sillystanger

by the way, is it really necessary to wait three months before detailing a new car from the factory?

05GT-O.C.D.

Common conclusion is no, it's not necessary. That said, I've heard it's a good idea to only use a Carnuba the first time or two. I don't know why, that's just what I was told.

kevinv-6

HEY!! Put your shirt on!!!!

Dan

Wow Rich, that is one of the nicest wax jobs I've seen. I would love to see a Zaino vs. Meguires side by side comparison. Its very close.

azlitigator

I've used Zaino for over 5 years and love it. It does cost more for the initial outlay, but you use so little it ends up being economical in the long run. I like the UV protection, here in Arizona that is important, and the shine is awesome. My last car was bright red, and looked as good the day we sold it as the day we bought it. The car glowed, it was such a glossy shine it almost hurt your eyes.

I've also bought stuff from Griot's Garage, and like their stuff too. On my other car I use the Griots Garage stuff, and on the Mustang I am using the Zaino stuff.

CME

I recently bought and used the zaino's line of products, and was impressed. Mainly by how well it's lasted. The dealership I bought mine from uses Wizards and after about two washings in was already beginning to wear off. I am not, unfortunately, able to park my car in a garage over night. It sets outside and gets dusty everyday. So I put the zaino's on (two coats of Z2), and have washed it several times and it still repels water better than any product I've ever used. The first day of prep was a pain, but it was worth all 6 hours. Now it'll be just a matter of putting another couple of coats on in the next week or two, and then I'll probably add a either a coat a month or 2-3 coats every 3 months. In fact yesterday I just ran it through an automatic car wash, and within a mile or so it was dry. The 70+ degree weather may have had something to do with it, but so far I'm loving it. I''m not saying it is better looking/shinier/glossier/wetter looking than other products out there, but it looks mighty fine and lasts. From what I've read it gets deeper ever coat, so I guess another coat or two would make it gleam.

montreal ponies

Since last year i started using Nanowax by Eagle one, i'm really impressed by the look it gives, better than Mcguiar and Mothers which i've been using in the past....I use a micro fiber towel to wax it off.....i ain't going back to anything else...

Nazgul

I'd like to mention the Zaino web site is very well run and has a lot of very specific info addressing questions about stuff like microfiber towels and use of power buffers. And they've answered all my dumb email questions within a matter of hours. I value that.

Boomer

Oh just as a note:

Its not just how good it looks.
Its how long and easy it takes to look that good for that period of time.

Yes other products are awsome, but again....application. How easy to on/off it?
Another thing...how long that shine lasts.

Some packages are better than others, and while results may be stunning on one, they may be required more often, than said other product.
I'm not saying which, my point is that its not just 'oh it shines nice'
There are many other factors that come into play on why we think that 'x' product is better. I've seen the awsome results of a lot of products.

I personally love zaino for its ability to accel beyond my expectations in all those departments.

GT98

I'm not sure where your located, but I think Shore Motorsports in Howell, NJ carries it. I got some about 6 years ago.

sillystanger

I'm not sure where your located, but I think Shore Motorsports in Howell, NJ carries it. I got some about 6 years ago.
[/b][/quote]

Thanks... I'm located in South Jersey, a good distance from Howell. I was PM'd by Vert96 (Thanks man!) who pointed me in the direction of the website to order Zaino which will deliver to NJ (http://www.hcvind.com/). Placed my order and was shipped immediately. If this Zaino line performs anywhere near what I'm reading I imagine I'll be placing orders for many years to come. I'm really looking for durability and ease of application/removal (and of course, shine!)... will test first on a Neon that hasn't seen wax since the dealership back in 98 (been a bit of a beater, but strangely the paint still looks decent despite all the neglect)... going to order a whole lot of clay bars and scratch removal product from Meguiar's to get this cleaned up before applying the Zaino polish. I should probably ask that... Am I correct that the Zaino line doesn't include scratch removal products and that I should look at Meguiar's for this type of product? I presume I'll need some mildy abrasive product to even out the small scratches in the clear coat? (and I won't mess with the scratches that go down to the paint) or is scratch "removal" by novices like myself just a bad idea to begin with (i.e. just fill with wax/polishes)

KizerSoze

Few things to note.

1. Zaino is not a wax, its a polymer.

2. In the true sense of the word, Zaino is not a "Polish". Polishing products contain abrasives that must be "polished" or "buffed" out. Zaino does not contain any abrasives.

