joshp14

DO NOT VOTE IN POLL UNTIL YOU HAVE READ THE RESULTS BELOW!!

Well here it is. I finally decided to see how good both of these waxes really are by putting them to the test on my 95 TA. Why my 95 and not my 88? Because it’s harder to see good reflections in bright red paint then dark green....and also the paint on my 95 is 7 years old and the paint on my 88 is 9 months old. So I chose to use my 95 for the sole purpose of this test. Each wax had it’s own half of the hood….F113 having the driver side and MGC having the passenger side. I chose four things to be used as criteria for the grading of these two waxes. The four tests that were performed are as follows:

1) Ease of removal from hood
2) Beading of water on hood
3) Crispiness of shine in reflection
4) Smoothness of finish

First let me lay out the info. Both of these waxes were applied using the applicator pad that was supplied with the wax when it was bought. There are both liquid waxes and were applied by hand in one thin coat. They were both applied in the shade in 70-75* weather and were both allowed the same amount of sitting time before removal. Both waxes were removed by using a 100% cotton terry cloth. Each wax had it’s own cloth and the cloths are identical.

In test 2, two cups were filled with the same amount of cold water and were poured onto each side of the hood in the same location on the waxes corresponding side.

In test 4, this was determined by two factors. One being the smoothness by touch using the back of my fingers, and two, using a towel and sliding it down the hood with the same amount of applied force.
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NOW TO THE RESULTS AND PICTURES!
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1) F113 – Wax seems to remove very hard and needed a lot of buffing to get the wax removed. Sometimes I had to go back over it twice to get the ‘haze’ off. No powdery residue left over.
1) MGC – Wax was easily removed with little effort. No extra buffing was needed to remove wax. No ‘haze’ was left after being buffed. No powdery residue left over
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2) F113 - Water beaded great and moved down and off the hood quickly but left a lot of water on the hood. (pics below)
2) MGC – Water beaded great and moved down the hood slower than the F113. Although it moved slower, it left a lot less water on the hood. (pics below)

Picture A - Water on F113 half (front shot).

Picture B - Water on MGC half (front shot).

Picture C - Water on F113 half (side shot).

Picture D - Water on MGC half (side shot).


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3) F113 - Seems a little blurier than the MGC. (pics below)
3) MGC - Seems a little bit more clear and crispy than the F113. (pics below)

Picture 1 - Each bottle on their own finish on each side of hood.

Picture 2 - F113 on it's own finish.

Picture 3 - MGC on it's own finish.

Picture 4 - Both bottles on F113 finish.

Picture 5 - Both bottles on MGC finish.


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4) F113 - Surface felt a little smoother compared to the 'no-wax' surface. Towel slides off of hood quickly with small shove.
4) MGC - Surface felt noticably smoother compared to the 'no-wax' surface. Towel slides off of hood slightly quicker than the F113.
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That's it folks. You make the decision on which to buy. Keep in mind to also look at the price of the product. F113 is nearly 4 times the price on MGC and has to be bought over the net. MGC can be purchased from your local auto parts store. Also keep in mind to look at the business/person(s) who make the product. How PROFESSIONAL are they in their SELLING TACTICS??

Based on this info...please vote above on which you will purchase after your current bottle of wax runs out?

easySPEEDcamaro

grr now you're making me feel bad for buying f113 when i have a bottle of meguires in my basement, hahaha.

i'm sorry i'm going to have to close your thread as it is not 3rd gen related but 4th gen... please read over the user agreement and rules

joshp14

Don't even go there easy...

easySPEEDcamaro

ahahaha i was just kidding... i would have to ask though, did you apply the BEADX that came with the f113? because my car beads quite nicely....

joshp14

Yeah I know you were. I didn't use any other products, just the straight wax on a hood that had just been washed with dawn to 'de-wax' it.

Why buy 2 products when one SHOULD do?

easySPEEDcamaro

well i'm with you f113 is a ripoff... i mean it's a good wax just way overpriced and not worth it over the competition...

my car does look good though with the f113..

