Paul350Z

iTrader: (1)

First off, if you don't have a Super Black car just slap whatever you'd like on the thing and it's going to look better than the 12 hours worth of labor and nearly $300 worth of polish, towels, random orital buffer, and wax I've put onto this effort.

A few beauty shots taken with the focus on automatic so that the camera is focusing beyond the scratch layer.





So the experiment began two weeks ago with hours worth of time with a Porter Cable random orbital buffer, a yellow cutting pad, 3M Dark Car swirl remover, followed by Zaino Z-PC Fusion Dual Action Paint Cleaner Swirl Remover using a white polishing pad. All the work was done inside under strong flourscent lighting which tends to bring out the scratches. Microfiber towels were used to buff out the treatments and after a couple three hours the hood was looking much better ... so I thought.

I divided the hood into three parts along the crease lines.

From left to right:



1. (passenger's side) I used 3 layers of Zaino Z-2 and spray gloss enhanser with Zaino Z-6.

2. (middle) I used the standard black car treatment of two layers of Zanio Z-5 and one layer on top of Zanio Z-2 with spray gloss enhanser with Zaino Z-6.

3. (driver's side) I used three layers of Meguiars NXT Generation Tech Wax and spray gloss enhanser with NXT Speed Detailer.

Looking down at some passing clouds it's hard to see a difference.



But once the sun starts to break out I take the camera into manual focus and zoom in on the surface of the paint to reveal the flaws in polish job and to see what, if any, effect that the waxes have on the swirls and imperfections.

The camera is an Olympus E-10 which has a beautiful lens, this was one of the very first digial cameras built with a dedicated lens. The camera still sees professional press use despite it's 4 Mb sensor. Images were both scaled down and cropped using Photoshop - all three wax treatments got the same Photoshop treatment in each series. Each series of pictures were taken one after another trying to capture the same lighting as much as possible.

Series one shot straight into the sun between clouds or on the very edge of the cloud.


(above) Zaino Z-2


(above) Zaino Z-5 (slightly soft focus)


(above) Meguiars NXT

Hard to believe that all those surface swirls and imperfections are there when you look at the beauty shots above.

Series two shot with less light with the sun behind a cloud.


(above) Zanio Z-2


(above) Zanio Z-5


(above) Meguiars NXT

Series three cropped 100% images of full sunlight.


(above) Zanio Z-2


(above) Zanio Z-5


(above) Meguiar's NXT

And finally one taken of the roof done with three layers of NXT.


(above) NXT roof reflections.

I'll leave the conclusions to you but only give you the advice to never ever buy a black car!

Kabs

Wow.... now the following statement will make me look like a fanboy of NXT. Now unless im missing something, this experiment just about proves that u get the same exact shine as Zaino. To my eye it seems like there its the same amount, maybe less swirls with the NXT (not 100% sure).


The roof is amazing.... Its just like black Z that everyone posts to promote Zaino (the german one).


Protection wise you should do another experiment and see what happens after it rains, how long each lasts, smoothness etc.


But when it comes down to shine... exactly the same.

Sam405

iTrader: (8)

lol.. your right about that..

davidv

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the post and photos. Much appreciated.

I am glad that you mentioned 12 hours. Members often post that they detail the exterior in an hour and I know that this is BS or the result is mediocre. Considering that it is your car, its OK that you are a harsh critic. The photos taken from several feet away show a beautiful shine. Hell I would be pleased if my car looked that good.

BlueBoxer

iTrader: (13)

Most reputable companies openly admit that there is no true way to remove swirls, only minimize them or temporarily fill them in. I, too, always state that you can get similiar results to Zaino with other products that are more readily and cheaply attained.

However, beautiful shine across the board and accurate represenation of the true time and results necessary. I usually do two to three layers of polish and glaze and only two of wax. I personally notice more of a difference in shine and clariy when I really really polish versus layer on coats of wax. Yes, you cannot layer polish, but you can pick up more swirls with each passing.

Paul350Z

iTrader: (1)

The roof is just as swirled as the rest of the car - much better now than when the dealer delivered it.

