For the money, what is the best polymer sealant?

Don't get me wrong I really like Zaino as a product but in this thread where he's looking for bang for the buck there are many better choices out there.



Best case scenerio with Zaino you get a 8 oz bottle of Z2 for 12.95 which you'll also need either Z1 or ZFX with it to use it...with Z1 you're looking at $22 for 8oz of usable product (2.75 per oz.) and with the ZFX you're looking at $33 for 8 oz of product (4.13 per oz.)



Most of the Sealants will all go on very thing and use very little product. Cost scenerios of other popular sealants would be the following.



UPP---------------14.95 for 16 oz. (.94 per oz.)

EX or EXP--------15.00 for 16 oz. (.93 per oz.)

Klasse SG--------19.95 for 16.9oz (1.18 per oz)

Wolfgang--------19.95 for 16 oz (1.25 per oz)



BUT my main complaint about Zaino esp if you're looking to use it on customers cars is that you cannot buy it in bulk. Look at the price per oz. of product when you consider the above brands purchased in bulk which I wish that Sal would do with Zaino.



UPP-----------------59.95 for 128oz (.47 per oz)

EX or EXP----------65.00 for 128oz (.51 per oz)

Wolfgang ----------85.00 for 128oz (.66 per oz)



As you can see...The cheapest you can really do Zaino is 2.75 per oz...when comparing to UPP, EX, or EX-P you'll save over $2 per oz of product by using similar products that all give great results. With that said i still have a bottle or 2 of Zaino laying around that I use when customers request that I use Zaino and it's still probably my favorite sealant and on my cars right now for the winter BUT in a thread based upon which sealant is the best buy Zaino should be the first one thrown out the window. None of the above mentioned products are junk by any means and are still boutique products that I'd rate better than anything that can be store bought.



just my .02 though
 
Mike/RedondoV6,



Thanks for posting those links. The first link (chemicalguys.com) was rather interesting. They certainly have a variety of bulk products to choose from. Has anyone here have any experience (good or bad) with their products?
 
Rob...not a problem. I'm on-call this week at my "real" job and it's supprisingly slow...not to mention I think that I've calculated this over and over trying to decide which products are best for me.
 
i started out using all meguiar's products and had good results. but somewhere along the line i went to menzerna products and the results for me and my black truck were superior. ease of application and the amount to use make it a worth the expense. the shine and depth make menzerna products the one of choice. i am somewhat dissappointed in its longevity. although it does not matter to me because i never wait for it to wear off. always trying to get a better shine and protect my investment of my truck
 
seikoguy said:
Mike/RedondoV6,



Thanks for posting those links. The first link (chemicalguys.com) was rather interesting. They certainly have a variety of bulk products to choose from. Has anyone here have any experience (good or bad) with their products?
Click to expand...





Seiko: No problem with the post, hope it was helpful.



I only discovered the Chemical Guys vendor recently. I expect to receive some of their products shortly, inlcuding their "Butter Wet Wax" (amino functional/Carnuba blend) and their "Paint Sealant" (100% polymer blend).



Chemical Guys appear to be linked in some way with Warner Chemicals, a well established company selling to car wash and private label vendors, based out of CA. It will be interesting to see how well the products perform when I receive them. I'll post my results as soon as I get the opportunity to use them . One thing I do know, their prices are right!



Gotta run, busy day planned here ....
 
AudiOn19s said:
Don't get me wrong I really like Zaino as a product but in this thread where he's looking for bang for the buck there are many better choices out there.



......very good research and arguments



just my .02 though
Click to expand...



AudiOn19s: Great post! Informative, direct, and really addressed the requirements stated by the questioner to find a value for money polymer. :bow
 
My intepretation of value in terms of any protectant (sealant or carnauba) is , "what product will protect best the "value" of my finishes and also the "value" of my time invested. Protectants in most cause are relatively cheap and the price difference minor if they do not perform to my needs.

When I was a teenager, many moons ago :(, any protectant was of value. I waxed my car literally 2-3 times a week. :shocked



Now with life and remaining energy level after working all day, I have little time for such indulgences. I look for a product that will allow infrequent sprucing up beyond a wash (1Z Perl and Z7 :xyxthumbs) and QD. At the same time retaining that just waxed appearance even when slightly dirty.

