Silver GS's and Waxes.

D-MAN63 · 07-09-01, 06:01 PM

I finally finished my Meguiars Gold Glass Line of wax and I am happy with it BUT is it me or is silver on a GS is least likely to have that extra "shinyness" that all the other color has. I can never get that shine that a black, spectra, even red and white has.

No matter how hard I clean my car with my arms feeling like noodles, it just doesn't get there. Now I am in the process of getting Zaino for the first time, since hearing all the rave reviews on here, I just had to get it.

I hope there would be a big difference from the Meguiars.

Does anyone have their own pic where you have just finished waxing it with Zaino (silver color).? Or any pic where the silver is outstandingly shiny.

I see silver E430's around my area with shinyness AS MUCH as black cars?! Those cars looked like mirror finishes and can definately tell a difference from silver GS's. I wonder if the paint/texture is different?

LexRX · 07-09-01, 06:24 PM

Seems to me Zaino owes a lot of business to ClubLexus after all of the positive comments given here...

disc108 · 07-09-01, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DIESELMAN63
I finally finished my Meguiars Gold Glass Line of wax and I am happy with it BUT is it me or is silver on a GS is least likely to have that extra "shinyness" that all the other color has. I can never get that shine that a black, spectra, even red and white has. No matter how hard I clean my car with my arms feeling like noodles, it just doesn't get there. Now I am in the process of getting Zaino for the first time, since hearing all the rave reviews on here, I just had to get it. I hope there would be a big difference from the Meguiars.

Does anyone have their own pic where you have just finished waxing it with Zaino (silver color).? Or any pic where the silver is outstandingly shiny.

I see silver E430's around my area with shinyness AS MUCH as black cars?! Those cars looked like mirror finishes and can definately tell a difference from silver GS's. I wonder if the paint/texture is different?

it's also because the MB's new silver has more metallic chips in it which makes it "shinier." another reason why they looks like mirrored finishes is because its a brand new car, so the paint is unblemished from the weather, bugs, etc.

clivej · 07-09-01, 07:04 PM

HI guys,
Hey diesel, go to zainobros.com there is a silver camaro in the photos section.BTW zaino is even bigger with corvettes and porches.
clive.

RealMarty · 07-09-01, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DIESELMAN63
I finally finished my Meguiars Gold Glass Line of wax and I am happy with it BUT is it me or is silver on a GS is least likely to have that extra "shinyness" that all the other color has. I can never get that shine that a black, spectra, even red and white has.

It's a trade off.

No, you can't get the depth of shine out of silver that you can with a color like black or deep red or any other deep color. I gather it has to do with reflection vs. absorbtion of the visable spectrum. Also, I don't see the MB silver as having a deeper shine than the Lexus millenium silver. It may sparkle more but the shine doesn't appear deeper.

But, then again silver doesn't show dirt like the deeper colors (or even white) do. Check out what that black car looks like 2 days after being washed compared to the silver.

If you really really want the depth on a silver car I'm told one way to get it is to have a body shop put on additional coats of clear coat. Seems extreme to me, but then again I'm happy with the silver as it is.

GS4Will · 07-09-01, 10:39 PM

D-man,

i second marty's comments. if you want shine and reflection, darker color would be the choice. but then again, they require more maintenance. in other words, more wash and wax. a blk car looks the best when it is just been washed and waxed.

silver is the "low mainteance color".

as far as the quality of factory paint, i believe and was told by many body shop guys that lex use much better paint than benz and beemer. i am not saying this because we all love our cars. but i actually tested both benz and lex after my buddy and i detailed our benz and lex, respectively using same products and procedure.
we parked the car side-by-side and the lex has more shine, depth, and repel water much better. he is a die-hard benz fan and started complain to me for paying $6k more on his e430 for getting so so paint.

love the SILVER color

william

LexDriver18 · 07-09-01, 11:55 PM

Diesel,

I currently use Meguiar's Gold Class wax on my silver GS and have the same problem you have!! You will have to tell me if the Zaino stuff works better.... Then I just might have to buy it!!