Timz2882

iTrader: (1)

thats weird when i used my sample of f113 it worked alot better then magiures or mothers or any other wax i had at the time and i used it in direct sun light. i didnt even have to go back over a rebuff any spots or use the beadX on it. but its also weird is that some products work different at certian times and then others work great at certian times and then the products that didnt work great last time worked great another time. its just weird for me i guess. and thats why im suprised that people are having problems with the f113.

lock

Run these tests again in a few weeks. Id bet f113 will lose again. My f113 wax job didnt last long at all.

nolanr0413

i use the gold glass and i like how it works , i have a real nice pic from today . im glad you did the test cause i was thinking about the f113 , i guess i ll stay with the gold glass since i still have a half a bottle left . thank you the test info was very informative.

Sonar_un

they both can't touch zaino :P

MetalliCamaroRS

iTrader: (15)

Zaino is also a lot more expensive.

After seeing this, I am going to try the same tests on my black car. I will add another category to grade on- the dreaded swirl marks.

But going by this, it looks like I'm done with F113, especially cause the owner is.. well.. nevermind.

89blackGTA

Seeing how everyone is being so picky now a days, shouldnt this be under product review?

How much does the MGC cost? I just got my sample of F113 today, so I will get a chance to use it this weekend.

Brian

joshp14

It can be under product review, but on the main page with all of the forums listed right under Appearance and Detailing it says 'ways to make your car shine' and this is one of em. It fits under both...

Anyways, a bottle of MGC can be picked up for about $5 from about any place that sells auto wax. It's a far cry from $20 a pop for the F113. Plus I would have had to use the bead-x to make it do what the MGC did...and the bead-x is another $15.

novass

iTrader: (1)

Hey guys I have f113 and think it works well.. Every one here is quoting these high prices for F113.....I got mine polish, beadX Applicators, Towel Kit for $19.99. Have you looked at www.autogeek.net ?

IROC57TPI

I must say that some other prep work must be done in order to achieve best results. I am referring to a cleaner, polish, glaze, then the wax. If you didn't follow the other steps before the comparison then your surface may not have been idea for such a test. Not that I'm saying you didn't fairly evalute both products, however I think to be fair the surface should be properly prepped.

BTW- I voted for MGC. I just got my sample of F113 and I can agree with most of your finds in the testing. Also I cannot get myself to justify the price when theres so many other products on the market that can do a better job for less.

underdave

someone has too much time on their hands. ok, i do too, because i read this whole post with excitement on my face. just kidding you josh, this actually helps, because i was very pleased with my free sample of F113, but the price is high. i may just go pick up the other stuff now.

82firebird

I've always used Meguiars Gold Class until my sample of Formula 113 came in the mail. I thought it made my paint look much 'deeper' and the gloss was amazing. I also thought it's ability to hide swirls and light scratches was very good. I ordered a case of Formula 113 I was so impressed with it. I'd like to perform a test to compare the depth and ability to hide scratches of each of the waxes. Nice work Josh.

Ions91Z28

Only thing I had against F113 is... I couldn't tell a difference. I noticed no gain at all. Also, the durability is horrible. My next try it liquid glass. Mainly cause my car has a few swirls now, and I've heard it's very durable and good at taking out light swirls.

Zaino is great, the durability on zaino is far far beyond any polish out there. Water beaded over 6 months after a one time polish with zaino. In fact, the whole car continued to bead for almost a year while only the rear bumper was slowly losing the beading effect.

CustomX

Maybe its just me, but the pics dont really give the hands down meguires as you have portrayed imo, but we all know about opinions. Im not going to say MGC is "yadda yaada yadda", I work and sell what works best for me. People should use what works best for them. Not everyone is going to be pleased by the same product, its all in personal opinions.

MikeH

iTrader: (10)

Meguiares, Mothers, and lots of others have been around for years perfecting this stuff. Using alot bigger budget to improve there products. F113.. I doubt has anything over them. Just my 2 cents.....

3.1EyeCandy

iTrader: (3)

wow, I never thought I'd see this type of thread started by a moderator. The comparison shots look nice though Josh.

As far as what I'll buy after I read this thread....neither. If you feel like doing another test, go pick up a bottle of zymol from any wal-mart or autozone. Worked better than MGC for me. And it's not that much more.

And about this: "How PROFESSIONAL are they in their SELLING TACTICS??"....watch how low you stoop there. Up until his recent behaviour, he had been nothing but courteous on this site. In fact, up until his recent behaviour, everyone praised his F113. Picking on a member who has no way to defend himself is UNPROFESSIONAL and not a good posting TACTIC.

