I was chatting with a fellow yesterday who was detailing my neighbor's Mercedes SL500 - he does detailing for a living and will come to your house.

Not mine of course

He saw my Z and was complementing me on the finish as he felt the car and eyeballed it in the sun and we got to talking about waxes and such.

I told him that I used Zaino which he said he had very high regard for.
I explained that I used the Z1 followed by 3 coats of Z5 and am up to my 4th coat of Z2.

He suggested that I try doing 1/2 my car with a product that is only made in Maryland which is what he is using on my neighbor's car and see what I thought.

So he gave me a bottle of "Formula 365 Auto Wax" and I did 1/2 of the car with that and 1/2 with Z2.

I just finished the job and I must say, I am intrigued with this stuff.
I can not really tell a visual difference between the two halves (maybe the hazy sun we have today) but you can really feel the difference both with your hand and running a cloth over it.

It is MUCH more slippery than the Zaino.

I first spotted this when I was done the whole waxing job and then doing the final going over with a fine cloth bit.
If you run a Terry cloth over my car you can really feel where the Zaino stops and the Formula 365 starts because it is so much slipperier.

I would be very interested to read any comments from folks that have tried this product.

Google on "Formula 365 Auto Wax" and you can find a link to buy it.
Kind of like the Zaino Brothers, it is not a "Pep boys" product.
You have to mail a check or money order to them and their address is in Bethesda,Maryland.

When it gets sunnier out, I am going to see if I can really tell a visual difference.

Oh yeah - I do NOT work for this company so take this post as just another person looking for the best looking car finish.

Thanks

 

Interesting - I did a search for Forumla 365 on Autopia.org and got 0 hits for it. Now that's a site than inhabited by professional detailers. You can find real-world tests and reviews on just about anything out there. Apparently non of them of them have been to Maryland to get some Formula 365.

 

Another test is to see how long that stuff lasts with the heat, dust, and rain.

My Zanio is doing pretty well under those conditions.




(dang SB cars!)

 

I was not aware of that site so I will be poking aorund in there so thatnks for that FYI.

Here is the link for Formula 365 - it is about 4 down the list:

http://www.autodirectsave.com/links/...odyfinish.html

 

I did Google it and came up with their website, http://www.formula365.com
Surprisingly, there seem to be a lot of places with it for sale. That's why I'm somewhat shocked that nobody on Autopia has even mentioned it.

Personally, I can't imagine anything lasting 365 days, especially down here in the south. Our heat, humidity and rain are pretty tough on waxes, even Zaino.

 

they dont say what its made from

if its a carnauba, it wont last 365 hours

if its a synthetic, then its got a chance

 

Looks like relabeled Formula 113

 

You *will* get some hits on Autopia for Formula 113. Some comments were positive and some negative. I did run across this posted by one of the Mods there:

That makes me suspicious of the "positive" posts about it. There were a number of very similar looking threads where somebody posted a question about it then it was followed up by a few that seems to like it. After you see a couple of them, you began to realize how similar the threads were. I suspect the same guy was posting the question and answers under multiple usernames. That's probably what resulted in them getting banned.

 

I have a bottle that the detailer guy gave me and I think it is synthetic cause it has the Teflon trademark on it and all kinds of warnings about "petroleum distilates"

Also, not sure what Forumula 113 is but the bottle says "Formula 365 Corp." with an address in Potomac Maryland.

 

I know it looks like I am 'shilling' for this product but I am not.

I am simply a consumer trying to find out if it is better than Zaino.

As I said in my first post, when I did a half car test with Zaino and Formuila 365, I could tell no difference optically but Formula 365 sure feels MUCH slippier than the Z2 side.

I don't think it is rebadged either:

1) You buy Formula 365 from Potomac,Maryland and Formula 113 from Boynton Beach, FL

2) The detailer I mentioned was very adament about NOT putting this stuff on in full sun whereas Formula 113 brags about you can.

3) Formula 113 has a professional although overly glitzy website (and an annoying one at that with Frank Sinatra singing) whereas Formula 365's website looks home made.

 

Seeing what the ingrediants are would help answer some questions about it.

 

I registered for that detailing website referenced in here but you you need approval from the mod to be able to post and I have not heard back yet.

It has been 3 days since I registered.

I wanted to ask in there if anyone knew about this Formula 365.

BTW, do we know the ingredients in Zaino?
I just looked at my bottle of Z2 and all it says is 'aphidalic hydrocarbons'

Says as much as the bottle of Formula 365 which says 'petroleum distillates'

They are both synthetic which is all we know.

 

I finally got my approval to join autuopia and asked about this Formula 365.

So far the only response I got from them when I asked was a flame.

At least now, Formula 365 will show up on that website when searching

Drat. I want to put another coat of wax on my new Z but I am torn between Zaino and this Formula 365 that I can find no info about except for what my own personal experince is.

 

Post Pics with the Zaino bottle on one size of the hood and the Forumla 365 on the other. Maybe someone here will see something you don't.

 

Those folks over there are amazing.

See this post for my conclusion:
http://autopia.org/forum/showthread....394#post598394

And I will be posting some pictures of neat trick to do to Zaino that I learned over there to REALLY make the finish jump out.

 

After much discussion and help from the folks in autopia, we figured out that Formula 365 is not worth beans. You can read all about it in the thred referenced here.

Here is the link to that thread with pictures of my car dones with Zaino Z2 Pro and a top coat of Carnuba Wax.

That is THE killer combo

http://autopia.org/forum/showthread....hed#post598428

 

For me, it seems pointless to put carnuaba wax over Zaino. The main reason we use Zaino is it's durability and shine. Wax doesn't have that durability, it will wash off or melt off in short order. While it gives a shine with depth, it doesn't last. Seems like a car-show trick, huh?

If you want to put on another layer of Zaino, you won't be able to until you strip off the wax because Zaino doesn't bond/stick to waxes.

In your previous posting on the contents of Formula 364 you mention that it contains "petroleum distillates". Sounds like oil to me. Maybe that's why it was so slippery feeling.

 

"Wax doesn't have that durability, it will wash off or melt off in short order .... If you want to put on another layer of Zaino, you won't be able to until you strip off the wax because Zaino doesn't bond/stick to waxes."

You just answered your own comment.
Wait till short order comes and put another layer of Zaino on,if you want

Besides, Zaino lasts for several months so once you have a good base of Z2, what's the big deal. Use the Carnuba to really show off that shine.

More than a few coats of Zaino is a waste of time,money and energy..
It is great stuff and is one of the highest recommended sealants for longevity



Petroleum distillates will destory wax so acrylics are the sealant of choice except Zaino is a Petrol based sealant that does NOT destroy wax. That I learned from the pro's over at autopia.

The oil is what is BAD in Formula 365 as it attracts dust like flypaper. I was quite amazed when I was asked to look for that.
Read my conclusion in the link provided.

Zaino + Carnuba rules


"While it gives a shine with depth, it doesn't last. Seems like a car-show trick, huh?"
What is the detailing spray that Zaino sells? That is a car show trick too.


The bottom line is that while I love the several month durability of Zaino, it gave my car a very hard,synthetic look to it.
When I added a coat of Carnuba as suggested by the experts, the finish came alive.
If you want the BEST looking finish then do Z2 Pro followed by Carnuba Wax.


Hey - it's your car. Do what you want. Does not matter a hill of beans to me what you do.
What does matter is what my car looked like before and after I tried the suggestion from the experts.

I know what I am doing with mine from now on.

Oh yeah, I did leave out the fact that this combo is recommended for the dark colored cars like Black,Red or Blue.
If your's is Silverstone or a variation on that color then forget the Carnuba.