CAR WASH LAB TEST
Because there is no known standard to test the water shed properties of automotive waxes and paint sealers, a standardised lab test was developed to tested the durability of the Diamond Plate product.
The testing consisted of determining the range of which water shed from the surface of Diamond Plate compared to uncoated panels and panels coated with four other automotive paint sealers. The water shed rate both before and following subjections to a pre-determined number of linear wash cycles with a sponge and a detergent/ water solution were compared in order to gauge the durability of the products applied to test panels against the combined effect of physical washing in chemical detergent.
After 5000 washes, Diamond Plate exhibits little or no erosion.
ACCELERATED WEATHER TEST
An accelerated weather test was selected to assess Diamond Plate's durability. A "Weatherometer" cabinet is the equipment of choice for such a test. It is understood within the automotive coatings industry that 500 hours in the cabinet is a reasonable approximation to 2 years of coastal weather.
At 750 hours the Diamond Plate panels exhibited no reduction in water repellents.
At 1,000 hours, a clear difference between coated and uncoated sided was evident, and water repellent properties were still obtained. Exposure was continued to 1,500 where little reduction is evident.
These panels were then run to the 2,000 hour mark.
Diamond Plate's Polysilazane coating is held together by silicon - oxygen (Si-o) bonds, which are unaffected by UV. Polysilazane strongly reacts with the hydroxide (O-h) groups on the surface of the paint to anchor (chemically bond) it in place at millions of separate points across the surface.
For this reason, a true Polysilazane product is expected to perform very well on an accelerated weather test.
Diamond Plate was still intact after 7 years. All major brands tested failed within 2 years.