New Member, Old Guy, Needs Advice

Welcome to AGO!

You'll get a million opinions, but I myself am a fan of Griot's products. All of them that I have tried are excellent.

Welcome to the forum!

You can chose any brand that has polishes on AGO and get great results from it. Most has a cleaner wax/AIO in their line up as well. Some see a benefit with an AIO as you clean and correct defects and protect in 1 go. While some like to polishing where you get the cleaning and correction and then wax or sealant or coating with a product of it's own after the polishing. So much is personal preferences and what suits you the best for your cars and the environment you live in. And much is the different opinions on this while it's not any wrong with the way you go. As it's leads to the same end a glossy and protected vehical.

You have already knowledge on how to use a wax and a sealant since been useing Zaino products. And in many ways to use a ceramic coating as well. When you apply the coating it's much in the methodical prep work than the actually application of it. As it's need to be applyied on a totaly bare paint for the best results from it. So it's basicly the same decon wash and claying and polishing and the extra step before you apply the coating on is a panel prep wipe product wipe down. And follow the description of the application of the coating and you get great results from it.

And I would say it's the prep work before you polishing that has gotten more thorough in the later years. You start with the chemical decon steps and here it's mostly on the contaminants you have on the paint. And is an aid to the claying gets easier to do. Starting with the wash here you can use the ordinary car soap you use. But if it's leaves protection behind a car soap that leaves nothing behind is to prefer. So you don't lock in the contaminants but also gets faster and better results from the polishing later on. Then you do a tar and tree sap remover if necessary. Or you move on to the iron partical and industrial fallout remover. Which is something that you do either way or at least get the product for it to test if you have any of this. When you apply the iron remover it reacts with any metalls that's in or on the paint and shows by it looks like bleeding effect in a purple/red color from the iron particals and industrial fallout that's on the paint. This effect is mostly noticed on lighter color paints but is on all paints but maybe seened on the rinse water from it where you see the purple on the ground. If you don't have any iron particals and industrial fallout the product don't change colors. Which is a good thing but it feels unnecessary to have bought it. But you can save it or use it up as a wheel cleaner if you want to.

The next is the mechanical decon step with claying. Here you take of the more bonded topical contaminants you have on the paint. You have the clay bar or clay alternatives that you use for this.

And then you come to the polishing step. Which you do with your DA polisher and pads and the polishes you need to get the results you want to get. Mostly it's about getting the gloss up and with the less defects you have left the higher gloss you get from it. And here you can go with the AIO and getting a great gloss but maybe have some defects left. Or with what you need in the polishes aggressiveness to get the desired defects leveled down and the high gloss finish.

Then you use a wax or sealant or coating to seal in the results from the polishing and protection from the environment. Here I ask some questions on what you expect from the protection.
Which colors do your vehicals have?
Do you want to have a long longevity from them or is it okay to apply it every 4-6 months?
And how is it with the rain in the environment you live in? Do you have a lot of it or is it rarely raining there? This is if you want to have a very high water repellent ability from it or good one which most LSP has.
Did you like the Zaino look that was at the sealant of looks or do you like the carnuaba glow look or the coating look that's like a melted glass look?

/ Tony