How important are these "elite care products"?

[04'Sport4WD]

I consider myself to be a clean freak. I keep my car exceptionally clean and fret over the smallest dirt particles. I've narrowed down the best products I can get at my local oreilly's or autozone and with a few hours and some elbow grease I feel my car outshines anything on the road. So now my question...will I really notice a huge difference if I splurge and go with these high-end car care products such as p21s, zaino, or autospa? I want the best for my truck's paint and interior and don't want to feel like I'm cutting myself short if I go with more mother's or meguiars.

 

[dcampen]

This is the only wax that you should use:
http://www.zymol.com/destiny2.htm

 

[the_josh]

damn!!! thats some elite stuff! 396 is a good number for a price though, reminds me of my favorite chevy rat motor of the good ole days... but thats a whole lotta dough

 

[darktiger]

Wow, that is alot for wax....

 

[momo.75]

I think you should go for the Zymol Atlantique Glaze.

http://emmonscoachworks.com/ecommerce/catalogset_zymollogo.html?cat=4

I have actually seen a Zymol wax for about $1600 for 8oz. but can't remeber where I saw it.

 

[kglueck]

dumb question....why so expensive? (ok two dumb questions) and do people actually BUY this stuff for that much? (ok, really...three dumb questions...) why????

Kev

 

[partsrep]

I think you should go for the Zymol Atlantique Glaze.

http://emmonscoachworks.com/ecommerce/catalogset_zymollogo.html?cat=4

I have actually seen a Zymol wax for about $1600 for 8oz. but can't remeber where I saw it.

Good call Momo. The Atlantique Glaze is a bargain compared to the Zymol Vintage $823 vs. $1511. Think of how many Mr. Clean Auto dry filters you could buy with the difference.

 

[momo.75]

Good call Momo. The Atlantique Glaze is a bargain compared to the Zymol Vintage $823 vs. $1511. Think of how many Mr. Clean Auto dry filters you could buy with the difference.

:bonk: I didn't even see it down there. I didn't even read through the entire list and just assumed it was highest price first.

 

[cmachado]

ok..this question about the "best" wax always stirs up good debate. I'm a bit of a detailing fanatic myself. I just spent over 5 hours detailing my truck this past weekend (wash, polish, wax and all the other detailing goodies).

I've tried many different waxes and I can tell you that a good carnuba wax like P2S1, will give you an amazing "wet paint" look. BUT, it will cost you between $25-$35 a container, and if your car is light colored like my Titanium T4R, then you're wasting money. On dark colors, the wax will create an amazing shine/gloss, but it will not translate to lighter colors.

So, I went down a step and bought Meguiars new NXT wax at my local Pep Boys. The result was a beautiful mirror finish that also tries to emulate somewhat of a "wet paint" appearance. You could see the wax working as you go along. Try doing half the hood under good lighting and after buffing the treated half, you will start to see how awesome everything starts to reflect off the paint.

Just as an FYI, I always polish before waxing. This truly preps the paint for the optimal shine. I use Meguiars Crystal Polish for this and it does a great job. Soon, I will buy a Porter Cable rotary buffer and upgrade to the professional Meguiar's product line.

 

[SteveM]

NXT and Zaino are both polymer type waxes. Zaino smells nice too.

I personally prefer Zaino to any carnauba based wax I've tried. I like that the Zaino lasts longer than traditional waxes (I'm lazy).

My advice, try a few and see what works for you.

Maybe we should set up a 'wax exchange' where we could donate our half used wax products so others could try without buying.

 

[jjjheimer]

Don't screw around - Zaino is the only option

 

[dcampen]

Zaino

Yeah, I Zaino'd the 4Runner and my wife's Camry almost 4 months ago and they still look great. I buffed the Camry with Z-6 Gloss Enhancer but not the 4Runner - water is still beading much better on the Camry so I would say that buffing with Z-6 is important.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2547&perpage=15&pagenumber=1

 

[partsrep]

Seems to me it depends on your paint's color and the desired look. But one thing for sure is professional looking finishes only come with professional products and applications.

I just started using Zaino products and can't believe how good it looks.

I had the Runner serviced at the dealer last week and the service staff wanted to know how I got the titanium silver to sparkle yet still look wet and spot and swirl free. One guy mentioned it looked a lot better than the others on the lot.

Griots and Poor boys are good stuff as well.

And get a PC 7424.

 

[jjjheimer]

...And get a PC 7424.

I know what's next on my list!
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-pc7424.html

 

[hcrissman]

I just got a PC 7424. It makes the job so much easier. I polished and then I used the Klasse All in One and finished with a coat of Klasse High Gloss Sealant. The results were great. Make sure you put the sealant on very very thin.
I am all about synthetic waxes. I drive a titanium Runner. The Carnauba waxes needs to much maintenance.

 

[dcampen]

I am all about synthetic waxes. I drive a titanium Runner. The Carnauba waxes needs to much maintenance.

Yeah, Carnauba waxes are for people who love detailing their car as a hobby.

BTW, Zaino has a "new and improved" formulation of Z-2 called Z-2 PRO.
http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=Z-2&Category_Code=Zaino

 

[hcrissman]

Here is the best deal I could find on the PC 7424 ($119 w/ 6" backing plate and counter weight thrown in for free).

http://www.coastaltool.com/cgi-bin/welcome.pl?ref=froogle+page=/a/port/7424_car_buffer.htm

 

[dcampen]

Here is a good price on the PC 7336, only $79.98:

http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=51472-000041735-7336

 

[pat161]

I believe that using a high quality product is very important, sometimes you really do get what you pay for. Let me state now this next snippet is merely my opinion and I'm not saying one is better than the other. That being said, I would stay away from any petroleum based protectants, though they certainly do last longer. Back to Zymol, they make a whole product line and the expensive waxes are only one of the lines, they make a reasonably priced cleaner wax that can be bought at Walmart for less than $20. They also make a car wash which works fantastic, suds up great and really floats the dirt and crap away. Mothers also makes really good products, those are the only two brands I use. If you go with Zymol make sure the paint is cool and you are out of the sun, same for most waxes I guess, and do one section at a time. Don't be worried about the Zymol after-dust all over your car, once it's all off, rinse the car and dry once more, and it's perfect. Hope you choose Zymol, I'm sure you'll never go back to anything else, I sure won't.

 

[spyne]

I've used nothing but Mothers Carnuba wax on mine since it was new and have had excellent results.