WARNING!!!! This post is about to go deep!!
Here are a couple of questions for you:
- Have you ever asked yourselves what slickness actually is?
[*]Have you ever asked yourselves what causes slickness?
[*]I do know that you've asked why coatings are not inherently slick, but do you know why they aren't??
[*]Have you ever asked yourselves why we have a love affair with slickness?
[*]Have you ever asked yourselves what slickness actually imparts to your vehicle finish?
Question #1: Have you ever asked yourselves what slickness actually is?
Slickness is a
tactile response from the mechanoreceptors we have in our skin. The most sensitive mechanoreceptors are found in the very top layers of the dermis and epidermis and are generally found in larger concentration on the palms, lips, tongue, soles of feet, fingertips, eyelids, and the face. The Merkel's disks and Meissner's corpuscles are the primary mechanoreceptors responsible for translating textures to the brain, whereas Ruffini's corpuscles and Pacinian corpuscles are essential for translating proprioceptive information (3D positional sense)
Question #2: Have you ever asked yourselves what causes slickness?
Obviously since the mechanoreceptor above translate texture, and anything that will impart or reduce the texture will be translated accordingly. Slickeness is the state of reduced/refined texture. So a freshly polished paintwork, devoid of any textural imperfections feels "slick to us". The problem is that we do not really understand the slickness component and often
MISUSE the term. Here is a picture I created as "education material" which I will share here but refer to later as well.
As you can see paint under an electron microscope is ROUGH, but not rough enough that we perceive texture. We will however notice (consciously or unconsciously) the textural difference if imperfections (scratches and swirls or contaminants) are present. By using decontamination agents (mechanical or chemical) we can restore the matrix, by polishing we can refine the matrix, and by protecting we can further refine the textural/tactile feel. So why would a coating not feel "slick"
Question #3: I do know that you've asked why coatings are not inherently slick, but do you know why they aren't??
To answer this question I have to take a step backward and ask a quick question. What is the opposite of slickness? The answer is
roughness!!! But is a coating texture rough?? The answer is NO! It is slick but
grippy!! I spoke before of the misnomer and misuse of the word "slickness", and this is where we need to do a better job at understanding and translating the information, and what it means. If we look back on the picture I shared you can see that the texture of the outer texture of a wax and sealant (because of their macrostructures) is irregular, whereas the nanostructure of the coating creates a flatter more uniform (self leveling) surface. So what would those differences translate into? As you know, the surface of your palms and fingers are covered with ridges and valleys
As you depress your finger on the surface you will progressively deform those ridges, and as such engage more and more receptors in the analysis of the surface. A very light touch may provide you some information about texture but greater pressure will provide more (until you deform the dermis layer and engage other more important pressure receptors OR if you involve nociceptive (pain) mechanoreceptors). So why aren't coatings inherently slick?? The answer is simpler than you think. The "SUCTION/friction effect"!!. Those finger prints on a "hyper clean" glass like surface, with very minor (imperceptible) deflections will make for a very GRIPPY surface, think along the lines of the old Ajax commercials.
Unlike coatings, waxes and sealants leave oils behind (natural or petroleum). Those oils are very good in providing a hydrophobic protective layer on the car paint (albeit temporary), but neither offers a hard cured surface self leveled surface which could create this "friction effect". They will never be as "squeaky clean" as an oiless hardened quartz or ceramic surface (oils lubricate).
So in understanding coatings one needs to depart from using slickness as a benchmark descriptor and need to appreciate the "grippiness" of the surface for what it is, and what it means.
Question #4: Have you ever asked yourselves why we have a love affair with slickness?
I won't start psycho-analyzing us to death but you can appreciate that our pleasure centers are definitely positively stimulated by the "lack of texture". We've been programmed since birth!! Just think of how soft and smooth baby blankets are. Just look at the most expensive textiles in the world (from silk to cashmere wool etc...) We are definitely programmed, and wax manufacturer did exploit that in their marketing, equating protection with a smooth and silk "frictionless" surface. Is that the case?? Maybe temporary but you have to stay on top of replacing the "sacrificial barrier" otherwise you are DOOMED!
Question #5: Have you ever asked yourselves what coating slickness actually imparts to your vehicle finish?
Well, lets look at each of the attribute of what coatings actually provide, and understanding what was written above, let's decide if slickness is a product or result of any of those qualities. So here are the attribute sought when applying a coating:
- Gloss
- Depth of shine
- Superhydrophobicity
- Scratch resistance
- UV resistance
- Acid rain and chemical protection
- Longevity
- Water spotting protection
- Contaminant bonding prevention
- Self cleaning effect
Everyone knows that
NONE of the first 9 relates to the slickness, but most may believe that the 10th does. In fact the slickness
MAY help improve the self cleaning effect, but most of that effect comes from the hydrophic qualities of the protection, and coatings offer a SUPERhydrophobic protection over waxes and sealants which offer hydrophobic protection (not super). The "departure angle" and "water surface contact" qualities (for wind resistance) go hands down to the coatings. They are much better than any wax or sealant, and will shed water more readily and more completely despite their grippy nature (not being slick). Don't get me wrong, not all coatings are created equal, but the previous statements does apply to most coatings (some coatings being MUCH better than others).
So the conclusion is that slickness is actually more of an emotional crutch to our upbringing, and a psychological satisfying agent in the likes of chocolate (or anything else that makes your day) If slickness is what you are looking for (in addition to all of the above levels of protections) then just apply Reload once a quarter and smile as you touch the paint
.... (but it is not needed)