Aside from that one blurb, nice post. Very informative and well worth the read.
:hail:

CustomX

Not much i can argue with on that. Unfortunatly he has decided to play it out that way

Hope I dont come across like that!

3.1EyeCandy

iTrader: (3)

you don't CustomX. In fact, I still plan on getting some F113 whenever the paycheck comes in. I like the idea of it drying clear. Not something alot of waxes can claim.

kerryismygirl89

Thank you, Josh, for taking the time to do all those test. And thank you for posting the pictures, that's great!

irocbirdbuilder

I'm going to have to side with ya on that one i just got my f113 and wasnt at all impressed by it. I use mothers and it cleans the paint up real good. I've used the meguires i like their cleaners but wasnt really impressed by the gold class. I think my birds seen evrywax on the market except zaino. Who wants to hook me up with some? where can you get it zaino.com or something liek that.

joshp14

Yes I will agree that he was curteous until the past month. Then things started getting dirty. You have no idea what went on through PM's between the mods (me) and him. I even praised his F113, until his recent unprofessional ways of selling.

He had his chance to defend himself and It's not like I was flaming him, just stating something to think about for the person that is going to choose a wax from these 2 choices.

I don't want this reply turning this thread into a war...I'm simply stating my argument.

83firebirdS/E

MEGUIAR'S.:hail: :hail:

Mark A Shields

Great review, however, a few points I'd like to make.

MGC is $10 at any Walmart or Autozone, FYI.

As far as durability, F113 is ok, could be better. But I like to wax my car, specially since it hardly gets driven now it gives me quality time with it, lol

The F113 came off really easy even compared to MGC eventhough that comes off easy as well.

Let's not forget 113 is able to be used in direct sunlight.
Both products create a brilliant shine, but where F113 comes in big for me, is it brought back the color and glossyness on my fenders that have never been as bright as the hood.

bigals87z28

here is regular armor all.. IMO it shines nice. The car could deff use a clay bar'n but for what its worth, its good. I used Turtle wax and it seemed to be better then last time, but I used elbow greese when i did the turtle wax, for all my bonnetts for my buffer were missing. I plan on gettin a bottle of MGC maybe this week?

afongool

The best test for you Josh is this. Take the FORMULA113 and the MCG , go find a black car in the sun, make sure it has not been waxed with any other products recently, you know a black car is a good test when it has been neglected. Lets see how the MGC stacks up against the Formula113.

Here's a better one, get all the other waxes you have in your garage or trunk, it would be great if you had some zaino, p21s , klasse, 3m etc, and see how they stack up against the formula113.

Try that test, black is the hardest to keep looking nice and the hardest to restore. That would be the ultimate test, right in the hot sun.

The formula 113 has no abrasives, it cleans chemically(spell check)
If your car has swirls and you use an abrasive product you create more swirls that are only visible after the wax or polish you have used weres off. The formula 113 hides the swirls with out creating new ones.

Customx, Hows the swirls on your black camaro look after using formula113 . I guess more then a year? have they diminished?

Some people have said they were not impressed with the 113, thats ussually the case on a lighter color or a car that has been kept up or waxed and detailed alot.

Heres another great test, an oxidized finish, now there is a difference between oxidized and a dead finish, a dead finish would need a heavy abrasive and a buffing wheel(high speed, wool pad) to maybe fix or make it look better. Try all the products you can find and use them against the formula113, you will find out that the formula113 is HARD TO BEAT in that situation.

I recently had the pleasure of using p21s on my c5 Vette, It worked nice and left a nice shine, beaded water up real nice, but it could not match the shine with the formula113. I used it on my c5 that has only seen f113 for the past 3 years. The shine was a different kind of shine more translucent and did not hide the swirls as good as the 113. After using the p21s I went and put the 113 on the car and the look was much different and better.

As far as gold class, I think its a great product for the price and if it wasn't for the 113 I would probably use it. But it don't compare in the shine department.

Durabilty seems to be an issue with the formula113. its not supposed to last forever ya know. How many real car finatics let there cars go more then a month with out rewaxing or using a good detailer. If you are a real car lover durability should not be an issue. I know it should last a little bit longer then it should but then again it would loose some of that killer shine.

