Let me start this post by saying that I am a DIE HARD Zaino user. I also have about 10+ different waxes that I have tried over the years. Amongst those being: P21, Zaino, Classe, Mequires, Pinnacle Souverign, Blitz Wax, etc. I am VERY **** about detailing my car!!

Well I read some really good things about Crystal Guard on various forums. So I bought a kit. Saturday it finally stopped raining, so I washed the car with Zaino car wash (get the crud off). Then I re-washed using CG wash. No difference there. I applied the CG as instructed, rinsed real well and used a water blade to mostly rid the car of water. I then used a chamois to dry car. All this time I really was not impressed. Car looked clean, but had some "smear" marks here and there. I took my large microfiber towel and began buffing out the smears and geneally re-drying car and getting the water the chamois didn't get. Now the finish was starting to look darn good. I kept drying and buffing. Once all the smears were gone and car was dry it looked AWSOME!!! The shine is much better than Zaino which really suprised me!

CG is about 70% easier than Zaino too, but not as easy as CG makes you believe. It is NOT wash, apply, rinse, dry and you then have this shine. It does take some buffing but no as much as waxing your car. Kinda like a really good drying off. It took me about an hour or so to do this.

I then thought maybe the shine was so good on my G35 because my car was Zaino'ed, so I did my wife's IS300. Same results! Both cars look wet. Now as to how long this stuff will last?? I have no clue, but I would highly recommend it.

Here are some pics, look at the reflections of my wife's IS300 in my door panel!!

 

More

 

and more

 

Here is a pic of my wife's IS300 that I mentioned above. I didn't spend as much time in it as I did my G35C. It only took me about 30 - 45 minutes.

 

Longevity is the test of a product. Lemon oil will make paint shine as well.

Your car does look good but it doesn't look any shinier than a car with Zaino...IMO
Everything shines about the same. Also after you wash the car of course its going to look shinier.

 

It's funny that you feel that it shines better than Zaino and I don't. I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder. I wonder if the color of the car has anything to do with it. Maybe Redline looks better with CG than with Zaino and my Dark Green on the Stealth looks better with Zaino. Also, the Stealth is 11 years old so the age and condition of the paint should have a lot to do with it also.

I guess the bottom line is that you should try several products until you find the one that YOU like best and stick with it. I'm sure both work well (as do Meguiar's, Blackfire, etc), so pick the one that's right for YOU.

 

I've used Zaino since '98, and swear by it.
On my CLK I had over 20 coats of Zaino on it. The color was a very dark blue and it looked good.

When I bought my red '02 Lexus IS300 last July, I probably got about 15 to 18 coats on it with in the first 3 weeks and then at least on coat a week until Feb when I got the G.

I got 4 coats on the G the first week, and until I tried CG, I think I had about 7 (probably more) coats of Zaino.

I now put coat #3 on the G and 1 coat on the IS. I must say the shine and depth is better (to me) than Zaino. Maybe because I had Zaino on both cars in the first place??? Because of that I do believe it makes the CG much harder to buff out. Read this post:

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....threadid=27408

I would be willing to bet that if you did one panel on your Z w/ CG you would be greatly impressed.
My friend just bought a silver Porsche Cayanne (sp?) and plans to use CG from day one. He has seen all my cars with Zaino and then w/ CG.

I am thinking about doing my boat w/ CG, but that would be a buttload of buffing. But If I get a bottle (big one) free. . . . . I just may try it out. Hint, hint CG are you reading this?

 

Here at Custom Exotica we applied the Crystal Guard to a 38' Donzi offshore boat. The Boat was then GPS tracked to check if there was any speed advantage, the results were 3.5 mph faster @ 4000RPM!! Not to mention the shine comming off the Gel coat.
We have also treated a 35' offshore, the customer is in Lake Havasu trying it out now, Il'l post the results when they arrived.

 

Well I you want to see how CG does on a boat in SALT WATER; I'm your guy!!


I too have an offshore boat. It is a 34' PowerQuest and it has a lot of paint on the sides. Boaters like me are always searching for SOMETHING that will last. Even the best of waxes don't last more than a few weeks at best!! I never even thought about CG on the bottom for more speed. For me, that is odd!!!! I wax the bottom all the time, 'cept there it only lasts one or two days.

Anyhow, my offer still stands, send me a large bottle, and I'll do the sides and bottom. I'll report here and on the largest offshore forum(s) there is. www.offshoreonly.com and a few others.

 

doesnt the speed of a boat largely have to do with water currents, waves, wind, ect? can a 3.5mph difference really be equated to what wax you use?

also dont you have to use zaino prior to CG or after, to really say if its better or not?

anyway, it does look good, my car has never shined like bonz, or the ones on zaino.com, but it protects like no other, and lasts, so I stick with it. just wish mine would have a crystal clear reflection like other people get, maybe its cause I dont ever use that Z6 spray.

 

Yes boat speed is affect by those. But I am able to run in a small bay that is protected and get consistant and accurate speeds.

There is NO WAY I would Zaino the boat. Way too much work!!!!!

I use Klasse on it currently, and it has a good shine, but not sure on how long is lasts.

 

too much work? is this stuff that much easier? it takes me time to wipe it on, and off the next morning... couldnt go any faster unless theres a way to do it without rubbing a towel over the car.

I wish I had a speed boat. to ummm, test wax on of course. wakeboarding is fun.

need more wax soon... cg or zaino....

is there ANY problems with putting cg over zaino? could I use zaino, then cg, then zaino if I choose?

and most importantly, is there problems putting it onto a black car, in the blazing sun, in 100degree temps, cause thats how I wax...

 

Sweet boat! What engine is in it and how fast does it go? I have a Cobalt 226 with a 454 and a bravo 3 drive.

 

It has twin 496HO's, Bravo X drives and will run 81 MPH (GPS). But at that speed, it drinks 78 gallons per hour.

It is my favorite toy.

Here are is a link to my site where it shows the boat being built.

http://home.infi.net/~brip/index.html

Looks like I am going to try CG on the boat. If the stuff lasts, it will be the s**t! Looking forward to trying it out.
I love it on the car!!!!

 

Thats moving pretty well. My boat hits ~66 mph on the speedo, which isnt very accurate. My good friend has a 28' Apache that does ~102 GPS.

 

Hey Just wanted to give you a thumbs up to a local, I live down the road from you in Great Bridge. Just noticed you have a spoiler in some pics and some don't. I looks better with the spoiler for sure. I dont have a "G" I got a "Z". But where Family right........lol


P.S. the shine is great

 

I posted this in a closed forum a while back and got no response I have since gone back to Zaino. I like the CG but it did not last. I continue to use it on my rims though. It may all be in my head, but Zaino does not last like it used to either. If I am going to polish the car as I like (twice a month) then I will use Zaino as is it much cheaper.

Here is the post:


Well I was impressed with the immediate brilliance CG had on the car, but a few weeks have past and the CG does not appear to be holding up as I would like. The car gets dirty much faster (attracts dust like none other) and I am noticing swirl marks. Now I cant comment on the swirl marks because that could be one of many things, but I do feel it has to do with the extra dirt the car attracts. I have only two coats of CG on the car and was waiting to use my last two free coats before my car show on the 25-27 of this month. I have been washing the car 2-3 times a week with a basic car wash solution and only use fresh mitts and cloths.

Now I know it is hard core pollen season here and that has something to do with it but I compared my car to another Z which I Zaino'ed and it was hands down the winner, it was even a Super black and last washed at the same time as mine.

Whats the trick? What do we have to do? I love the ease and the performance of CG, but the longevity is not so good in my case. Someone please confirm or rebut my claims.