Me, a non-Z guy.
It looked really, really WHITE.
Thanks to member cwcad for sending me some Z!
I QEW'd. After a month outside 24/7, in some of the worst rain and snow we've ever had in this area, I'm sad to say that the
NXT wasn't there at all. Not just not shining; it was gone. I know what bare paint feels like.
I used the Z-1/Z-2 instead of the little eyedropper thing. I wanted the cleaning power of that Z-1, which I think is a good thing. QEW doesn't work real well on tar spots, but the Z-1 does a good mild cleaning job. I applied with a Cobra mf-wrapped applicator. One thing: it's really hard to see Z-1 on satin white, which is naturally flat looking to begin with... we normally look for the difference between the flat and the shine to see where we've already been, and that line wasn't visible!
I trusted that the Z-1 was there, and applied the Z-2, again with a Cobra mf-wrapped applicator. Another thing: If I were doing this again, I would use a foam applicator rather than the mf-wrapped foam applicator. IMO, the mf soaked up too much product, and was wasteful.
I let the Z-2 frost for a while, I did some interior stuff. WIping off the Z was easy. To those who say that Z is labor intensive, I'll say, no it isn't. It's the same as using any cleaner/polish 2 step. If a guy lists all the steps of a regular non-Z job, we don't call it a "Meguiar's labor intensive afternoon waxing". I think Z people make it SEEM more labor intensive by including a lot of steps that are common to ALL complete details. But using the product itself is the same as using any cleaner followed by wax;
Pinnacle Paint Cleaner followed by Liquid Souv, or GEPC followed by P21S.
When I was done, the car was... white. As white as the day I bought it, as white as the day I
NXT'd it. I did definitely notice the slickness, which I really like. Was there some
extra pop from the Z? Not really. Was there any extra pop the next day? The car looked great, but not any moreso than when I
NXT'd it. I don't think that this is any indicaton that Z is inferior; rather, I don't think that there's a whole lot that any wax can do for a paint that has been designed to be "unglossy". The stuff is supposed to look like a frosted Christmas ornament, and no Z and no NXT and no poly-anything is going to make it look any different.
I'll say that I do like the Z. It is easy to use and shines well. But for this car, I think I'd do just fine using up all that cleaner wax that's laying around.
Pictures were tough, first because they don't show any useful detail, and second because the fading light prevented me from getting any good sun- or depth- shots. Here's what I got.
Tom
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