Setec Astronomy
Well-known member
Well, Dwayne wanted to get this forum going again...and nothing brings in posts and page views like a Zaino thread!!
Since I don't think Sal can find out where I live, and my knees are shot already...I'm going out on a limb to say...NO, Zaino and Duragloss are not the same...but YES, they ARE related somehow...there are just too many coincidences for them NOT to be. (I hope you people who think this is blasphemy will read the conclusions before blasting me.)
Before anybody suggests I'm Zaino bashing, I'm NOT--I have plenty of Zaino and it beads like no other and is certainly the longest-lasting sealant I have ever tried. My experience with it is a little weird, because I bought it some years ago to use on a new car of a family member that I don't get to work on that often (because it was supposed to be the best/most durable), so I pretty much use it only on that car, and that car has gotten only Zaino since new. Some of the Zaino products I have are not the newest versions.
So on to the body of circumstantial evidence...
They both call their sealants "polishes"...how quaint...and something no one else does.
They both had a "polish bonding agent", Z-1 and 601. They both worked the same way, applied before the "polish", allowed to haze, then apply the "polish" right on top of that. Both to improve the durability and the gloss.
Their "polishes"/sealants are both easy off, don't stain trim, and they both have different flavors that are tuned slightly differently (Z-AIO, Z-2, Z-5 vs. 501, 101, 105, 111, 151). Many of the "polishes" from both companies are sold in 8oz bottles, which is unusual for sealants, while the newer products (Z-AIO and 105) are in 16 oz bottles.
Leather treatments--the packaging is identical except for the bottle color. I have the Zaino conditioner and the DG cleaner, so I can't compare them directly, but many people have said they are very similar.
QD's...I have Z-6 and Fast Clean & Shine (921)...I can't tell them apart, they are the same color, they smell the same, they work the same.
Spray Sealants--Z-8 and Aquawax...these really seem to be almost identical except the Z-8 seems to be much more concentrated.
Tire dressing...I have the old Z-16 that is a thin white liquid that smells like lemons and lasts a long time...I recently got a bottle of the DG 253 Tire & Rubber Dressing which is a thin white liquid that smells like lemons and people say it lasts a long time.
Car wash...both 901 and Z-7 are highly concentrated and suds well...901 "shines as it cleans" and Z-7 will "enhance the gloss"...many people have found these products to be similar. Both great washes.
Microfiber towels...some years ago there was a lot of fanfare about the Zaino Blonde towels...which were unique. I have some and they are different than any other towel I have. Then one day I was browsing the DG site and saw they had some MF's...so I bought one:
One of those is the Zaino Blonde...one of them is a DG 9003 towel...are they the same? No, they are not. But they are similar, and similarly different to any other towels I'm familiar with. Both very expensive, BTW. And the DG towel DOES have a border.
T-shirts...they both sell t-shirts emblazoned with the company logo! Well...maybe that's not something we should add to the list...
Things that are not the same...
Well, the DG sealants just don't seem to have the beading or durability of Zaino. Zaino apparently has a new tire dressing that is thicker and blue with a different smell. Z-8 is really a superior product to AW.
Since Zaino is here in NJ, some years ago I set out to settle a dispute at another forum by attempting to visit the Zaino plant. So I drove to the address on their website...and there was no plant, there was no office, there was no sign. The address on the Zaino website is a UPS store. In and of itself, this is meaningless, many boutique suppliers don't have their own factory. But usually they at least have a location at the address shown on their website. Others have posted in the past that Sal does this to maintain the secrecy of his formulas and manufacturing, and that his manufacturing facility is in a secret desert location, patrolled by security "cammo dudes" in unmarked vehicles...well, I could be mixing that up with some secret airplane story...
So what is the conclusion to be concluded from this string of ill-conceived "facts"?
It could be that Sal is the chemical genius behind Duragloss. Or it could be that Brothers Research is the technical muscle of Zaino. Or it could be somewhere in between. Perhaps Zaino and Duragloss are brothers separated at birth, Zaino went to an Ivy-league school and became a lawyer, and Duragloss went to the vo-tech and has a blue collar job...Zaino is the elite premium product, while Duragloss is the every day, workhorse product. There certainly is a marketing case for both a premium and an affordable product stemming from the same technical base (think Ford/Lincoln, Honda/Acura, Toyota/Lexus, etc.) Once again, I am NOT saying Zaino and Duragloss are the same, or that one makes the products for the other. For me there are just too many odd coincidences, similarities, and joint differences from other products for their not to be some connection. And no, of course I don't have any proof that there is some connection, just like no one has any proof that there isn't a connection.