I found value with Zaino polishes, Z6 and Lackfinish QD's and Z7 and 1Z Perl washes.

Knowing my vehicles are well protected and looking great day after day is priceless.



I get the best bang for the buck with Zaino and 1Z products I use for paint care.

JMHO :wavey
 
Mike/RedondoV6,



Thanks again for the info. I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts about the products from chemicalguys.com once you've had the chance to try them out.



- Lee -
 
blkZ28Conv...you make a good point...One thing that you cannot easily calculate into my figures is the value of durability of a product. I'm sure that everyone is in agreement here that Zaino and Klasse will outlast most any product around when it comes to durability...If this thread is ment for personal use on personal vehicles this should also be something that is brought into consideration. Proper maintenance of Zaino or Klasse will surely net you 6 months of protection (3 coats lasted me all winter and into the spring because life was too busy to redo the car at that point). UPP is what I'm using now on Customer cars...and I've seen 3-4 months easily...but never let anything go longer than that to say if the longevity is on par with others.



So...besides the raw numbers....a solid point has been made on what does Value or "for the money" mean to you?



For me detailing on the weekends with regular clients on regular intervals longevity isn't as much of a concern when I look at this situation...for others that are using products strictly for personal use there could be other factors that were previously ignored.



Andy
 
Andy,

You are right-on. The reason I took so long to response to this thread was because I was confused about its intend. Since this thread was in the General Forum and not the Professional Forum I assumed, maybe incorrectly, that we'r talking about hobbist usages. All bets are off if we are talking about a professional volume usages verses cost and performance perimeters. I have no clue on volume detailing cost. :xyxthumbs
 
A friend of mine was cleaning his basement and gave me a 1/2 gallon of hi-temp polymer sealant #HT19, it is blue in color .My question is did anybody ever use this stuff , and is it any good or do I just throw it away.
 
AudiOn19s said:
...



So...besides the raw numbers....a solid point has been made on what does Value or "for the money" mean to you?

...

Andy
Click to expand...



The meaning of value must be personal. Each person has their own. And, "value" may depend on the color, type and condition of paint too.



In my case, I found the Z5 plus a topper of Z2 made my grey '02 Audi A4 look great. It sheds dust easily and water rolls off nicely. And, it's durability is a known commodity.



But it's expensive on a per ounce basis. And, it's a bit more technique-sensitive. Not difficult, mind you, but the process is a bit more complex than others.



Does it have high value for me? ABSOLUTELY!



First, it's not that expensive when you consider how little you use and how long it lasts. Then, when you throw in the value of my time, it wins hands down.



I'm in the fortunate position (or unfortunate, depending on your perspective) of have a good career. I'm a contract software developer. I do pretty well financially. BUT, time is literally money! And I have very little time available.



On the weekend or in the evening, I like to spend time keeping my cars looking nice. But I can't deal with being FORCED to do it.



That's the major benefit of Zaino - looks great with minimal effort. Some other products - like Carnauba waxes - MIGHT look incrementally better. But, they degrade very quickly. Menzerna FMJ looks great on my wife's bright red Subaru. But, more dust sticks to it, after 4 weeks rain beads less and it's tougher to wash. So, you are FORCED to work on it.



So, in my case, "value" is not directly related to money or ultimate paint beauty. If I'm working long hours, being forced to detail the car means the product has VERY LOW VALUE. If it wastes my time, it has low value regardless of how little it costs and how good it looks.



Regards,



Dan.
 
Dan makes a great point regarding time and money.



However, if I may quibble a bit (I'm an economist). Since many of us, like Dan, are professionals with good incomes, the dollar values of the sealants we use are little compared to our time. But by that standard so is the longevity issue. None of the products can justify spending a full day even twice a year applying them.



If we didn't enjoy doing this regularly or were pressed for time the only sensible response would be to pay someone like Scottwax to do the base job once or twice a year while we played around the rest of the time.



So do what you enjoy. And at the margin, given that we're doing this out of passion not necessity, the SMALL differences in lsp shine may be of enormous VALUE to many of us. Indeed, in most cases, given how high depreciation on cars is anyway, the look might be worth something to us even if NONE of the products protected the paint. Hence protection is a nice bonus.



But then, just writing this note was a waste of money for me, right? :)
 
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