I would like to mention this, a member said
(Meguiares, Mothers, and lots of others have been around for years perfecting this stuff. Using alot bigger budget to improve there products. F113.. I doubt has anything over them. Just my 2 0cents)


The formula113 has taken almost 40 years of reformulating and tweaking t make it work the way it does, my Uncle has been in the biz for more then 50 years and has developed the 113 many years ago.

The 113 does something to the paint, it makes your car glow. And the 113 works on all types of finishes, from old to new, it enhances the clear coat, thats why most cars still look great even after the wax has dissapeared. There are not to many other waxes or polishes that can do what the 113 can do in all situations, ONE COAT. I have been testing products since I was a little kid helping dad clean his car. After selling the 113 all these years it is tough to beat in all area,s except durabilty


By now you guys should have figured out who I am. And I am sorry if I offended any one. THE GFYS was directed at one person, not the whole site. I am only human and I get pissed off like anyone else, I just don't seem to handle it well, thats one of the reasons I get kicked off sites. I will most likely loose this battle here and my new account but I had to DEFEND MY SELF AND MY PRODUCTS.

When I was at Bowling green for the CF cruisin, a man came up to me and asked me why I came in 34 on the guru reports, I replied, BECAUSE I DIDN'T DO THE TEST, IF THEY WOULD HAVE CHOSEN A FINISH THAT WAS NEGLECTED I WOULD HAVE MOST LIKEY BEEN #1 AND ZAINO WOULD HAVE MOST LIKELY BEEN LAST.

His reply was, YOUR RIGHT, I have a bottle of formula113 and it most likely would have been the #1.

I can't please eveyone with the product, and believe me I know how many products are on the market that work great. In all areas like old, new, with a porter cable , with a high speed, different paints, laquers,enamels, old oxidized paints like the one on my website, its tough to beat.

I placed my vote.

Josh, play nice, maybe we can let bygones be bygones and let me keep my new account. This is why I had trouble here, I was allowed all this time to give out the samples for free on the site, no problems, if there was a problem with it, then why did they let me do it for what? about a year or so. So I figured it was OK! to do again and again, ya know I thought I was doing a good thing for the members and my company.

But then it became a problem, no big deal, send me the media kit for the site and I will most likely sign up and be a paying vendor. I think I requested these papers before but never got an answer.

My address is on my website if you would like to send me a media kit.


Attn all formula113 dealers, please call me if its possible or e mail me at speedywax@aol.com.


Thanks
Michael

easySPEEDcamaro

michael, i tried your product

i think it's ok. however i paid $45 U.S. and i got a box that was all soaking wet and half the samples i got were empty (obviously they leaked into the box due to crappy *** sample packaging)....

the applicator pad i got looked like somebody stuck it into a sock drawer... it had different freaken little lint pieces black, white, who knows what other color... and the thing was damp... i threw it right in the garbage...

the packaging was crappy on all the products... my wax bottle had a big dent in the bottom...

i didn't find it at all professional.

and then today some guy posts an f113 package that i ordered, plus you get a microfibre cloth and other things for only $19.99 at that geeks site... do i feel ripped off.

as for the wax, alot of the stuff you wrote was bull****. it does not go on clear, it goes on purple, you and me both know it. it DOES get in crevices and cracks, bull**** again.

all in all i think it is a good wax but after the exchange it came to $60 Canadian, and I can get a bottle of meguires for $10 at the store. and that is why i will not remain an f113 customer. here is my car after 3 layers of f113....

SLP IROC-Z

iTrader: (1)

i really dont think this "test" is the end all and be all of decisions on wax. that angles of the pictures and bottles all vary from pic to pic. and to be honest, both sides of the car look the same to me, i think the only way to judge this type of thing is in person not on the internet, all of us know cameras play funny tricks sometimes with our cars apperance. how accurate can we be goin buy photos? not tryin to bust on anyone but i think its a pretty ballsy thing to take matters into ur own hands iwth a digi camera and a hose then come on a message board and inform the world that one product is better then the other.

