!!BEST!! Wax for Black?
04-16-2008 | 10:24 AM
#162
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 46
Likes: 0
From: Southampton
I've tried a number of waxes and polishes on my black z and found the following
Meguiars 3 Stage Polish - Decent enough shine and lasted a few weeks.
Collinite 915 - Long wearing and gives a decent shine
Blackfire GlossEnhancingPolish - Virtually as good as P21s but slightly longer lasting
P21s - IMO give the most impressive shine but it will only last a week or so.
My preference on combinations is
Machine Polish with Menzerna (various depending on how badly swirled)
AutoGlym Super Resin Polish
P21s 2-layers (24h apart)
AG Glass Polish
Meguiars 3 Stage Polish - Decent enough shine and lasted a few weeks.
Collinite 915 - Long wearing and gives a decent shine
Blackfire GlossEnhancingPolish - Virtually as good as P21s but slightly longer lasting
P21s - IMO give the most impressive shine but it will only last a week or so.
My preference on combinations is
Machine Polish with Menzerna (various depending on how badly swirled)
AutoGlym Super Resin Polish
P21s 2-layers (24h apart)
AG Glass Polish
04-26-2008 | 07:49 AM
#163
Well, being I was a professional detailer for over 10 years, I think I know a little bit about this 
First off, Zaino isn't all that great. I've tried it, and was extremely dissapointed. People think that by layering it (or any other wax or polish), it is better. False. Take this scenerio, you have SaranWap, and you lay it flat on a black car.. looks pretty good, right? Now, take about 4-5 layers of Saranwrap, and lay it flat on a black car. It won't look as good. The gloss is gone. The depth is gone. There is such a HUGE misinterpretation that you MUST layer polish or wax to get a great result, and that interpretation is completely FALSE. Two layers should be it. One layer to protect, second layer to get what you missed the first time. Layering your wax or polish does absolutely nothing as far as looks are concerned.
When I had customers come in with fairly bad finishes, first we did a wash with dishwashing soap. Dishwashing soap strips away any left over wax, polishes, etc., on a vehicle. Next step is a good clay job. Next, get a Porter buffer. We used a professional grade of Meguiars, but a consumer can still purchase it. We started off with 2 coats or so of Meguairs Swirl Remover 2.0 set on "5". From there, we applied 2 coats or so of Speed Glaze set on "3". Now your finish is ready for polish and wax. From there, by hand, we used Klasse All-In-One Polish. You only apply ONE COAT. Anything over will actually diminish the depth. You let that dry overnight, and the following morning you apply a wax without cleansers in it. Believe it or not, Turtle Wax ICE is a GREAT, even amongst pros. As far as over the counter, it is THE best wax hands down. But, you could either use Pinnacle, or Klasse Sealant Glaze as well. If there is leftover swirls, Klasse Sealant Glaze does a good job of filling them in.
Obviously some people use their own techniques. Some people swear by some products, and others hate products. The above steps however were done on well over 500 vehicles that I personally did the work on, and it worked.
Whoever started the rumors years ago that layering is actually good, should be shot .. because that can't be further from the truth.
First off, Zaino isn't all that great. I've tried it, and was extremely dissapointed. People think that by layering it (or any other wax or polish), it is better. False. Take this scenerio, you have SaranWap, and you lay it flat on a black car.. looks pretty good, right? Now, take about 4-5 layers of Saranwrap, and lay it flat on a black car. It won't look as good. The gloss is gone. The depth is gone. There is such a HUGE misinterpretation that you MUST layer polish or wax to get a great result, and that interpretation is completely FALSE. Two layers should be it. One layer to protect, second layer to get what you missed the first time. Layering your wax or polish does absolutely nothing as far as looks are concerned.
When I had customers come in with fairly bad finishes, first we did a wash with dishwashing soap. Dishwashing soap strips away any left over wax, polishes, etc., on a vehicle. Next step is a good clay job. Next, get a Porter buffer. We used a professional grade of Meguiars, but a consumer can still purchase it. We started off with 2 coats or so of Meguairs Swirl Remover 2.0 set on "5". From there, we applied 2 coats or so of Speed Glaze set on "3". Now your finish is ready for polish and wax. From there, by hand, we used Klasse All-In-One Polish. You only apply ONE COAT. Anything over will actually diminish the depth. You let that dry overnight, and the following morning you apply a wax without cleansers in it. Believe it or not, Turtle Wax ICE is a GREAT, even amongst pros. As far as over the counter, it is THE best wax hands down. But, you could either use Pinnacle, or Klasse Sealant Glaze as well. If there is leftover swirls, Klasse Sealant Glaze does a good job of filling them in.
