MongooseGA

iTrader: (6)

I'll eventually try it, but for now, I'm happy with other products. I dunno, Zaino just never gave me a feeling of real 'detailing'. I know it sounds stupid, but I've always considered it to be one of the products used mainly by people on car forums who have no idea how to properly detail. Of course, this isn't fair to Zaino as it often isn't the case, but like I said, the zealots have done alot of harm to Zaino's reputation.

jfelbab

Just to correct the impression left by others that NXT is a "Cleaner/Wax". If you are expecting NXT to behave like other cleaner waxes you will be disappointed. It is not a "one-step" product. While NXT does contain slight cleaning agents they are only there to give the product better adhesion. NXT will not clean your paint. I've used NXT since it's inception and like to apply it over a glaze. The cleaners in NXT do not remove the glaze so you can see how mild they are. NXT does cross-link properly over a glaze and the result is a very wet look. I have routinely had NXT last three months both in the midwest and in the south. My home in the midwest is in an area that has very bad air pollution. NXT stands up well to acid rain and also the heavy salted winter roadways there. It also stands up to the scorching heat and humidity in south Florida.

As I posted earlier, my friends, who are car nuts, could not see any difference between NXT and Zaino. Here is why I did the blind test.

I'm also into wine. I frequently go to wine tastings. There are a lot of wine people who judge a wine by it's label. These people are often known as "wine snobs." Hide the label and they don't have a clue as to what they are drinking. Thats why I decided to do a blind waxing in the first place. Given that no one knew what product was just used none of my friends could tell what was on the paint. That should tell you something. Some of my friends were "wax snobs." The surest way to open their eyes was to do a blind waxing. It was hard for them to grasp the fact that a $13 OTC product looked the same as an expensive mail order boutique product until they saw it with their own eyes.

We all have our favorites. It's all good. There is no right or wrong. It all boils down to what you like. The key to stunning looks is in the prep and not the LSP. I look at the purpose of an LSP as to seal in the look achieved by the prep. I've had a list of favorites a mile long through my 45 years of detailing cars. Favorites come and go as I'm sure my current favorite will. For now, I like the fact that I can use a glaze under my sealant to achieve that "dipped in wet paint" look. NXT lets me do that so it's my current favorite.

yESman

I think that's a wrong perception. Most of my friends that use Zaino started out on carnauba/other sealants and had trouble maintaining the look of carnauba/other sealants in the winter and eventually tried Z-2 or Z-5 and loved it and stayed with it. The ZFX and Z-8 introductions made a big impact by making the process easier and look better.

If you followed the evolution of folks on Autopia, you would see that many of the older members tried literally everything and wound up with Zaino as a favorite. Some of these folks migrated over to Detailers Club to have more detailed process discussions.

While it may be more politically correct and better for the board here to stay neutral, I simply don't agree with this on two levels:

1. There are detailing products that have more technology and care put into their development. I think Zaino and PakShak mf fall into this category.

2. While surface preparation is extremely important, the quality of the product makes a big difference as well. The reality is that many boutique products do look and perform better. You combine a great process with a great product and you will get amazing results. But you really do need both. Now clearly there are pricey boutique products that do not live up to the hype (Zymol comes to mind).

I'll leave it at this: NXT is not a bad product, I just don't believe it is a great product.

As for the board, I think the best service we can give Lexus owners is to let members share their opinions about products honestly and let others judge the quality of their opinions by past recommendations and other discussion.

DallasLex

iTrader: (1)

I've used NXT for a year now and it's done everything the company claimed it would. On non metallic finishes, it brings out a nice fresh clearcoat shine. On my Galaxy black Titan(metallic paint). It's done a fantastic job.

toy4two

I use Zaino myself, just too expensive and pain to get for me to continue.

I used it more for protection than enhancing the paint. Zaino looks very "wet" almost like you saran wapped your paint. Not much depth and has a very cold "synthetic" apperance.

Now I am using Meguiars carnuba, mmmmm, nice warm glow to the paint. The protection durability is a joke but it looks better to me.

I've heard NXT is just a less durable Zaino. I've also read at Autopia that Mother's Reflections is a good balance b/w rich carnuba and polymer protection to boot.

So it seems if Zaino is the expensive, hard to get system, and NXT is the easy to get less durable product, Mother's Reflections is supposed to have the best of both.

yESman

That was true to some degree of the old Z-2 but not Z-2 Pro. It has very fine depth and gloss. In fact once I found the trunk lid test panel was matching the AIO+ Souveran look on the rest of the car I did the whole car with Z-2 Pro.

While I like Reflections a lot, it is still no match for Zaino in my opinion. It may be the most easy to remove sealant on the planet however.

SDLexus

I'm commenting on it through what I've read on other message boards by Zaino enthusiasts. Just as you keep using these "other boards" to substantiate your claim that "NXT isn't a quality product."

A product fan states his reasons for preference and leaves it at that. A product zealot not only states his preference but takes the time to trash other products with comments like "Zaino crushes product X" or "product X isn't a quality product." See the difference?


And, there is also consensus by experienced detailers that NXT is a quality product. As I stated in an above post one detailer in particular has regularly stated that he gets good results with NXT (I won't post his username again, you know who I'm referring to).

SDLexus

Exactly. BTW, what glaze do you like to use under NXT? I used #7 but didn't really like working with it. It looked great but is there an easier glaze that you've used?

Great test. I saw a news program a while ago on Charles Shaw ($1.99) about blind wine tasting. They had the "Two Buck Chuck" go up against much more expensive wines in a blind taste test and "experienced wine tasters" picked it over the more expensive brands.

While most "wax snobs" would claim that they could tell the difference with the naked eye, I doubt they actually could in practice. Your test proves it.


Hey look, another experienced detailer giving the nod to NXT. At least I hope your 45 years would be enough to call you experienced. Great post and I couldn't agree more.

I like to try out other products as well but I keep finding myself coming back to NXT. I may have found my next fave though, but I won't go trashing NXT if/when I switch, and I'm sure I'll come back to it from time to time.

yESman

I think I'll let this comment speak for itself.

jfelbab

I have used #7 (Speed Glaze) but I prefer #81 (Body Shop Professional Hand Polish).

I really like the NXT sealant and the Booster spray wax after every other wash. This leaves the surface looking freshly detailed and keeps the paint very slick. The slickness keeps the dirt from getting a grip so the car is easier to keep clean. Nice system, IMO.

SDLexus

Just illustrating the silliness of using the comments of some "detailing board" to substatiate an argument, but if you didn't catch on to that I won't hold it against you

SDLexus

Thanks for the info.

Shawnmack

Don't get me wrong Zaino is a good product but if accidently knock it over or get missing or go badyou got to keep ordering it IMHo the NXT looked just as good as the Zaino and while I was coming home from the meet Saturday it was raining and sleeting after all that the only way you can tell my car is dirty is by the tires.

yESman

??? Shawn, I don't understand what you are saying. Z-2 and Z-5 have long shelf lifes so "going bad" is not likely with any reasonable care. Plus ZFX is fully warrantied for 18 months.

If you like the look of NXT or the convenience of finding the product locally I certainly have no problem with that. I just find that Zaino looks a bit better and lasts longer, especially with Z-8 treatments every so often.

yESman

I just noticed today that Zaino is a favorite sealant in the wax poll, almost as much as NXT. I think that's a good sign given that Zaino is a word of mouth product. Their seems to be lots of support for both products here.