Bought into a "smoke and mirrors" car cleaner/wax/whatever

Fastbird

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2013
Location
Fort Wayne, IN
TDI
2012 Passat SEL, 2015 Sportwagen SEL
and I'm actually kind of impressed.

As a background, I have the tools and materials to do a mild cut and polish, and have been a devout "Zaino" user for a decade on my "toy" cars, and nicer drivers. I've used a numerous amount of different stuff, but always stuck with Zaino in the end due to the outcome. For my baby (my twin turbo C5 Corvette) that's not changing, but for my daily 2012 Passat TDI, that is changing.

Chadwicks Triple Play. If you look it up and watch the videos, it screams smoke and mirrors. However, some guys over on the Corvette Forum started buying into it, and I was looking for a quicker solution for keeping my Passat clean. At 120K miles, the better I take care of it, the longer it's going to last. Problem is I don't have tons of time to constantly be washing, waxing, polishing every so often, etc. So after a long thread recently over there with some new feedback, I decided to jump in.

Did it to my car a couple of days ago. Very simple application and initial response is "there's no effing way I'm doing that." Personally, depend on how dirty it is, I would or wouldn't wash it before hand. My car had just been washed at the dealership the day before so it was relatively clean. So I did the wipe down, used the buffer block (like a claybar), then the reapplication and hand buff. Did the entire car to include wheels, glass, front grille, chrome, etc. Pics speak for themselves:







Not the best, I had just gotten to work. Not bad for 121K miles though. The paint is buttery smooth, fingerprints you have to smash and hold even to get a smudge. The shine is unreal and supposed to get better as you add further applications.

Now the coup de grace for me was driving home early this morning after getting off work. It sat out in the rain, and I drove home in the rain.



The only place any dirt managed to stick was the rear quarters behind the tires and the backside of the car. And it literally blows off. All I had to do was run a california car duster over it. Best part was after parking, there was residual water on the car. ZERO water spots.

The car looks better than when I bought it two years ago, and the only thing I'm uncertain about at this point is longevity. But, I have plenty left to reapply as it's a "waterless car wash" type of deal, and keeping the car clean appears to be a far less time consuming affair now, which is the biggest plus for me.

Just thought I'd share. I rarely buy into the smoke and mirrors stuff, and this was one of those times that there was enough positive feedback for me to try it, and I'm glad I did. I have been nothing but pleased with the results.
 

jrm

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2013
Location
Oregon
TDI
2013 Passat SE with nav (totaled)
looks great, but whey is your rotor, caliper and the 2 bolts in the fender well's showing rust :eek:
 

Fastbird

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2013
Location
Fort Wayne, IN
TDI
2012 Passat SEL, 2015 Sportwagen SEL
Because I draw the detailing line at the wheel. Clean rotors and calipers on a daily? please, lol.
 
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