Rain? What's rain? It's likely to not rain here for another 9 to 10 months and besides I don't take it out in the rain. To the touch all three feel silky smooth and I can't feel the difference between them.

I've added another layer of Z-2 on the two right sides and another NXT on the driver's side.

Kabs

/\ ooh well it rains here in NJ quite alot... specially now with APRIL SHOWERS!!! lol


And the Z is my everyday car so rain or snow or shine or tornado or apocalypse.....its getting driven =P

TiPIACE

good comparo pics, im over synthetics though, just to hard to remove if you like to maintain the car swirl free, hand application wont buff them out, especially Zaino

i think you might be using the wrong pads/products if you cant remove swirls on such soft paint as Nissan's, or you could be putting those swirls in yourself - those swirls are in perfect oribital circles

i have no swirls after my mate pro buff's my SB, using Menzerna Final Finish. Not even in direct sulight. My car is a daily driver too, so ive switched to P21S, so if i see some swirls, i go over them by hand with Menzerna FF, then simply wipe some P21S back on again. Doesnt last as long as Zaino, but one application can be done in under 20mins, no drying time just wipe off immediately after applying. No need for Z6 or mixing bottles

Its true you cant totally stop swirls, anytime you rub the paint, most often with washing, it creates swirls. But you can minimise them occuring by using good sponges and not using the same sponge for wheels as lower panels and upper panels

35ounces

iTrader: (5)

P21s????

BlueBoxer

iTrader: (13)

Yes, P21S is great stuff. I have posted about it quite a bit on the various sites. The carnuba wax is like butter to wipe on and off, and as posted it does not have to haze. Plus, there are several good online dealers such as properautocare that sale it at a very reasonable price. It's 80-90% as good as pinnacle and zaino at a much lower price.

35ounces

iTrader: (5)

I'll have to check it out. MY Zaino is pretty much all gone so its time to reorder supplies.

EdgeOfSanity

iTrader: (1)

any "reputable" company that tells you swirls cannot be removed is only trying to sell you their products.

Nexx

iTrader: (41)

i use only microfiber towels on my car for cleaning and drying. i use two buckets , one with fresh water and one with soap. the fresh water bucket for rinisng dirt off towels i just used wipe down part of the car. using towels with dirt on sitting in the fibers is a big no no, only hurts your cause trying to prevent swirls. the biggest key is, the less you touch your car the less you have chances of swirling. i use an electric leaf blower to blow off majority of the water, its great for getting water out of the hard to reach places, like cracks and the inner lip of your rims. i use, once again, only microfiber towels to wipe away, usually very very little, water that is left sitting on my car.

lex350

iTrader: (16)

Hey, I'm almost to 300.

___DJK___

iTrader: (2)

lol!

usmanasif

iTrader: (4)

Paul, I must admit that you are the most hardcore detail enthusiast I've ever come across and this experiment is a great example.

Thanks much for proving that NXT and Zaino have the same visible results, albeit NXT has superior swirl-filling properties. As for longevity, I, being an avid NXT user on my black Maxima since its release, would be the first to admit that it doesn't last long at all. With the Z, I'll be trying Zaino just to see what it's like.

By the way, for me, this has been the most useful thread on this sub-forum. Good work!

zzrobzz

Pinnacle Sovereign > NXT & Zaino

gunser

iTrader: (3)

Nice writeup and nice work!

Those shots in direct sunlight are about the most unforgiving you could ever take.

I too have been a bit dissapointed in Zaino's ability to fill swirls, so I'd never use it in that situation. I love it's durability, shine and ease of application and removal. The whole system is just GREAT to work with.

I've used NXT on other cars the past few weekends and I like its ease of application and removal.

I do think that P21S is the way to go with darker colors particularly. Hopefully I'll have some interesting comparos to post before the summer's through.

nlsqba

iTrader: (1)

And I just spend over $100 on Zaino products

Thanks Paul

Paul350Z

iTrader: (1)

That said the Zaino products are top notch and I'll continue to use them. I do which Z-5 could do a bit more hiding those flaws but I wish I had an extra 100 hp too ...