There is no solid proof of that being the case.
Ace threw out his Fire Lance
before BB touched him...
So your example with Ace doesn't really work as this doesn't prove or disprove the notion that BB attacked Ace with Haki or with his DF, as Ace's attack had already hit BB a bit before BB hit him.
In Luffy's case, Luffy had hit BB with a surprise attack while BB wasn't using the DF ability. Though, it is likely that Luffy's speed would have negated any long term sealing as his fist didn't stay connected with BB for very long, again, there is no evidence that that couldn't have been the case.
Whitebeard's case is similar to Luffy's. BB had just been slashed by Whitebeard while he had his abilities activated. In the next panel, while he's rolling in pain, his abilities are clearly inactive, meaning that Whitebeard could now use his powers on him. It's within the realm of plausibility that if BB had kept his cool and reactivated his powers, then Whitebeard wouldn't have been able to use his Quake like he did. Though BB would still be open to another slash with the Naginata.
There is nothing wrong with believing that BB used haki back then, but I don't think there is any solid proof leaning towards either conclusion.