Obviously some people use their own techniques. Some people swear by some products, and others hate products. The above steps however were done on well over 500 vehicles that I personally did the work on, and it worked.
Whoever started the rumors years ago that layering is actually good, should be shot
.. because that can't be further from the truth.
04-26-2008 | 10:31 AM
#164
Originally Posted by nyguy4u
First off, Zaino isn't all that great. I've tried it, and was extremely dissapointed. People think that by layering it (or any other wax or polish), it is better. False. Take this scenerio, you have SaranWap, and you lay it flat on a black car.. looks pretty good, right? Now, take about 4-5 layers of Saranwrap, and lay it flat on a black car. It won't look as good. The gloss is gone. The depth is gone. There is such a HUGE misinterpretation that you MUST layer polish or wax to get a great result, and that interpretation is completely FALSE. Two layers should be it. One layer to protect, second layer to get what you missed the first time. Layering your wax or polish does absolutely nothing as far as looks are concerned.
04-26-2008 | 08:20 PM
#165
Finally!!!!
Originally Posted by nyguy4u
Well, being I was a professional detailer for over 10 years, I think I know a little bit about this
First off, Zaino isn't all that great. I've tried it, and was extremely dissapointed. People think that by layering it (or any other wax or polish), it is better. False. Take this scenerio, you have SaranWap, and you lay it flat on a black car.. looks pretty good, right? Now, take about 4-5 layers of Saranwrap, and lay it flat on a black car. It won't look as good. The gloss is gone. The depth is gone. There is such a HUGE misinterpretation that you MUST layer polish or wax to get a great result, and that interpretation is completely FALSE. Two layers should be it. One layer to protect, second layer to get what you missed the first time. Layering your wax or polish does absolutely nothing as far as looks are concerned.
When I had customers come in with fairly bad finishes, first we did a wash with dishwashing soap. Dishwashing soap strips away any left over wax, polishes, etc., on a vehicle. Next step is a good clay job. Next, get a Porter buffer. We used a professional grade of Meguiars, but a consumer can still purchase it. We started off with 2 coats or so of Meguairs Swirl Remover 2.0 set on "5". From there, we applied 2 coats or so of Speed Glaze set on "3". Now your finish is ready for polish and wax. From there, by hand, we used Klasse All-In-One Polish. You only apply ONE COAT. Anything over will actually diminish the depth. You let that dry overnight, and the following morning you apply a wax without cleansers in it. Believe it or not, Turtle Wax ICE is a GREAT, even amongst pros. As far as over the counter, it is THE best wax hands down. But, you could either use Pinnacle, or Klasse Sealant Glaze as well. If there is leftover swirls, Klasse Sealant Glaze does a good job of filling them in.
Obviously some people use their own techniques. Some people swear by some products, and others hate products. The above steps however were done on well over 500 vehicles that I personally did the work on, and it worked.
Whoever started the rumors years ago that layering is actually good, should be shot .. because that can't be further from the truth.
First off, Zaino isn't all that great. I've tried it, and was extremely dissapointed. People think that by layering it (or any other wax or polish), it is better. False. Take this scenerio, you have SaranWap, and you lay it flat on a black car.. looks pretty good, right? Now, take about 4-5 layers of Saranwrap, and lay it flat on a black car. It won't look as good. The gloss is gone. The depth is gone. There is such a HUGE misinterpretation that you MUST layer polish or wax to get a great result, and that interpretation is completely FALSE. Two layers should be it. One layer to protect, second layer to get what you missed the first time. Layering your wax or polish does absolutely nothing as far as looks are concerned.
When I had customers come in with fairly bad finishes, first we did a wash with dishwashing soap. Dishwashing soap strips away any left over wax, polishes, etc., on a vehicle. Next step is a good clay job. Next, get a Porter buffer. We used a professional grade of Meguiars, but a consumer can still purchase it. We started off with 2 coats or so of Meguairs Swirl Remover 2.0 set on "5". From there, we applied 2 coats or so of Speed Glaze set on "3". Now your finish is ready for polish and wax. From there, by hand, we used Klasse All-In-One Polish. You only apply ONE COAT. Anything over will actually diminish the depth. You let that dry overnight, and the following morning you apply a wax without cleansers in it. Believe it or not, Turtle Wax ICE is a GREAT, even amongst pros. As far as over the counter, it is THE best wax hands down. But, you could either use Pinnacle, or Klasse Sealant Glaze as well. If there is leftover swirls, Klasse Sealant Glaze does a good job of filling them in.
Obviously some people use their own techniques. Some people swear by some products, and others hate products. The above steps however were done on well over 500 vehicles that I personally did the work on, and it worked.
Whoever started the rumors years ago that layering is actually good, should be shot
.. because that can't be further from the truth.Definitely this person know the business!!!!
