I have had Zaino CS and Opti-Seal since each of them came out. I was excited to see a product that would dry clear and provide great synthetic protection. After 8-9 months of experimentation with these two products I have mixed emotions about how they should be used and how effective they are.

I'll finish this post after I see some other comments because I don't want to taint your opinion.

 

moving this back up...

i think that there are still a lot of z2'ers here!!
am guessing that your post will carry a lot of weight, ubetit.
imo, dont have to wait for others input- give us your thoughts when you are ready!!

 

I haven't used CS, but I've used Opti-Seal ever since it came out and I have some mixed feelings about it as well.

It takes a couple tries to get used to how to apply it, but after that, it becomes EXTREMELY easy to wax your entire car in a matter of minutes.

As far as looks and durability are concerned, I don't think it has quite the depth and clarity that Menzerna FMJ (my primary sealant) has, and I was little let down by its durability, especially given all the initial hype. Didn't seem to last more than a month or two on my car, whereas I can easily get 4-6 months out of FMJ.

Overall, I think that Opti-Seal is a pretty good product. It's a great time-saver and is on par (looks-wise) with most other sealants out there

 

I haven't used Opti-Seal, but I started using Z-CS a few months ago. I love it, and I don't think I'll use anything else from now on except Z-6 and Z-8 to maintain it.

 

I've been using CS and like another poster said, about a different product, it took a while to get used to putting it on and NOT rubbing it off.
I have nothing negative to say about it. Not sure that it is that deep a shine. I hope that it is providing some level of surface protection. I use Zanio products only so I've got nothing to them compare against.
It sure is easy to apply.
I don't expect CS to take the place of the other Zaino products and the time it does take to care for our cars. Still clay bar and apply various levels of Zaino treating CS as a final coat.

 

I just did my wifes Rav4 with ZAIO, Z5, and ZCS for it's winter protection. (That's my new product test car, last year I did it with KAIO/KSG for winter) Shine wise I don't think I like the look of the ZCS as well as my S looks with just multiple coats of Z5/Z2...but I did this as a test for the winter to see how long it stands up. I haven't and don't plan on topping it with anything until it looks like the beading starts to give up, then I plan to reapply and try topping it with Z8.

One thing of note is I LOVE the ease of use, and I don't think it's a big step down from Z5/Z2. If it holds up as well as advertised this will probably be my product of choice for doing family members cars.

 

TTT

 

I used OS and I cant tell if it made a difference.

 

Okay, here's my take.

If you have a garage queen that gets a sealant or wax 1+ times a month there really isn't much need for this product. It doesn't have as good a look as my Wolfgang/Souveran combo and on the daily drivers it hasn't proved out to last any longer than just Zaino or Wolfgang alone.

Unless you are looking for a quick way to protect your car i'm not really sure what the advantages of these products are. Currently I have this product on my wife's car (Opti-Seal one one side, ZCS on the other, Zaino Z2 on the trunk). I honestly can't tell them apart visually. Her car lived outside all spring and summer but is now in the garage. I'd say protection was lasting on average about 2-3 months with just this product. My CRV has just Wolfgang and it was going almost as long as Optiseal and ZCS. She gets a large parking garage at work however while the CRV gets fallout from tree where i work. It may be a push.

One thing i've noticed is that the Wolfgang stays slippery throughout its almost entire life-cycle while the Opti-seal and ZCS do not. Within about a week it feels like it's almost gone.

Optiseal and ZCS are supposed to be an "apply and walk away" product but i've had no luck with that. I always have to go back with a towel to clean up streaks. I've done everything that both companies suggest including using a brand new yellow foam application pad everytime to apply it. I've used heavy sprays, medium sprays and darn near nothing on the pads and you can still see areas where I changed direction when applying it. It's annoying.

As the temp gets colder in Ohio I may keep them just to get some quick protection on the daily drivers after a car wash.

 

I applied several coats of Zaino CS on my sebring silver S2000 in the beginning of July. I did not expect it to shine as well as it did. Four and a half months later the shine is still holding(car is garaged nightly). I no longer use Z2 with ZFX. Zaino CS works great by itself.