Easiest to use/most durable for a new car? Not too concerned with fantastic looks

B

bast525

New member
Hey all. Well... after reading through threads on this forum for hours.... I find that I have learned a lot, but am still left not really knowing the answer to my question.



I have recently bought a new car for myself (a red Mazdaspeed 3), which is my daily driver. I live in the southeast corner of Virginia. I rent an apartment and don't have a garage to park in. Prior to moving here mid last year, I lived my whole life in SoCal.



While I'm sure there is worse out there... the weather, trees and wildlife here are BRUTAL, at least compared to Cali! Tree sap, bird droppings, insect splatters, acid rain, humidity... this place was not meant for cars....



Okay... here is my dilemma. I don't have a lot of spare time on my hands these days... and really, am to the point where I could care less if my car has a show-car, deep and always wet looking finish. Considering I have no garage... all the waxing in the world will only make my car look nice for at most a couple days. I'm more worried about protection... especially during the spring and summer... it rains constantly and the birds and trees and then hot sun all combining to just destroy the clear coat on the car.



But almost as importantly, I'm not looking to have to spend hours out of my already crowded weekend schedule washing and waxing only to have to repeat this again every couple months.









So... I know I want a synthetic. A polymer or acrylic. But... other than that... I'm stumped. I want whatever will be the easiest/quickest to apply (and wipe off!), and will offer the longest lasting and best protection from the elements. The look of it after it's applied is not nearly as important. I also very strongly prefer an all-in-one... the fewer steps (and time) I have to use, the better. And the longer it will last before I have to re-apply, also the better. Also important to note, I will be applying by hand... no buffer/orbital/whatever. And of different factors, price is one of the lesser ones, I'm not looking to go cheap if something more expensive fits the bill better.



So far... I am looking at products like Klasse AIO and Duragloss 105. Another one I hear mentioned a lot is Menzerna (sp?). But there are SO MANY products out there and it seems every thread I read mentions another one.







Bottom line guys, what is the absolute most durable, hopefully easy to use, all in one product out there?
 
Maybe you should look at Collinite 845. You can top it with some Aquawax as well if you wish (although I've come to believe in recent weeks having a carnauba on top is MUCH better!) :)
 
Zaino All in One (ZAIO) and Zaino Clear Seal (ZCS)/ Optimum Opti-Seal (OOS). ZAIO is great by hand, and have used it a number of times with favorable results. Decent Cleaning capabilites, good durability, and a nice look. Follow it with ZCS or OOS, which are both products that shouldn't even require a final wipe, and in about 1.5-2 hours (wash, zaio, zcs) your set! Throw in a spray-sealant of some sort (Z8, AW, OCW) after a wash and you would be good for a few months.



Off topic, heh, what car do you like better, the SI or the 3? I love those SI's.
 
Hmmmm my replies are not posting... man now I have to retype that...



Okay... for some of the suggestions given, I strongly prefer an all-in-one... so I can just wash, dry, wipe AIO on, wipe off, and go. Even if this means the car won't look as nice or won't be protected as long... I'd rather be doing this for 2 hours once every four months than for four hours once every six months.



As far as the MS3 vs. Si comparison... the two are very similiar but also completely different class. The MS3 does EVERYTHING better than the Si... it's not just the acceleration. The MS3 is better balanced, grips better, has far better steering feel, has less body roll, stops shorter, with brakes that tolerate a lot more abuse (I haven't gotten them to fade yet). I have taken both cars back to back on a couple local curvy roads and have found very few things that the Si actually feels 'better' at. The only things I like better about the Si are that it has a lower center of gravity and slightly lower seating position, and you definately feel the Si's lighter weight when driving it hard. Oh and that awesome exhaust note above 6000 rpm :D



But overall, the MS3 inspires way more confidence and is just more fun. They are both great cars though and I take the opportunity to drive the Si pretty often.
 
Also another quick question... I've been using Meguiar's QD spray... does this stuff remove wax/sealant? Like, do I have to touch up the spots that I hit with the QD spray? I get nailed by birds a lot and use the QD to help remove these... and wonder if I need to touch up those spots.
 
bast525 said:
Also another quick question... I've been using Meguiar's QD spray... does this stuff remove wax/sealant? Like, do I have to touch up the spots that I hit with the QD spray? I get nailed by birds a lot and use the QD to help remove these... and wonder if I need to touch up those spots.
Click to expand...



Meg's quik detailer spray won't remove any wax/sealant. It's meant to give u a new waxed look.
 
Since your car is new and presumably the paint is still relatively mar-free, then you shouldn't need a polish, just a good cleaning. I'd say wash it carefully and wax with either Duragloss 105 or Collinite 845. Both are excellent, very durable products. To ensure complete coverage and add a little to the durability strongly consider a second coat a day to a week later. Pick up some spray wax like Aquawax as a booster if you'd like to get a quick shine and boost your wax to help it last longer.



Also, if you're willing to go to the effort I also recommend you clay the car before you put on the wax. Yeah it's new, but cars are subjected to rail dust and other contaminents during transport.
 
velobard said:
Since your car is new and presumably the paint is still relatively mar-free, then you shouldn't need a polish, just a good cleaning. I'd say wash it carefully and wax with either Duragloss 105 or Collinite 845. Both are excellent, very durable products. To ensure complete coverage and add a little to the durability strongly consider a second coat a day to a week later. Pick up some spray wax like Aquawax as a booster if you'd like to get a quick shine and boost your wax to help it last longer.



Also, if you're willing to go to the effort I also recommend you clay the car before you put on the wax. Yeah it's new, but cars are subjected to rail dust and other contaminents during transport.
Click to expand...



i agree. IW 845 will be very durable for you AND look great.
 