The above steps and products are also highly recommended, by the experts at http://imagescarwash.com
Last edited by CESAROTORRES; 04-26-2008 at 08:23 PM.
04-26-2008 | 08:27 PM
#166
04-27-2008 | 05:32 PM
#169
Originally Posted by 1cleanz
i bought some swissvax mystory and just got it in 2days ago. Works great best wax i have ever used. the depth is great and the shine is out of this world. Thats with only one layer also.
05-02-2008 | 06:45 PM
#171
I'm finally done with finals. Chemistry is a bish. 
I got a month to do what I want before summer classes start.
I'm going to pick up another wax besides Black Magic. I think I am going to try Turtle Wax's ICE. I have heard good reviews.
Hmmm...order my Bassani exhaust system, and maybe a drop my car 1.5"...maybe I might make a purchase for something aftermarket.
I got a month to do what I want before summer classes start.
I'm going to pick up another wax besides Black Magic. I think I am going to try Turtle Wax's ICE. I have heard good reviews.
Hmmm...order my Bassani exhaust system, and maybe a drop my car 1.5"...maybe I might make a purchase for something aftermarket.
06-16-2008 | 11:41 AM
#173
Registered User
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 145
Likes: 0
From: Fort.Collins Colorado
My results.
Hello,
I have been waxing my 08 Magnetic Black a couple times since I bought it. It seems to have come BRANDNEW from the factory with slight swirls in the paint. (Probably a sloppy washing before I picked it up from the dealer).
I started waxing with the NXT tech wax. Compared with what I will describe below... the tech wax goes on way to thick and is a mess to wipe off... seems to last about 35-40 days.
I went all sortsa crazy and purchased the following (mainly based on comments in this thread and other research.
DI Microfiber: reTHICKulous Towel - 16" x 16" 2 $17.98
Menzerna: Finishing Touch Glaze (FTG) - 16 oz 1 $12.59
Pinnacle: Liquid Souveran Spray Wax 1 $20.69
Pinnacle: Souveran Paste Wax - 8 oz 1 $76.49
Poorboy's World: Spray & Rinse - 32 oz 1 $14.39
The Microfiber towels are pretty nice... so much softer then the
best ones I had in my kit already.
The Poorboys wheel cleaner... eh, its OK. Maybe I need to dilute
it less... but I didn't really see any great cleaning action above
other store bought cleaners(Smells good though :-) ).
Now, the real magic starts to happen. I washed then dried.
I pulled out the Menzerna FTG... did just like it said... applied
it in small areas pretty lightly.. then used the microfiber to buff
it all off by hand. This took about an hour and a half.
I had never worked with glaze before.. I recommend it though.. very nice
adds another layer of depth I had not seen before. Even by hand it goes
on easy and buffs off fine if you catch it before it drys to much. If I can
step it up soon and get a PC buffer, I can top this job (and remove
some of the depper swirls).
After I was able to stop smelling the Souveran wax.. which was
hard... that stuff smells so amazing.. mmmmm.. I started waxing.
WOW. I mean wow. I really should have moved up to a real wax
much sooner then I have. You can swipe the wax maybe 2 times with
the applicator and you have enough wax to spread over about 2-3 sqauare
feet. Also, the wax wipes off wet... very cool. Oh, and this is
also the most trim/rubber friendly wax I have used so far
(no white cake-up in cracks/lines/trim).
I tested the liquid spray wax on a small area.. meh.. nothing
worth talking about really.
So, a 6 hour job by hand power only. This is the best shine I have
gotten so far. The glaze with some quality wax on top is amazing.
Next time around I will use the machine to do more work on buffing,
and maybe add a sealent before the wax. Still need to read up on
whats worth my time there.
So, here are some pics... some in direct sunlight(un-forgiving) and some
in the sunset.
-A
I have been waxing my 08 Magnetic Black a couple times since I bought it. It seems to have come BRANDNEW from the factory with slight swirls in the paint. (Probably a sloppy washing before I picked it up from the dealer).
I started waxing with the NXT tech wax. Compared with what I will describe below... the tech wax goes on way to thick and is a mess to wipe off... seems to last about 35-40 days.
I went all sortsa crazy and purchased the following (mainly based on comments in this thread and other research.
DI Microfiber: reTHICKulous Towel - 16" x 16" 2 $17.98
Menzerna: Finishing Touch Glaze (FTG) - 16 oz 1 $12.59
Pinnacle: Liquid Souveran Spray Wax 1 $20.69
Pinnacle: Souveran Paste Wax - 8 oz 1 $76.49
Poorboy's World: Spray & Rinse - 32 oz 1 $14.39
The Microfiber towels are pretty nice... so much softer then the
best ones I had in my kit already.