Spdfrk1990

Hmm there r several photos and the MGC def looks clearer. My finish isnt bad or oxidized i think ill go with the MGC.Also i dont have alot of time to wax my car alot and it stays outside alot so i want somethin that is going to last longer incase i cant get around to waxing it again.I like the fact that i can just goto the store and buy MGC off the shelf.I would like to know which product really does remove swirl marks better tho. Does the MGC leave ne swirl marks behind??

MetalliCamaroRS

iTrader: (15)

Michael-
We all know how badly you feel the need to "defend yourself" even though no one was attacking you. I have nothing against you doing free samples, but there are rules to follow. First, you don't pay to advertise on the site. Second, I locked your post informing others the samples were sent because it has no need to be here. Learn to use the private message feature. If you have any problems, PM me or a mod. Play nice.

As for swirl marks, the F113 does good with them. But, if I remember correctly, it does not remove them but only hides them right? My swirl marks are usually back within two or three washes after using F113.

Mark A Shields

F113, doesn't get into cracks and leave residue or white stuff. All other waxes I've tried have. But this product didn't for me and never has.

9D1BURD

I agree with mark, i have never had a problem with that. All three of my cars ae getting a fresh coat this weekend.

If it is caking up, you are using way to much. Heck, my sample bottle did my car twice.


My dad(who has been a paint/body man for years) swore by Meguires products, until i showed him my F113.

afongool

UPS is to blame here, they are breaking alot of packages. The wax pad you received had different colored lint on it because it came with about 499 other diiferent colored pads in a box. if it got wet thats because the bottles did break. You should have refused the package because of damage. They would have rembursed me and I would have sent you a new package.

UPS is to blame not my packaging of the products. UPS ussually repackages products when they leak.

PM your name and address and I will make it right, I don't like my customers to be unhappy with the products or the service and this is some thing that ussually does not happen.

82camaro

MGC all the way. Why? It's cheap, works good, looks good, comes off easy, and I can pick it up at Wal-Mart. No worries on shipping.

CustomX

He does got a point here, it seems the out of the last 20 or so ive shipped out, 4 have become broken. its just hard to ship a liquid filled bottle safely, since even if you write fragile on the box, it will get bounced, thrown, kicked around etc. this is only from my experiance with them.

As for swirls: got none.

The drying clear part is in refrence to the cracks and crevices. It doesnt ball up in a white pastey mess in the cracks, , but if your even the least bit **** about it to begin with you'd know not to wax over the cracks, but to get right up onto the line. Ive never had it dry white in cracks, on any of the 30+ cars ive personally done witth he 113, and my customers will all say the same. Hell i think ive posted enough pictures of my 90 and my buds 97, none of them with crap in the cracks and we usually dont stop on the lines, just go right over them.

Also, ive used it in the sun as this picture from Ultimate-Reflections shows:

http://ultimate-reflections.com/outside.jpg

Do I advise you wax your car in the sun? Eh if that floats your boat but i really dont like getting hot and sweaty to wax my cars.
But I will say it wont bake on/in like MGC, Mothers, Eagle one, etc.

As for Zaino, its Ok. Ive had a couple bad experiances with it. I was a die hard MGC user, until several yrs ago on CZ28, sal and the gang posted about Zaino, saying how much better the stuff is yadda yadd yadd, allt he MGC guys told them to f -off (as they do to any non zaino user now), so i decided to try it out.When i first bought it, I got the z2, and the z5, z6 and z1. I follwed the instructions exactly as stated, let the car sit for over 24 hours for the stages it called for, and the stuff RAN the minute it got a drop of rain on it the day after I zaino'ed it. After that point i refused to use it on my 90, but i gave the kit to my buddy tim to use on his ss. He found it worked good, and lasted a long long time, but the minute i showed up at his house with the 113 sample Micheal had first sent me back in the day, applied in the sun ( i was quite skeptical at first, so i decided to be a dick and make it work as he had cliamed, in the sun, on a black car), he shat his pants, and we used more of the sample bottle on his car, and the zaino has been sitting ever since.

Now mind you this our opinion, and opinions are liek *******s, everybody has one and no one wants to hear from them. And findings are all int he eye of the beholder, but we use what we have tried and found works the best for us. I dont see how peopel can pass judgement based off a picture, or not having ever used the stuff. kinda like saying I hate russian cuisine if youve never had it.