One more vote for the Collinite 845. The in-law who now has my old Volvo uses it, and she does *NOT* spend time/effort on detailing ;)



I'd precede it with some kind of cleaner-wax or AIO type product. I kinda like the ZAIO (BlkZ28Conv sent me a sample) because it has some cut to it so I'd choose that over KAIO. But of course I always recommend 1Z Metallic Polish or their WaxPolishSoft. Just use *something* under/before the 845 to clean the paint.
 
LOL you guys are not filling me with hope here...



It seems like no matter what, I may not be able to get away from using several products/layers??



Bear in mind I have no garage and no real place to do this kind of stuff. I go down to the local 'self wash' car wash, which is usually busy. It's really not easy for me to sit there for hours washing, waxing, polishing, layer upon layer.



This is why I really need just one all in one product that hopefully is quick and easy to apply and remove.



Also, I see a lot of recommendations for Collinite, but from what I have red, Collinite is carnauba based and not a synthetic. So... again I am confused... I thought carnauba products offered the LEAST durability and needed to be re-applied more often to maintain protection?



Also, I think Duragloss is out as it doesn't seem to offer a lot of cleaning or swirl-removing ability, and yeah, even though my car is new, it does have a lot of light swirls, my fault for letting the dealership wash it when I bought it.





I'm looking more towards either Klasse or Zaino all in one products, which really is turning into a debate of Polymer vs. Acryllic. Zaino seems very easy to use... apply to the whole car and then wipe off the streaks, whereas Klasse is one panel at a time and requires a damp applicator. Really just nitpicking as they both seem very easy to use. Zaino also SEEMS like it would be the better looking product and like it would do better at cleaning, though Klasse claims up to 6 months of protection whereas Zaino claims only 3-4 months. Again... the longer I can go between applications, the better.
 
All are great suggestions.



Personally speaking, I had excellent results, both durability and shine wise with Klasse AIO and SG on a car which sat outdoors all winter. The Klasse was applied in September and endured snow, ice, rain, etc. with no in-between booster, QD, etc. The vehicle still has an appearance of being encapsulated in glass, the surface still somewhat slippery and shiny.
 
so far I am leaning towards Klasse after reading a TON of info on this board and elsewhere. Now doing a lot of reading up on Zaino which also seems great but I keep going back to the "Perfect Shine" article on this site that dedicates a whole paragraph to why acryllic is better than polymer
 
another vote for Collinite 845. Everyone is telling you to clay and polish the car so as to remove the contaminants and swirls and give it a nice base for the sealant or wax. If you have the time by all means go the extra mile, but if you don't, Collinite 845 does just fine without. It should last you 6 months if you put on 2 coats (very thinly) about a day apart.
 
Don't worry, you don't need to spend hours detailing your car. It's new so all you need is a coat or two (better to ensure complete coverage) of a sealant or wax. It should only take you 20 minutes to apply each layer. I also suggest Collinite 845. It is a wax, but I can attest that it will last you for months. I had it on for over 5 months on my car, and Michigan is not known for easy weather on cars. I've had Nattys Blue on it now for a month and have had problems with tree gunk and bird bombs getting caked into the finish, but I had almost no problems at all with the Collinite. Then you will want to use a clay bar and a cleaner wax or something to cleanse the paint once or twice a year, however often you feel necessary.
 
what amazes me is that you guys seem to be able to wax your cars so quickly! Last time I did this ritual... wash, dry, wax applied and removed one panel at a time... on my Mazda 3 five door (not a big car by any means), took me close to four hours!



What am I doing wrong? I'm certainly not just taking my time about it but not rushing to the point of doing more harm than good either.



So far Collinite wins the popular vote on this thread... but tell me, if Collinite is carnauba based what's so special about it that it lasts way longer than any other carnauba based product? So far my understanding is that a liquid, carnauba based wax will last me 90 days at most and more like 30 days on my daily driven, non garaged car.
 
The 845 is like thick ketchup, and the 476 is a paste. I have no idea why it is so durable, but it is an anomally because I don't think there is any other wax that lasts as long.



As far as speed, how long does it take you to wax? It takes me around 1.5 hours to wash/dry depending on if I do door jambs and such; but only 20-30 minutes to wax. It was probably around a half hour when I did it by hand, but now I use the PC and it goes a lot quicker. Part of that is because the PC helps keep the wax to a thin layer. When I did it by hand, I often put it on too thick, making it a pain in the butt to buff off adding to the time it took. Another thing is you can add another layer later if you want. I actually did that with the Collinite on mine. I put on a layer of wax, but because it was late I quit. Then I didn't actually put on the second layer until a week later. But then of course you'll have to wash again first.
 
bast525,



Collinite may contain carnauba, but almost all carnaubas wax formulations contain various synthetic ingredients as well, which lend enhanced durability and other properties to the wax (some for beauty, some improve application characteristics, etc.). In the case of Collinite, the formula seems to be very durable, almost more of a sealant with a dash of carnauba for spice (that's just an analogy, folks, don't read too much into it).



Even with paste waxes, there are some that are thought of as "beauty waxes" (Souveran, P21S, etc.) that have only moderate durability, and others such as the now discontinued Meg's #16, that are known for being pretty long-lasting (more durable than some sealants I could name) and resistant to the elements and detergent.



IMO, it's not the carnauba content that will determine durability OR looks in a given wax, it's the rest of the chemical package that will ultimately determine the product's behavior.



FWIW,

Tort
 
I think Meguiars Color-x does a decent job as a one-step product.



Once you've gotten it cleaned up, you could top with OCW every so often to keep the protection. But, you don't have to, the Color-X should be OK.



Dom
 
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