# Does Sonax BSD actually 'protect' paint?



## ed87 (Apr 6, 2015)

Hi all,

Yesterday I gave my car a quick wash and ended up polishing a few places on the car after using vinegar also to remove some stubborn water spots. I have soft black paint so it's very prone to water spotting, especially in the summer.

Anyway, I gave it a coat of BSD in between showers yesterday after washing of course and now with the rain today the water is beading up and rolling off something crazy; it's been quite a while since I used BSD as I've been trying other products and forgot how crazy the water behaviour is, I also forgot how good the gloss is also, really makes my black paint shine.

This got me thinking though - how much actual protection does BSD give? I mean I know the water behaviour is very good, but that's not everything as we all know. What I'd like to find out is how well it protects the paint against UV, water spotting, etc. Or is it simply that it is purely designed to go over existing protection and offer a highly hydrophobic water behaviour?

I've tried looking it up on the sonax website and can't really see anything concrete hence the question.

Thanks in advance


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## Mcpx (Mar 15, 2016)

Excellent question which I unfortunately can't answer, I have two coats of Collinite 845 on my car and I use BSD to dry after every wash, so the protection is already there while the Sonax just sits on top. I totally agree about the water behaviour so there must be a layer of something there but how much protection against uv or contaminants it may give I couldn't be sure, but I'd be surprised if beading water was all it did.

The major benefits of BSD are that it works brilliantly, is relatively very, very cheap and its super easy to use, all of which means that it gets used very regularly so whatever protection it may give, even if it is just hydrophobic, never runs out because it is being constantly topped up. What I do know is that since I have been using it regularly my car doesn't stay any cleaner, but it is easier to clean, if that makes sense.


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## ed87 (Apr 6, 2015)

Mcpx said:


> Excellent question which I unfortunately can't answer, I have two coats of Collinite 845 on my car and I use BSD to dry after every wash, so the protection is already there while the Sonax just sits on top. I totally agree about the water behaviour so there must be a layer of something there but how much protection against uv or contaminants it may give I couldn't be sure, but I'd be surprised if beading water was all it did.
> 
> The major benefits of BSD are that it works brilliantly, is relatively very, very cheap and its super easy to use, all of which means that it gets used very regularly so whatever protection it may give, even if it is just hydrophobic, never runs out because it is being constantly topped up. What I do know is that since I have been using it regularly my car doesn't stay any cleaner, but it is easier to clean, if that makes sense.


Thanks for the reply, yes that does make sense. I know that people have stated that it's more of a spray sealant than a quick detailer but obviously a sealant is designed to protect against all forms of contamination and not just provide a water repellency effect. Don't get me wrong, I'd love it to be the case as you make some very valid points in the price point being low and the ease of use (unlike many I don't tend to struggle with application, sure it's grabby but it has to be to provide hydrophobicity to such an extent).

There is also the argument that if something beads furiously when the sun dries the beads out then you're more likely to experience water spotting as opposed to an LSP that offers flatter larger beads, however on the flip side when driving along the water and dirt etc is more likely to be blown off with something that is as hydrophobic so it's always a compromise. I'm giving it another go and going to see how I fare with regards to the water spots but thought I'd open the point up for discussion.


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## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

According to this thread http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/91271-sonax-bsd-uv-protection.html BSD may not offer UV protection


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## ed87 (Apr 6, 2015)

lowejackson said:


> According to this thread http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/91271-sonax-bsd-uv-protection.html BSD may not offer UV protection


Thankyou, having just read through the posts it seems as though there is still no 'real' answer to the question, although, perhaps owing to lack of information on the topic, it appears that many suggest that it's not classifiable as a true standalone sealant type product.

I suppose maybe the question could be is BSD a 'watered down' maintenance product for say PNS (et al) which contains the same ingredients but with an easier to use application method and hence less durability or is it a completely different set of ingredients simply designed to offer a highly hydrophobic behaviour as per the original post?


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## Loach (May 23, 2015)

It's a great question and I think we can apply it to all products, even the ones that claim to offer a form of UVA/UVB blockers. Just how significant is that protection and how long does it last compared to the visual water performance that we judge its durability on?

With regards to Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer, if you go to their Professional Vehicle Valeting pamphlet, on page 21 they have BSD listed under the graph that specifies "Paintwork Conservation/Protection", and has it listed for 2-3 months.

Products and Techniques for Professional Vehicle Valeting

I was between 3.5 - 4 months with a noticeable water behaviour without topping with anything before removing BSD to test other products. Didn't notice any fading nor water spotting after washing even though it was blasted by our hardwater sprinklers multiple times. So for me the protection value is there, but I'd be interesting in hearing something from Sonax as well as other companies as to how they're defining "protection" and what they have in their products that is better at "protection" compared to competitor products.


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## Yellow Dave (Apr 5, 2011)

Beading lasts quite a while on a bare panel, I tried it on it's own on a bare bonnet. But it didn't resist bonded contaminants like tree sap and but splatter very well

I'll only use it as a top up when beading drops off as the water behaviour does help with general washing and self cleaning when raining.


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