best wax, not zaino

I dont have the money for a full zaino kit, but was wondering, what off the shelf wax had the best shine? I currently use the Meguiars NXT synth wax. just curious what others thought.

i've been trying to figure this out for a while now. I've used mothers and meguiars. as well as the wax as you dry-good for quick jobs. anyways, currently I have the meguiars 3 step system in my garage and it just doesn't shine the way I want it to.with that being said, I'm going to be ordering some menzerna and pinnacle souveran. For off the shelf, try meguiars gold class, or mothers, they work good. hope this helps some.

i think im gonna try the meguiars gold class on top of the nxt stuff. see how that fares.

zymol...make the paint look wet. i think they have it at all autopart stores

Zymol in stores is made by Turtle Wax. You do not need a kit from Zaino, you can get the Z-AIO (all in one) . it would make your car look great. Depending where you are you could even pick it up and save on S&H. :)

Why not look into their smaller kit, around $80-$90? If you are going to wax, might as well do it right. Especially clay baring, if you don't clay bar you are just sealing in all the junk in the paint.

NXT is nice if you don't mind applying it every few weeks...

I use p21s paint cleaner followed by 3m hand glaze then P21s carnuba. Zanio?????? whats zaino??????????

Zaino is quite possibly the best "polish", "sealant", ever invented for automotive paint. It lasts for months and months.

I use 3m glaze then P21s paint cleaner followed by P21s carnuba.

Glaze should be your last step before applying any wax or sealant. I've never used the product you mentioned, but a cleaner-type product would most likely remove any glaze you've already applied.

I love Menzerna FMJ

You don't need the full blown Zaino kit. When I bought my first batch of Zaino, I just went for Z1, Z2, Z6 and a claybar.

ZAINO FTW!!! I started cheap and then moved up to their whole line of products. I just got a black WS6 so when I get that I am going to use some swirlbuster, souvern (sp?) and keep it clean with Zaino.

I used to detail for a living and have had the opportunity to try damn near every detail product known to man...ifyou are looking for something you can pickup almost anywhere you really cant go wrong with the meguiars line... nxt or goldclass are great.
as far as the more "expensive" products zaino is great... tropicare is great... they are all great.. its a matter of personal preference. whats important to you? Durability? shine? ease of application? Cost? my adviceis to try a smaller "sample" kit from a couple companies... see what u like

I used to detail for a living and have had the opportunity to try damn near every detail product known to man...ifyou are looking for something you can pickup almost anywhere you really cant go wrong with the meguiars line... nxt or goldclass are great.as far as the more "expensive" products zaino is great... tropicare is great... they are all great.. its a matter of personal preference. whats important to you? Durability? shine? ease of application? Cost? my adviceis to try a smaller "sample" kit from a couple companies... see what u like

Meguiars stuff is very good. Like he said, if you are looking for something you can get at almost any parts store and is fairly decent on price, Meguiars is the way to go.

Glaze should be your last step before applying any wax or sealant. I've never used the product you mentioned, but a cleaner-type product would most likely remove any glaze you've already applied.
I'm probably going to sound ignorant but when it comes to glaze, I am astounded. I have an onyx and an nbm z28. A friend gave me his bottle of Klasse glaze to try. It was incredible and I'm still being impressed with the stuff. I bought my own bottle and the all-in-one formula as well.

I glaze the cars once a year and the imperfections disappear. I thought I would wax the onyx car after the glaze. A mistake - the wax brings out any swirl or imperfection. I put down another application of the Klasse glaze and the cars look like they've been buffed and wet. I can't speak highly enough about the stuff.

Once I polish my camaro really well, I should show a picture of it. The guy who owned it before me only waxed it and he waxed over alot of the surface contaminants in the paint making the paint really swirled and dull. We have never used Zaino and really like the menzerna product line with some blackfire hand poured carnauba wax. Those materials are not cheap, I would stay with the meguires nxt for some wax if you didn't want to pay that much for it. If you want to go with the more expensive stuff try the menzerna line. Its easy to use, and looks great.

I'm probably going to sound ignorant but when it comes to glaze, I am astounded. I have an onyx and an nbm z28. A friend gave me his bottle of Klasse glaze to try. It was incredible and I'm still being impressed with the stuff. I bought my own bottle and the all-in-one formula as well.

I glaze the cars once a year and the imperfections disappear. I thought I would wax the onyx car after the glaze. A mistake - the wax brings out any swirl or imperfection. I put down another application of the Klasse glaze and the cars look like they've been buffed and wet. I can't speak highly enough about the stuff.

