Wax or Polish? Carnauba or Advanced Chemistry?
As a kid, Da Guy can remember using Tide on his folk's cars, lots of Turtle Wax and Armor All. When Da Guy ultimately got his own first ride, like most people in those days, he used local pharmacy and super store products to maintain his vehicle and thought that was pretty dang good. Why in the world did micro scratches keep increasing on his paint job, the inside of the windows fog within hours of his detail job, and the dash seem to collect so much dust? Uh huh, well, now he knows... Many years have gone by since those days. Times, products, knowledge, and yes, a full-time job with a steady income to afford better and more specific products have changed a lot of things. When Da Guy bought his original Lexus SC300 Coupe back in '95, one of da car jockeys at the dealership told him about Zymöl. He forked over a small fortune at the time for a starter kit, and the next morning was applying his first round of true quality products on his ride. Well, he was hooked on using da good stuff on his new toy, and has never looked back at those run-of-the-mill products.
If you're trying to make up your own mind on the complex "wax vs. polish" debate, you should check out comparisons on the web such as Guru Reports, this article on the Factory Five Racing Online Community, this post on the Nissan Sentra Forum, or many other enthusiast forums out there. You'll find lots of references to the latest generation of advanced car care products from dozens of companies. Da Guy's favorite system is Zaino Bros' Show Car Polish. He became a convert in the late 90's as this new chemical technology started to come into it's own. Since 2001, Da Guy has stripped the wax off his new rides the day they each arrived home, replacing dealer-applied wax with 3 layers of Zaino before his first cruise around town. He suspects it will be the same on all his future rides as well. Da Guy is definitely a Zaino kinda guy!
If you're a purist or just in to carnauba wax -- Da Guy still considers Zymöl the best. It's a lot of work, and you're going to have sore arms, hands, and fingers, especially after that HD-clense when you do the work by hand, but the results are worth it for carnauba enthusiasts. Zymöl.com
You'll also find if you research this topic enough, some like to add "warmth" to the Zaino and other polish looks by applying a layer of their favorite carnauba on top of their polish regime. It probably won't last as long as the Zaino, so you'll get to do it again before not too long, but detailing is sort of an art and all about the look you enjoy. For Da Guy, he spritzs a bit of Z6 or Z8 finish spray sealer over the Zaino Z2 on his ride, and wipes it off with a 100% cotton rag before those special excursions. It looks like a million to him!
