Hey, Octaneguy, I love your work! The cars look great!

Two final things to consider:

1. Regarding waxes: It seems there are many folks who are quite happy with what they use. And I think they feel this way especially right after applying the product of their choice. I think this is because there are many products out there that in fact do make your car look great right after you put them on. Car wasn't exactly perfectly clean; one washes the car, applies the wax, and voila! Man, that looks great! And it does. But which product keeps that shine longer and keeps the water off longer. And it seems to me, those are things that can be definitely agreed upon objectively. As far as I can tell, Zaino keeps the shine longest (based on several comparison tests). (Zaino is not available at stores though.)

2. Regarding Consumer Reports. Yes, it does not test for everything that people deem important, but as far as waxes go, they did test for everything most people think important (shine, longevity, water protection) and, again, I was suprised that NXT was so low.

Cheers!

 

I ended up buying thier "master car care collection" as well and the bucket is nice but tough to say if it is worth $40. The "mini red wax pad" is handy and the "three wheel scrubber brushes" rock. PM me if you have any questions on their stuff.

 

I'm with Richard on this one - I'm not a pro detailer but have been fairly religiously claying, polishing, sealing etc. on my own cars for years, and have hired Richard to do my Mother's car and recommended him to a friend - his work is incredible. But beyond that, his point that the outcome is largely in the prep is spot on. All of the waxes being mentioned here - even the "non-enthusiast" everyman labels like Turtle - will look great if your paint has been thoroughly prepped and wasn't too far gone to begin with. I've jumped around and used Griot's, Zaino, Pinnacle, and most recently the Klasse twins, and whenever I've put in the hours and started with clean, smooth, clayed paint, I've been really happy with the finished product. The important thing is to keep that Mini clean and waxed, whatever you use

 

Well, I took my time and read every post in this thread before I posted.

OctaneGuy, you may very well be great at what you do and you may be a detailing guru for sure. My post is not to challenge those well documented facts. But I would ask you to please review what you posted,

"Take a car with lots of bonded contaminants on the paint, with some oxidation, and apply Zaino. It's not going to suddenly look shiny, and feel smooth as glass. But put it on a new car just off the showroom floor that's in relatively good condition, and the owner is likely to be very pleased with the product because the surface is ready to accept the polish."

Now, do you really think the above argument establishes any real point? I can't think of any waxing products that look their best after applying to paint with contaminants including oxidation. And as for a new car off the showroom floor being ready to accept polish, you and I both know that new car has more contaminants than you might imagine; especially, if it's a car coming from across the pond.

Now, the rest of what you said is great and true and excellant advise. I'd just like to add one little stupid blurb..."if you dont' use it, it will never do what it was designed to do."

And, yes, I am the InZainoBling SuperHero...just for the record.

Call

 

I like weaving in and out of traffic in this wax war thread.
what do you think of the boar's hair brush for washing the car?

I have their boar's hair wheel brush I am very happy with.... was thinking
about buying the larger 12" brush for the panels along with their bucket.

 

I went with the Sheepskin wash mit and would recomend it. Just make sure you check it for debris prior to using. My sheep had a few stickers in it's fleece at the time of donation. They guys at the store said that the boar's hair brush works well if you don't let the car get very dirty but it doesn't work as well on real dirty cars and people have a tendancy to miss spots with it. I try not to let the cars get too dirty but sometimes other things end up higher on the list.

 

Thanks, I will scratch the brush and try that Sheepskin wash mit.
I heard a lot of good things about that mit. the brush seems to do a
good job with getting grime between parting lines, but i suppose i can
use my smaller boar's brush for that (like between the tail light and
panel and doing the grills).

 

I mention this point because NOT everyone understands that Proper Prep is the key to a good looking wax. YOU may understand it, but the post wasn't meant for you.

A car that's been picked off a MINI dealer lot does usually look pretty good. It's been washed and waxed. The paint is pretty smooth. Can it be better?? Sure. Will it have swirls?? Probably. But that's not the point. To the average Joe that's picking up a new MINI from the dealer, if he applies ANY wax to it, it's going to look pretty decent. Will he know that claybar will make the paint smoother and thus allow the wax to adhere better? Not unless he's reading these forums or he's a detailing enthusiast.

You need to keep things in perspective.

A MINI sitting outside of an apartment complex in Los Angeles for a week is going to look far worse than a MINI picked up from the dealer, guaranteed. I think my analogy still holds true.

Finally, I made that point based on observations of newbies who post to the various detailing forums about why their silver paint or white paint doesn't POP or look wet--it never will because the color won't permit it. It's their limited understanding of the basics that is flawed.

Take two cars around the same age--both living outside and not garaged, I guarantee that I'll make NXT shine and bead and "glide" just as well as Zaino in the same time period it takes a Zaino user to apply 10 coats to the whole car, except my finish will be flawless. That's not a challenge. It's fact.

