| Wax, Wheels, Leather... Taking care of my new X
- Click HERE for Original Thread
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I've not had a new car in forever, so with my new X comes the responsibility of maintaining its new look. I am not a guy who wants to spend hours/days keeping his car clean , and will likely maintain it through professional detailing and an hour or so of my time on the weekends. But, I thought it wise to get some opinions on wax, car washes, leather care, wheel cleaner, and interior products.
I asked the same of the guy who installed my 3-M, who also details for several dealerships in the Bay Area. (Keep in mind the following are his opinions). I asked him about wax, specifically "Zaino", since I have seen it here and on the BMW board. His feeling was that the product was basicly a scam within the industry, and that people using it spend way too much money and time with the product. His recomendation: a good polymer/teflon wax once a year, twice if you live near the ocean. The vehicle may have to be clay barred once a year as well.
Regarding car washes... he thought the manual/wand wash was OK at the commercial washes, but stay away from the automatics. Micro-fiber products for drying.
For leather seats ... again, he recommended once a year with "Lexal". For wheels, any number of products that Kragen sells.
Would appreciate any feedback as there is almost too much information out on the web to sift through. Any thoughts on cleaning the dash and wood trim would be helpful as well.
Thanks. |
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| jhue |
The guy who installed your 3M film is an idiot.
If he thinks Zaino is a "scam", he's never used it. And if he's never used it, he's not sampling and evaluating the currently available high-end detailing enthusiast products. And if he's not doing that, he isn't qualified to have anything except a grossly uninformed opinion on Zaino or any other similar product, which he just demonstrated to you with his idiotic comment.
If he details for a dealership, he churns out lots of $80 hack jobs and probably doesn't have a clue how to detail a car properly. I was at Stevens Creek Acura yesterday buying some parts and I took a look at a couple used MDXs they had for sale. Swirl city - whoever took the rotary to those two was completely incompetent. Can't believe anyone pays for work like that, or that someone would wake up in the morning and go to their job and perform it so poorly. Do everyone a favor and f'ing stay in bed.
If you want informed opinions, you'd be better off asking your question on a detailing forum, like those at detailcity.org, autopia.org, or roadfly.org. How many people here do you think regularly use a half-dozen or more different sealants or leather conditioners, and enough experience with them to have an informed opinion on which are the best products? |
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| DaleB |
quote:
Originally posted by jhue
If you want informed opinions, you'd be better off asking your question on a detailing forum, like those at detailcity.org, autopia.org, or roadfly.org. How many people here do you think regularly use a half-dozen or more different sealants or leather conditioners, and enough experience with them to have an informed opinion on which are the best products?
Excellent points. Or find someone who specializes in restoration of classic cars for advice. Then you will at least have an opinion with some REAL experience behind it. |
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quote:
Originally posted by DaleB
Excellent points. Or find someone who specializes in restoration of classic cars for advice. Then you will at least have an opinion with some REAL experience behind it.
Good feedback, thanks. I was hesitant to post his opinion, because I have seen some amazing pictures of what Zaino can do, and there seems to be plenty of people who think highly of the product. But, I want to do the right thing with the X, and not make a mistake when it comes to detailing.
The research continues... |
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| G. COLTON |
The Lexol that the detailer recommended is a very good product. It was among the better leather care products that I sold.
I would not buy a leather care product from a company like Zaino that is not in the leather care business or at least has it as a major specialty.
G |
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| maddawg995 |
| I just Zaino'd my X for the first time over this past week. Three coats of Z2 and one Z5. IMO, appearance wise on silver, it's not that much better than the NXT I used before it. But when it rained last night, that's when I realized how good it was as a proctant. The way the rain drops sheeted made it looked like they were hanging in mid-air. My new goal in life is to get it to reflect like Fab's X. |
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| jhue |
quote:
Originally posted by G. COLTON
The Lexol that the detailer recommended is a very good product. It was among the better leather care products that I sold.
I would not buy a leather care product from a company like Zaino that is not in the leather care business or at least has it as a major specialty.
I'd have to agree with this. I used Lexol for many years, and then switched to another product on the recommendation of others (Four Star's Leather Cleaner and Leather Protectant). I didn't think it was any better, and since then I ran across a video where Lexol described how leather is tanned and how it ages, and what was needed in a leather protectant and how theirs worked. I'm now convinced that Lexol knows more about leather care than any non-leather specialist and will be switching back to using Lexol leather cleaner and protectant. |
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| DaleB |
For vinyl 303 Protectant. Although, I have not had problems with Vinylex from Lexol either.
Lexol is kind of messy to use, but it does a great a job over the long haul.
I think wheels are where you have to be selective also. Make sure it will not harm anything else if there is some overspray.
If you are very meticulous, and wash on a regular basis you can't go wrong just using a very soft brush and car wash soap (the kind that does not strip wax, like Zaino's).
