Mercedes-Benz Forum banner

The Wax on Wax OFF.

1K views 16 replies 0 participants last post by  CaliBNZ 
G
#1 ·
Some of you might be interested in this.<br> <br> I've always been very curious on which Wax/polish is truly THE best. So for the last month, I've been collecting the so called best waxes and polishes that people have been speaking so highly of. The goal is to test all the waxes/polishes on 4 different cars and judge the results on several criteria's.<br> <br> Application ease<br> shine<br> removal of contaminints<br> water beading<br> smoothness<br> car wash endurance<br> swirl mark removal<br> <br> The waxes/polishes list is...<br> <br> Zaino kit<br> Zymol (creme/carbon)<br> Zymol (blue bottle- cheap stuff)<br> P21S (polish and Wax)<br> 3M (polish and wax)<br> Klasse (all in one and Hi gloss)<br> Meguirers<br> Blackfire<br> Malms<br> <br> If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.<br> <br> We've conducted one test on a Black VW golf with lots of swirl marks from automatic car washes and found some differences. We tested, Zaino, P21S, Klasse and 3M. We will redo the tests, once we receive delivery of Malms and Blackfire, which is in the mail as I type.<br> <br> We will condcut the tests on a 2002 ML320 (opal black), 2002 BMW M3 (Silver), 1996 Audi A4 (flat black), 2000 VW Golf (black).
 
G
#2 ·
should be interesting

to see if your results will be similiar to thewaxtest.org's.<br> Remember to get people who didn't put the wax on to do blind testing. And strip old wax off using Dawn if you're using Zaino. Also would be interesting to see if you could see changes from multiple coats on the same area of the same wax.<br>
 
G
#3 ·
That site is still not up.

Someone else mentioned that they tested most of the commercially available waxes, but there's nothing up right now.<br> <br> Yes, we will use dawn to strip the wax, prior to application. That's what we did on the golf already. We'll also do multiple applications to see if there's an improvement.<br> <br> Multiple applications did make a big difference on the removal of contaminants and swirl marks. But no REAL(obvious) difference in shine. Surprisingly, the shine was very close amongst several of the brands. But the application (ease of use) differed tremendously. Zaino, being the most difficult. Multiple steps, waiting time, etra coats. My initial impression, is that although Zaino is definetly at the top in terms of performance, the extra work involved may not be worth it since other products do just as good and are MUCH easier to apply and remove with fewer coats.<br> <br>
 
G
#4 ·
waiting time w/ Zaino?

How bad is it to remove? I find it really easy compared to old waxes and there's no white residue on the rubber parts of the car (only a few carnauba waxes don't leave white residue like these polymers).<br> <br> After Dawn, you should be able to just put one coat of Z1 Lock and then multiple coats of the actual polish through the year. When doing the polish, by the time I put it all around the car (30-40min), I can usually start taking off the excess on the panel I started on. The enhancer spray can also be used afterwards if you want to smooth the polish; it seems to be some sort of polish softener so it gets rid of uneven polish application.<br>
 
G
#5 ·
Tom, I think you should check out www.autopia-carcare.com and click the forum link.

You will find many tips on how to apply and remove these products, especially klasse and zaino. Many people have conducted these test, and i am actually friends with the guy who started thewaxtest.org. I think Zaino and klasse are best products on that list, I can tell you right now that none of those products match the durabilty of klasse or zaino. Also did you get klasse all-in one and the klasse high gloss sealant. Using both makes a big difference.
 
G
#8 ·
Did I say remove?

It was meant more as an application process in general. Because Zaino has additional steps over others, I consider that a negative. Now if the results are clearly better than the extra work of extra application steps are worth it.<br> <br> With Zaino you have to be real careful with the amount of Z1 and Z5 you apply. Otherwise, it's difficult to buff it out perfectly. A little goes a long way. Also, in the test of the golf, we needed multiple Z5 applications to get it as close as Klasse and 3M.<br> <br>
 
G
#12 ·
I don't know how to off-road in the ML like you do...

But then again I am not eager to try it out in my own vehicle, LOL. I have off-roaded in the ML before though, and from my limited experience, it did darn well! I was surprised at how from behind the wheel, in many cases you don't even realise that the vehicle is tripoding on two or three wheels.<br> <br> As for the wax, I myself use Zymol, based on CR's recomendation. Note that Prestone's BulletWax came in second in their tests (not as much gloss as Zymobl, but easier to apply), so you can add that to your list too :). Personally, I'll be trying out Finish First in the very near future, I think.
 
G
#13 ·
sorry...you said apply

Didn't realize you meant the extra coats. The Z1 lock coat is the only mandatory extra coat. The gloss enhancer spray is useful if you put too much Z1 or Z5 on; it seems to 'soften' the stuff a little so you can push it around and get rid of the unevenness.<br> <br> I've also heard the 1st coat of Z5 looks like most other waxes. By the 3rd or 4th, it looks a lot better whereas it doesn't seem to matter as much w/ other waxes (i.e., multiple coats don't make a difference).<br> <br> BTW, nice sailboat :)<br>
 
G
#17 ·
Re: I think it's called finish first

Any one have experience with a product from the 'Wax Shop' company? I had great luck with it while I was in college. Is it still produced, and is it still a contender?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top