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Chemical Guys vs Fukken vs Zaino vs Meguiars

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#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
The Testing Protocol:
This is the second trial run with Meguiars NXT 2.0 vs Zaino vs FUKKEN vs Chemical Guys Butter Wet Wax. If you want to see the results, videos, photos, discussions of the first trials, or how the all of these trials are performed, check it out here.:

Remember this is the second trials for these waxes / polishes. I did not re apply the clay bar or use Dawn soap since I didn't want to strip off any wax / polish this round. I also wanted to take into account any possible wax imprinting. In addition, this round I am going to apply an equal amount of coats of each polish and wax. Since Zaino is a multi-stage wax / polish, it's only fair that the other waxes and polishes get the same amount of product on each panel. In addition, Meguiars suggests the use of Scratch X before applying the wax, so I also added this in this time too.

1. Zaino (Z-AIO, Z-2, Z-5, and the Z-6 Spray).

2. Fukken Wax

3. Chemical Guys Butter Wet Wax

4. Meguiars NXT 2.0

Application Time:

This time is based on the time to read the instruction, apply the product, and remove the product.

Chemical Guys: Shake, Apply wax, let dry, and wipe off. Total application and removal time: 11 minutes per coat, 3 coats.

Fukken Wax: Shake can, spray on, rub in, let dry and remove. Total application and removal time: 5 minutes per coat, 3 coats.

Meguiars NXT & Scratch X: Shake bottle, apply with special applicator, allow to dry, and wipe off. Total application and removal time: 15 minutes per coat + 5 minutes for the Scratch X. 3 coats.

Zaino: Shake Zaino AIO, apply thin coat to paint and allow to dry. Wiped off after one hour. Apply Z-5 using same process and allowed to dry one hour. Removed the Z-5 with a few terry towels. Applied the the Z-6 Gloss Enhancer as per directed and then a coat of Z-2. Total application and removal time: 3 hours and 15 minutes.

Testing Parameters:

Every Saturday or Sunday:

1. Wash and thoroughly rinse the hood.

2. After wash and rinse, perform a soaked hood bead test.

3. Take a video of each zone being spayed with water to see how each zone repels the water.

4. Dry off hood and perform drag test.

5. Perform water bottle bead test with ten sprays on each zone.

6. Dry off hood and perform a rain simulation bead test (gently spray the hood to simulate rain).

Baseline drag tests for this trial:

Drag Test Results Baseline:

These are the results from the last drag testing performed from the last test.

Zone 1: .77

Zone 2: 1.93

Zone 3: 2.1

Zone 4: 2.2

Cost Analysis:

Fukken Wax: shipped to my door: $23.00 17.50 fl. oz

Meguiars NXT 2.0 + Scratch X: $18.00 18 fl. oz + $12.00 for Scratch X.

Chemical Guys Butter Wet Wax: shipped to my door: $24.38 16 fl. oz

Zaino: Z-AIO $26.95 16 fl oz., Z-2 $14.98 8 fl oz., Z-5 $16.95 8 fl oz., Z-6 $9.95 16 fl oz. Total for Zaino: $68.83 (without shipping).
 
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#2 · (Edited by Moderator)
Simulated Rain and Soaked Hood Test Results

Right After Wax Simulated Rain Test:

Car Land vehicle Vehicle Automotive lighting Hood


Week 1 Simulated Rain Test:

Hood Automotive lighting Automotive tire Azure Liquid

Water Liquid Hood Blue Rectangle

Water Water resources Liquid Blue Hood

Automotive lighting Hood Blue Windscreen wiper Automotive tire

Week 2 Simulated Rain Test:

Water Liquid Fluid Moisture Pattern

Water Liquid Blue Azure Fluid

Water Liquid Fluid Grey Moisture

Water Liquid Water resources Azure Fluid

Car Vehicle Grille Automotive lighting Automotive tire


Week 3 Simulated Rain Test:

