Josh Wardell’s MINI Cooper S

The major reason I use Zaino is its famous durability over many other waxes. When I apply it for the last time in the fall, my car is still beading water many months later in the spring. This spring I intend to do a large wax comparison test, but I wouldn’t be able to test how well they hold up to harsh winter weather and salt. So on a warm day in January I applied two other top-rated waxes along with a fresh band of Zaino on my door and waited two months to see how each held up. Unfortunately, the results, though different, are a bit confusing and I’m not sure I can proclaim a winner or loser.

On January 13th, a warm day, I washed the MINI. I then taped off my door, one to the right of the side mirror, the other to the left of the door handle. I then used P21S Paintwork Cleanser (slightly abrasive) to clean off any existing wax and contaminants in that area–it actually made a noticeable difference in the paint. I then taped two more vertical strips to divide that area into thirds. On the left, I applied a single coat of Zaino Z2 Pro (without ZFX). In the middle a newcomer popular on NAM, Prima Epic. On the right, an old three-layer system of Klasse All-In-One, Klasse Sealant Glaze, and P21S Carnauba Wax. Application was made with the Sonus Der Wunder Microfiber Polishing Towel and buffing removal with the absolutely amazingly soft Monster Fluffy.

The next two months had plenty of single-digit temperatures, snow and ice storms, and lots of dirt and salt on the roads. I couldn’t wash the car until it finally warmed up this week. The door was coated in salt and grim as pictured above for much of the time, without so much as a hose-off.

After finally getting a nice bucket wash with zaino car soap, I sprayed a fine mist of filtered water with my Mr. Clean Auto Dry as I always do at the end of a wash. This will usually show where wax is missing by a lack of beading. To my surprise, this is what I saw:

At first my expectations fooled my mind and told me the Klasse was gone, the Zaino partially worn away, and the Epic showing strong; then I realized the opposite may be true. However, every wax performs differently, especially on a vertical surface. In fact, all three were beading equally on the top of the door which rolls more horizontal (but doesn’t see nearly as much grime, salt, and wear). Some sheet water away, others have various size beading properties. However, the three waxes are clearly different here. (Note the rest of the door and car have the existing double-layer coat of Z2 from October) I decided to remove a small portion of wax to confirm results by applying dish soap to my finger and rubbing it in about an inch strip in the middle across all three, as seen here:

As expected, there was no more beading in the Zaino portion. The Epic portion did not change, proving that there was none there to begin with. And amazingly the Klasse was almost unaffected…by dish soap!?! The results seem unbelievable to me. In fact, people have even been saying Klasse is less durable than ever after it was recently reformulated (and I just purchased it in December). So I turn it over to the Detailing forum on NAM, where I’ve started a thread here, to overanalyze these results and see if we can come to a better explanation.

See the full-size photos along with some others in the gallery.

Update: After a little more testing and discussion in the NAM thread above, I’ve concluded that Klasse All-In-One and Klasse Sealant Glaze is the clear winner here. Not only does it stand up to harsh winter conditions, but is the only wax I’ve seen stand up to dish soap as well! Again, remember this test is for durability only, but I may be switching to Klasse for at least the winter months.