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Zaino vs. Meguiar's Smackdown! Weekend - It's a Tie...
My brother was staying at my house this past weekend, while our wives took 3 days for themselves somewhere up in Northern Calif. It was great! My brother and I had the house to ourselves and basically partied like we were teenagers again. Stereo blasting, brews were poppin'.
Anyway, we decided to wash and wax our cars; he's got a cherry black 750i. He had a Zaino package from a very generous friend who let him use it. After much deliberation over a couple of pale ales, it was determined that Zaino would be a better choice for his color, while Meguiar's would be better for my Suzuka metallic. It was ON.
He used Dawn; I used Meguiar's Gold Class Car Shampoo. We knew that we were going to stretch the Zaino task over two days, so I, of course, finished my car in two hours using Meguiar's Gold Class Liquid Wax. OMG. I was blown away, and my brother could not believe it! This is by far the wettest, most glass-looking-mirror-reflecting wax I've ever used. I could tell it was different after I looked at my cloth after polishing the wax off. There was not the usual "wax dust" that flies off. Nothing came off! Also, I threw away the sponge that came with Meguiar's; I was afraid it was gonna scratch my S. Nothing but 100% cotton touches my baby.
The next day we finished my brother's BMW; we were right- Zaino made his Beemer look like it was ready for show. I've never seen Zaino personally, but NOW I see what the deal is! The trick is not to use too much! Same goes for Meguiar's; just a little bit. Zaino is EVERYTHING people say it is.
Zaino is awesome if you've got some time to put into it. My brother is older and has much more free time than I do, plus he doesn't like to wax his car very often. Zaino is for him. Me - I love to wax my car often, it's how I relax. Hey, some guys
go fishing, I wax my car. Plus I enjoy the fact that Meguiar's can make my car look like "showroom" in two hours.
Bottom line is, know what you're getting into with Zaino; takes time, but worth it. Meguiar's can give you the same result, but perhaps not the same level of protectant as Zaino. But if you love to wax often - Meguiar's. Also, Meguiar's cost only $12. You can also buy the claybar and the 3-step process from Meguiar's as well.
After all was said and done, we took our cars downtown for a "cruise" down Main Street at dusk. Ha! We were back in high school again. We had a lot of eyeballs checking us out. Our wives would have rolled their eyes in disbelief!
Zaino or Meguiar's: can't go wrong with either one!
1. Make sure your cotton towels are made with cotton thread. A lot of cotton towels are sewn with polyester thread and that will cause scratches.
2. For the 15-20 minutes it adds to the job, I think claying the car every time you way is a good idea. Clay removes all of the crud that would otherwise get waxed in.
My Zaino products arrived yesterday. I will be busy tomorrow. I'll let ya' know how Suzuka fares with Zaino, Vince.
Oh, also, I couldn't figure out from your report whether or not you clayed your car before starting with the Meguiar's... Do tell. I'm planning to clay.
Okay, now I'm in a dilema. I've been using Meguiars but haven't clayed since February. I was planning on ordering Zaino in the next few weeks. I typically wash my car every weekend and it gets waxed about every 4-6 weeks depending. Daily driver but garaged at home and work. Here's two recent pics of my car at two meets.
Vince,
you made my day man. It's been one of those weekends around the house. Nothing going quite right. Currently battling with repainting the front door. Humidity in FL is killing me!!!! I'm used to it but painting is horid....anyway, that's beside the point.
THANKS FOR THE INPUT. I'll pick up a claybar asap to make sure you can see yourself from CA. Awesome really, thanks!
I totally agree with Vince. Your car looks fabulous. No need to mess with success.
I have heard from folks that Zaino on dark cars is the best, but WOW -- how much better could it be?
Rock on!
Oh, hey, Vince, I did use the clay today. It's pretty cool. My car was really in good shape to begin with, but the clay picked up stuff around the wheels, on the side mirrors, and right in the front.
p.s./ I'm posting my pix from today's application of Z5 (didn't get to the Z2 yet) on my "Chazmo's in the house" thread in the Corner. Roam on over later if you like.
After the first time (when I put on 3 consecutive coats of Zaino), it's no slower than waxing the car. I don't get how someone can suggest that *any* wax is faster than Zaino after you get past the initial application. The stuff is much tougher than any wax, and lasts longer, particularly under a hot sun.
Go with what you know and what you're comfortable with, but I can't imagine someone being able to wash and wax their car 10 times faster than I can wash mine 10 times and apply one more coat of Zaino, over the course of 10 weeks. (That's roughly the ratio that a buddy and I have hit, given that we drive our cars about as much, and are just as anal about keeping them clean.)
07-05-2002, 08:56 PM
Zaino vs. Meguiar's Smackdown! Weekend - It's a Tie...
I was blown away, and my brother could not believe it! This is by far the wettest, most glass-looking-mirror-reflecting wax I've ever used. I could tell it was different after I looked at my cloth after polishing the wax off. There was not the usual "wax dust" that flies off. Nothing came off! Also, I threw away the sponge that came with Meguiar's; I was afraid it was gonna scratch my S. Nothing but 100% cotton touches my baby.
The trick is not to use too much! Same goes for Meguiar's; just a little bit. Zaino is EVERYTHING people say it is.
Zaino or Meguiar's: can't go wrong with either one!
