hey fellas, i am looking for suggestions on a good wash/wax product combo. thanks in advance for teh input.

 

I love NXT by Meguinars.... great stuff, not too expensive.... works so well and smells go good...


I can bet you will hear Zaino mentioned like 100 times in this thread.... never tried their stuff cause IMO its too expensive. NXT stuff is a little less shiny but like 1/10th the price. Also i hear zaino is a little time consuming... maybe not


I love Meguinars NXT line and will stick to it.

 

Zaino X 100. Zaino may be a liitle more expensive than the store brands, but the minimal amounts you need for each application makes the cost per application less expensive than the store brands. I've used NXT and agree it is an easy on/easy off product and gives a good shine but it has no staying power compared to Zaino. The time you saved using the NXT is lost having to go back a few weeks later and redo the car again (and again, and again,.....). Zaino is only "time consuming" when applying the first coat, since you have to use the "Polish Lok" before applying the Zaino. After that, it takes no longer than the NXT to apply a coat of Zaino.

I've tried the NXT, I dare you to try Zaino!!

 

Here are some pics of NXT...... my camera isnt that great so pics really dont do justice.... but its shiny =)




















Now keep in mind I washed the car 4 days ago...Its under a cover when i dont use it, however my neighbors are doing construction so alot of dust is in the air too.....


PLUS!!! This is a silver car... Yes Zaino works wonders for black cars.... most of the time people who want to sell others on Zaino show pics of black/blue cars..... Hey i like my NXT... makes it shiny enought for me... and it lasts. Plus this is spray on wax stuff..... It lasts a long time, not as long as Zaino or liquid wax, but its so easy to apply take off. It takes me maybe 30 min to wax my car, and thats when i take breaks =P

 

I used NXT Spray on Wax. And then Speed Detailer (just to see what it does)


I really like Meguinars Tech Spray for the interior... not greasy and looks fantastic.

Its metal polish is good too... but i didnt really need it since i only have 2 tips to polish (and the are mostly shiny)

And the NXT glass cleaner is pretty good too... i always used windex, or just plain old vinegar.... ill use NXT from now on.

 

The spray waxes are good for inbetween waxes..they are good for maintaining. I used a few waxes...
Ive tried meguires 3 step. They get the deepest look, and the slickest feel out of most caruba waxes. However, the polish is very powdery, and the carnuba wax needs atlast 1 hr to cure nicely. Yet it comes off very easily.

Zaino goes on easy, comes off easy, and stays on real nice. A simple wash brings it back to 90% of the shine the car had right after a wash. If u keep up w the zaino spray (which is awsome, almost as good as a carnuba wax), then u can enjoy the shine for 1 whole season. If u zaino more, ull get a deeper richer shine. Its not hard at all to apply, u just need a lot of time for it to cure, since it is a hydrocarbon, and it needs time to form linkages. The synthetics fill in the gaps rather than form a layer above them, so they cure right away.
NXT is good too, but only as a in between real waxes solution. It comes off in 2 days of sunshine, or after 1 rainstorm. Its too weak, but it makes a nice shine.

Btw mike, my car looks cleaner when its dirty

 

Pure bull.... i wash my car weekly... maybe put on wax every other week (cause its spray on wax) and water always beads up. NXT does last a long time (longest i havent washed my car was 3 weeks. And the water came right off. Also my car was always the cleanest/ most shiny out of every Z in Rutgers. No offence to Peng/Yoshi. I just had more time to clean that all =P And ur car rajan isnt cleaner than mine. Biotch

 

Which one was zainoed and which one wasnt? =P If you can tell god bless you.... Both cars are from NJ, both silver, both washed the same day

 

Hard to tell considering the setting sun is really only shining on one of them; the lighted side is different on each car; silver is the least obvious finish for ANY polish/wax product.

 

i wish i took pics during the winter... i remember when it rained a little at night and then the drops that were on the car froze... i had small beads of ice all over the car.... then it snowed a week later (if i recall 2 feet) then it melted. A week later it rained. I didnt wash the car at all... and when it rained the wax was still there and the water beaded as if i just waxed the car.


W/e to each his own. The day i have 80-100 bucks to spend on zaino without caring I will and try it out. Im a college kid with extremely low income and dont have the cash to buy 80 bucks worth of wax, polish, clay.