And use Zaino on the coated finish also for protection. That's been my normal routine and seems to work fine.
I know others on here have gone into long drawn out presentations on how to detail, etc. And there is useful info available, such as what has been referenced.
Get down to a few good products, invest a couple of hours on a regular basis, and you will see it's no rocket science.
What maddawg found out about NXT has been shared by others. It always comes back to what lasts the longest, not what looks great the first time you use it. |
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| Fabvsix |
MDX zainoed out!
8 coats ytd of ZAINO!
I agree with not using Zaino leather cleaner/wheel cleaner, but the wax.....YES use it on everything ! |
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| DaleB |
quote:
Originally posted by Fabvsix
MDX zainoed out!
8 coats ytd of ZAINO!
I agree with not using Zaino leather cleaner/wheel cleaner, but the wax.....YES use it on everything !
It's beautiful! Encapsulated in Zaino! |
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| G. COLTON |
quote:
Originally posted by DaleB
It's beautiful! Encapsulated in Zaino!
Eight coats is A LOT of waxing in only 6 1/2 months. Does it really take that much? I was thinking of trying Zaino, but if it takes that much I will definitely rethink that idea. Two coats per year is as much as I have ever used on any other product.
G |
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| Fabvsix |
The EASE of cleaning it......
The EASE of waxing it........
The Ease of Sansui music in the garage......
The EASE of Great California wine on Friday night.....make it EASY and FUN !
1978 Sansui G33000 Monster in da HOUSE ! :2: :2: |
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| Fabvsix |
System for da garage while waxing and have fun with old tunes......
G9000 fully restored !
Go ZAINO ! |
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| DaleB |
quote:
Originally posted by G. COLTON
Eight coats is A LOT of waxing in only 6 1/2 months. Does it really take that much? I was thinking of trying Zaino, but if it takes that much I will definitely rethink that idea. Two coats per year is as much as I have ever used on any other product.
G
No way it takes that much!! You start off the first treatment, then apply your first coat. I would start with 2 coats initially, since you don't know how long you may want to wait to apply another..maybe months...
Subsequent coats are EASY to apply. That's why some folks apply so many.. unlike wax, there is no build up problem. And it keeps looking better all the time... and the protection is constant.
Maybe after 18 mos or even longer, you might want to strip it off (easy just wash it with Dawn). And start again. But it's not mandatory. |
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| Fabvsix |
DaleB is 100% correct. The first run with Zaino DETERMINES whether you have the "patience" to work with it. Once you pass that hurdle, it just becomes EASY and ONLY looks better each application.
I love when my neighbors say " there is James cleaning that clean car"......I reply..."it is easier to clean a CLEAN car than a dirty one".....Oh and it only takes about 20 min to hand wash with total EASE !!!!
Thanks Sal Zaino ! |
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| G. COLTON |
quote:
Originally posted by DaleB
No way it takes that much!! You start off the first treatment, then apply your first coat. I would start with 2 coats initially, since you don't know how long you may want to wait to apply another..maybe months...
Subsequent coats are EASY to apply. That's why some folks apply so many.. unlike wax, there is no build up problem. And it keeps looking better all the time... and the protection is constant.
Maybe after 18 mos or even longer, you might want to strip it off (easy just wash it with Dawn). And start again. But it's not mandatory.
Sorry, I guess I miss=read your previous post.
"MDX zainoed out!
8 coats ytd of ZAINO!
I agree with not using Zaino leather cleaner/wheel cleaner, but the wax.....YES use it on everything !
Fabvsix has attached this image"
I thought that "8 coats ytd of ZAINO" meant you has waxed it 8 times.
G |
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| Fabvsix |
| yes and maybe more.....the RL is at 33 coats! |
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| G. COLTON |
quote:
Originally posted by Fabvsix
yes and maybe more.....the RL is at 33 coats!
My sorries again. I am really having a bad day.
It was DaleB who waid it would not take 8 coats and I thought It was you replying to my reply.
Maybe I should wait until tomorrow and start over.
George |
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| DaleB |
quote:
Originally posted by G. COLTON
My sorries again. I am really having a bad day.
It was DaleB who waid it would not take 8 coats and I thought It was you replying to my reply.
Maybe I should wait until tomorrow and start over.
George
HAHAHA! Don't worry... you don't need that many coats.. it's strictly optional.
But if I had a garage like fabvsix, I would probaby be in there half my life. Except my garage is well over 110F almost 3 months of the year! |
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| Fabvsix |
| now what is so special about my garage??:rolleyes: :rolleyes: |
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| DaleB |
quote:
Originally posted by Fabvsix
now what is so special about my garage??:rolleyes: :rolleyes:
Well, since you put it that way!.. .take out the cars...not much!
... maybe the bloke standing between them ought to go too!
LOL! |
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