OK.. testing is complete!
I'm not allowed to post a test report, but I can summarize what we found. For those interested in the details (TomatoSoup, GJ, others) our lab is an independently accredited lab, and my company produces consumers goods. I submitted these panels to the same sort of testing any painted panel would be tested to on any of our products.
With that said...
Humidity is an issue for this coating. By that I mean 1000 hours in 100% humidity stains the surface. Samples placed outside have not shown an issue in the Midwest summer heat & humidity though. From talking with 3M (my company has a working relationship with them), I'm not concerned in normal application at all.
Detergents are not friendly. So, if you are like me and strip your wax with Dawn prior to starting your detailing routine, I'd be careful where this is applied. Slight exposure from rinsing the detergent shouldn't be an issue, and we run the test at elevated temperatures... but I'd recommend not washing with dish detergents on the panels you have this applied to. If you've coated an entire panel (facia, hood,) then you shouldn't really need to be removing wax there.
Staining Agents that you might be likely to use and thus should avoid:
409, ammonia (found in some window cleaners such as Windex), Fantastik. We don't test Simple Green... I know others like to use this, so I can't speak to it. Stains varied in severity, but usually end up as white spots on the coating.
Abrasion resistance performed well... similar to other painted surfaces.
UV testing was performed through accelerated testing in a UV chamber. Performance was good (500 hours) with very slight color change. If this was a pigmented paint it would have passed requirements. The Florida UV exposure test (3 months) is not yet complete. I would say it's fair to expect this to work as well as your paint does... don't expect it to stop UV fading under the surface, but do expect yellowing over time. I'll have a better understanding after the Florida testing is complete.
Forming and impact resistance performed well and would have passed if this was a pigmented paint.
Corrosion performance performed well and would have passed if this was a pigmented paint.
Heat aging looks at color shift, and performed well and would have passed if this was a pigmented paint.
All and all this appears to hold up well in lab testing. I don't see any reason I wouldn't give it a try... and will be doing just that shortly.
Feel free to ask questions.. I'll respond to what I can, but I can't give details of testing away since it is our product testing requirements.