Hg

Ok, I don't know a car as well as it's owner does... but I think it's D@MN shiney, shiney-er then any of the other pictures I've seen you put up... that's just my opinion though...

Mark A Shields

That's a good point, that car sure does look a lot brighter than most pics I've seen of it, and shinier, but then again, angles change and shineyness can change.

easySPEEDcamaro

the reason it looks shinier is because i didn't take that picture, some guy with his $1200 camera did... i always used a crappy *** digital camera... you want to see one of my old pics with MGC?

here is a regular camera i used, developed the film, and then took a digital picture of the picture with my crappy camcorder... actual picture looks 100x better, but you get the idea....

sure f113 is shiney, i just wasn't pleased because i have a pink film in many of my cracks, my side marker lights... and it didn't get rid of my miniscule scratches (the ones you can barely see) like it claimed. that and the fact that fedex didn't do a good job delivering it (it wasn't UPS), and i expect more when I spend $65 canadian on a wax...

Mark A Shields

Yeah, that sure does look reflective.

chit man, for $65 I'd be expecting a miracle, lol.

IROCThe5.7L

IMO as far as shine goes, its 95% paint job, 5% wax/polish/whatever.

MetalliCamaroRS

iTrader: (15)

Easy- You say that it goes on purple and does not dry clear. That is probably because you are putting WAY too much on. When you apply a thin coat, it will haze. Then when you buff it out, its gone. No residue.

I've never gotten any stuck in crevices, so again I think you must be caking it on.

bnoon

That can only be because you're using way to much. Stop slopping it on and it won't cake up like that. Same goes for any "dries clear" wax.

As for scratches, F113 only covers them up. If it's to big to cover up, it shows through. The only way to get rid of it would be to buff it out or fill it up with a real hard wax first...

bigals87z28

wow.. you two guys thought the same thing at the same time! crazy... anyway... look, use what brings out the best in your car. your not gunna make anyone change if they are in love with there wax and polish. Personaly i dont think its worth spending the money for f-113 if its not gunna look that well on a lighter color like a red. I would try a sample to see how it is. Every one should make there own choice what your gunna put on your car. no need to get all bent out of shape of car wax. Lets get back to what counts... beating up on thoes pesky imports/stangs huh?

joshp14

Well not many people do all of those things before waxing a car. I am just comparing these 2 waxes becuase they are the only 2 waxes that I have bought and I felt the need to compare them. I wanted to do what most normal people do when they wax a car, which is wash, dry, and wax....not wash, dry, cleaner, polish, glaze, and wax. Who does that everytime they wax? I surely don't.

I chose to do it in the shade because that's how most waxes need to be applied. I'm sure that it I applied F113 and MGC in the sun then the F113 would last and the MGC wouldn't.

Mark - OK, $7.50, meet ya halfway.

SLP IROC-Z - I'm not promoting one product over the other. I did a few simple tests and I am showing you the results that I received. By no means am I saying one is better than the other. I dunno how bad your vision is, but I surely see a difference in the pictures. I tried to take the pictures in the same spots on each side of the car.

Michael - I just did some simple tests for each of these. I guess I can't really judge the product IMO because both of my cars have really good paint jobs on them. So I guess I am kind of agreeing with IrocThe5.7L when he says that it's 95% paint and 5% polish/wax.

zimmstoy

iTrader: (3)

I have used multiple products over the years.

I have been impressed with the Formula 113. It is a good quality polish/wax at a fair price.

I have learned that if you lay any of the products on too heavily they will be difficult to remove.

Zaino is very expensive. It is a great system and you get what you pay for with it. I have used it on multiple car and was very satisfied with the results

Formula113 was just introduced to us recently. It does some things Zaino can not. Zaino is ideal if your car has great paint and you wanna keep it looking great. Formula113 can bring some life to old or dead looking paint. 1st time I have seen a product do this. Needless to say I was impressed.

When selecting a polish/wax you just need to determine what you need. Ya want something quick and cheap go to Meguiars. You can get it at the parts store and get it for 10.00 if you are happy with that... GREAT

If you want something with some meaning and some above average results ya select a product like Formula 113 or Zaino.

Is one better than the other? That will never be determined. They are all great just pick one and go clean your car!

afongool

Well said my friend, I applaud you.