What sealent would you recommend? I’m looking at Collinite and Wolfgang. Also do you think a paint correction is necessary before you apply a sealant?The car only has 5,000 miles and the paint is in good condition. Was just going to do a thorough exterior wash with a clay bar then apply the sealant.
I don't have experience with either one of those.
I've used a large variety of sealants, ceramics, and waxes. Generally they all work about the same, but some hold up a bit better than others. I really like the easy apply 1 year sealants like nufinish, Adam's butter, optiseal, and others. They're all basically tier 1 ceramic coats, but not quite as "hard" as the upper tier of ceramic coatings. They're cheaper and easier to apply though, and don't require days of downtime like some ceramics that have long "cure" periods. When it comes to sealants, don't use a lot, pick one that doesn't have too strong of a scent (to protect your lungs), and if you're having a hard time buffing it out you're using way too much.
It's more about age than mileage for the clearcoat. I had a brand new car from the dealer that I specifically requested they didn't wash, didn't touch, and didn't microfiber a thing and it still needed paint correction. At 5k miles, it's really your choice how much correction you do. The more you correct, the less clearcoat you have, so it's always a question of "what's the least damage you can do until you're happy?" With age the clearcoat oxidizes naturally to air exposure and will get "hazy" on its own, even with no water exposure. It's amazing how much a super light polish does! It's just time consuming.