GSRstilez - thanks man, that means a lot coming from ya!
Buick_guy1 - uhh, interesting response. LOL, j/k, I appreciate your comments!
randomman84, RCBuddha, klnyc, and raven - much thanks guys!!!
Adamah - yeah, I definitely had to take a pic of that big ol' chili pepper. It's not everyday you run across something like that!
MDSUPERSTAR - thanks my Supra brother! :wavey I would've posted in Member's Rides over at SF, but it's a tough crowd over there. More of us should be here at Autopia, this place is the best!
Scottwax - I must say, you were definitely my biggest influence as far as trying out Clearkote products. :xyxthumbs I figured if it was good enough for Scott, it would be more than adequate for my needs.
I haven't had the Clearkote on long enough to make any durability assessments, but I would definitely say that Zaino is one of the most durable products I've ever used. With the same prep process (wash, clay, and 3M PI-III where needed), however, I found the VM surface much smoother to the touch than Z-2.
Like you said, appearance is very subjective and is somewhat hard to judge due to different conditions, but I would like to think that the VM/CMW made the paint more reflective as well as darkened the color. It's kind of bugging me though, as I'm not sure which product results in the "better" finish -right now I'm leaning towards Clearkote.
Here are a couple pics when she was Zaino'd:
