First off let me say that I'am a total clean car freak. I have used just about every wax, rim cleaner, leather coniditoner, etc. After reading all the oo's and ahhh's about Zaino, I went ahead and bought Z2, Z5, leather cleaner and conditioner, along with a bottle of ZFX. First order was to clean the car with dawn...okay. Done. Afterwards I applied about 5 coats of Z5. About 3 weeks later, I have used all of the Z2. Now don't get me wrong, it looks pretty good and I admit it's probably the most durable product as far as staying slick and still protecting after numerous car washes. I also use another wax called Liquid Glass. It's about $10 at autozone, can be applied in layers (cures in 4 hours), and honestly I feel that it gives my paint a smoother and deeper look than Zaino and dries to the touch alot quicker than Z2. I've used both products on a 2003 Emerald Mist G35 coupe, 2003 black Expedition, 2003 Chrome Silver 350Z, and a 2003 Carribean blue G35 coupe so I've tried it on numerous paints. Now Zaino's leather products are top notch...works perfectly. No need to flame, just posting my experiences. Anyone else think that Zaino isn't all that? I would break it down:

Zaino
Gloss/Shine: 85
Smoothness: 90
Protection/Durability: 95

Liquid Glass
Gloss/Shine: 90
Smoothness: 95
Protection/Durability: 85

 

never realy tried Zaino... but Blackfire works the best for me. No cure time, easy to apply, and it has a super slippery finish i've never felt before. Probably even cheaper too! hehe

 

pinnacle souveran user here. i've tried zaino on my super black but didn't like the results. i like the deep, wet paint look.

 

You guys are going to make Yoda cry!


The Guru Report is regarded by many as the ultimate comparison when it comes to these products. They rated all 46 using multiple criteria including things like water beading/sheeting, shine, gloss, depth, clarity, reflectivity, slickness, and color enhancement.


Here are the top 25. Ask me about any others.

1 Zaino
2 P21S Concours-look Carnauba
3 Klasse All-In-One Sealant Glaze
4 Armour All Protective Barrier
5 Pinnacle Souveran Carnauba
6 Pinnacle Paste Glaz Carnauba
7 Rain Dance Premium
8 Mother's Califonia Gold Carnauba Cleaner
9 Collinite Marque D'Elegance
10 Mother's California Gold Pure Carnauba
11 Blackfire
12 Collinite Super Doublecoat
13 Blitz One Grand
14 Turtle Wax Finish 2001
15 Eagle One Wet Polish and Wax
16 Griot's Garage Carnauba Paste Wax
17 Nu Finish
18 Meguiar's Gold Class
19 Turtle Wax Emerald Series
20 Prestone Bullet Wax
21 Griot's Garage Best of Show
22 Meguiar's Medallion
23 Turtle Wax Super Hard Shell
24 3M Perfect-IT Show Car Paste
25 Meguiar's #26 High Tech

 

Yea, I have heard of this report also but never have seen the ranks of the various products......

What amazes me is that Nu-Finish is ranked higher than Meguiars Gold Class? I've used both products, and from my experience, Meg. GC is wayyyyyy better than the Nu-finish stuff..... I don't know, I am by no means an expert, but I don't think Nu-Finish should even be on that list......

Don't get me wrong, it's a good product, but for the price I would spend a couple bucks more for Meguiar's...... JMHO

 

do they rate usabilty/easy to apply???? Blackfire applies and wipes off with out no streaks or residue. Easiest product i've ever used. And the results are the best i've seen

 

I gotta tell ya..........

I have owned Z-Cars for nearly 30 years and I have tried nearly all the products on the above list (except Zaino). Out of all of them, NU-FINISH is the best bang for the buck by far.

Inexpensive, easy to apply, durable, deep DEEP shine and finish. It wins me trophies with my 1970 240Z every time! Nothing but Nu-Finish for my cars!

Don't sell it short to "bigger"names, it's great stuff!

