Nanolex Matte Paint (and Vinyl) Sealant Review

[anom3]

About 10 months ago I had my E92 M3 wrapped in 3M's 1080 Matte Metallic Blue foil. I absolutely love the color, and try to take quite good care of it.

Being fairly new to the car maintenance game I recently started reading quite a bit about sealants and waxes. My understanding is that when it comes to matte foil, there really is not too much choice as far as sealants and waxes go. 99% of the off the shelf stuff is designed strictly for gloss paint.

A simple google images search shows that as far as matte sealants go, there are essentially 3-4 choices.

Being a fan on Nanolex's matte shampoo and detailer, I decided to give the Nanolex matte paint (and vinyl) sealant a go. I am quite happy I did.

Trying to use words to describe the difference seams a bit futile. But I would describe it as being quite a bit deeper then before applying it. The old seams quite a bit more pale compared to the effect after putting this stuff on.

I took some after photos. Really wish I took some before, and even when the hood was half done. The difference is remarkable in person. These are off my iPhone so they DO NOT do it justice. Even my GF who is very "whatever" to all the things I do to the car said yeah, maybe it does look better.

A few tips / issues:

A) Overall, there are no major negatives. In my case, the effect was very positive.

B) There are only 2 negatives I can really think of:

1) The "gun trigger" spray really sucks. I got quite a bit of the stuff on the ground. I would guess about 10% ended up on the ground or on my gloves. I have seen online they have a different type of spray, if you have an option, get the one with the OTHER type, not the gun trigger spray applicator.

2) Warning : This stuff is quite aggressive to the human body. They state very clearly to ware gloves, which I did. But I my lungs don't like being around it AT ALL. I have to admit I do have a bit of a cold as I write this, but both times (last night and this morning) I was around it, I get a sort of nasty itch in my lungs and cough quite a bit more. I also got a bit in my eye, not directly, but just from the spray and bending down to put the bottle on the ground. Itched until I got up this morning. I'm a pretty "ah, fuck it" kind of person when it comes to chemicals and such... But if I were to do the whole car again I would most likely ware some sort of mask and eye protection.

C) This stuff is quite forgiving. After doing the whole car last night I noticed I missed a few spots. They are quite visible as the old foil looks very pale compared to the treated foil. So this morning I "touched up" the places I missed. No problem, blended right in with the areas I did last night. I even touched up some "larger" spots roughly the size of a CD. Blended right in no problem.

D) There are just a few videos on YouTube showing how to apply this stuff. In both I was able to find, the folks basically applied it in a small area, and wiped off almost immediately (from what I could tell). I noticed it tends to like it better if you apply, let it sit for 3-5 minutes, then remove with a micro fiber.

E) I found its better to use "more" then too little. Don't go over the top, but I found when you don't use too much.... Or spread an amount over a too large area, it doesn't seam to cover quite as well. If I were to put it into words, I would say 6-8 sprays on a cotton pad (the type your GF uses for her makeup) on an area slightly larger then a standard A4 binder.

F) I consumed roughly 80% of a 100ml bottle on my whole car. 5-10% ended up on the ground.

Here are some pics, they really don't do it justice... I wish I took some before pics as well as some in process pics... But I am quite happy. I plan on ordering another bottle in 6-9 months and doing it again. The best picture showing the color of the whole car is the one of the front. The whole car has a color very close to what you see between the headlight and the grill.

I am in no way affiliated with nanolex. I paid for this stuff, bought off eBay. Also I applied it on VINYL WRAP, so the effect may be different on paint... Although I would guess it would be better not worst. Also my wrap is roughly 10 months old, so on new wrap it may be pointless or maybe even better?

[radiofrequency]

Great write up - thanks! Could you post pictures of how the wrap is situated around the inner door panels? When wrapped, do the installers wrap all of the way or do you see the original color of the car?

[Detailers Domain]

great review I agree with you on the sprayer

we will have the Nanolex Matte Products in stock in a few weeks.

[ellekz]

Originally Posted by radiofrequency

Great write up - thanks! Could you post pictures of how the wrap is situated around the inner door panels? When wrapped, do the installers wrap all of the way or do you see the original color of the car?

Not OP, but the installer usually wraps it until the first "crest" in the door step. If you pay extra, they'll go all the way. But this is usually very tedious work, so the extra charge is high with (IMO) little benefits, unless your car was red and your wrapped it blue or something. Mine was black and is wrapped in white, most/ordinary people don't even notice.