I was wondering what is the best wax to use on our F-bodys?
what all do you guys use?

Zaino?

 

i recently tried zaino and loved the results. i think it is an excellent product.

 

I still use Meguire's Gold Class. Looks awesome on my TA. Only have 2 coats on right now, but she keeps on getting shinier the more I put on

 

gold class is ok, but meguiar's new nxt tech wax is amazingly better than gold class, and much easier to apply. it isn't carnuba based liked most waxes; it is polymer based, like zaino. polymer based gloss/polish/wax leaves a much deeper shine to it than carnuba waxes. carnuba protects, but that's about it. i think the shine tech wax creates is equivalent, if not surpassing, to that of zaino.

also, another meguiar's product that's great is colorx. use it before you put tech wax on. it's about the combination of tech wax and scratchx. it doesn't last long unless it has a wax covering it, which is why you'd use tech wax to hold it in place. good stuff, and you'll definitely tell a big difference. and for your information, tech wax is meguiar's latest wax. they are telling all of their gold class users to switch to it.

i just waxed my car tonight for the third time with tech wax (three times over the last month, and i just got back from a long road trip, so it needed the wax), and it looks unreal. really, it does. when i used gold class, it didn't really shine. it did, but it's not at all what i would really call a shine now that i see the affects that tech wax has. tech wax is the ****. **** zaino. it's too hard and too expensive to get easily, and it takes four hours to apply 444 coats to amount to one coat of tech wax that only takes me half an hour to wax on and off. and i've still yet to see a zaino'd car that looks as good as mine. i'm in a local f-body club that swears by the **** too. it looks good, but damn, it's not the almighty car detailer that everyone says it is by any means. get it if you feel that majority=truth, but there are other products out there (like nxt and more) just as good.

and for the price comparison: tech wax costs all of $13, colorx is $6, and you're set; less than $20. the zaino equivalent is zfx, which is $20 by itself; but that doesn't work without z2, which is $13; also, colorx hides swirls, so if you have those and need some zaino equivalent, you'd have to have z5, which is $17; and i've also heard zaino doesn't do anything amazing without the z6 spray - $10. all in all, that's $60 versus $20, and even if z6 is unnecessary, that's still $50 versus $20 - which is 2.5 times as much! you do the math, and judge by the pictures you find, and the evidence you see.

the mezerna/blackfire stuff looks great too - you should check it out. in about the last week there have been several really good threads on tech wax and mezerna/blackfire. for starters, here's my car after a coat of tech wax (colorx underneath it):

 

I won't argue, but until you try ZAINO you can't say ****! Here is my testimony:

 

well, i can... if i see it on other cars, i know what it looks like. if i park beside TWO zaino'd NBM cars and see the color/shine/gloss difference, and see that it is minimal, if existent at all, then i can say all the **** i want. i won't ever try zaino - why would i? when you've seen as many zaino'd vehicles as me, and you just aren't impressed, you are certain that if it actually does anything to your car, it will all be psychological, and not actual.

your car does look nice though, even though i think my car has more of the reflection/shine in it. can you really look at both of those pictures and still be in favor of the zaino? i've seen non-waxed (but just washed) cars park under a series of trees and their cars reflect easily as much as yours is in that picture.

 

I've used Zaino and I'd say it ISN'T the $hit. Its one of many good products - for depth, gloss, and wetness, my vote goes to Pinnacle Souveran - for Durability, my vote goes to Blackfire.

To be honest with you I8AFORD I would look into getting some of the new menzerna FMJ that is available at http://www.properautocare.com/menzernafmj.html. I think menzerna makes absolutely the best polishes around, and have no doubt that their sealant/wax will be one of the best. Or, try the new Wolfgang Sealant available at http://www.autogeek.net/wococarca.html . There is definetely not one simple answer to your question.

For comparison - Here is my car polished with menzerna and waxed with Pinnacle Souveran.



-Tom

 

Well, heres my .02 on this. 1st. gold class is fine for light colored cars
zaino rules on black cars. i have a black SS and a black 5.0. nothing i have
used shines like zaino on black. (side note. i got my boss hooked on it too.
whatever was availible up to last summer he has tried it and i mean EVERYTHING!
he is a zanio freak now)
for 20 bucks i'll try the new meguires.(worst case i'll use it on my truck..)

 

What else have you used on black? If anything, the only color I think Zaino looks bad on is black, most other colors it looks OK on.

-T

 

Pinnacle hand wax is the BOMB! Trust me..It does not last long however..

I asked Tom today about a new method and I am going with the Menzerna/blackfire method..However I will put a layer of Pinnacle over the blackfire...

Tom, what do you think??

 

Pinnacle has always worked well. Blitz wax is durable and has a nice deep warm dark luster.

Zaino is a chemical polymer. Shines like a wax but last's longer.

