MJBird993

+1 except that it's Opti-seal.

http://www.optimumcarcare.com/oseal.php?li=4

Super easy to apply, no waiting to wipe off or buff. Works well, and did I mention that it's easy to apply?

GSIRM3

That is what I have been using also. Like you, I have been through the Zaino craze, plus use of some of the expensive, high end stuff over the years. It is a waste of time and money.

AWay

Another +1 for Meguires NXT here. So easy to apply/remove. Perhaps I'm leaving something on the table in terms of depth or shine but it looks great to my eyes.

stubenhocker

I love KLASSE! Easy to use, great results what more could you want?

stronbl

^^^+2

I like Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0 (Autogeek) as my first choice and Chemical Guys Black Light Hybrid Radiant Finish as a close second.

perfectlap

If you like Klasse SG but hate the hasssle Werkstat Acrylic Jett Trigger is what you're looking for. Easy as can be with the same excellent result.
But their Prime Strong "two in one" product is also excellent. Polishes and seals in one step. Fantastic for silvers and dark metallics.
For quick after wash shinning I find Griots Carnauba Spray Wax to be an excellent enthusiast grade product that you can get over the counter at Advanced Auto for like $17 and it comes in a great spray bottle. Their long nap microfiber towels (green and blue) are the most paint-friendly I've used. Excellent but a little pricey, best to wait for the advanced auto sales (as high as 40%) via email coupon. You can pick up in-store.


Zaino is fussy about working with non-Zaino products. I don't like to be limited that way.
And Rejex is fine but other products mentioned above simply require less elbow grease and have a deeper shine.
Klasse AIO is a great multi-purpose product. It's like the duct tape of detailing.

vrnkc

Mequires NXT works fine for me--easy to apply and wipe off.

hakaida702

Black light looks great, but needs to be topped with something as it has very little protection. Lots of people top it with cg V7 weekly or one of the other cg waxes.

On the detailing boards, many are liking menzerna power lock as far as sealants go and wolfgang fuzion for wax.

scott10s

Zaino.

perfectlap

if the prep work is the same, then only a very very well-trained eye can tell an expensive boutique brand from the over the counter stuff. And durability is almost moot because an enthusiast is not someone to just apply a product once and leave the paint alone until the next season. They are constantly applying and re-applying one product or another.
In my experience the only differene in these products is how well they get along with other brands (in case you aren't strictly loyal to one brand) and the concentrations. Over the counter stuff is usually watered down a bit to keep a total novice who walks into an auto parts store from wrecking his paint. And that sort of customer rarely goes through the whole bottle since they only detail the car once in a blue moon, thus the OTC brand doesn't bother giving them a very concentrated product since its just going to sit on a shelf.

I used to get that stuff at NAPA. Their Aqua Wax is one best spray waxes you can get and the quantity is generous. With proper prep, you could not tell a Duragloss car from a Zaino car or a Poor Boy's car or a 1Z car, etc. People who swear otherwise are generally people have only used one "high end" brand and compare it only to Turtle Wax or some other cheap stuff they used to use. Meanwhile the boutique brand is ringing that register all day long. Folks who have used various enthusiast brands and compared the results objectively know there's little between them and nearly all of the shine come from the prep anyway.

CodeRed

Collinite w/out doubt

Holli82

I live in Vegas
It's hot and sunny ( and dusty) most of the time
I drive my car everyday
After years of "exotic" stuff, I am now using Meguires NXT and happy with it.
YMMV

Iceter

Perhaps part of the Zaino confusion comes from the fact that Zaino makes several different products--some of which are multi-step and some of which are as easy as spray-on/wipe-off.

AFAIK, (and this changes occasionally, as they are constantly tuning their product line), the top of the line Zaino sealant involves mixing a few drops of ZFX to their sealant to accelerate the cure. In fact, I just went to their website and I can say that even though I'm a Zaino user, the wide range of products they sell always confuses me just a little.

Anyway, the two-part Zaino product works fantastically and you only have to mix the accelerator with the sealant on the first coat. Subsequent coats only use sealant and are not really required. Like the old-style Liquid Glass product, the more you put on, the deeper the shine and better the protection.

I must admit that I have not tried Rejex or Klasse, but I can safely say that I have tried everything else and I always go back to Zaino. On the other hand, I have used Zaino's Z-2 product (their all-around, single stage apply and wipe-off) and have found it to last a long time but I don't see that it's any better, optically, than any other high-quality polish--at least not on light colors.

And to answer someone's question earlier, Zaino does not discolor plastic. In fact, the only thing it does to plastic is make it look better so you will want to do the whole car with it. Zaino also advertises that you can apply their products to your wheels to make for easy brake-dust cleaning. They even say that you can coat your glass for a longer-lasting Rain-X-like effect with no rainbows like you would get from some other waxes or sealants. I have not tried that myself, though.

HTH, James

entdoc

I've tried almost everything. The reality is that they're all good.

I used to use Meguiar's NXT - the problem, as I understand it, is that it does have a very mild abrasive cleaner - it's not stictly a sealant. I'd prefer not to use abrasives on my black car. For the consumer that doesn't prep their paint prior to waxing, it's an excellent product (the cleaner helps to prep the paint).

The Zaino products are good, in my opinion, but perhaps a bit over-hyped. What made Zaino really good was that they were the first to advocate for a multi-step process which is required no matter which product you use. Before a sealant is applied, the car should, at the very least, be treated with a clay bar.

I'm a huge fan of Optimum products. I haven't found anything that is as easy and fast to apply or that lasts as long. I've been using Opti-Seal for a few years. Prior to putting the car away for the winter, I had Opti-Coat applied. My understanding is that it's really the first 'permanent' product. In fact, I didn't apply it myself - the videos make it look easy but, if you screw up, it needs to be wet-sanded off. At the same time, I put it on my Audi daily driver which still beads water after a season of cheap (bad) car washes.

Hope that helps.

door2416

I've tried alot of products but always return to liquid glass. Works on any color but really pops on the red tones and you can build up layers.