The Poorboys wheel cleaner... eh, its OK. Maybe I need to dilute
it less... but I didn't really see any great cleaning action above
other store bought cleaners(Smells good though :-) ).
Now, the real magic starts to happen. I washed then dried.
I pulled out the Menzerna FTG... did just like it said... applied
it in small areas pretty lightly.. then used the microfiber to buff
it all off by hand. This took about an hour and a half.
I had never worked with glaze before.. I recommend it though.. very nice
adds another layer of depth I had not seen before. Even by hand it goes
on easy and buffs off fine if you catch it before it drys to much. If I can
step it up soon and get a PC buffer, I can top this job (and remove
some of the depper swirls).
After I was able to stop smelling the Souveran wax.. which was
hard... that stuff smells so amazing.. mmmmm.. I started waxing.
WOW. I mean wow. I really should have moved up to a real wax
much sooner then I have. You can swipe the wax maybe 2 times with
the applicator and you have enough wax to spread over about 2-3 sqauare
feet. Also, the wax wipes off wet... very cool. Oh, and this is
also the most trim/rubber friendly wax I have used so far
(no white cake-up in cracks/lines/trim).
I tested the liquid spray wax on a small area.. meh.. nothing
worth talking about really.
So, a 6 hour job by hand power only. This is the best shine I have
gotten so far. The glaze with some quality wax on top is amazing.
Next time around I will use the machine to do more work on buffing,
and maybe add a sealent before the wax. Still need to read up on
whats worth my time there.
So, here are some pics... some in direct sunlight(un-forgiving) and some
in the sunset.
-A
06-18-2008 | 02:06 PM
#176
The pictures looked great! Thank you for supporting Detailed Image and providing a nice review for others to learn from. The Pinnacle Souveran Paste Wax is nothing short of outstanding in my experience as well. The depth and gloss, especially on black or darker colors, is outstanding. You are also right that you only need a very little bit to cover your vehicle. With the Carnauba Waxes on Detailed Image you typically need only very little product. A jar of the Souveran Paste Wax or similar size wax should get you 15 - 20+ applications if you use it appropriately. Also I'm glad to hear you liked the reTHICKulous microfiber towel, it really is ultra thick!
Two suggestions if you polish before with the PC like you suggested you'll notice a big improvement. This will create a more optically clear clear coat, so the glaze and wax can help add to a deeper reflection. Polishing 1 - 2 times per year will make a huge improvement in shine and it also creates a smoother surface for the protective layers to bond with. If you are interested I would suggest the Menzerna PO83 (SIP) and PO106FF or the Menzerna IP and FPII. For additional protection you may want to use a sealant after the glaze and before the wax. A sealant will help lock in the glaze better and provide far more durable protection. The Menzerna FMJ or Chemical Guys Jetseal 109 are my two favorite sealants that I would recommend to you.
Thank you again and let me know if I can help you any further.
Greg @ Detailed Image
Two suggestions if you polish before with the PC like you suggested you'll notice a big improvement. This will create a more optically clear clear coat, so the glaze and wax can help add to a deeper reflection. Polishing 1 - 2 times per year will make a huge improvement in shine and it also creates a smoother surface for the protective layers to bond with. If you are interested I would suggest the Menzerna PO83 (SIP) and PO106FF or the Menzerna IP and FPII. For additional protection you may want to use a sealant after the glaze and before the wax. A sealant will help lock in the glaze better and provide far more durable protection. The Menzerna FMJ or Chemical Guys Jetseal 109 are my two favorite sealants that I would recommend to you.
Thank you again and let me know if I can help you any further.
Greg @ Detailed Image
06-18-2008 | 03:19 PM
#177
Registered User
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 145
Likes: 0
From: Fort.Collins Colorado
Thanks all :-)
Its nice to be able to refine this process so you don't have to spend the whole week watching the forecast and getting pissed off when it says rain. :-) :-) :-) :-)
I am really looking forward to affording a buffer and some good polish and sealant.
I am going to take the Z from Colorado to Vegas To Santa Cruz to San Fransisco to Seattle and Back in a week. So, I figure that's going to do some serious work to the finish on the Z... no point in going to a full buff till that's over.
Its nice to be able to refine this process so you don't have to spend the whole week watching the forecast and getting pissed off when it says rain. :-) :-) :-) :-)
I am really looking forward to affording a buffer and some good polish and sealant.
I am going to take the Z from Colorado to Vegas To Santa Cruz to San Fransisco to Seattle and Back in a week. So, I figure that's going to do some serious work to the finish on the Z... no point in going to a full buff till that's over.
Last edited by Zrealsoon; 06-18-2008 at 03:24 PM.
