• Welcome to the Contour Enthusiasts Group, the best resource for the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique.

    You can register to join the community.

meguiars vs zaino - three step

B

BrApple

No Life But CEG
Moderator
Joined
Dec 23, 2001
Messages
21,731
Location
Gales Ferry, CT
ok, so this morning I decided that I wanted to put the old three step meguiars that I was using up again the three step zaino that I just picked up. So I took my mother 99 SE, its a daily driver that has 103k on it. The paint is not in great shape and it hasn't been waxed in some time.

The car was washed yesterday afternoon with zaino car wash and it showed no signs of much if any wax on it. This morning I moved the car into the garage and dusted the car off with a california car duster.

My test surfaces where the hood and roof.

so here is the work space

DSC03505.jpg


DSC03508.jpg


next the participants and the side of the car that they where used on

DSC03504.jpg


Meguiars three step system, paint cleaner, polish and I used NXT Tech wax as the topper

DSC03542.jpg


Zaino three step system, ZPC Paint Cleaner, Z-AIO All in one cleaner/polish/protectant and Z-CS Sealant

DSC03543.jpg


next is the condition of the paint, sorry but I didn't take a photo first as I wasn't planning to document this at first

DSC03506.jpg



DSC03507.jpg
 
Last edited:
Paint Cleaner

Zaino - very easy to work with, could feel the cleaner working as it was applied. It s deminishing cleaner does tail off the more the you work the product. The Zaino was easy to apply and remove. Thing is it takes more time then the Maguiars to set before it can be removed.

Meguiars - not to difficult to apply, could not feel the cleaner working as it was applied but rather you could feel it when removing the cleaner

DSC03509.jpg


DSC03510.jpg


DSC03511.jpg


DSC03512.jpg
 
Last edited:
Polish

zaino - again the Z-AIO was very easy to apply and remove. It spread on very easily and smoothly.

meguiars - about the same as the paint cleaner. It went on faily easy but it felt harsh when coming off.

DSC03513.jpg


DSC03514.jpg


DSC03515.jpg


DSC03516.jpg


DSC03517.jpg


DSC03518.jpg


DSC03519.jpg


DSC03520.jpg
 
Last edited:
Sealant/Wax


zaino - the Z-CS seems like a nice product. I had an issue with it seeming to streak when I applied it. This could be because I have never used it before or I put to much on or to little. Either way the result was imediate. I also used a touch of Z6 to clean up the streaking.

meguiars - the tech wax goes on pretty easily and smoothly. It isn't difficult to remove.

DSC03522.jpg


DSC03525.jpg


DSC03526.jpg


DSC03527.jpg


DSC03528.jpg


DSC03529.jpg


DSC03530.jpg


DSC03531.jpg
 
Last edited:
Results

Zaino - overall very easy to work with. the drying time before removal is somewhat longer then I am use to when compared to the Meguiars. The Zaino does not leave a powder when it is removed as does the meguiars.

Meguiars - overall the product is nice to work with but not as nice when compared to the Zaino. The meguiars is also like most typical waxes and powers when removed.

As for shine, they seem pretty close to me. I my opinion I believe the zaino shine is a bit deeper. You can see in some of the side shots that the zaino seems to provide a deeper and darker red when viewed from across the car. I will do a spray test with water later on today to see how the sides beed and compare them tonight after dark in low light.

DSC03533.jpg


DSC03534.jpg


DSC03535.jpg


DSC03536.jpg


DSC03537.jpg


DSC03538.jpg


DSC03539.jpg


DSC03540.jpg


finally my contour with solely zaino and the meguiars side of the car

DSC03541.jpg
 
Last edited:
Cool comparison. I wish I could see it in person since its hard to judge by the pics but they look about the same. The zaino will outlive the Meguiars by a long shot though.
 
I plan to follow up on the durability in about a month ... yes they do seem pretty similar in person also. but I think the zaino edges out ...

because of the poor quality of the paint they both look poor in direct sunlight. when you look off to the side at either side you can see the depth of the color and again I feel the zaino is a bit deeper and darker in color
 
because the Zaino web site choices are so confusing for me. i was thinking about options. i have never used zanio before. heres what i came up with.
1. clay
2. ZPC
3. maybe z-aio all in one
4. Z-5 to hide stuff left behind
5. Z-2 or Z-CS

what do you think? i guess I'm having a hard time because I'm so used to store brands.
i also have a hard time using products that say they are a multi-purpose like "all in one" or "paint cleaner and polish".
 