Since I don't think Sal can find out where I live, and my knees are shot already...I'm going out on a limb to say...NO, Zaino and Duragloss are not the same...but YES, they ARE related somehow...there are just too many coincidences for them NOT to be. (I hope you people who think this is blasphemy will read the conclusions before blasting me.)
Before anybody suggests I'm Zaino bashing, I'm NOT--I have plenty of Zaino and it beads like no other and is certainly the longest-lasting sealant I have ever tried. My experience with it is a little weird, because I bought it some years ago to use on a new car of a family member that I don't get to work on that often (because it was supposed to be the best/most durable), so I pretty much use it only on that car, and that car has gotten only Zaino since new. Some of the Zaino products I have are not the newest versions.
So on to the body of circumstantial evidence...
They both call their sealants "polishes"...how quaint...and something no one else does.
They both had a "polish bonding agent", Z-1 and 601. They both worked the same way, applied before the "polish", allowed to haze, then apply the "polish" right on top of that. Both to improve the durability and the gloss.
Their "polishes"/sealants are both easy off, don't stain trim, and they both have different flavors that are tuned slightly differently (Z-AIO, Z-2, Z-5 vs. 501, 101, 105, 111, 151). Many of the "polishes" from both companies are sold in 8oz bottles, which is unusual for sealants, while the newer products (Z-AIO and 105) are in 16 oz bottles.
Leather treatments--the packaging is identical except for the bottle color. I have the Zaino conditioner and the DG cleaner, so I can't compare them directly, but many people have said they are very similar.
QD's...I have Z-6 and Fast Clean & Shine (921)...I can't tell them apart, they are the same color, they smell the same, they work the same.
Spray Sealants--Z-8 and Aquawax...these really seem to be almost identical except the Z-8 seems to be much more concentrated.
Tire dressing...I have the old Z-16 that is a thin white liquid that smells like lemons and lasts a long time...I recently got a bottle of the DG 253 Tire & Rubber Dressing which is a thin white liquid that smells like lemons and people say it lasts a long time.
Car wash...both 901 and Z-7 are highly concentrated and suds well...901 "shines as it cleans" and Z-7 will "enhance the gloss"...many people have found these products to be similar. Both great washes.
Microfiber towels...some years ago there was a lot of fanfare about the Zaino Blonde towels...which were unique. I have some and they are different than any other towel I have. Then one day I was browsing the DG site and saw they had some MF's...so I bought one:
One of those is the Zaino Blonde...one of them is a DG 9003 towel...are they the same? No, they are not. But they are similar, and similarly different to any other towels I'm familiar with. Both very expensive, BTW. And the DG towel DOES have a border.
T-shirts...they both sell t-shirts emblazoned with the company logo! Well...maybe that's not something we should add to the list...
Things that are not the same...
Well, the DG sealants just don't seem to have the beading or durability of Zaino. Zaino apparently has a new tire dressing that is thicker and blue with a different smell. Z-8 is really a superior product to AW.
Since Zaino is here in NJ, some years ago I set out to settle a dispute at another forum by attempting to visit the Zaino plant. So I drove to the address on their website...and there was no plant, there was no office, there was no sign. The address on the Zaino website is a UPS store. In and of itself, this is meaningless, many boutique suppliers don't have their own factory. But usually they at least have a location at the address shown on their website. Others have posted in the past that Sal does this to maintain the secrecy of his formulas and manufacturing, and that his manufacturing facility is in a secret desert location, patrolled by security "cammo dudes" in unmarked vehicles...well, I could be mixing that up with some secret airplane story...
So what is the conclusion to be concluded from this string of ill-conceived "facts"?
It could be that Sal is the chemical genius behind Duragloss. Or it could be that Brothers Research is the technical muscle of Zaino. Or it could be somewhere in between. Perhaps Zaino and Duragloss are brothers separated at birth, Zaino went to an Ivy-league school and became a lawyer, and Duragloss went to the vo-tech and has a blue collar job...Zaino is the elite premium product, while Duragloss is the every day, workhorse product. There certainly is a marketing case for both a premium and an affordable product stemming from the same technical base (think Ford/Lincoln, Honda/Acura, Toyota/Lexus, etc.) Once again, I am NOT saying Zaino and Duragloss are the same, or that one makes the products for the other. For me there are just too many odd coincidences, similarities, and joint differences from other products for their not to be some connection. And no, of course I don't have any proof that there is some connection, just like no one has any proof that there isn't a connection.
) of us here, I have more than my fair share of QDs. For the record, I don't think that FC&S is any better than several of my other QDs. 
