What do Ferrari owners prefer for detailing? | FerrariChat

What do Ferrari owners prefer for detailing?

Discussion in 'Ferrari Discussion (not model specific)' started by rmani, Jan 7, 2004.

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  1. rmani

    rmani F1 Veteran
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 1, 2003
    7,299
    NJ
    Full Name:
    RMani
    I've tried and seen a lot of different detailing products out there. I'm just wondering what brand people prefer most to use on their Ferraris. I now use mostly Griots stuff on my M3 and I love it, but I'm always looking to expand. Thanks!
     
  2. JaguarXJ6

    JaguarXJ6 F1 Veteran

    Feb 12, 2003
    5,459
    Black Hawk, CO
    Full Name:
    Sunny
    Use the archives!! :)

    Here are the results from the infamous wax test. If you are not using one of the top waxes on this list, then you are not using the best for your needs. Might as well get a plain white can called "Paste Wax" for 99 cents.

    If you say to me that one wax is better than another, be prepared to prove WHY. Otherwise you might want to take it from an independant group of testers not sponsored with one dime from any manufacturer.

    I consider myself a detailer. I talk with other detailers. I'm always trying to improve my trade because caring for automobile finishes gives me as much pleasure as driving them.

    Some of the results are shocking, some aren't, but here they are.

    I've used nearly ever product on this list and can stand by it.

    Here's how I used the products: http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2620

    All the products were bought off the shelf or online where they could find them. There was no advertising or sponsorship from any of the manufacturers, they purchased everything with their own money. Each product was compared in the exact same conditions daily for a 6 week period.

    The products were eval'ed on:

    price
    amount of water beads using 500ml of water
    bead size
    shine
    gloss
    depth
    clarity
    reflectivity
    slickness
    color enhancement
    overall impression, and
    given a final grade in GPA format.

    Dizzy yet? Good.

    Road grime was not a factor in the tests unfortuantely, thats in the round two tests being conducted/prepared.

    The grading was done in an A+ to F- fashion to form a GPA, and the results are below. This is not a bible, but its a very good indication real world how they perform against one another and how far your dollar really stretches.

    **************

    1. Zaino Brother's Polish - second best looking and most durable of
    all of the products. One of the only products to survive a week
    long snow storm. Still provided protection after 7 months in the
    elements. Most superior product and in the top 3 for ''looks'' too.

    2. P21S Concours-look Carnuba - first best looking, then Zaino's
    durability takes over after 3 weeks
    3. Klasse All-in-One and Sealant Glaze
    4. Armor All Protective Barrier
    5. Pinnacle Souveran - third best looking, smells like
    cocanut/banana and downright edible, Zaino's durability takes over
    after 3 weeks
    6. Pinnacle Paste Glaz Carnuba
    7. Rain Dance Premium - name doesn't imply best protection, go for
    Zaino
    8. Mother's California Gold Carnuba Cleaner - availability is
    awesome
    9. Collinite Marque D'Elegance
    10. Mother's California Gold Pure Carnuba
    11. Blackfire
    12. Collinite Super Doublecoat - good for at lesat 3 months of
    protection, even through ''touch'' drive through car washes several
    times a month, on par with a synthetic for protection
    13. Blitz One Grand
    14. Turtle Wax Finish 2001
    15. Eagle One Wet Polish and Wax
    16. Griot's Garage Carnuba Paste Wax
    17. Nu Finish
    18. Meguiar's Gold Class
    19. Turtle Wax Emerald Series
    20. Prestone Bullet Eax
    21. Griot's Garage Best of Show
    22. Meguiar's Medallion
    23. Turtle Eax Super Hard Shell
    24. 3M Perfect-IT Show Car Paste
    25. Meguiar's #26 Hi-Tech
    26. Meguiar's #16 Paste Wax
    27. Turtle Eax Extreme Cleaner Wax
    28. Eagle One Pure Carnuba
    29. Zymol Carbon Carnuba
    30. Finish First World Class Auto Polish
    31. Liquid Glass Ultimate Auto Polish
    32. Kit Carnuba Paste
    33. Meguiar's #19 Professional Cleaner/Wax
    34. Formula 113
    35. Zymol SUV Zurtle Natural Liquid
    36. Zymol Titanium Carnuba
    37. Malm's Carnuba
    38. Wizards Shine Master
    39. Race Glaze
    40. Zymol Concours Carnuba
    41. The Wax Shop Super Glaze Liquid
    42. Gliptone Original Carnuba Paste
    43. Rally Cream Wax
    44. Gliptone Platnium Series Paste
    45. Meguiar's Quik Wax - not a polish, used to take off dust and
    small particles during show or protect from rubber/track residue or
    chain/bike grease
    46. Lemon Pledge - not a polish, used to take off dust and small
    particles during show

