cbest1465

I have been going back and forth trying to figure out which would be the best overall car care products for the RX. I have been researching between different brands web sites and here on ClubLexus to see what people are saying.

I have narrowed the brands down to One Grand, Pinnacle, Zaino, and Meguiars. I am thinking of using the brands (wash, cleaner, detailer, wax, etc) instead of doing one brand's wash, another’s wax and so forth.

Pricing of each of the brands are (rough estimates);

One Grand = $41 +
Pinnacle = $66 to $71
Meguiar’s = $30 +
Zaino = $81 +

Within each brand, the claybar is not included in any of those prices except for Zaino (included in kit).

I realize the amount of time to do the initial wash/clean/wax will take a weekend, but I also want to factor in the maintenance of keeping the RX looking good. I went to Meguiars and completed the online personalized car care and after answering all the questions, it came back and said I need to wax my RX 8 times a year – that’s a lot! That would mean I would have to wax it every other month. Mind you this one vehicle in a two-vehicle household. I should move into the garage.

Any thoughts from the experts would be much appreciated.

Chris

mooretorque

Can't speak for the other brands (tho the Meguairs site told me monthly!........), but I Zaino twice a year. The finish is extremely durable and is still beading water immediately BEFORE a wax as it did immediately AFTER! But Sal says twice a year for a daily driver, so twice a year it is.

Some members are still of an age/marital/parental status to where they can devote more time to their finish (and it shows! ) but I'm old/married/two growing boyos and a busy professional on top of that, so Zaino fills the bill for me. However, as far as shine, I would add that my significant other (who is most def NOT a gearhead) literally stopped dead in her tracks when she saw her RX after it's first Zaino. It GLOWED!!!!

(Yes, I'm a Zainohead and proud of it!)

cbest1465

Thanks mooretorque, I have been hearing this a lot about Zanio. I am hoping their products hold up well for "everyday" vehicles and not just for show cars.

additude

My vote goes to Zaino.

It's the best.

Read my recent post here about their leather cleaner...

acf

So can anyone recommend a good leather conditioner you can buy in retail stores? Also, what's the protocol for conditioning leather? Clean with something then condition?

additude

Yep,

Thats the sequence.

I've used Lexol which is fine and Armor-All which is also fine.

But I don't anymore.

Call the guy Dave gave us his number for that sells Zaino locally.

acf

Will do, just hesitent to drop 80 bucks on that Zaino right now. I may end up learning the hard way on that one but oh well.

Meguire's seems to have the best bang for the buck so far so I'll probably start there.

additude

I know what you mean, but I'm a business man and know that some extra bucks up front is worth more in the long run than I initially paid out.

Actually your not going to need $80 worth I'm sure. All you need for leather is one bottle of Z-9 cleaner and one of Z-10 conditioner.

Then for wax you need the Z-1 lock and the Z-2 wax.

All that comes to $40.80 plus shipping.

Also, when you wash your car before applying the wax system, wash it in a heavy mix of DAWN Ultra Power dishwashing soap. This will remove all the old wax and leave you with just the clear coat to work off of.

And BTW, never wash your car in dish soap. Dish soap removes the wax, DAWN just does it better.

Zaino has a car wash, you could also use Armor-All's car wash. But don't use Turtle-Wax that has it's own wax in the soap if your going to use Zaino.

acf

Ok, thanks, that's interesting. So the goal each time you wash and wax is to first wash all the wax off and start from the clear coat? Do most car washes remove the previous coat of wax anyway? So additional coats of wax aren't of any benefit?

additude

After I start the Zaino process I don't remove the wax the next time. I use Zaino car was and then start the Z-1 lock, followed by the wax.

I also use that spray enhancer stuff and that seems to really help keep it shining.

Most of the brand name washes do not remove wax. They are formulated not to remove wax. However, buy that gallon bottle of car wash for 99 cents at the thrift store and no telling what it will remove