agentf1

Let me start off by saying I knew this would be a hard evaluation to do since both Mike Phillips and Sal have been very good to me. Mike sent me a big box of stuff to try including NXT, car wash MF rags etc. and Sal has been good to me in the past taking time to answer questions on the phone and has also sent me free stuff in the past. After hearing all the hype about NXT I had to try it to see for myself. Let start out by saying that I was Zaino's biggest sceptic and if you search my old post you will see me saying how awesome Meguiars was and how everybody I saw at shows were using Meguiars and that I have tried everything and nothing was any better. Well after hearing everybody on here raving about Zaino and attempts to get samples from Sal failed I finally broke down and spent the 60 bucks to get the Zaino product that I fully expected would sit on my shelf just like 1 1 3 and all the rest, but to my amazement it was everything everybody said and more. I find myself in the same position now with NXT and decided to find out for myself. I just want to point out before I go on that there clearly were no losers in this comparison and that they are all great products but with that being said... After I got my NXT in the mail I ran out to the garage to give it a try on my 76 vette that has a perfect black sikkens urethane paint job and did the top of one fender half with Color X and the other half with NXT. I have so many fluorescent light in my garage it looks like daylight in there so it shows everything. To my amazement the fender I did with Color X and NXT look blueish/milky and the hood that is Zaino'd looks BLACK as BLACK can be like paint does when it comes out of the spray booth, I think, this can't be right so I put a second coat over the entire fender so I now have Color X followed by NXT and 2 coats of NXT and it still looks cloudy compared the Zaino hood. I try following up with some QD and Z6 to see if that takes away some of the haze and neither one do. I buff with the MF and nothing seems to clear it up. I will say NXT goes on and comes off easy but so far it does not hold up to Z as far as looks go. I also notice that I seem to be able to see alot more of the fine scratches that Zaino was hiding. So it does not looks as good and it does not hide as good. But I figure let me try it on my MB that is out in the weather and does not have a show quality paint job and see how it looks on that. I do the trunk, rear quarter and door with NXT and the other door with Zaino, all on top of #26 which was probably 5 or 6 weeks old (almost gone) and it does look awesome, I even did a panel with #26 for a comparison and it does show an improvement over the 26 but does not have that crisp clarity that Zaino does. It has been a few weeks since I have done this and the NXT and #26 panels are showing signs of less beading compared to the Zaino panel that is even a week older and is still beading like crazy. If you are not from the NE I will tell you it has been raining like crazy here so all of the product are taking a beating. I wanted to confirm what I am seeing so I go back to my 76 in the garage and do a spot just in the center of the NXT'd fender with Zaino without washing with dawn, wiping down with prepsol or anything and it brings it right back to that black black crystal clear shine again. I also did one panel with Wolfgang pre cleaner and polish on my MB and a spot on the other fender of my 76 and it seemed to have similar results that the NXT gave me, it also went on and off easy but they both seem to have that carnuba look which I can best describe as smeary or cloudy opposed to the Zaino look which is crystal clear like a mirror. In conclusion they are all great product which I would have no problem using but I have to give the nod to Zaino for looks and longevity. I am also unsure how some people got the results that they did from NXT, I am guessing that they did not do an actuall evaluation between the two but their car was ready for a detail so they used NXT instead of Zaino, stepped back and admired the beautiful shine assuming it was just as good as the Zaino shine. For those people I ask that you go back and do a spot with Zaino right on top of the NXT or WG and see if you see a difference especially if you have a dark or black vehicle.

VettePower

listen, before you spout off that this is fact and not an opinion,you either don't know squat about waxing a car, or your lights in your garage are playing tricks with your eyes. Properly and thinly applied NXT will not leave any cloudy residue behind. But hey thats alright. Keep paying the high dollars for Draino, and I will properly use NXT, save money and have a better looking shine than yours. Just my .02 .

agentf1

Been detailing and showing cars for years and know when black paint looks milky under flourescents. Any carnuba will give you that cloudy look and apparently so will NXT and wolfgang. I will continue to use "Drano" as long as it keeps getting me those "Best Paint" awards. If you are happy with what you use by all means keep using it. :cheers: If anybody is in my area and would like to stop by I will show you first hand what I am seeing. :cool:

YO-EL

If the paint is pure> washed with dawn, clayed, paint cleaned with a proper pre wax paint cleaner product, I do not think NXT or Wolfgang can give a milky appearence...

The milky appearence comes from mixing chemicals or wax over one another.

The Zaino you used may have been applied on a finish that had Zaino I believe, so it layered & looked clear.

Did you really do the process I described above before trying NXT or Wolfgang?

I'd really be suprised that these products could give a smeary milky finish on pure clean paint.

agentf1

I tried it both ways. I think there is enough abrasives in NXT that you don't need to remove anything but I also tried wiping the panel down with Prep-Sol and 50/50 water and alcohol and got the same results. It also uncovered alot of fine scratches that Zaino was hiding after using NXT. Believe me, after hearing everything I did about it on the forum I tried everything to make it work but the Zaino keeps coming up blacker. Not saying it is a bad product but just doesn't give me the look zaino does. Put your car under bright flourescents and do a spot with Zaino and tell me it doesn't looks crisper. If you can find a dark car it will be alot easier to see. What color is the wifes car?

agentf1

I am not one for judging products by a picture but here is a Zaino shine...

