Which AIO?

S

Setec Astronomy

Well-known member
Thinking about updating my arsenal, which AIO? Thinking about one of the following:

3D Speed
Menzerna 3 in 1
Jescar All-In-One

I still have a bad taste in my mouth about 3D from where they took this forum for a while, and the Menz and the Jescar may be the same product, so I'm open to other suggestions. I do have an unopened bottle of Prima Amigo that I never really considered an AIO, as opposed to a sealant-compatible glaze, but it seems some people consider it an AIO. Now that I think if it, I also have a bottle of Zaino AIO, which I remember being pretty good...maybe I'm talking myself out of this, lol.

Also if you guys have any shelf-life notes, I really liked Optimum Poli-Seal for hand touch-ups, but they don't make it any more and my bottle separated on me (again) and I haven't been able to get it to mix back together this time. Whatever I get it's likely to be on my shelf for a long time, so if there are ones that don't store well, that's probably not a good fit (I have had the Poli-Seal a LONG time).

EDIT: I see Griot's has a Boss Finishing Sealant as well as Ceramic All-In-One Wax, so I'll throw those in the mix.
 
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Meguiars So1o or TurtleWax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Polish and Wax.

I've used both side by side.

Both very good correction. Similar cut but TW easier to work with and much longer work time. Perhaps slightly more cut.

Can't compare durability of the protection but Megs sealant has a slightly clearer/glassy finish than TW. Typical Meguiars look. Makes flake pop.

Megs 32oz vs TW 16oz, so smaller bottle better if you don't use it much.

TW is my go-to on B/C paint.
 
I've had great luck with the Griot's All-in-One Ceramic. Easy to use, slick, corrects well, protects well. The Rupes AIOs are excellent, too.
 
TGates said:
I've had great luck with the Griot's All-in-One Ceramic. Easy to use, slick, corrects well, protects well. The Rupes AIOs are excellent, too.
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Ah, I wondered if anybody would mention that one! I'm currently doing the spare dog-hauler with it. Minimal correction, maybe a *BIT*, a tiny bit, more cut than ZAIO, it'll do something but don't expect miracles. FWIW, I only tried it as part of a "do something different that might even be fun!" ploy, trying to make Detailing less onerous than it's seemed lately.

I'll top it with GG Ceramic 3-in-1, but I'm also wondering about how well it'd play with other toppers, like FK1000P.
 
Accumulator said:
Ah, I wondered if anybody would mention that one! I'm currently doing the spare dog-hauler with it. Minimal correction, maybe a *BIT*, a tiny bit, more cut than ZAIO, it'll do something but don't expect miracles.
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Agreed that it's definitely not a high cut polish. I had great luck with it on some surprisingly hard Supra paint not too long ago. It minimized some drive-thru car wash marring pretty easily.

It's always interesting to hear how products work for others. I personally get next to nothing in terms of correction with ZAIO but I do really like it as a simple one step for paint that's already in great condition.
 
Do any of them have durability with talking about? I used Griots One Step Sealant many years ago and was pretty disappointed. It provided great correcting ability and left the surface really glossy, but durability was around 6~8 weeks.

I used Prima Amigo for quite a while and wouldn't call it an AIO. It's a glaze with some very fine abrasives thrown in. I don't believe it has any protective products in it at all and was designed to be paired with an LSP.
 
Desertnate said:
Do any of them have durability with talking about? I used Griots One Step Sealant many years ago and was pretty disappointed. It provided great correcting ability and left the surface really glossy, but durability was around 6~8 weeks.

I used Prima Amigo for quite a while and wouldn't call it an AIO. It's a glaze with some very fine abrasives thrown in. I don't believe it has any protective products in it at all and was designed to be paired with an LSP.
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I think we all would agree that that's the inherent compromise with an AIO. Been that way for decades. It seems you can have heavy cut OR great durability, but not both. WIth Si02 technology, the durability seems to have increased in recent years but of course an AIO is still a compromise. Personally, if I'm going to use an AIO, I'm going to top it with one of the countless spray sealants available to get the durability I want. But, that's only if I'm not investing the time in a full correction instead. In that case, I'm using a coating or tried and true LSP to protect the work.
 
TGates- It is indeed interesting to hear how products perform for others, and what a diff there can be!