If you ask me, waxes out shine the polymers but a detail nut will layer more every week so the shine is always so close to a wax an un-trained eye cant tell.

 

You have many choices/combinations. From what I've read, polymers last longer, but carnaubas give a deeper shine. Neither will do much if the paint is not polished properly. Personally, I am about try Klasse All-In-One(light polisher and cleaner), Klasse Super Sealant, then go back w/ P21S carnauba for the shine. Lot of work, yes, but I enjoy doing it when the results speak for themselves. Oh yeah, use microfiber for the buffing.

 

Klasse is my fav for my red paint but it's a little tougher to apply and remove and Zaino has it's own shine that I like.

I can't pick either or so this season I'm gonna mix them, one layer of each on top of the other, 3 coats of each is the max.

 

I have used oh god.. gold class, 3m stuff , eagle 1 (i loved their teflon stuff. n.l.a)
zytomal?, a couple of different 3 step stuff, turtle wax, mothers, ect..
the trick with zaino is the paint has to be in good shape. if you don't prep the paint
1st, won't matter what you use..
now, this is what i had to do to both of my cars....
1. clay bar. (this is manditory!!!)
2. 3m scratch remover. i did this twice.
3. liquid glass (steel can has a red 67 corvette on the front) again, twice
4. 444 coats of zaino (see above)
now, both of my cars were used. the SS had 8k on it when i got it.
the guy ran it though car washes weekly (i asked him) and waxed it once a yr
just zaino on that looked like crap (regardless of what zaino says)
just using the 3m & the liq glass made a major improvment. (could just use gold class
on top and you will be happy.. trust me)
zaino over that base takes black shine way beyond gold class!!

 

Zaino.......

 

I have some Menzerna on the way. I'll get back on results. My car looks terrible, so results should be noticible.

 

My father has a 98 S-10 that he drvies the crap out of. He takes great care of the truck, but it is not waxed very much. It has a lot, and I mean a lot of swirl marks. I tried the Meguairs NXT wax in one spot and the difference was awsome. The swirl marks were cut way down and the truck actually looked black again. Give it a try, it is onyl 13 bucks and I think the results are well worth it. I have never used Zaino, always too much for me. I think that this stuff is the answer.

 

I have been using Zaino now for 2 years and it's the best I have used. It only works if you know how to apply it the correct way. The Z2 polish is $13 and that is all you really need. Buying ZFX will allow you to Zaino your car more than once in a 24 hour period. It chemically bonds the polish to your cars finish almost instantly. THat is the only real benefit of ZFX which does cost $20. But the results are amazing. I'll try and post a pic here.


The pic I have attached was using Z2 and ZFX together, I polished the SS 3x and then took this pic.

Just click the link below for the image.
http://camaross.us/images/3coats_Zai...o/DCP_3904.jpg



Later,
Pewter

 

Owenmustang - Zaino is definetely the better of any of the other products you listed, but have you tried Blackfire? Klasse? Wolfgang? Pinnacle? Vanilla Moose?

All of those products are in many ways the equal or better of Zaino in many different criteria.

What you said about prep is SPOT-ON, but you ought to compare some other high-end products against your Zaino, you may be surprised.

Voodoo - I've done the Blackfire/pinnacle layering combo many a time and I love it. The only reason I haven't bothered with Blackfire as of late on the firehawk is because I really don't need the durability and protection it offers seeing as how I pamper the car so much. For me, going straight to pinnacle gives the same look but without the added time of applying the blackfire. If your car is anything but a garage queen, though, I'd stay stick with the blackfire before you add the pinnacle.

-Tom

 

that's great and all, but there are some things you need to keep in mind.

1. if you have swirl marks, the $13 z2 doesn't help.
2. one coat of tech wax and your car looks fantastic, it doesn't take 3 coats like you did with your zaino. in fact, meguiar's encourages people to not waste the tech wax by using more than 2 coats on one car within a given time period. time, time, time.
3. zaino is NOT as cheap as the nxt stuff by any means. tech wax is a combination of several things - wax, gloss, swirl/scratch remover, polish, and protectant. with zaino, each z# practically represents just a single ingredient that tech wax combines into one. each z# costs, by it's own little self, the same that the whole bottle of tech wax costs or more. i ask you again, where's the gain?

the only reasonable argument i can muster to agree with is that z2 and z5 equal tech wax, since they both polish, protect, and take out swirls and scratches. that's still $13 and $17 = $30, which is more expensive. and you have to wait 24 hours before re-applying. AND re-applying is necessary to make your car look as good! AND you have to order it! sooo much damn trouble. why don't you just ship your car off to canada to get it repainted?!?! and once again, i've yet to see any car with zaino that will shut me up. and i see 10-15 cars on a somewhat regular basis that use zaino. nothin's doin' it for me.