Water Blue Liquid Hood Azure

Water Blue Liquid Azure Line

Water Water resources Liquid Blue Road surface

Water Blue Hood Automotive lighting Automotive tire

Water Liquid Vertebrate Hood Grille


Right After Wax Soaked Hood Test:

Car Land vehicle Vehicle Automotive lighting Motor vehicle


Week 1 Soaked Hood Test:

Water Atmosphere Water resources Liquid Blue


Week 2 Soaked Hood Test:

Car Vehicle Plant Motor vehicle Automotive lighting


Week 3 Soaked Hood Test:

Motor vehicle Hood Automotive lighting Liquid Azure


 

Attachments

#3 · (Edited by Moderator)
Spray Test Video Results

Right After Application Spray Test.

Heavy Spray:



Light Spray:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_LtZXy2T10[/media]

Week 1:

Heavy Spray:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4RZNVfvpf0[/media]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-4L9pykgAU[/media]

Light Spray:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPGFbk6n4_E[/media]

Week 2:

Heavy Spray:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAiUOC73IwI[/media]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QjQeD--bBA[/media]

Light Spray:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1BGtx4L3ng[/media]

Week 3:

Heavy Spray:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiMfRWfUZuM[/media]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3vswFMnbVE[/media]

Light Spray:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVVzO20J-Rs
 
#4 · (Edited by Moderator)
Drag Test Results

After Application of Product Drag Test Results from the First Trials:

Drag Test Results:

Each drag test was performed 10 times in each zone and then averaged. A 10 pound weight was used. Vehicle was parked in same location for each drag test performed.

100% cotton Towel:

Zone 1: 0 (could not get a reading as it would not stay on the hood)

Zone 2: 0 (could not get a reading as it would not stay on the hood)

Zone 3: 0.24

Zone 4: 0.65

Right After Application Drag Test Results from the Second Trials:

Zone 1: 0

Zone 2: 0

Zone 3: 0

Zone 4: 0

Week 1 Drag Test Results from the First Trials:

Drag Test Results after Second Wash 2 Weeks Later:

Zone 1: .42

Zone 2: 1.5

Zone 3: 1.4

Zone 4: 1.6

Week 1 Drag Test Results from the Second Trials:

Zone 1: 0

Zone 2: 0

Zone 3: 0

Zone 4: 0

Since I couldn't get a reading after Week 1, you can still see the differences in the following videos:

Zone 1:



Zone 2:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC0qOcuUJ1Y[/media]

Zone 3:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZA4MZJwlCw[/media]

Zone 4:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWG73RIB-u8[/media]

Week 2 Drag Test Results from the First Trials:

Drag Test Results 3 Weeks Later:

Zone 1: .77

Zone 2: 1.93

Zone 3: 2.1

Zone 4: 2.2

Week 2 Drag Test Results from the Second Trials:

Zone 1: 0

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7qIPGYMDos[/media]

Zone 2: 0

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKnsfxstwUk[/media]

Zone 3: 0

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viri66J-0uU[/media]

Zone 4: .24

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9J8yf99mSQ

Week 3 Drag Test Results From The Second Trials:

Zone 1: 0

Zone 2: 0.63

Zone 3: 0.35

Zone 4: 0.8

Week 4 Final Drag Results for Second Trials:

Zone 1: 0

Zone 2: 2.0

Zone 3: .45

Zone 4: 1.2

Subjective Feel Results

I had my wife, two daughters, and myself feel each zone and give their opinions as to which one was the smoothest.

Smoothest from left to right:

Right After Application:

Daughter (6 years old):

Zone 1 - Zone 2 - Zone 3 and Zone 4 (she couldn't feel any difference between the two).