DesertNate- Like TGates, I always top the various AIOs with *something*. Maybe not FK1000P/etc. but at least a spray LSP, and those are getting pretty good these days. Just using one as a Drying Aid can be enough.
 
No argument with the comments.

My issue with AIO's in the past was more philosophical. I would use an AIO to simplify and shorten my detailing process by combining steps. However since the durability is so short, you have to do a second step to add an LSP. At that point - in my mind - I might as well just do a one step polish and apply a sealant. Fortunately, we now have some highly durable sealant sprays which weakens this argument. Applying a good spray sealant is really easy.
 
Desertnate said:
No argument with the comments.

My issue with AIO's in the past was more philosophical. I would use an AIO to simplify and shorten my detailing process by combining steps. However since the durability is so short, you have to do a second step to add an LSP. At that point - in my mind - I might as well just do a one step polish and apply a sealant. Fortunately, we now have some highly durable sealant sprays which weakens this argument. Applying a good spray sealant is really easy.
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This is where I am. There are many spray sio sealants that are mure durable than today's aio's so I will just use a finish polish, quick rinseless wash then spray sealant.
 
For what it is worth, you can read my review on BlackFire's One-Step AIO: (No bad stuff)
L

Thread 'Review: Blackfire`s One Step AIO on a Shadow Black Ford Flex'

I was asked to clean/detail my sister-in-law`s 2017 Shadow Black (true black, no metal flake) Ford Flex.
Being daily driver for my SIL here in "the sticks" (AKA, backwoods) of Northeast Wisconsin, it needed some extreme TLC.
Lots of bugs and dirt road dust to wash off. It had been washed at the local Ford dealer where she bought it "slightly-used" after an oil change, but the dealer`s car wash left a lot of water on it and the ensuing Northeast Wisconsin limestone hard water left water spots/etching were quite self-evident on the black paint.

Starting early Friday morning, I washed it as...
 
Thanks, Gents. It's funny, the genesis of this was, after trying not to buy any products for a long time, I fell off the wagon during the Black Friday sales, so I was going through some of my old stuff to see what I could get rid of. I found my bottle of Optimum GPS had gone bad (which is OK because I never liked it anyway), so I thought maybe I need to replace it with something.

Of course, after posting the thread and seeing some of the responses, I realize that like most of you, I never use AIO's except to touch up a scuff or etch on a car that already has LSP on it; if I'm going to polish, I'm going to use a plain polish and top with an LSP after. It does seem that I used a lot of my bottle of ZAIO, but I guess I was using that in its "primer" function on the one car I use Zaino on.

I guess I fall into the trap of thinking I need to have a particular category of product around, even if I don't really use it, "just in case", which is undoubtedly part of how I wound up with so many products I never use. I think I got that bottle of GPS because I decided I should have the newer versions (at that time) of the OPT spray polishes, so why not round it out with the spray AIO?

In closing, I'd like to thank everyone for getting me past my desire to add another product, so I'll keep my powder dry...especially since (full disclosure) I dove into the Dr. Beasley's stuff on Black Friday and actually have a new AIO, Z1 (I wonder if that's some weird homage to the extinct Zaino Z-1?)
 
I never had Z-1 (ZFX was already out by the time I succumbed to the Zaino curiosity, although Z-1 was still available then, until Z-AIO came out), but I do have a bottle of DG 601...however, you're not going to dare me into smelling it! I'm trying to remember if I ever used it, most of my sampling of DG sealants is gone, I still have 111 and 105, maybe it was only one that I used up--and of course I just realized I have half a bottle of 501, another AIO I forgot about!
 
Desertnate said:
No argument with the comments.

My issue with AIO's in the past was more philosophical. I would use an AIO to simplify and shorten my detailing process by combining steps. However since the durability is so short, you have to do a second step to add an LSP. At that point - in my mind - I might as well just do a one step polish and apply a sealant. Fortunately, we now have some highly durable sealant sprays which weakens this argument. Applying a good spray sealant is really easy.
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I agree and even years ago I was saying why bother with certain AIOs that had days or weeks durability, iirc Speed was the absolute worst. There are a handful that will outlast a good spray sealant. Zaio is still a favorite of mine and while not quite as durable the Duragloss RV AIO is awesome on friends/family cars. Just wash and AIO, no clay or polishing. It looks great to them and it's a quick turnaround.

That said, some coatings like Cerakote are so easy and forgiving, the argument might now be hit with One and Done then Cerakote.
 
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