VettePower

Heck, my daily beater has a better shine than that, and all I use on it is Turtle Wax. :yesnod:

Killrwheels

Which Zaino did you use ?? Z2 or Z5, with or without ZFX ??

NXT alone or only with Color X ???

Wolfgang Sealant cloudy ..... something seems suspect (forget to shake very well) ??

Either way, you are free to use what you like. Even though I did not like NXT at all , I would not call it cloudy. In fact, none of the products contain carnuba and other than the extreme gloss that Wolfgang produces, I saw no comparision to carnuba. I only wish I could get the durability and reflectivity of a sealant and the depth and real look of a carnuba.

The fact that you used Zaino in the middle of the clouded panel and it cleared right up seems outside normal, since none of Zaino's products contain a polish/abrasive or chemical cleaner to remove. IN fact, if you used anything other than Z5 .... none of their line contains fillers which would reduce/fill the scratches you also discussed.

My take on the three products :
Zaino --- extremely reflective, kinda sterile, plastic sheen (look at saran wrap in the sun). Mixing and curing is cumbersome and time consuming, etching is a real issue, BEST DURABILITY 4-6 months.

NXT --- products a slight color shift, very pleasing to some as paint looks different , single product, WORST DURABILITY 4-6 weeks. Main benefit is cost and availability, but many better products exist.

Wolfgang --- extremely glossy in appearance, wet-look , works well with other polishes and cleaners, easiest to use with no cure time or mixing , durability 8 weeks and counting. My personal favorite !

69er

Killer
When you say "Mixing and curing is cumbersome and time consuming"is it really?
I mean how hard is it to take one of the bottles,fill it up to desired amount and add drops of ZFX.
Time consuming?
Shake and wait ten minutes.

I just can't understand people saying Zaino is so tough and time consuming to use.
My God I do my vette in 30-35 minutes tops on and off.
The 10 minutes I have to wait I do some windows or 303 the dash and such.



[Modified by 69er, 5:54 PM 4/27/2004]

hcvone

:) :thumbs:

69mako

I like NXT better then Zaino for that fact, NXT is a fraction of the cost of Zaino, shines as well if not better then Zaino, sheds water as good or better then Zaino...and its one hell of alot easier to put on or get off then Zaino.
:yesnod:

Wayne88

I've been reading these threads and decided to use NXT, simply because of its availability [its on the stores shelf].
I guess I am in the dark ages, I was using 'Liquid Glass', and I liked its results.

I did not find Color X & NXT to leave the finish cloudy, but extremely clear.

I will say that I never tried Zaino & from all accounts it is an excellent product.

I don't understand the " I can only win if you lose attitude" that these threads sustain.

If Zaino is a quality product, it doesn't become a bad product just because a new product comes on the scene.

YO-EL

:cheers: here here bro! Excellent words..

The thing is, people become brand loyal, married to the product of choice so to speak..

Anything against their beloved product, and they take it personally, vehemitely disagreeing, be it fact or not...

Thats the way it is...

Bottom line for all time, its your car, use or do what you want to it.... :yesnod:

eddie44

:iagree: Couldn't have said it better. Zaino does a great job but to me NXT looks better and much cheaper and available locally. :yesnod:

Killrwheels

Dont know when you started using Zaino, but I originally did pre ZFX. You would coat the car with Z1, then add Z2 and allow to cure for three hours or more. ZFX did speed it up by adding a chemical curing agent, that you must manually mix and allow to set. Those 10 minutes you need, with Wolfgang I am done with 1/2 the car. Thats what I meant by cumbersome, and tedious.

Zaino is still the king for durability (time of protection), and I have NEVER found any product that lasts longer. (although Klasse AIO/SG come very close) But when you factor in the ease of use of other products, and no worry about birdie doo-doo etching the finish (thus the need to make, mix, and recoat the area after stripping the damage), it clearly makes the choice easy in my mind.

mrmclaughlin

A little off the topic but you all seem very knowlegable so I will ask ask a question of this group.

Is it possible to completly remove the Zaino (I like the look but want to experiment) from my black vert, so I can try/apply another product starting from scratch. If so what product or method would I use. I am thinking of trying a carnauba wax. I would think this is the only fair way to compare one product with another. Thanks. :confused: :confused:

YLWFVR75

You just described the average corvette owner when in conversation with other owners of other vehicle brands.... :lol: :lol: :lolg: :lolg:

WWK888

After all that...its still an opinion. BTW, try using paragraphs, it would make it much easier to read. :cheers:

69er

I've been using Zaino on all my vehicles for about 5 years.
You're right about the old Zaino procedure but the ZFX makes it simple to use.
Also no curing necessary with ZFX.
It was 8 -24 hours curing time depending on temp and humidity with the old procedure.
ZFX is the key.
Eliminates Z-1 step one.
Quick drying.
No curing. :cheers:

hcvone

Any abrasive product like 3M Scratch and Swirl Remover or a body scrub (they contain abrasives), you can also remove Zaino with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton towel.