Daughter (14 years old):

Zone 1 - Zone 2 - Zone 3 - Zone 4

Myself:
Zone 1 - Zone 2 - Zone 3 - Zone 4

Week 1:

Daughter (6 years old):

Zone 1 - Zone 2 and Zone 3 feel the same - Zone 4 feels the roughest

Daughter (14 years old):

Zone 1 - Zone 2 and Zone 3 feel the same - Zone 4 feels the roughest

Myself:

Zone 1 - Zone 2 - Zone 3 - Zone 4

 
#5 · (Edited by Moderator)
Spray Bottle Bead Test Results
zone 1 - 4 from Top to Bottom
Right After Application:

Water Liquid Azure Fluid Grey


Water Water resources Liquid Azure Fluid


Water Liquid Blue Fluid Moisture


Water Liquid Blue Fluid Road surface


Week 1:

Water Liquid Blue Fluid Hood

Water Liquid Water resources Azure Blue

Water Water resources Liquid Blue Azure

Water Liquid Atmosphere Water resources Blue


Week 2:

Water Liquid Azure Fluid Aqua

Water Liquid Azure Fluid Moisture

Water Liquid Water resources Azure Fluid

Water Liquid Fluid Fixture Line


Week 3:

Water Liquid Blue Azure Fluid

Water Liquid Water resources Fluid Moisture

Water Liquid Blue Fluid Electric blue

Water Liquid Water resources Azure Blue


 

Attachments

#7 ·
This is now open to discussion. I want to keep all the results in the same posts to make it easy to see the results. I just finished apply the wax / polish to all the zones and performed all the tests. The drag tests show that the multiple coats of polish / was (or imprinting) have made a difference in Zone 3 and 4. I will be posting photos and videos of the other tests soon.
 
#11 ·


I see this as a great service to the FBN community. Thanks again Bob!
 
#12 ·
I too am still with ya Bob. Keep up the great work.
 
#13 ·
I'm still avidly watching also.
 
#14 ·
I don't want to change the subject, but my daughter just came over and squealed that she likes Layna's car. She wants to sell all of our other vehicles and get a 71 Formula! Nice car Layna!
 
#16 ·
"I want to keep all the results in the same posts to make it easy to see the results. I just finished apply the wax / polish to all the zones and performed all the tests. The drag tests show that the multiple coats of polish / was (or imprinting) have made a difference in Zone 3 and 4. I will be posting photos and videos of the other tests soon."

For a minimum, about how many is multiple coats that will start to show imprinting?

Would this be equivalent to a car owner putting 3 layers of wax on the car in a single season? 5 layers of wax in a single season? 10 layers of wax in a single season?

I am also assuming that the car owner uses the same product (does not change to another) the entire time to allow imprinting.
 
#17 ·
"I want to keep all the results in the same posts to make it easy to see the results. I just finished apply the wax / polish to all the zones and performed all the tests. The drag tests show that the multiple coats of polish / was (or imprinting) have made a difference in Zone 3 and 4. I will be posting photos and videos of the other tests soon."

For a minimum, about how many is multiple coats that will start to show imprinting?

Would this be equivalent to a car owner putting 3 layers of wax on the car in a single season? 5 layers of wax in a single season? 10 layers of wax in a single season?

I am also assuming that the car owner uses the same product (does not change to another) the entire time to allow imprinting.
I am not sure I understand your questions, but I will try to answer the best as I can. I have no idea how many layers or applications will show imprinting or even if imprinting is a factor. I did use 3 layers of wax / polish for each zone this time, and with each layer, you could really feel a difference, especially on zone 3 and 4. We will have to wait and review the results before we can really say that multiple layers or imprinting are a factor in the wax / polishes performance.
 
#18 ·
I am already assuming that "imprinting" is a factor based on what I read from Ben and others.

You did answer what I was asking...thanks Bob. The answer I was looking for was 3 layers of wax.

This was the minimum number that you used to determine if imprinting will be a factor.

I will wait to see what you find out. BTW, thanks for doing this study.
 