    Sunny
     
  3. Cavallino Motors

    Cavallino Motors F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    May 31, 2001
    14,143
    Florida or Argentina
    Full Name:
    Martin W.
    I prefer my detailer!

    Let him figure out what to use :)
     
  4. sandersja

    sandersja Formula Junior

    Jan 16, 2003
    367
    Portland OR
    Full Name:
    John Sanders
    Actually, I believe that considering the price pretty much invalidates their ranking results. I want to know what performs the best, not based on someone else's expense tolerance. In my case, I probably value my time and effort, and appreciation of the final results, differently than what a $$ by the hour detailer would who just considers wax a necessary cost. This is much like a magazine car review that evaluates the "best" sports car ranking based on luggage space measurements.
     
  5. MarkG

    MarkG Formula Junior

    Nov 3, 2003
    369
    Colorado Springs
    Full Name:
    Mark
    No question but that Zaino's stuff is great! I have also had excellent results with 3M Perfect-III machine polish (different product than #24 on list).
     
  6. WILLIAM H

    WILLIAM H Three Time F1 World Champ

    Nov 1, 2003
    35,532
    Victory Circle
    Full Name:
    HUBBSTER
    For detailing I concentrate on getting all the soda cups & cans out of the car, pushing the sand & small pebbles under the seat, washing off the worst bugs & mud, then I wipe her down with a nice red cotton towl I bought just for her :)
     
  7. richanton

    richanton Karting

    Nov 3, 2003
    55
    I'm surprised tha Meguiars ranked so low, I have been using Gold Class for a while and I think it is great. I'm also surprised products like Armor All and Rain Dance ranked so high. Everything I ever used from Armor All was garbage.

    I know a lot of guys on F-chat swear by Zaino, so I plan on trying that. I will also try PS1S.
     
  8. Gary(SF)

    Gary(SF) F1 Rookie

    Oct 13, 2003
    3,637
    Los Altos Hills, CA
    Full Name:
    Gary B.
    There was a very good series of articles on detailing in the FCA magazine, starting with the Sep issue (I believe) and running through January. Guy seemed to know what he was talking about. I'll see if I can dig up the old issues and summarize later.

    Gary
     
  9. SVTNICK

    SVTNICK Rookie

    Dec 22, 2003
    1
    go to www.autopia.org for honest detailing answers. THere is a wealth of handy info on that site. The man who started the site wrote a book on detailing and owns many exotics.
     
  10. Dom

    Dom F1 Veteran
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Nov 5, 2002
    8,475
    I still say what you use makes very little difference to the typical user (I'm not talking about a pebble beach concours winner).

    Based on our last coversation, I did conduct a test acouple of weeks ago. On 1/2 of my trunk lid I used Mothers Reflections, on the other half, I used S100 SEC, followed by S100 wax (same as P21S -#2 on your list). I took it to crystal cove. Asked a few people if they could tell the difference (Jex-X, Jordan to name a couple). No one was able to differentiate between the two sides.

    Use what you like, use it often.

    I use primarily the Mothers reflections because it is easy to use (as easy as P21S/S100), and lasts a little longer than wax (it is a synthetic). I could use just about any other type of wax/sealant, and it woudn't make a difference in how the car looks (currently, it has swirls galore since I don't have time to fix-em). Getting the car to look good is a matter of paint preparation work, not the wax you use over it.

    Dom
     
  11. sherpa23

    sherpa23 F1 Veteran
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    May 28, 2003
    9,992
    Rocky Mountains
    Full Name:
    Bastuna
    Didn't Mike Charness, a poster here, write some crazy 6 part detailing guide for newsletter? It was very comprehensive.
     
