New Detailing DVD by Gary Kouba

Friends-
Has anyone viewed the new detailing DVD by Gary Kouba ( $24.95 from www.garykoubacarcare.com ) ?
The web site description does not tell the running time. The advertising gives the impression that this DVD is aimed at do-it-yourselfers only. Whether it teaches techniques a pro would use is not addressed.

If someone has seen the video, please post a review here.

NOTE : New Again gave an enthusiastic review to some videos from www.showcargarage.com . I'd like to know how the new one compares to the Show Car Garage DVDs...
Doug



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2007 03:20AM by Doug Delmont.

I have not seen the DVD, but I know Gary, and he is a great guy and knows what he is talking about.

Larry-
Apparently Gary Kouba's DVD illustrates the same techniques he uses professionally so that's a plus.
He has, however, said some things that I object to :
1) ( elsewhere ) That Carnauba waxes last only about 30 days. My own tests have found that Mother's California Gold lasts at least 60 days under harsh conditions. Malm's liquid lasts longer than Mother's ; under garaged conditions, about 6 months. Note that he sells a competing product.

2) ... a lot of negative things to say about Zaino, his competitor ; ZAINO IS AWESOME-UNMATCHED IN MY TESTS .

3) ... said that store-bought products don't compare to professional products. Coincidentally, he sells professional products. Again, this does not match my testing. ( NXT was first-rate for shine, Mother's original and Phase system excellent, Meguiar's Natural Shine protectant nice. )
4) (elsewhere) Advised against ArmorAll, a competitor's product. ArmorAll is harmless and works-I've tested it.

Since you know Mr. Kouba, perhaps he will let you borrow his DVD and report on it. LARRY- Thanks for your participation. I hope we can prove this is the most authoritative detailing forum.
Doug

Everybody has their opinion on what products work and what doesent. In Garys case it is the process he uses, that makes his cars come out outstanding .He sells pro. products , so naturally he thinks his stuff is the best.I myself like Armor All, and I like the look of carnauba wax. He likes sealants because overall it will last longer then caranuba.He uses the most durable products that he can find so he has happy customers. Not everybody can keep there car in the garages all the time. Ive been to 2 of his classes, and 2 years ago we were at a couple of Chicagoland detailing meets, and I also was at a open house at his shop.I dont know why he doesent like Zaino, maybe because of all the hype.

Larry-
Mr. Kouba certainly sounds like a top-notch detailer. That's why I'd like to see his DVD and may buy it.
What I take issue with are the salesmen who flood the forums with negative comments about their competitors. Most of those comments are inaccurate to boot. I name names when I see this sort of thing because it is , in my view unethical.
Would you like to hear a Toyota salesman hop from forum to forum, providing his " sincere " opinion of Hondas ? Of course not. You'd also expect him to at least give a disclaimer, mentioning that he is competing with the product he is evaluating.
Hype, you say ? Zaino is not hyped, as my tests show. The products really are as good as people say. I have no financial interest in any company, by the way.
I've already stated my objection to Mr. Kouba's and Bud's mystery chemists and their supposed opinion on ZFX.
I find it hard to believe that a man of Mr. Kouba's experiance would think no Carnauba wax lasts more than about 30 days or that Zaino isn't the best invention since the Gatling Gun.
Zaino, Malm's, Meguiar's and a few others have proven themselves in the most demanding sphere, the car show world. Have Mr. Kouba's products been on any major Best of Show winners ?
Mr. Kouba's sealant contains some Carnauba. As you know, Carnauba is less durable than polymer. My guess is that this will shorten the life of his sealant. It would be interesting to see a side-by-side test of Mr. Kouba's sealant against Zaino...
To borrow a phrase from Mr. Kouba, this is my "professional opinion".
Doug

Larry :
Here is a quote from Gary Kouba. I found it on the Pontiac Solstice forum :

(QUOTE) " Layering
Any time you apply more than say 2-3 coats of any selant all you are doing is removing the previous layer. It does not good at all. Sure you have have great results, but what you see is the effect from the first two layers. the companies that make the stuff love when you waste product. Gary "(END QUOTE)

Zaino can be applied in as many coats as you want and Z-2 Pro has no cleaners so it will not remove the coats already applied. Some other products can be applied in multiple coats too.

This misconception may explain Gary Kouba's dislike for Zaino : He doesn't understand it. He also says of Zaino, (BEGIN QUOTE ) " They capitalize on selling the uneducated consumer ". ( END QUOTE )
Oh. So I'm an uneducated consumer ? I've tried well over 50 different car waxes. So far I rate Zaino tops and I know that Z-2 can be layered. Enough said.
Doug



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/2007 02:09AM by Doug Delmont.

Everything that I read about Zaino says how good it is . All these people including you cant be wrong. I have never tried Zaino, so I myself cant be a judge. I have no idea why Gary doesent like it, Im sure he has his reasons.I hear that the new Zaino AIO and CS are great stuff and I would like to try Z5pro. I think Zaino AIO followed with Z5 would leave a very nice finish.

Larry :
I'll be testing the Zaino AIO in the future. The company says that if you want the best shine, you should use Z-2 but use Z-5 for the first coat if there are paint imperfections.
I got good results by using Griot's Machine Polish #3 to clean away anything on the surface. Any polish that leaves no residue should work the same.
Then I applied Z-2 with ZFX in it, waited 30 min., and applied a second coat.
To buy the 8 ounces of Z-2 and the ZFX kit, you are talking around $35. That is about the cheapest way to go and still get Zaino's purported best results.

I'm confident you will like Zaino if you try it. There is no money-back guarantee but Sal vows to work with any unhappy customer to resolve problems.
There are possibilities here for pro detailers, including charging more for full details and simply selling a guaranteed sealant for $150 or so.
Obviously the product is more costly, time consuming and laborious but it isn't a serious problem. The people you read about who took all day to do one car haven't got the hang of it. It goes on easy/wipes off easy with hand application. IMHO, if you use a polish like Griot's first, you can forget all the confusing " wash with Dawn/wash with Z-8/clay/wash again " stuff you hear.
I realize that cost of products matters but look at it this way : What is worth more to you ? A DVD set, magazine subscriptions or whatever--or a product that may give you a competitive edge/ great looking personal car.
If you try any Zaino products, please post your opinions of them !
Doug

Friends -
A lot of googling got me the answer to my question.
Amazon.com says that the Gary Kouba DVD has a running time of 85 minutes, which I think sounds ample.
Doug