And if NXT only lasted 3 days or 1 rainstorm i think meguinars would be out of buisness by now lol

 

If you have dark paint with any swirling NXT with a good carnuba over it is the way to go. 1 coat NXT to fill swirls and give a good base, 1 coat carnuba for better depth. Zaino Z5 takes at least 3 coats to fill the swirls on mine, and still doesn't do as well as NXT. On lighter paint Zaino is better since the swirls aren't as obvious so multiple coats not needed and the shine is better than NXT. Both are equally easy to apply/remove IMO, in fact Zaino may be a bit easier, but 3+ coats and then Z2, eh, not for me thanks. Still use it on the wife's silver suv though.

edit to add: yeah it was a mild winter, but NXT easily lasted 2 months on my SB '03 Maxima. The car was garage kept, but regardless, at least 8 hours a day, 5 days a week were spent out in the elimants.

 

Thats the thing about Zaino.. its super thin. You'lll need a few coats to get a real filling effect. Ive tried to put down a coat of Zaino and then get carnuba over it, and it came out nice.

 

I like the NXT products but the spray wax is crap- IMO. I tried it because Meguiars sent me a free bottle. NEVER AGAIN!

It left a crappy residue all over my car. Probably not something you'd notice on a light colored car. But on black it looked terrible.

 

BTW mike, mine is DEFINATELY cleaner...ill post pictures when i get home and own u I took some w/ my camera phone and they still look better, and then i have some w/ my digital camera which destroy urs. Silver gets the best shine at night or in a setting sun. In the daylight, it just reflects ALL light..so u get little shiny look (which requires absorbing and refraction)

 

NXT Paste Wax and Speed Detailer in between waxes.
I use paste wax because it last longer on the car. You will go through 2 or 3 bottles of spray wax vs. 1 can of the paste wax. With spray wax, you are paying for water more than anything else.
With a clean hand , gently and slowly wipe you hand over the hood or roof, if you feel residue or if it is not completly smooth, use a clay bar and go over your car first. You can find more info on clay barring on this site if you do a search. Plan on doing it at least 3 times a year, maybe more if your car is outside a lot or depending on the area you live in.
I have a Black Z, every time my wife is with me she mentions how many people stare at the car while we are out. I've caused an accident because a guy was staring at the car and not where he was going. That should be proof enough, it was the ultimate compliment.

 

ooh i totally agree spray wax isnt the best..... im doing liquid wax 1 time a month and once a week i do spray wax....


and yes claying a car is usefull i hear. I personally never clayed my car before... but i plan to when it gets warm.

 

Claying ur car wont really improve the look unless ur car is totally covered in grime. Doing it once after spring and once before the beggining of summer would be best. Salt and pollen are the two things that really stick on hard. I clayed it once and u could really see it pulling stuff off the car, even after i washed it. However, i couldn't visually see a difference. The difference can only be seen after a nice coating of wax.

 

You won't really see a difference after claying a car unless you're doing it to remove some specific problems like sap, rust spots, etc. You will definitely feel the difference though. The surface will be as smooth as glass.

Claying is not something you want to do too often. Maybe once every couple of years or so. If you keep your car up, it shouldn't be necessary very often.

If you get a new car, or buy a used one, because you don't know how it's been kept up, it's a good idea to start with a clay-job before you start waxing it. You don't want to be putting wax over imperfections.

 

Um....Claying won't really improve the look.....you're kidding right? If there is crap stuck to the paint and you wax over it, what did you just wax, you waxed the crap stuck on top of the paint and not the actual paint and you sealed the crap to the paint by waxing over it. Salt doesn't stick to your car after it's washed, it disolves. Tree sap, tar and "fallout" is what it stuck to the paint. I've never seen a clay bar turn white.....I've only ever seen them turn black. Think about it this way, if I put a drop of water on a piece of glass it runs right off, if I put a drop on, let's say, a fingernail file, it sticks in place. Same thing happens on your car. You want the paint as smooth as possible.

CLAYING YOU CAR DOES IMPROVE THE LOOK OF THE CAR AND THE SHINE OF THE PAINT. It also helps the wax do what it is supposed to do....protect the paint not the crap stuck to it.

 

U have superblack :-p Any imperfectionm will be seen.. Maybe i dont see a difference b/c i do it twice a year =\

My primary use of claybar is to get rid of tree sap, yellow bug stains..ect.