The main purposes of detailing a vehicle are threefold forming The Detailing Trinity;
1. To make the vehicle look its best
2. To provide a level of protection to keep the vehicle looking its best
3. To make the maintenance cleaning of the vehicle easier so that it can look its best all of the time.
In order to achieve number 3, the default result is to provide the surface with a Hydrophobic effect so that water forms into individual ‘water beads’. These individual beads have a sufficiently high contact angle so that wind and gravity force the water beads from the vehicles surface carrying dirt and dust with them. This ‘water beading’ is what 99% of all detailing products hope to achieve with various successes.
The 1% approach is to provide a Hydrophilic effect or ‘water sheeting’ where the water does not form into individual beads. This effect has the water act as a conjoined film that runs off the surface leaving it dry. This incredible effect is likened to a syphon pulling water using its atomic molecular bond that clings to each drop when gravity acts upon it. This draining effect can be seen when you use the slow flow of water from an open hose to pass over the car gathering water and dragging it from the surface. This clever trick is called Hose Drying.
Water sheeting is a more natural effect and can be seen over any angled surface however, now this can be enhanced and promoted with Sentinel Sheet, Water Sheeting Spray. This spray works in opposite to the Hydrophobic effect using water’s own surface tension to create individual beading. The Water Sheeting Spray acts to release the surface tension of the water and dissipates it so that it fails to bond to the paintwork thus gathering with other water into larger formulations until gravity drains the water downwards from the cars surface.
For locations where climate often varies repeatedly from rain to sun the Water Sheeting Spray will provide a solution to the water marks formed when beads of water dry quickly and the mineral content forms a mark etching the paints surface.