Last edited:
SVTJON87 said:
because the Zaino web site choices are so confusing for me. i was thinking about options. i have never used zanio before. heres what i came up with.
1. clay
2. ZPC
3. maybe z-aio all in one
4. Z-5 to hide stuff left behind
5. Z-2 or Z-CS

what do you think? i guess I'm having a hard time because I'm so used to store brands.
i also have a hard time using products that say they are a multi-purpose like "all in one" or "paint cleaner and polish".
Click to expand...


what is your goal? I started with the ultimate kit and then decided to try the new products.

for the basics you need ZFX, Z2 or Z5 and Z6. The ZFC inables the Z2 or Z5. clay is good only if you need it. of course using the car wash, etc can't hurt either. Z6 is a quick detailing spray.


zainostore.com faq said:
[SIZE=-1]Q: I'd like to try out Zaino polish. What's the minimum I should try?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]A: You need minimally ZFX or Z-1 (ZFX is better), Z-2, and a 314 Polish Applicator pad. I would also order Z-6 Gloss Enhancer Spray to keep your car dust free and looking beautiful. Z-6 is used between coats of Z-2 to provide enhanced gloss. If you wash your car yourself, pick up some Z-7 as well.[/SIZE]
Click to expand...

the Z5 is like the Z2 but has a fine stratch remover.

depending on your paint you may or maynot need the ZPC.

as for all-in-one products your right, they are going to be a compromise on what you are getting. I believe Zaino says that the Z-AIO if good for daily drivers. I can tell you the Z-AIO doesn't feel anything like the ZPC so there is a big difference there when compairing paint cleaners. YOu can feel the ZPC working where the Z-AIO goes on very smooth.
 
thank you for that!!! my paint dose need polishing IMO. i also think i need clay. the car dose have that kinda bumpy texture and i think it would benefit from clay. my car has never seen clay as far as i know. my goal is to start all over with car care. and remove light scratches and swirls. then seal it very well and then add a LSP. so im trying to figure out the stages of what products i would use. like step 1-5(ex).

my new list is:
dawn
clay
z-7
zpc - or can i use meguiars cleaner and polish in place?
z-5 with zfx
z-2 with zfx
z6 between coats of z-5 and z-2 and to maintain.

i think i figured it out. please tell me if i fudged up. what confused me so much was they call everything "polish".
i don't want there leather and tire care stuff. i love mine.
 
Last edited:
your list sounds pretty good. You can use the Meguiars paint cleaner if you like but when I used it back to back with the Zaino ZPC I liked the Zaino much better.

Also Zaino is a polish not a wax per say. Other then that I can't explain anymore with out doing some reading myself.

check out the stickies in this forum, I went with Zaino because of other memebers suggesting it, seeing cars in person that have been taken care of with zaino and the stickies here, specifically the one listing top user rated products.

now if your paint is really bad you might want to have someone to high speed polish use a PC on it as its should provide much better results then doing it by hand.
 
Pretty cool comparison, but the only thing I would have done different would be to compound the whole car by machine (PC or rotary, Menzerna, Optimum, 3M, whatever) first to remove the swirls and then move on to the other products. That way you are comparing them on a fully prepped surface.
 
Matt2kSVT said:
Pretty cool comparison, but the only thing I would have done different would be to compound the whole car by machine (PC or rotary, Menzerna, Optimum, 3M, whatever) first to remove the swirls and then move on to the other products. That way you are comparing them on a fully prepped surface.
Click to expand...


well I don't have a PC, do have some older random orbital buffere but I doubt that would have made a difference.

I still see this as a valid comparision, not everyone has a PC, etc so they would be doing everything by hand.

but I agree it would be a different ball game starting off that way ...

don't forget I only used the hood and roof for this ...
 
Once I used ZAIO on my car, the next time I washed it, all I had to do was just use the grand finale spray and the car went back to looking brand new!

Zaino waxes may be expensive, but they are deep and last longer if you keep up with it

Brian did you use the grand finale spray that came with the ZAIO on your car? How did you like it?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top