That's exactly what glaze is supposed to do. Most sealants / swirl removers contain various amounts of "fillers" that simply work to hide imperfections. Glaze is basically nothing but fillers. It will make your car (particularly dark colors, like red or your blue or black cars) look outstanding, but it only lasts for a short time since it has no protective properties (at least the products I'm aware of). And that's why it should be followed up with a good wax or sealant. Not sure why you had poor results applying wax over it, but if it was an "all-in-one" or "cleaner wax" product, you probably removed all the glaze you already applied. Which was the point of my initial post :D Sometimes you can also run into problems mixing different products from different vendors.

p21s here at $30 for 6 or 8 ounces isnt too bad, you cant get it a autozone but any nicer autoshop should have it. I use their paintwork cleanser also, aside from them 3m is my choice you compounds, glazes, etc.

Give Optimum's products a try. Far easier to apply than Zaino, cheaper, and in my opinion, the results are superior.

You don't need the entire Zaino kit to get a good result in using it. And it won't break your wallet either. :)

I don't understand why some people think Zaino is hard to use. It's probably the easiest stuff I've tried.

I agree. It's easier to use for me then any wax I've used.

I don't understand why some people think Zaino is hard to use. It's probably the easiest stuff I've tried.

I've been using Meguiar's products pretty much exclusively, but I've been seeing some incredible pics of Zaino'ed bodies and they look so DEEEEP. I'm gonna have to give it a try. Might have to try some of that Glaze as well!

Still, a lot of elbow grease and time CAN bring outstanding results.

http://www.camaroz28.com/forums/showthread.php?t=441653
Update on the above thread: STEP 4. I found out recently that I get don't get the "swirl marks" (actually oil streaks) if I use straight strokes instead of circles. I go one way (say up & down), then re-wet the applicator and go over the same area going side to side.

My 10 yr old paint outshines my neighbor's brand new Cadillac CTS! He's pissed! :D

Zaino for the shine and the ease of taking it off. This is a 1989 with original paint.

I can hold a box of cereal up to the paint and read the ingredients list from the reflection (albeit it's backwards).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/Monobloc/89%20GTA/noswirl.jpg

Notice the cabinets in the rear quarter and the fold up chair in the door? That blue moped in front of the car is also reflecting above the front tire.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/Monobloc/89%20GTA/DSC01419.jpg

Still, a lot of elbow grease and time CAN bring outstanding results.

That's the part of it that threw me; with the glaze I used it felt like I was loafing. It's like taking a cloth and wiping something off. No pushing or going back and forth and the tiny amount used makes me feel like this can't possibly work and especially that it can't last - but it rains, I wash the car and still looks wet.

And then I saw Gord's Zaino job and the universe doesn't make sense. :bow:

It's generally not recommended to mix other product lines with Zaino. Supposedly it affects the ability of the polishes to bond to the paint surface and it might cause poor reflectivity. In other words, applying a glaze under/over Zaino will probably make your detail look like crap ;)

It's also a good idea to apply and remove polishes in a front/back pattern for top-facing surfaces, and up/down pattern for side-facing surfaces, to maximize reflectivity.

Try ICE. Amazing stuff......

I tried the Turtle Wax Ice. While it is great that it doesn't turn dark platics white I didn't think it came anywhere close in shine to the Meguiars NXT. It is Turtle Wax's best product I've tried to date though!

I tried the Turtle Wax Ice. While it is great that it doesn't turn dark platics white I didn't think it came anywhere close in shine to the Meguiars NXT. It is Turtle Wax's best product I've tried to date though!

I've always been a big fan of the zymol, only thing is its just a cleaner wax.. And to order the actual sealant type wax is about $65 0_0.. but back to my point here. Turtle wax is fair at best, however it does hold up to its name, the shell it makes lasts for AGES. I wont use the stuff on my truck or bike, but on my helmets its the only thing i use because i could care less how reflective they are as long as they stay easy to clean and make rain bounce off (note i also use it on the windshield on my bike) though ive been itching to try some of that zaino for restoration (my 03silvy could sure use some love) but the kawasaki thats only ever seen Zymol still looks as good if not better than the day it rolled out of the showroom! :) I would be more than happy to show you guys some pics if you want to see the Zymol shine! :)

YES! Post some Zymol pics. i've seen this on the store shelves.

http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=7132667
On the left is my drivers door polished with menzerna, on the right is what it started out as. That is in a halogen light, as you can see no swirls. My picture did not come up..so go to the link.