#19 · (Edited by Moderator)
Alright, I updated this topic today with new videos, photos, and test results. As we can see, the multiple applications or imprinting has made a big difference for all the zones. Zone 3 and 4 seem to have seen the same exact results, although Zone 3 seems a little bit slicker than Zone 4. Zone 1 seems the slickest, which Zone 2 coming in close behind. Zone 2 seems to be beading the water nicely. I would say all Zones still look nice. What are your thoughts?
 
#20 · (Edited by Moderator)
Week two has now been completed and added to the thread. One thing we can certainly say is that the second application to the same panel has made a dramatic difference for all the products in this study. Once again, Zone one (Meguiars NXT 2.0) and two (Zaino) are the smoothest with Zone four (FUKKEN) being the roughest. It appears the imprinting has affected all the zones in a drastic and very similar manner. I think this shows that 1. imprinting is a factor, and 2. imprinting affects all the zones in a very similar manner. I think we can also see a difference in all the the beading of the zones. In addition, as we can see from the videos, Zones 1 and 2 repel the water at almost twice the rate of Zones 3 and 4. Anyone else have any observations from what has been posted today?
 
#21 ·
Crap!. I just bought a bunch of Fukken LOL. Although, it does apply very fast.

I may try a Meguiars base with keep ups of Fukken.... Hmmm
 
#22 · (Edited by Moderator)
As you can see from the posts at DT this is what most of them do as well. Most use something like Meguiars and then use Fukken for in between and upkeep in between

Also, I wanted to add that I'm still quite happy with the results of this test. It shows you that even my product is equal to the more known brands for those looking for a quick fix, especially after seeing the results after 1 week on a second coat and knowing that my product is safe to use on every surface of your vehicle and not just the paint. :p

Bob, what I'm curious about now though is how much product did you need to use in the area you waxed? While Fukken and Meguiars are pretty close in price, I'm curious to know how much quicker one would burn through their product for the prices listed there.
 
#25 · (Edited by Moderator)
Updated. Once again we see Zone 2 drag test results have increased, although it seems to still be repelling water, just like in the last test, although the drop off occurred a week later than last test. Zone one is still reading a zero in the drag test results and is still very slick to the touch. All products have benefited from being applied a second time, and it appears the results between the products are similar to the first trials, although they are all lasting a great deal longer.

I am wondering if we should now switch to side by side testing of only two zones at a time. It's apparent that the results are nearly the same as the last test (except they are all lasting longer, which is also good info IMO), and it would be much nicer to see side by side testing, not to mention it would literally cut my work in half each week. The side by side testing of only two products will also give clarity during the spray testing. As we can see from the spray testing, zone 2 is far better than zone 3, but we cannot really tell when it comes to zone 1 or zone 4 since the water rolls down off of zone 2 and 3 onto zones 1 and 4. So what do you think, should we start side by side testing next weekend after one more test?
 
#26 ·
I think side by side is fine. We appreciate the time you are spending doing all of these tests.
 
#30 ·
I agree Bob, side by side is the way to go.
 
#31 ·
Alright, we will perform one more test next Saturday, which should give us a good last look at which one is performing the best and then switch up to testing two at a time. I really want to test the liquitech polish against either Zaino or Meguiars and see how well it performs. Then I want to test Zaino vs Meguiars side by side again and see how it goes when they compare side by side.
 
#32 ·
My .02 would be Meguiars NXT 2.0 VS Liquitech, till Meguiars is knocked off 1st place. But I'm bias towards Meguiars NXT 2.0 and would like to see if there is anything better out there dollar for dollar - shine for shine. Any way you go Bob your doing a great job !
 
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#33 ·
I personally wouldn't say that Meguiars is in 1st place yet, which is why I want to get them side by side so we can make some good comparisons. Don't worry, the side by side is coming up soon, but just to keep it fresh, I will put up Meguiars vs Liquitech first and then we can put the winner back up against Zaino.
 
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