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Interesting car wax test.....


Reatta Man

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There's lots of hype out there, but here's a test conducted by an Acura NSX owner that proved interesting. He pitted his "custom" $144 a jar Zymol NSX wax against Zaino, Mequiars and the inexpensive Zymol wax sold in discount stores. <P>He also used several other NSX owners to help judge the results. Considering that many of these guys think of their cars as if it were their religion (there's something very sad in that thought) I knew they would "take no prisoners" when it came to determining which wax worked best. <P>Here's the link to see the results of the test:<BR> <A HREF="http://www.nsxsc.com/nsexcitement/waxtest.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.nsxsc.com/nsexcitement/waxtest.html</A> <P>Have a good day!<P>Joe grin.gif" border="0

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Guest jadesdrift90

Thanks for the heads up! I have bought a few Meguiars products and haven't been "really" thrilled and now I know why. I am on my way to Wal-Mart soon.<P>Thanks again,<P>Jade cool.gif" border="0

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Anybody try Driwash'n guard. Been using it for a while and it sure does shine well. don't know about its longevity but can do the whole car without washing in about 15 minutes.

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Ah, what would car afficionado forums be without endless wax debates? I've been using Rain Dance for sixteen years on all of my cars. It lasts a long time, gives a good shine, and it's cheap. Goes on easily, comes off easily, and doesn't leave a lot of detritus. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a wax snob; over the years I've experimented with every wax I could find, both natural and synthetic, and was never happy with any of them so I always went back to RD. As with anything else, when it comes to car wax you find something you like and stick with it.

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Guest wally888

I've always thought I'd be better off if I were sometimes, "Kept in the Dark!" This was one of those times.<BR> After reading recent posts praising Maguires, I bought the Cleaner, the Polish and the Gold Wax. Did the entire car by hand.............. Is still beading after a month but guess I'd better not wash it.

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This proves what many have said "the most expensive, is not always the best" I will relate something that happened several years ago that sort of proves that point. I was working as a Comptroller for an Acura dealer when a good customer of ours, a local doctor, asked to put his 85 Rolls Royce on our used car lot to sell it for him. As a "car" guy I had to check out this car that claims to be the best in the world. The car had about 100,000, somewhat less than my Reatta has now. From a distance, the paint looked great. Under inspection the paint was "spider webbed" all over. The deck lid was the worse. My Reatta stills sports its orginal paint. No such problems has occured. The driver's seat was badly worn. To a lesser degree, the passenger seat. Again, my Reatta wins hands down. It's seats and interior in general still look nice. The woodwork on the dash of the Rolls still looked wonderful. The caps on the front door were another issue. The rear compartment however still looked "fit for a king". The Rolls interior in general looked very regal, but there were some items that looked just plain cheap. The plastic surrounding the steering wheel looked and felt like it was made out of the same plastic that a 1/24 model kit is constructed. The steering wheel looked cheap as well. It could have easily been fitted to an early 50's pickup truck and no one would have been the wiser. Speaking of the steering wheel, $100,000 and no tilt wheel! Under the hood (bonnet), only a NASA Tech. would love that. All in all it did look very high tech with lots of braided stainless steel hoses. The stainless moldings on the car could only be described as jewel like. The famous front was breathtaking. Yet the wipers would have been more at home on an AMC Gremlin, the headlights surrounds appeared to be chrome plated plastic, the lock cover on the trunk (boot) was a cheap magnetic device that only a Yugo could love. Driving the car did not break any new ground. While quiet, it was not any more so than my 89 Reatta. One thing that did impress, the car was huge but handled very well and had enough power to pin your back to the seat. The brakes were non abs but still stopped straight and true, however the brake pedal felt rather odd. And yes, our customer was with me the whole time, so I did not drive the car without permission. All in all for the price of the Rolls, you could have bought 4 or 5 Reattas. My Reatta which has had very good care all of its life, has held up better. $100,000 does not always make a great car. Howard

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Personally I have used and love both Mequiars and Zymol. I <B>do not use detergents or wax stripping chamios</B> (like were used in the NSX test)when I care for my paint.<P>Secondly while these tests are subjective there are analytical instruments that measure the reflectivy of polishes where you can see empirically which is the best.

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Fascinated by this test. If I'd only done it earlier, then I'd be the first on this site. Last week, I Zaino'd my 91 red Reatta Convertible (original paint). I've used all the mentioned products and then some excepting the super expensive Zymol (including the old yellow can Simonize)on automobiles over the past 50 years with good results and had settled on Mcguires until I heard about Zaino. I did the whole 9 yards. Washed with a strong detergent (diluted purple stuff), USED THE CLAY BAR, Used the "pre" polish, then the Z-5 polish TWICE to get rid of swirl marks, then used the Z-2 twice for the depth. It took the better part of a week. You can dive into the shine. The car didn't look this good when I bought it new off the showroom floor. I've never seen a shine with the depth of a Zaino shine. Or felt a surface as smooth as the Zaino one. I did my Reatta first because of the large unobstructed areas. I can't wait to Zaino my 77 Black Excalibur Roadster next week if the weather holds here in NC. I've never endorsed a car polish before, but I think Zaino is great. I've been asked several times this week if this is a brand new car. If the Zaino shine holds up even half as well as advertised, I've gotten my money's and my effort's worth.

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If I remember some recent Consumer Reports tests, I think Rain Dance did very well. I'll have to go back and see if I have some of those old annual reports they put out. <P>The one test that SHOCKED me years ago and probably saved the company was the year ('86 or '87) when Consumer Reports rated Nufinish at the top of their ratings. Now it seems nearly every company has a copy-cat silicone-based no wax product. As for the Nufinish, it seems to really help older oxidized finishes, especially red. <P>As for Mequires, I like their cleaning products when I use them with a buffer--they clean about as well as some VERY expensive professional 3M products sold through auto paint stores that sell to body shops. I have NOT been impressed with the way Mequires waxes hold their ability to bead water under the Texas sun after just a few weeks. However, I do applaud them for the way they support many car collector shows and auctions. <P>As for the Zaino or Zymol, I've never used 'em, but would be tempted to try after reading that test. However, someone would have to hold a gun to my head to get me to pay $144 for ANY car wax!!<P>Joe

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