3. Zaino has been around for a while...I've been using it sense 2000 when I got my black ws6 and just put my first coat on last week for my almost month old 05 stang. Among the LS1'ers Zaino has a big following and a lot can be learned over at ls1.com under the showcar/detailing section. I believe KevinSS over there is the resident expert. Also I believe Zaino is popular among the autopia forum, which a TON of great detailing tips can be found on that forum.

4. I think the #1 most important thing in any detail application and especially Zaino is proper paint surface preparation. Zaino, and probably most high end wax/polymer manufactors, suggest that you claybar your car. Doing this ensures a squeaky clean surface for whatever wax/polymer you use.

Well I meant not to go off the deep end so I'll stop there. Zaino is not for everyone but personally I like it. Its easy on, easy off and it leaves a very smooth surface.

Good luck with whatever choice you choose.

Boomer

SillyStanger:

Zaino does have a scratch/swirl remover.
Z5
Its a polish that has those properties.
Z2 is the highgloss version of the polish. Recommended to use Z5 until you are satisfied, then switch to Z2 for more deep/wet look. And they can be interchanged, so if after you applied Z2, you want to use Z5 you can.

Its recommended NOT to mix waxing products.
Stay with a line and use it, don't mix/match.....as some products may not play nicely in the sandbox with others, and cause....problems.

Case in point: A guy a year or 2 back (when the NXT line came out) had Zaino on his car, and he didn't take it off....landed up using NXT overtop, and it completely hazed the surface.

Dan

Quit telling that story pete, you're getting me nervous. Couldn't he just take the stuff off with a dish soap?

wsmatau

Quit telling that story pete, you're getting me nervous. Couldn't he just take the stuff off with a dish soap?
[/b][/quote]

Sure, but you need to start with a clean slate no matter what you are using. Putting NXT over Zaino is asking for trouble, unless you are a chemist and have checked out how it will react. The point is...DON'T MIX AND MATCH. These products are designed by professionals.

Dan

Sure, but you need to start with a clean slate no matter what you are using. Putting NXT over Zaino is asking for trouble, unless you are a chemist and have checked out how it will react. The point is...DON'T MIX AND MATCH. These products are designed by professionals.
[/b][/quote]

Oh, I know..... I just hope I get all the NXT off with two washes of dish soap.

Hellcat6

Argue all you want, but 21 of the 24 best in class winners at the Concours D' Elegence at Pebble Beach used Meguiars. That itself speaks volumes for which wax top cars use. I said earlier that Zaino seems to be great stuff, just it seems like its huge because of the internet bandwagon following.
[/b][/quote]

Sorry, but I can't help myself here, you are way off track. You do know that Pebble Beach is predominantly pre-WWII era cars with some makes up to about the early 60s? And you also know that these concours museum pieces do not have modern clear coated finishes? If they did, they wouoldn't win. The Zaino products we are describing here are for modern base coat / clear coat type finishes like on the 05 Mustang. Huge because of the internet following? Go ask man on the street if he ever heard of Zaino, doubtful. But he probably knows about Maguires due to lots of advertising.

TacoBill

Meguiars is the official wax used on the vehicles at the Auto Collections museum in the Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino (Las Vegas).

Sure, Meguiars is probably sponsoring them, but I'm sure they wouldn't use it on their priceless collections if it weren't the best.

Boomer

yeah, sponsorship and advertising dollars has NOTHING to do with THAT....

Just because Powerade sponsors the NHL doesn't mean its a great drink.
Gatorade may be better.

It comes down to what you like.
You won't convince anyone here that one is better than the other once they have their mind set.

It might as well be an IRS/SRA debate, just replace Zaino/Meguires with IRS/SRA

In the same vein, you'll have people defending a product saying its better than 'x' who have never tried 'y'
THATS the funny part!

max2000jp

Your logic is seriously flawed. NXT is a polymer, very similar in composition to Zaino. I am not sure what Megiuars product was on these 21 cars, but let's assume it's one of their professional products. The professional products are clear coat safe as well. You also don't know for sure that a modern paint application with a clearcoat hasn't been applied. Zaino has a huge internet following, you cannot argue that, hence why I stated that there is a huge internet bandwagon.

It really doesn't matter which wax or polish you use, you will get very similar results assuming you use a high end product. The most crucial part of detailing is taking your time and preparing the paint properly.