Meguiar's 20 and California Water blade work great
 

My friend suggested that I use Meguiar's 20 which he had tested versus a ton of other waxes and sealents a year or so ago. It lasted longer by far than anything else he had ever used (never used Zaino). It's main advantage being that it leaves a very slick finish when its done (Bird crap flicks off, etc.). The product is a polymer sealent from their professional line. It goes on just like wax and after you take it off, your towel will slide off the hood. The shine is almost as good as that of Zymol's best but lasts a lot longer.

http://www.meguiars.com/product_show...roduct_m20.gif

The Meguiar's 20 really makes the water bead on the hood, roof and trunk after washing (the water on the sides sheets off very fast!). This was making it difficult to dry my car now that it is cooler without using a ton of towels. Now, with the California Waterblade, I can easilly wash and dry my car to perfection at my local DIY car wash place in about 20 minutes. And I only need a couple of small towels to get a spotless shine.

http://www.calcarduster.com/productImages/5.jpg

Some cautions:

Meguiar's 20 goes on thick and will leave a film on your car for a couple of days. This film has plenty of micro-swirls in it even if you used a diaper cloth to take the sealent off. They don't look terrible just don't use the product the day of the show (I think this is why they only market the stuff to professionals)

Only use the Waterblade on a perfectly clean car and periodically check it during drying to make sure no dirt has built up on its edge. Pulling dirt accross your hood is not good and can of coarse lead to scratches.

Have fun,

-Mr. Wigggles

I haven't used the Meguire 20 but has had okay experience with the cheaper wax (wax cleaner, gold wax). In my opinion, Zaino is the best polish out there. It lasts almost a whole year and is extremely easy to put on since you only put on a very light coat. Water just repels off and it stays this way for close to a year unlike wax that stops working 2-3 months. A coat takes about 30 min to do a whole car and twice a year is more than enough for cars that are parked indoor overnight. Check out Zaino.com. I picked up a couple of bottles a few years ago and still have more than 1/2 left. It's more expensive but very cheap compared to other high end wax and sealants.

I think the water blade is really a great tool and it really helps to minimize water spots and to reduce the time it takes to dry the car in general. You still need a shammy or cloth to dry areas the blade can't reach, but this is trivial because most of the water is completely removed with one swipe. I personally think the dirt build-up on the blade is a non-issue if the car has been thoroughly washed beforehand. But I feel drying the car with a cloth or shammy puts you at greater risk for dragging dirt across the finish because it will get stuck within the fibers of the cloth and you would never know. The blade is very soft and flexible and and specks of grit remaining on the car get swished off with the water on each stroke. The only way I could think it would scratch the finish is if some grit somehow got dragged underneath the blade, but if this happened the scratching would be minimal since it's only being dragged under the blade which has minimal surface area. I think with a cloth, the grit will just stay in one place on it while you drag the cloth across the car, thus making larger scratches. Anyway, to really minimize this risk with the blade, just run your fingers across it after each stroke to ensure any grit which has collected on the edge has been removed before the next stroke.

My recommendation: Get a water blade, it's a really a big help and makes drying your car fun!

how much does a waterblade usually go for?

depends what size... typically like $15 I think thats what I paid for mine...