Opinions; black paint protection
 

I'm one week away from picking my brilliant black 8. This forum has been a fantastic help, & I'm already fighting the addiction! I'm torn between Klasse, Zaino, & NXT. Any thoughts specific to the black paint regarding scratch coverage, swirls, & overall shine? I know all three are good products, I'm curious if any seem to perform especially well on black. Thanks!!

I'm a big fan of Zaino. Look at the photos on www.zainostore.com, the best zaino applications appear to come from the darkest paint colors.

To lower chances of swirl marks, I suggest getting a high power non-gas leaf blower, and using high quality microfiber towels as needed. They absorb better than normal cotton towels, so there is less need to go over areas already covered.

While it's a new car, it's still worth claybaring it so that rail dust and other gunk are removed before you apply the wax. Zaino lets the paint breath, so "sealing" it isn't a worry.

My fav black zaino car photo:

http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/...iesreflect.jpg

thanks for the guidance, Jason. I gotta tell you, the day I finalized everything with the dealership was when the big storms were looming here in Michigan. I had a hundred good reasons why an 8 was a bad idea in this area, but I made sure that the "sports car passion" got in the way of logic!

Hey, that just gives you an excuse to move to sunny FL :)

Here's how my silver looks in the sun with zaino:

http://tyrannical.org/rx8/rx8_2.wmv

Watch for the reflections of the clouds :)

Your car looks (and sounds) fantastic! My folks actually keep a condo in St Pete, & my wife, daughter & I go down to visit periodically. I'm no fan of the snowy weather here...but this is where my paycheck is for the present! Thanks again for the Zaino guidance & pics. No question that Zaino seems to be the popular choice in this forum.

Jason, I like your vid, well done, but shouldn't you Zaino inside the tailpipes as well to get rid of that ugly black carbon deposit? A bit of ZFX/Z2 inside the pipes does miracles for pix :)

That was taken before I got into the habit of cleaning the exhaust tips. They are clean enough to eat off of these days :)

http://tyrannical.org/rx8/borla_6k.wmv

:D good job mate.

Since no one else is doing it, I'll play devil's advocate and put in my two cents for NXT. Really, RotaryDad, it depends on what you're looking for not only in the wax itself but also in its application and maintenance.

Admittedly, I've never used Zaino, but I'm not overly impressed with what I've seen--with a new car especially, the gloss you're going to get between NXT and Zaino isn't going to be dramatically different. Some even argue that NXT has a deeper shine. It boils down to a subjective preference, though, and I'd invite you to visit Autopia.org and Meguiarsonline.com to get a little more feedback on these two products.

If, for the sake of argument, you grant that Zaino and NXT are comparable in results, then you have to consider the other main differences: 1) Cost, 2) Durability, 3) Time of application.

1) Zaino costs more than NXT. The cheapest bundle package of Zaino products costs $85. NXT + 3-step Deep Crystal system = around $30-40.

2) Zaino lasts longer than NXT. No surprise. Most waxes in the stores won't last you more that 6 weeks. If you enjoy detailing your car more than every 6 months, consider NXT.

3) From the feedback I've read from Zaino proponents, one Zaino sitting can last at least 6 hours. Doing a thorough job with NXT--from wash to polish to sealant--can be done in 3 hours or less.

In the end, if you consider that many would argue that Zaino and NXT aren't all that different in the end-result (especially with a new car), it boils down to what your lifestyle is and how much time you're willing/able to devote to your car's appearance.

There are a few misconceptions in your statement.

First off, if you select the prebuilt kits from zainostore, they range from $80-120, which sounds like a lot.... but if you select only the product you need, it doesn't cost much at all. I bought two bottles of zaino clear polish, two bottles of the gloss spray, and two bottles of the zaino car wash - it was $60 including shipping. That's at least a year's supply there if properly used.

I can wash my car and zaino it, gloss spray it in less than 2 hours. Once you get a few layers of zaino, you really only need to wash your car for it to look brand spanking new. Gloss spray helps.

Oops, I should clarify. I did not mean to imply that it always takes 6+ hours for every Zaino sitting. As I understand it, though, starting from absolute scratch, the initial detailing can take be time consuming; successive layerings may not take as long.

Also, that you purchased Zaino for $60 does not negate the fact that it is still more expensive than NXT. For example, the Z-2 polish is $13. Meguiar's Deep Crystal Polish is around $7. A small bottle of Z-7 car soap is $8. A much larger bottle of NXT soap costs significantly less per use. Also factor in the fact that you have to pay for shipping with Zaino and I believe NXT still wins in this category, even if it must be applied more frequently.

PS. RotaryDad, keep in mind that while you've narrowed it down to 3 good lines of detailing products, there are still several good products out there, including Autoglym (used on the vehicles of the British royalty), Zymol (which produces some very expensive, award-winning waxes), and p21s (which you can only get at Porsche dealerships and select detailing shops; s100, supposedly the same thing but cheaper, is found at Harley-Davidson stores), to name a very few. Half the fun of detailing is experimenting with these different products and seeing what makes you happiest.

I, and many others, still argue that NXT is no weakling in comparison to Zaino.

Z2 PRO (Clear coat polish) costs $12.95. The zaino car wash costs $7.95.

Surely you can't be seriously comparing the two based on price when there is a $5 difference.

Simply put, Zaino is unfairly called expensive - yet it doesn't cost all that much, and a single bottle of Z2 can last you anywhere from 6 months (if you apply it frequently), to several years.

btw, I have nothing against NXT, I don't think you can go wrong with any of the listed products.

markd & JasonHamilton, thanks to both of you for the good product insight!

Jason, you're right, it sounds trivial to argue over a measley $5. But if you consider that the Meguiar's polish is only $7, and you still have to pay for shipping with Zaino products, comparatively that means Zaino is at least two times the cost of Meguiar's components (and more, in the case of the car soap).

But it's a trivial argument, especially when, as you correctly pointed out, you factor in product durability and, as I mentioned, preference in detailing procedure.

Whatever the case, good luck, RotaryDad. Maybe you should be one of the first here to do a side-by-side wax comparison between NXT and Zaino. There was this one, but I had very different results with NXT than that tester did.

Happy Holidays to you both :)

I've used zaino and nxt. They both are fantastic products. NXT has a more deeper shine than zaino but zaino last longer than NXT. It really depends on which is more important to you. I prefer zaino over NXT on metallics and light colored cars because it's reflective and very glossy. On dark cars though, I prefer a wetter and deeper shine. Best wax i've used on my black car is Pinnacle souveran wax. It is expensive, but the result is beyond anything i've used. It'll make your car paint look a mile deep or a pool of water when you look at it at certain angle. Check out their website. http://www.pinnaclewax.com. pm me if you want to know more about the waxes and some discounts they offer.

I would love to get ahold of some souveran. I've heard lots of good stuff about it.

I like Zaino's protection properties. Bugs seem to wipe right off no problem compared to everything else I've used. And it does last a longer amount of time. I think I'm getting addicted to that smell too.