I posted these wax tests result in a Mercedes forum last year when I owned an SLK32 AMG, which addresses Zaino and Finish First, since lots of folks on that board swore by Finish First for some reason. The bottom line is that an independent group tested 46 waxes and Zaino ranked number 1.
Thread Title: Current Wax/Polish Test Results--Don't use Lemon Pledge, LOL
Contents:
After reading all the praise for Finish First on this forum, I started to seriously consider using a synthetic auto polish for the first time, being previously only a carnauba user. My research eventually turned up Zaino Bros as a synthetic potentially worth looking into further in addition to Finish First (which I was admittedly already sold on based upon the posts on this board). Last week I posted an October 1990 Corvette World article (
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=147975&posts=10&hl=zaino )that ranked a handful of waxes/polishes based upon shine and beading at initial application and again at six month later. That article rated Zaino Bros first and Finish First seventh of nine, but it was admittedly an old article.
Since then I ordered a current (summer 2002) 52-page testing report of 46 waxes and polishes by another independent lot, Guru Reports (
www.gurureports.org ), which I have now received. I thought that many of you might be interested in some of the findings reported and I wanted to share those with you.
The tests measured performance (i.e., amount of beads, bead size, shine, gloss, depth, clarity, reflectively, slickness, color enhancement and overall impression) and durability over an eight-week period, as well as ease of use and product availability.
For the record Lemon Pledge (just because they were curious, hehe) finished, not surprisingly, in 46th place.
With respect to Finish First they had the following to say: pretty much the same as Liquid Glass (although, LG finished one spot below FF), has a light cleaning action (read: abrasives!), chemical smell, after six weeks amazing how fast it dropped off, not overly impressive. Finish First ranked 30th of 46.
With respect to Zaino Bros, on the other hand, they had this to say: one of the only products of 46 tested to survive snow and ice (which killed FF), did best job protecting optics, simply indestructible, laughs at the competition, won’t stain trim. Zaino Bros ranked 1st of 46.
For what it’s worth, FF received a grade of “B” for Availability and ZB received a “D,” so that obviously wasn’t the determinative factor in the rankings.
I don’t intend to change anyone’s opinion, slam FF or even recommend ZB, since I have no interest in doing any of that. I just wanted to bring to the forum the results of my own research so that each of you could consider it, just like I consider all the helpful information I get from the rest of you guys and gals, which is considerable. I’m sure, given the amount of experience and expertise on this board, that FF works great, but if these third-party test results and those of the article I posted last week are to be believed, then something else, in fact a lot of something elses, works better.
One thing I would recommend to everyone, however, is the Guru Reports Wax Test, because the 52 pages contain lots of useful information (more than I wanted to know) about paint and clear coat care from application technique (including clay bars, waxing intervals, tools and techniques) to a comparison between carnauba and synthesis and details on the best and the worst brands of these products (according to their testing, for what it’s worth) to some history and folklore about all of the same. You have to be pretty anal to like this stuff. Anyway, it’s a $10 buy and supplements nicely the instruction that come with your wax/polish, whatever your preference.
