What's the best wax/paint protectant?
 

I've been reading many postings regarding the products Z owners use to get their car to shine car-show perfect. Many believe Zaino is the best thing since the Z itself. While others love Blackfire. I've seen pictures of Zs polished and waxed using 3M products that put a mirror to shame. I know each brand has different options available, but all things considered, which brand have you found to be the best overall? I wish I was allowed more than ten options. But since I'm not, I'll go with the brands I've seen most often mentioned in your posts. I encourage anyone to post a write-in vote and explain why they feel it's the best. I hope this poll wasn't done previously. If so, sorry.

Crystal Guard!

I tried about everything for over 30 years and was never completely satisfied, especially with durability and protection. I tried Zaino 5 years ago and quit looking. Nice to know the Guru Report test of 46 different car care products agrred with me, since Zaino came in first overall and in synthetics.

ahem..... AMEN!!!!!!!!

:cool:

VG

Griots is the most amazing stuff! Have any of you guys ever tried it?

I'll be honest, but I have been so happy with the Zaino...why change

"The Treatment"

Tried Blackfire
 

I see many people are quite pleased with Zaino. I found a place that offered a good deal on a boat-load of cleaning supplies highly recommended by many Z owners which included Blackfire, so I bought the package. Wow! If Zaino is better than Blackfire, I'll be amazed! I am extremely impressed with the shine and gloss Blackfire provided. Protection is yet to be determined. What's up with CrystalGuard? Seems many people are quite happy with it! Anyone who has used Zaino, Blackfire, and CrystalGuard out there? Which are you going to stay with? Why?

Thanks for any comments!

Michael

Griots makes a lot of good products but their waxes are like other waxes...they just don't last.

I use Zaino now and have never been happier. I still use the Griots polishes and some of their other products.:)

I am putting in a $250.00 order full of blackfire products.

I just cant find enough info on Zaino to feel comfortable about it.

Should I reconsider?
Eric

I like what I see!
 

Eric,

Before I bought my Z I cared a lot about keeping my cars clean, but not to the point I've gone with my 350. With past cars I used Mothers and 3M and Raindance with satisfactory results. While I can't compare Blackfire to other high-end waxes and polishes because I haven't used them (i.e. Zaino), I can say I am quite impressed with the gloss Blackfire has provided. Since I just put one coat on a week ago, durability of Blackfire remains to be seen by me. However, my baby shines! I also invested a lot in a one-time purchase of car care products (about $200.00). Of all the stuff I bought I'd say the clay bar step in detailing seemed to have the least amount of impact. I clay barred half the hood then polished then waxed; then I did the same thing to the other half only I left the clay bar step out. I couldn't tell the difference. While I'm not opposed to putting a little elbow grease into getting the car to shine, Blackfire was quite easy to apply and remove. Follow the instructions on the bottles. Also, invest in a butt-load of micro fiber towels. They are the perfect thing for applying and removing polishes and waxes.

Enjoy your detailing day! Let us know your thoughts on Blackfire!

Michael

To get the best results, you need a combination of:

1) Good products

2) Good tools

3) Good technique


Skimp on any one of those, and your results will be substandard.

Let's look at the products: If you surveyed the entire car-polishing world, a majority of them would say they love their carnauba wax (Meguiars, Mothers, Zymol...). Okay, I don't get it. Why would you put a product on your car that melts at a LOWER temperature than your car's skin temp on a sunny day? What possible protection can that product provide? If you doubt this assertion, PLEASE someone with a pyrometer go and shoot the hood of a black car that's been sitting outside on a sunny day at 85 degrees.

Can you get a good shine with Carnauba? No (carnauba isn't shiny), but if you add silicone or some other oil to it, you can get a great (although short-lived) shine. Try liquid pledge - it gives an awesome "wet look" shine (until you touch it, or wash it).

Other products have NASTY solvents (products like Klasse), or abrasives (stuff like Meguiars cleaner/wax). Some say you need those additives to get your paint clean, but if you polish your car every week, won't you be doing more harm than good?

How about the "tools." You'll find plenty of people who use diapers, t-shirts, lambs wool bonnets, microfiber or cotton towels to apply or buff the car. Some say by hand only, others say machine or not at all. I know what works best for me, but does that mean those other tools are "bad?" Just remember, whatever you have just applied to your car will be softer than the paint it's applied over, so if you want to avoid swirls, you have to be VERY picky about your choice of cloth (a swirl in your polish looks just as bad as a swirl in your paint).

If you have the right polish and the right tools, you can still mess up the application. When the guys who did the "guru" report on waxes did their first test, they used an oil to prep their panels, then wondered why the synthetics didn't last longer than the waxes. I sent them a detailed note, and their second test produced entirely different results. I've even seen people recommend putting carnauba on top of Zaino (man, you wanna see Sal pop a vein in his head?)

Ya know, arguing about polish products is fun :icon6: but let's be serious. Unless you're driving a '48 Tucker, chances are your car will be in a junkyard in 15-20 years, and no one will care how much time you spent keeping it shiny.:cool:

Yo Doug
 

I agree with everything you wrote except for the junkyard thing. I plan on being buried in my Z.... I plan on sticking around for more than 15-20 years.

See Ya,
Free Patriot

Perhaps you'd be interested in a bottle of Z-19 embalming fluid? :D

Z19
 

Doug:
Z19... That was classic.
Free Patriot

Making a comeback!
 

After a rather slow start, it looks like Blackfire is starting to make a comeback in the poll! I've never used Zaino, so I can't make an informed comparison, but Blackfire kicks ass for me! And I've been quite impressed with Eagle 1's tire dressing...long lasting, no browning, not overly glossy!

near impossible to vote, only used one of them, I like it plenty, all I know is that its shiny, and it protects and lasts forever, application is easy enough.

for these reasons I use what I got. dare I say that all of the majorly known heavyweight waxes produce near identical shine? possibly even similair durability and protection?

not sure why there must be "THE ONE". I use zaino, you use black fire, he uses CG, 10 bucks says if we mixed them up in the parking lot and the only difference between them was our wax, we couldnt find our own cars.

just a thought.

In your poll, you left out Crystal Guard

However:
I've tried them all!
In my garage I have:
P21, Eagle One "wet", One Grand Blitz Wax, Zaino, Pinnacle sovereign, Mothers, Klasse, Griots Wax, Zymol, Liquid Glass, S100, and more that I can't remember right now.

My favorites (in order of preference) before I tried Crystal Guard are:

Zaino - Best shine of all "wax" type products- wonderful results, but very labor and time consuming. WAY better than anything below.
P21- Nice shine, but streaks were a problem
Blitz Wax - Great shine but doesn't last
Klasse - WOW! shine, lasts, but full of petrolium products

Then I tried Crystal Guard. So far, this has the best and deepest shine I have ever seen. It appears to last pretty good. The part I like is the car doesn't get as dusty or dirty. Don't know why, but I like it.

Ditto on what you said, nice looking car too.

:confused:

Just took delivery of my Z, and the dealer detailed the whole car using the "Touch of Class" products by Cal-Tex. Does anyone know anything about this product? I've tried a web search and can't find a site.

Does anyone know if any of the top contender wax/protector products listed in the poll can be applied over top of the TOC? Maybe I don't need to do anything...dunno, I'm :confused:

Thanks in advance....