Looking for a “easy lifestyle” combination. I have two fairly new cars (paint in excellent condition, bought both cars new) and am just trying to hang on to that finish as long as possible. One is a daily driver grocery getter, and the other a semi-daily driver occasional track car. While I take pride in my cars, I simply don’t have time to devote every weekend to maintaining them anymore. Trying to keep time spent to minimum (even a spray wax when the car is still wet after a wash is desirable).
I’d like the paint to be 1) protected and 2) look decent, but don’t expect concours quality. However, I’d like to 3) keep the swirls to a minimum over the lifetime.
I’m thinking about using an AIO with very light cutting/correction ability and then a spray wax. So, the routine would be
-clay and use the porter cable to apply AIO twice per year (per car)
-wash and apply spray wax monthly (per car)...
I’m currently thinking about the Pinnacle XMT 360 combo - the AIO and the spray wax. Perhaps with a gray or green pad? Are there other suggestions? The Duroglass wax and 105 looked interesting, but instructions said a bonding agent should be applied (an extra step - not desired).
For vehicles in the condition you described, and with proper washing technique, I think xmt 360 or Duragloss 105 would fit you nicely.
Keep in mind that should you choose to go with the Duragloss line of products the bonding agent (DG 601) can be mixed 4:1. Just search this forum for the recipe of how to mix the bonding agent that can be mixed with many of their products.
Either product should work for you in my opinion. It's a personal choice.
Here's a thread to read through
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/74409-xmt360-vs-duragloss-501-clean-cut.html but keep in mind that it's referencing DG 501 and NOT the product you mentioned DG105.
The product you mentioned, DG 105 (much like xmt 360), will provide cleaning, polishing, and protecting into one easy step.
Below is a particularly compelling post for the Duragloss brand.
I used to use Zaino a long, long time ago. I then switched to DG based on the recommendations of Sparkie and AL-53 from this site. I have never looked back. Why?
1) Ease of use. The obsession over layering was not my style. I wanted a quality product that would last AND be easy (ie one coat) to use.
2) Cost. You already touched on that. DG makes an under-priced product. Period. They could easily sell their products for much, much more but the Bailey brothers are good Christian men who don't desire to get stinking rich selling products.
3) Durability. Once the paint is perfected, I like to do a 501 cleaning stage. Is it necessary? Well, I think so and so will you if you use a white pad and see what it looks like after a panel or two. I follow that up with 105. (I'll compare 105 and 111 for you in a minute). I had started to get into the practice of topping 105 with Colli 845 when I was doing cars for a funeral home. That bullet proof 3 step combo was giving them a year of protection on cars that were being washed almost daily. If I was in Florida or a state not seeing snow and salt, I would not do the 845 step. The 105 will easily be enough there.
Edit: I will add one caveat here: I do like the combo of the Collinite wax (even though it is a strong synthetic wax) and sealant to give a "best of both worlds" kind of protection.
4) Looks. Again, this is where using the paint cleaning stage of 501 is so advantageous. Both 105 and 111 look great IMO. AW also enhances the gloss and also seems to make metallics jump too.
Now, as far as comparing 111 to 105 goes, I prefer 105 myself. 111 to me was harder to remove and did not look any better than 105. I ended up giving my bottle of 111 to a friend. I bought a gallon of 105 for myself. There may be a difference in looks. I didn't see it but then again every paint is different. Try both if you want. It's a small investment and then you can be sure of what looks the best on your car(s). 105 is also cheaper too FWIW.
The DG line works. Every product from them is great and some are simply amazing. The cost is low for what you get. You will get differing opinions from a lot of people on everything around here. So, really, what you need to do is try the product(s) that you are interested in and use what you like. Don't feel guilty that you didn't need to spend 6 hours layering a top coat sealant. You honestly don't have to. My suggestion is 501 and then 105 or 111 followed periodically with AW. Done. Now, take all that spare time and perfect your wheels, wells, plastic and interior to make the rest of the car look as good as the outside!
Hope that helped.
XMT360 doesn't have much of a cut at all and with a gray or green pad you would have to work hard at maintaining a swirl-free finish. It'll clean the paint for sure though.
Quoting mwoolfso, the explanation below is for the original thread poster.
In the photo below you can see results of xmt 360 left side, and Duragloss 501/601 right side, taken a year after these test spots were done.
You an see the full thread in the link I provided above.
Also, take note that a green Lake Country pad was used for both test spots/products. I firmly believe the results would have been more dramatic (to a degree) had the test spots been done with a white polishing pad which would give xmt 360 just a little more cutting ability.
In the photo below you can see that the left side of the tape line near my finger was more dramatic than the right side...meaning xmt 360 provided more cut (only expected DG501/601 to clean without cut). I was initially looking for cleaning, rather than cutting ability. However, this photo taken a year later was proof on this particular car, with this particular paint system, exactly how much cut xmt 360 did provide. While this photo may not show what I'm explaining so much, it was very apparent in person how well xmt 360 cut for supposedly not being touted to cut all that well...having ultra-fine abrasives.
For you, it seems you already have to products in mind. So, to me that makes it a pic-your-poison option for you and hopefully the information I've provided can help you with your decision.
Other posters have provided you with other good alternative options should you decide to cloud the water so-to-speak. If that is the case, then you might take VPMark's comments into consideration as well as a few others.
All that said, if I were to use one of the two products you mentioned, I'd probably go with Duragloss 105/601 simply for the longevity of it.
Hope that helps.
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