Tonight's contestants:



Per directions, I used a dry wax applicator sponge for the DuPont, and a wet one for the F21. Each got one-half of the hood. Used separate slightly damp microfiber cloths to remove, and separtate dry microfibers after that just briefly.



(That's a pre-wax photo, not that it makes much difference.) So now I'll see which lasts longer, but I already know which bottle I am donating to someone else. The DuPont Teflon stinks -- it is no fun to work with, and it didn't come out as smooth as the Turtle Wax F21. I used F21 on the rest of the vehicle, but I'll still try to note which half lasts longer on the hood.

Yeah, I've read about how great Zaino is, but when you're at a pal's house or whatever, and someone just wants to get a "good" wax down at the store, it's nice to know what to grab when a 2-week mail order isn't going to fit the bill. And for goodness' sake, it's just my daily driver, I'm not saving gas to buy $$ 8oz bottles of Zaino...

Edit: why do they put "polish" on bottles of wax? It is so confusing... it's not polish at all.

5/25/2006 update - So I reapplied the 2 waxes both with a wet sponge this time. The DuPont Teflon is now closer to the smoothness of the F21. I just didn't have that warm fuzzy feeling from the dry sponge application of the DuPont Teflon wax.

5/30/2006 update - Oh oh, seems like the DuPont Teflon is hanging on better than the Turtle Wax F21, the former is a bit slicker now than the latter already!

6/4/2006 update - 12 days a 2 hand car washes, now both side are indistinguishable from each other, and feel like they have no wax left! Perhaps I'll break down and try Zaino afterall. If it doesn't work much better, my pal's gonna get hell. ;-) Also, I should have left an unwaxed control spot on the hood for comparison. I rewaxed the entire hood with Turtle Wax F21 for now. Love that smooth just-waxed paint!

 

Lemme know how long those last!
Seriously, i think its pretty misleading when they say "Cleaner Polish Wax" on their products and stuff like that. I'm used to having seperate proper polish and waxes

When you're taking pics of a freshly waxed car, try to get it at an angle that reflects light in the ceiling! I can see the left side of the hood because of the lightbulb in the ceiling, but i can't tell any features on the right side! Just a tip

Tre

 

as a side note, I never liked the front "leather" bra because I am scare it will scratch the hood..

-joe

 

I have to say I'm still a Maguires fan...

 

I'm starting to not like the Fit's nosemask piece on the hood. The Jetta one was snug, but the Fit's "reverse crinkle" at the edges creates a gap that lets all kinds of crap in. I may seriously look into the clear bra products.

 

yeap here too or the products at my dealership

 

http://www.nsxsc.com/nsexcitement/waxtest.html

That guy said the Meguiar's Gold Class did not hang around long.

 

I'm not a huge Meguiar's fan, but i havent used a lot of their stuff too much, so i'm not the best critic. I think their products are decent, but a lot of people like them because of their aggressive marketing and appealing packaging
Tre

 

What ARE the products used at dealers?

Thanks!

 

I'm not sure, and this is just speculation, but i'm pretty sure dealers dont use microfiber first of all. Every car i've done that is pretty new already has swirls on it. That means somethign abrasive was used.

As for waxes and all that, i've done a few cars that actually still showed strong protection, but i'm pretty sure they dont use any top-notch stuff. In general, dealers try to get away with as much as possible to keep their expenses down, it seems.

Tre

 

"Cleaner Polish Wax" - Cleaner is not a polish and polish is not a cleaner.

 

Which is more abrasive, cleaner or polish? (I think the latter?)

 

hey off topic, but if you want to sell the front end bra, i'm interested, i'm in san francisco so i'm pretty close to you too

 

Post #1 updated.

 

FYI, there is a fairly extensive review of car waxes in the current issue of Consumer Reports. No clear overall winner, but identifies their opinion of the strengths and weaknesses of the various products.

 

I'll be trying out my Zaino Kit this weekend (hopefully), I'll let you know how it works out. Although, I must admit that I have NOT waxed a car before! So this'll be my first time, wish me luck and hope I don't screw up!

 

Here is sort of an abbreviated version of the Consumer Reports wax story:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/2006060...ailable307_xml

and I found this too:
http://www.mustangforums.com/m_1454843/tm.htm
(the first post has a scan of the review chart)

 

what was the price for both waxes?

 

If I remember, the article said ~$7 each.

 

I just finished waxing my car or polishing my car with Zaino...it was tiring, I didn't know doing the full service cleaning can take so much time! By the time I was finished it was night time already, so I can't see my results. I'll take a look tomorrow morning and take some pictures for you guys