I used Zaino for a number of years, and then switched to Adam's Products. I had the chance to attend an Adam's seminar at their home location here in Colorado, and I was sold. It is an exceptional product line, that yields great results... but...

I personally saw better longevity with the Zaino line. Adam's gives a more "wet" look, Zaino offers a sharper / more clear appearance. But here in Colorado, our UV on a daily driver is an absolute finish killer. I honestly think the Zaino lasted better. I'm going to probably go back to Zaino once some of my Adam's stuff runs out.

Also, in the last year, Adam's has gone thru a lot of formulation changes, and the products I currently have are all their newest formulas... Time will tell how the new versions hold up.

 

I'm currently using griots 1 to 4 polishing system but when that runs out it will be meguirs 105 and megiors 205 , which is the most tried and true system on the market in my opinion

 

Chadwicks all the way. After a good paint correction that is...

 

Question for you Chadwicks users.


What do you do when your car is covered in pollen? Do you rinse it before applying the Chadwick solution, or do you just put it on over the dry pollen? The latter sounds like a recipe for disaster, but I may be wrong.


Shakey

 

I use mostly Griots and Meguiars products and occasionally RejeX. i will have to try Chadwicks some day.

 

Awesome

 

as JR01 stated the waterless cleaners lift the debris off the surface and then the micro fiber towels trap it so nothing really touches the surface clear coat. as I stated I have cleaned my DD truck and Monte SS covered with road grime and salt and have no scratches !!!

 

For the paint, Collinite #845 with my Porter Cable 7424XP.

 

frank

 

fine powdery Gulf Coast sand and #7 12ga. shot in a 50/50 well shaken mix. Seems to disguise any swirling. Hope this helps.

 

I opted for Chadwick's Triple Play, and paint correction. Very pleased with the results (and effort needed to get the results).

Before:



After:

 

Nice! I use the Triple Play but am going to do the correction system

 

Chadwick's...best bang for the buck and time spent.

 

Thanks for the laughs... and the tribute to the blind leading the blind... sure you can ignore me, but the comments here by many make for some laughable mornings.

Logic... why do so many people in this thread need to do a paint correction???? The mere name is bull crap... in order to "Correct paint" ... you would have to go through 30 to 40 thousans of clear... so the name "paint correction" is a joke.

Next: WHY would so many people need to " fix ". Anything. The paint finish from the factory is only compromised by people rubbing the clear or not knowing anything about how to take care of the original clear coat.... putting a cloth on the finish and rub it t around even with one microscopic piece of sand will cause swirl marks.. taking this wet wash spray and putting a micro towel to it is like using sand paper. Promoter of this process know this and add Nano fillers to fill these microscopic scratches.. in a few days these Nano fillers decompose, and you need to use more product... more rubbing and more scratches... the more you rub, the more you need to rub and add these Nano fillers... if you think you are protecting your finish, don't use these quick fix products for a month, and see just how poor the finish looks.. these Nano scratches cause shadows in the clear and bend the reflection... the trick is to not cause these Nano scratches in the first place... Now for the manufacture or in this case, the " drug dealer " he offers a product that requires more product... and also a means to remove the damage that was done by his process in the first place... he makes a car finish a product junkie, and offers more and more product.. then offers an even greater " High" by offering a paint correction process... in reality its a clear correction process.. the initial product makes the finish dependent on the product and its fillers, and when enough damage has been done, he offers product to correct the damage done by his initial product.,... Not a bad gig...

A good product will protect the finish, alow an optically clear coat and protect against UV rays.

I am not bad mouthing any particular product... there are lots of quick fix, wet wash sytems out there... none of them are worthy to do the job and do it correctly..

I AM also not recommending any particular product... I know what I use, and don't care what others use... it just a shame that my passion for the car, and my concern for people who are led around by the nose. I'm only offering logic, and of course my car's finish as it has been maintained by the same products for 18 years.


As far as longevity goes... in my 72 years I've not found another product that is optically clear, UV stable and last over a year. IN the last 18 years many manufacturers have cloned the product I use.,,,, and offer it up... Good products to maintain a finish do not need to be applied weekly and at a cost of several hundred dollars a year.

My car speaks for itself. and again I haven't touched the finish or rubbed it in two years.. I have sprayed water on it and used a blow dryer, but I have not rubbed it with any type of cloth in that time.. I don't have swirl marks and I've never had swirl marks and there is no need to correct anything.

Bill aka ET

Having to rub your car with a quick product that is filled with fillers to give the illusion of a perfect finish, should never need correction if you know what you are doing.... I've never needed paint correction... I've never had to apply anything daily, weekly or monthly... I sprnd less than 50 on products I use on my finish and they last 2 years.

Paint correction..... it's laughable.... and as I've said many times... if there is something wrong with your finish, it's your fault... swirl marks are man made caused by " rubbing a finish, daily weekly or monthly... it's obvious that quick fixes are the term junkies use when they need to spend lots of money to get a high..... I've not touched my finish in two years... I've been too sick and been in and out of the hospital over the last year..