Do you have Millenium Silver like me??

chowder · 07-10-01, 01:56 AM

i have the silver 99 GS4.
i came from mother's regular 2 step to zaino to see for myself also.
i've been holding judgement to see how this zaino sits with me after some time. i've been documenting with video. more on that later.
so far this much is clear to me:
+mr Z answers your questions directly
-Z has a multi-step prep that is no small task (but this rewards you with easier maintenance than wax down the line)
-Z is a pain in terms wait intervals between coats
+Z is cake to apply and remove compared to wax
+/-using Z has educated me greatly in terms what factors/techniques impact paint care (this can be good/bad depending on how you view "ignorance is bliss")
+Z lasts longer and protects better (bird crap, tar, etc come off very easily)
+maintenance is cake: wash and Z6 (Z6 is like a 5-10min job). this is way easier than wash and 2 step mother's. heck, when it pours my car comes out looking perfectly clean.
but for the big question -- how does it LOOK compared to wax -- for me the jury is still out. i expected to be blown away; i am not. however, i look at my car in a more scrutinizing manner now (swirl hunting, orange peel progression, nutty stuff like that).
in terms of "wow factor,' the silver is clearly a drag on this experiment if you look at the Z site. i got silver cause it always looks clean. just like everything in life: you can't have it all.
my car's history: i did prep (this part is no joke ) + 2 Z5 + 1 Z2 about 2 months ago. 2 weeks ago i did a wash; car looked great right there. then asked myself: i wonder if it will look "deeper" with another coat? so, i did 1 Z5 + 1 Z2. i can't tell a distinct difference.
anyhow, here is mine after a total of 3 coats Z5 and 2 coats Z2.

chowder · 07-10-01, 03:04 AM

what does it mean if you're still not tired at 5am?
decided to take 15 mins to retrieve and cut this:
15mb, mpeg1, 1.5min
movie clip

mooretorque · 07-10-01, 03:54 AM

chowder, I was interested to read your experience since my 430 is MilSil also and I've been contemplating adding coats of Z6/Z2 (no Z5 since I'm a very careful washer and car almost new when I started with Zaino, eg, no swirl marks). The only comparison that I could make, and I agree it's sort of apples to oranges, was to compare shine, reflectivity and depth to my wife's RX (white) that I had just done with a carnuba product that I've used for a long time.

The GS seemed to glow by comparison and the curved/creased portions of the body seemed......softer.......somehow. That and the fact that the finish then felt like glass led me to strip her RX and Zaino it. Result: again, the finish seemed to have a soft internal light source and was definitely an improvement over wax. Could I see a difference at 10 feet? I doubt it. However, at this point I should mention that while we were at a friend's house last night, he looked at her RX and asked "Is that car new?"

Tho I do think the appearance is superior, the big advantage that I am seeing is that the cars have a "just waxed" appearance and feel much longer than with other products. Plus definitely easier to wash! But I'll likely give the multi-layer Z2 experience a pass.

Spartan · 07-10-01, 04:58 AM

I used Zaino as well a few months ago..
Everything people are saying is correct.
It is long and hard to apply. The results are worth it. Do not expect your car to shine like a diamond though. I too have millenium silver and I dont have a problem with what it looks like after a polish. I have also had comments that the car feels very "soft" after the z2 and z6. I feel it myslef and it truly feels like it is plush when you run your hand on the paint. In ths sun light this past weekend after only one coat of z2 and z6 the car was so shiny that it was hard to look at the hood. The sun light reflection was too bright. I would reccomend this stuff overall.

MIKE

D-MAN63 · 07-10-01, 06:32 AM

Thanks everyone for your feedback !! I have the arctic silver (98-99). Chowder, thanks for the in-depth preview of your zaino experiment !

I will try the Zaino multi-step process (there goes my weekend

) and i hope there will be some slight improvement on the quality that I have now with meguiars.

I'll let you guys know how it turns out !

thanks

-Lexus-GS400- · 07-10-01, 10:20 AM

Meguiars is the best, Try out the show car glaze bottle...
It work wonders for the lex

chowder · 07-10-01, 02:07 PM

i dug up some pictures from my original application ~2mo ago

Maxedout1 · 07-10-01, 08:35 PM

Have you tried using Finish First Polish Products? I've been using it for the last 2 years and I absolutely like it! Gives my Durango and GS300 a nice shine!

Really easy to use.

Freddie