People on these forums get all caught up things they read on the net. There was a guy on another thread here on NAM warning a member not to use claybar because it was too aggressive for his paint. He cited quotes from a detailing website. His thinking about being cautious was right on, but his suggestion was way off base.

So yes, I do think my "argument" establishes a REAL point.

 

I agree that it's the prep as the base to a great shine. Some products will enhance that shine and protect it. But you got to get the prep done correctly first. Ive used a bunch of stuff over the years including Simonize hard paste floor wax! My most recent was NXT of which I wasn't real impressed with, particularly from a durability standpoint. Last night I purchased a bottle of Zymol, so I clay barred the entire MINI and applied Zymol using my Coleman 6" orbital polisher/buffer. Now we'll see how long it last. Sure looks pretty and is nice and smooth.

Octaneguy: what's your thoughts on Zymol and is M21 available at retail outlets?

Thanks,

Les

 

im noticing that the NXT does not last long interms of slickness.

waxed in April, QD'd about once every week, washed last week, no
more slickness. there was slickness before the wash. the shine is still
there though, but not as deep.

 

I have the Griot's wash brush and I'm pleased with its performance. I agree about the statement concerning its ability to clean a very dirty car, but I never let mine get terrible. The brush is gentle, covers a lot of body work fast, and rinses out easily. I also like the Griot's wash soap- only one ounce into two gallons of water. As far as Best of Show Wax, I really like the results, but it does take some effort to buff off. I've found that applying by hand, using the Porter Cable for initial passes, and then finishing with a microfiber works best for me. Finally, I think I'd pass on the sheepskin wash mitt and try the microfiber ones. They come in pairs- one for the upper sections of the car and another for the really grimy places.

 

very nice tips. Thanks! Which pad are you using on the PC
when doing the initial wax removal? similar to the wax removal bonnet that
Griots has?

 

M21 is part of Meguiar's Professional products and it comes in a 64OZ jug for around $43. Autodetailingsolutions.com is repackaging it into smaller bottles-12OZ or 16OZ, can't remember.

That 64OZ jug will last you years since you don't use very much product.

I haven't used Zymol, though I've seen it in stores, so I don't have any opinion on it.

For me, I use what works, and use it often!

Richard

 

I use NXT products religiously and I am satisfied and so are my critics....especially Meguiars.......and my MINI is garaged too.

 

I have the same experience over several years using it and find that a quick shot of Speed Shine helps with the removal. Have been satisfied with most Griots product.

 

Octane Guy....question: M21 is a synthetic sealant like Zaino, how does it differ from zaino in its durability, slickness, beading? When do you use M21 vs when you would use NXT?

I used NXT several times and thought it was great...but onlyfor 2 or 3 weeks and then the slickness and beading were gone. Aswitched to Zaino and the slickness and beading lasts 2 or 3 months, or more...I KNOW

 

Octane Guy....question: M21 is a synthetic sealant like Zaino, how does it differ from zaino in its durability, slickness, beading? When do you use M21 vs when you would use NXT?

I used NXT several times and thought it was great...but only for 2 or 3 weeks and then the slickness and beading were gone. Then I switched to Zaino and the slickness and beading lasts 2 or 3 months, or more...I know the NXT durabilty may be deceptive due to the fact that it may be designed to sheet water, not bead water, but I guess I am old school and like to see the beading/feel the slickness to be able to tell that the protection is still on the car

 

forget bout this wax stuff people, nano-technology coatings is wuz up!!
....look it up
umm,ok! heres a link to my buddies web space http://nanotec-usa.com/

 

If NXT is the lowest rated wax, does anyone know what ended up being the number 1 rated wax?

With all the wax and sealants on the market today, its would be interesting on finding out which products rated where?

Of course this is simply one person's or company's opinion in most cases.

 

do you use a wax removal bonnet, or just use the MF wax removal towel
and do by hand?

 

kenchan-

I do use the Griots wax removal bonnet on the PC. I've only done it once that way, but I'll be doing it again this week before the Pittsburgh Vintage Gran Prix. I think I might also follow slate's advice about a little speed shine to make the process even easier.

 

thanks for the tip. Griot's site states after you remove most of the
wax with the bonnet, then remove the rest using a MF and sprits of
water... so should work great.

man, i was about to send my order but their site was doing maintenance
today. will try again tomorrow.

 

I have the PC but find that I detail the MINI primarily by hand with the MF wax cloths for removal. When using the PC I do use the removal bonnet for the larger surface areas. I find the wax difficult to completely remove from the MF but have an order on the way that includes their new MF cloth/bonnet cleaner.

Oh, their MF drying towel dries the entire car without wringing once!

 

Ungaraged Mini here. I claybarred & used NXT. Shine was amazing. It lasted 3 months. Zaino may last longer but either way I am about to re-NXT tomorrow

 

aha. thanks for the info.

yeh, i bought their thick MF drying towel and i can do the entire car
without wringing!