You guys keep following the blind, and I'll use this to get a laugh.

 

My issue was the previous 2 owners of my car (mostly). I didn't have the luxury of taking delivery of my car from the factory to protect that finish from the start. There's no question your car is clean. Probably the cleanest I've ever seen in pictures. Kudos to you!
To say what I have done and the process I've used based on my budget and available time is "laughable" is an insult. Would I like to be able to "do it right according to ET or the other guy rubbing plumbers putty all over his car", sure, why not? However, I don't have hours upon hours of time to follow the steps you've used in the years past. I am starting 17 years AFTER you started, and on a platform that was already compromised. I'm more than pleased with the appearance of the results I was going after. Is it lipstick on a pig? Probably, but the pig certainly looks good from where I'm standing now. It even looked good to others that saw it too, which is just an added bonus. I'm not looking to win any prizes, claim to have the shiniest car this side (or that side) of the Mississippi. As long as it looks the way I want it to look, I'm good.

 

I hope I can reply and you will see that I'm not trying to be argumentative.... Ie had countless people PM me with the same issue you have.. a previously owned car.

My comments and suggestions are always consistant.. Ill tell you like Ive told many others... If you are trying to achieve a perfect finish... you need to know what you are doing... if you are happy using filler products weekly.. that's ok with me... but many people want the look of a perfect show car finish...

Here is what I tell every one.. if you are looking for a fairly clean finish, use these fast quick spray fixes... but understand the more you rub the finish the more damage you can do...

If you want a head turning show car finish, one that 17 years later looks like a new car... you cant do it with a ten minuter weekly filler product...

So if you want what I have... you need to have the clear coat professionally corrected... Don't for one minute think that making your finish perfect, after being abused, ( unintentionally )or cared for in a less than ideal way eg. ( quick washes ) you need a professional to fix your paint... a coule of hundred dollars... one time...once its perfect, its easy to keep it perfect... but you have to understand the whole idea about clear coat... understand that rubbing with a single piece of silica under a microfiber towel can cause the type of finish you typically see in the average clean car. If You want a real head turner,,, don't rub the clear coat with a quick fix product..
Cost.. I know people using the popular brand here, buy it by the gallons and at 80 dollars a pop with shipping.. its sad. I see people saying oh I have to order more.

The other problem is, lots of people think that doing more is good.. but when it comes to your clear coat, less is much better. remember all those swirl marks were put there "by you ". Its overwhelming to me that the process instructions say you spay on a "dirty car" and just rub off. The only way this works is the fillers in the spray, fill in all those Nano scratches caused by rubbing on a dirty car... remember in order to rub on the car , you have to apply a down force.. pressing any dirt into the clear coat. if this all sounds illogical then stop reading what I have to say. But one piece of silica is ten times harder than the factory clear coat. Do you really want o rub that ( under pressure ) over your clear coat?

I hope that my logic can at least open some eyes... it doesn't take long to put a coat of the product I use and at a cost of less than 50 dollars a year. You too can have a real head turner. Ive explained the process many times here.

but for those with a poor finish.. the first thing you need to do is get the finish professionally fixed. learning how and why your finish becomes poor, is the next thing.

As Ive said many times, I have nothing against the " nice guy ".. I do however have something to say about the morality of his process... using cosmetic fillers and a process that makes the finish dependant on those fillers which require more fillers, and then when its so bad that you need to correct the finsh... If a product is good enough to protect the finish as in my car.. why would anyone need to correct anything ??? .. after all, the idea is to protect the finish in the first place... if using the nice guy product required the need for paint correction, then his initial product didn't do much to protect the finish in the first place.
I'm only offering this thought process in order to cause pause to digest the logic of my comments..

Its the process of the quick fix that I am oppose too and then the process to correct something that this initial product failed to protect in the first place...

 

Welcome back ET we have missed you so much !!!!!

 

I usually use Adam's, but I ran out and decided to use some Mothers wax I had. I thought the results turned out pretty good. I applied it using a DA polisher.

 

ET, glad you are back on line. Love your crusty comments. On all my cars I want the best shine for the least amount of work that last a year. Unfortunately, I do not have the benefit of being able to buy new or park my Vette (wife gets the garage – a long story) other than outside. So knowing my Vert is exposed to all the elements, I protect the top and the paint. So here is my story on the paint. Last fall when I just had finished putting on a coat of Nu Finish polish and then over that I put carnauba wax and machined buffed each layer, a neighbor stopped by and asked me what I did to get this great shine. I told him and he said he does car detail on the side any never saw a shine like that using those products. Fast forward to now. I have read the testimonies about Chadwicks and Zaino. I flipped a coin and Zaino won (or lost depends on your perspective). I bought the Zaino stuff costing about $100 compared to my previous method costing $25.00. When the weather is nice and warm, I will follow Zaino’s instructions on the passenger’s door and do my previous method on the passenger side front fender. I will ask two neighbors for their opinion on which one is best. I will report back to CF on the results.