FWIW

 

Really?!?!? I guess you had a better experience with it than I did.... What really annoyed me was all the white dust it would leave..... Were your cars dark or light colored? I used it on my Tafetta white Acura and wasn't really impressed.....

 

Bonz, what is the date on that report? Was Finish First anywhere on that list?

 

One of the things that grips me to hell about BOTH Zaino and Liquid Glass is that it attracts dust beyond belief. It almost seems that until after your first wash does the dust attraction cease. Looks like you car has been in a dust storm. Yea....I heard NUFinish is a pretty good product. I haven't used it in years so don't have much comment on that. But seriously, the $10 of Liquid Glass works great. Zaino is good, but for the price and the praise I was expecting something that would blow me away...it doesn't. I've used Klasse and it gives you near Zaino results, but I find that the Glaze is MUCH harder to buff off and doesn't last near as long. Another wax that I used to use, works great, easiest wipeoff is the Wax Shops SuperGlaze. It's great for a quick wax/detail but doesn't last but a few washes.

 

The liquid leaves much less residue than the paste.......and keep turning/cleaning that cloth!

I have used it on all color cars. It looks better with every coat!

C'Mon spring!

 

Finish First World Class Auto Polish came in at #30 out of the 46 tested. Wax Shop Super Glaze Liquid came in at #41.

The report is from Summer of 2002.

They rated the following:

-Durability
-Ease of Use (ease of application got one grade and ease of buffing got a separate grade)
-Product Availability
-Overall perfomance

The Performance part was broken down into several tests that were done at the time of application and then retested on a weekly basis for eight weeks:

-Amount of beading/size of water beads
-Shine
-Gloss
-Depth
-Clarity
-Reflectivity
-Slickness
-Color Enhancement
-Overall impression

 

Ok heres my experience. I've been detailing cars for 13 years and have tried ton of waxes. I've won best of show in many car shows with my Chevelle and best paint awards a few times. I used Meguires #9 then #26 over the top. This gave me the " Award Winning Finish". In my daily driver car I felt that nu finish worked the best. It gave a great shine and came of easily. I've tried "wet" , It gave a great shine but didn't last. Mothers worked well but also didn't last. I tried Zymol , It works well but did't shine as much as I expected for the price. I just purchased Zaino but haven't applied it yet. I will post my thoughts on it after I do.

 

AfroCreame, did you use Z6 also?? You didn't list it...

Zaino rocks...





Not my cars

My car...

 

I used Liquid Glass 10+ years ago for quite awhile, and it doesn't hold a candle to Zaino in durability. It does give a good shine, and also goes on and comes off very well, but IMO, it is much inferior.

I used it for several years, and we used it at our dealership on tons of cars (I worked in the car wash when I was in middle school, and applied it to hundreds of cars). It is nice, it just doesn't last that long. I got tired of putting it on my personal cars, and started a quest to find a better product. (Note, they could have changed formula, and the newer stuff be better. I have heard nothing of the sort, though.)

I used Megiuar's for awhile, and it seemed to last better than Liquid Glass, but that still wasn't good enough. I also used Nu Finish. Zaino does as good as anything I've used.

I still would be interested in trying Blackfire, but I think I'll stick with Zaino for quite some time.

 

That is why I switched from Meguiars. Harder on and off, and didn't last very long at all compared to Zaino.

 

I have a friend of mine that a single bottle of Z-2 has lasted him for 2 years, so far. He is REALLY good at applying it thin.

I'd say Zaino is pretty economical.

 

Their wash factors out very well too compared to some of the national brands too.

 

Before I used Zaino, I really liked P21s, Classe, Pinnacle Soveriegn. But Zaino blows them away. Iused Z for years with VERY good results. It is fantastic stuff. Yes, I too have found Zaino attracts dust like crazy.

I am now getting the best results with Crystal Guard. I have found that dust is not attracted to it.

BTW: I am a clean freak too. The car has to be clean. I also have a boat and am the only person that regularly goes down to wax the bilge. On car & boat, you could eat off the engine.
I even detail the bottom of the car!!!!