## Paul-T (Nov 2, 2006)

Make sure you have the valve at the top or bottom, then make a note which product is on which side of the valve.


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## Richy888 (Mar 18, 2007)

I put www wax under jetseal on the wheels today and the finish it has left is jaw dropping compared to WG alone! Pics to follow tomorrow


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## Slick 77 (Jun 19, 2007)

Richy888 said:


> I put www wax under jetseal on the wheels today and the finish it has left is jaw dropping compared to WG alone! Pics to follow tomorrow


nice, look forward to the pics. will have to give this a go too! how many layers of www did you put under the jetseal?


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## vDUB (May 8, 2007)

Look a lot better, don’t forget to put your TSW centre caps on.


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## tompinney (Jan 29, 2006)

vDUB said:


> Look a lot better, don't forget to put your TSW centre caps on.


They went AWOL during my house move last year... still not come across them again yet. I know they made it to the new house because I've seen them, just can't for the life of me remember where! Might have to buy a new set.


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## tompinney (Jan 29, 2006)

Further update.... getting on for the ~7 week mark now and the wheels are still holding up well. Still only requiring a quick once over with the Schmitt and some HyperWash. 

The rears are starting to show signs of degradation though on both sides. Getting the odd spot of brake dust thats requiring a bit more scrubbing, must be something to do with the make-up of these Mintex racing pads I'm running on the rears cos the fronts, considering the brake dust battering they get, are still a walkover to clean.


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