  12. JaguarXJ6

    JaguarXJ6 F1 Veteran

    Feb 12, 2003
    5,459
    Black Hawk, CO
    Full Name:
    Sunny
    Price was only used to determine a difference between two waxes that were identical in the other categories. If you think that invalidates the results then do like I did and experiment with everything on the list until you find which works best for you. Price doesn't matter to me and it didn't matter when picking the best of the best. But to determine a ranking order, two identical products, you HAVE to choose one over the other based on something. Correct?

    Sunny
     
  13. JaguarXJ6

    JaguarXJ6 F1 Veteran

    Feb 12, 2003
    5,459
    Black Hawk, CO
    Full Name:
    Sunny
    Dom, I agree. Some people are not typical people and want to use the best, with the best technique they can, even if they are not showing or even if they only do it once a month, because of pride in ownership and personal satisfaction.

    Paint prep is without a doubt the most important thing.

    The difference between your car and mine and someone elses... mine is a metallic black finish and I drive it 2k miles, once in a while more, a month. The little differences in products stretch a lot farther and take more than casual inspection in maintaining a perfect finish on a 7 year old car and keeping it that way.

    My car looks perfect all the time. This last Crystal Cove was one of the few times a year I let it go dirty for more than 24 hours due to the rains.

    If its one thing a novice or someone just looking for a good product to use is, you can select the right product by accident or you can take the advice of someone like me. It gives me enough satisfaction in helping someone choose something from the premium list rather than pick a truly inferior product.

    Sunny
     
  14. shelbee

    shelbee Guest

    I believe no matter what we do, the professional detailing worths every time and penny. The result is definitely far more superior.

    If I decided to do it my own, I like to use P21 wash followed by water-based griot's garage products: #3, best of show wax and speed shine
     
  15. atheyg

    atheyg Guest

    I have been using liquid glass its okay, went to the autopia site they had a pic of it in the original can it looked like it was from the 50s, i thought this was new technology, oh well.

    Anyway they were ranting and raving about the new technology Meguiars NXT is better than Zaino so I ordered a bottle from Meguiars website.
     
  16. JaguarXJ6

    JaguarXJ6 F1 Veteran

    Feb 12, 2003
    5,459
    Black Hawk, CO
    Full Name:
    Sunny
    NXT has piqued my interest and I hope to try that once I'm clustered away in a garage again!
     
  17. detailman

    detailman Formula Junior

    May 26, 2002
    307
    Indiana & South Caro
    Full Name:
    David
    I like the way you think. Hey everybody follow his lead:)
     
  18. bernardo66

    bernardo66 The Crazy Cat Man
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Dec 14, 2003
    26,281
    Montreal Canada
    Full Name:
    Bernie
    I've been using the Zymol line of products since 1989. And alhough Zymol offers many high-end waxes (including one for Ferrari red), their basic carbon wax (for dark colours) works wonders for me.
     
  19. Jet-X

    Jet-X F1 Veteran

    Nov 2, 2003
    5,688
    Orange County
    Full Name:
    Brian
    Why? They use the same products most of us use. Knowing how to use products is a key ingredient, but that takes merely a bit of time to learn, plus experimenting. It's not like pro-detailers have some "secret" ingredient only they have access to.

    You either spend the time and learn how to keep your car looking sharp, or you don't and leave it to someone else.
     
  20. Ingenere

    Ingenere F1 Veteran
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Dec 11, 2001
    6,336
    On the Limit
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    Dino
    I've been using Griot's Garage stuff on the interior (interior cleaner, leather care, micro fiber gloves), their wheel cleaner, chrome polish, plastic cleaner and polish, etc., and of course speed shine for in between clean ups.

    But for waxing I have found that a product called Finsh First from Liquitech is amazing. It gives a hugely deep shine and leaves no dust and is extremely easy to get off. This product beats everything else that I've tried from monstously expensive waxes to stuff off the shelf from Checker.

    Ciao...........Dino
     
  21. Sfumato

    Sfumato F1 World Champ

    Nov 1, 2003
    10,194
    Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, Anglesey, Wales
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    Angus Podgorney
    #21 Sfumato, Jan 11, 2004
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  22. paulie_b

    paulie_b F1 Veteran
    Consultant Owner

    Jan 13, 2003
    6,823
    Jupiter, FL
    Full Name:
    Paul Bianco
    I like the suggestion above!
     

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