invisiFRAME Protective Coating

The invisiFRAME Protective Coating is easy to apply and particulary effective on matt, satin and polished surfaces, though it's also good on more regular paint finishes. It's not the cheapest of its kind, however.

This is a water-based ceramic formula, which is compatible with all the usual materials and finishes of typical contemporary bikes. Obviously, you should shy away from braking surfaces, bar tapes, and saddles though....

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Like most sealants, it's there to stop sticky stuff from sticking - energy gels, drinks, road salt, and of course mud and similar organic spatter. You still need to wash your bike, of course, but it's good at resisting the degreasing properties of bike cleaners and stayed the course during the test.

Oily finger marks

My fixed gear winter trainer and rough stuff tourer serve year-round, and in all weathers, so were obvious candidates for this test. Both have a mix of carbon, satin, anodised and gloss finishes, and the powder coating doesn't feature a lacquer topcoat. Consequently, its more prone to collecting oily finger marks and mucky spatter, even when treated to high quality waxes. I also tried this on matt helmet shells, titanium and polished aluminium components for good measure.

The test period was wet, salty, icy and with a smattering of snow. Perfect conditions for it.

A thin but crucially even coating is what you're aiming for. I typically left it curing for between six and eight hours, with no discernible difference in performance. The effects have been generally excellent on most matt, satin and gloss surfaces, and it's restored the lustre to some carbon cages that had dulled a bit.

Buffing my stem

Running a finger along both bikes confirmed a tangible, slippery coat. While I was particularly pleased by the results on my tubby tourer's unsealed finish, some stainless and Ti components proved trickier – matt grey was fine, but those with a mid-sheen tended to show every finger mark and imperfection. I've had to buff a stem repeatedly to remove some oily residue - the sort you typically find when droplets of silicone settle on matt paintwork.

Moderate spatter

Minor moans aside, overall performance impressed me. Expect to find only light to moderate spatter peppered along the down tube, chainstay and bottom bracket area.

Speeding along some very mulchy lanes, I was astonished to discover only three small specks of gloop clinging to my tubby tourer's down tube - nothing along the chainstays either. The fixed gear bike's frameset was cleaner still, thanks presumably to a generous lacquer topcoat.

The lighter stuff is easily dismissed with a microfibre cloth, with no need to apply more liquid. I've returned on several occasions astonished at how well the invisiFRAME has coped, even with a single coating. It gathered no oily finger marks either, even around the seat tube when I've been removing it from the work stand, which was nice.

A double layer around the down tube, rear triangle and fork legs proved an even more effective barrier to gunk. Left muddy for a couple of days, what hadn't dropped off was easily washed away with bike cleaner and a garden hose. Minimal effort needed. Again, dried with a clean cloth, the invisible barrier was still apparent.

Reapplied to my tubby

It's claimed to to last up to six months, and applied to a bike in seasonal storage, maybe. I've reapplied ours to my tubby tourer twice in 600 wintry miles and four washes. Even though the bike was predominantly clean, I wanted to see what impact bike washes and similar detergents might have. Staying prowess is comparable with another brand's ceramic coating I've used long term.

Value

On the face of things, £15 for 100ml is quite steep. The Weldtite Rapid Ceramic Shield Kit is £20.99 and includes 250ml alongside two cloths and, in my experience, is similarly effective on all surface types.

Then of course, there's the Fenwick's Professional Protective Coating which I reviewed five years ago, which is now £15 for 100ml, or £27 for 250ml. I've had positive results on all sorts of surfaces, matt, satin, and gloss – and even on shoes and helmets.

You can spend more, though. Wax is Dead Bike is a single-layer, semi-permanent ceramic coating and costs £45 for 15ml, though it claims to protect two bikes (from dirt, UV light and corrosion) for up to two years. It takes a full 24-hours to cure, though.

Overall

I've been impressed with this stuff. Sealant products are not magic bullets, and you're still going to need to wash bikes down after a week of wintry roads, let alone boggy trails. I would be inclined to use a high-quality wax as a main defence against road salt before applying this, but that's true of every sealant I've tried. As a final barrier against the elements, or for protecting pretty bikes in dry storage, invisiFRAME holds up well.

Verdict

Effective and convenient to use, with good results on all surfaces