Update: Zaino Leather conditioner and cleaner

After six months of testing the first and only Zaino products I have ever bought, I have come to my conclusion. The Zaino Z-9 leather cleaner is really weak and underwhelming. For only a meager 8 oz. of cleaner at $8.95 you are better off going to the store and buying some over the counter leather cleaner. Z-9 did not remove any stains better than Lexol or some store bought Meguiars leather cleaner and they are a lot cheaper. The only pro that I can think of is the smell is not offensive. I feel like they put some dishwasher soap and some water in a bottle and labelled it Z-9. Don't be fooled about the perfect 5.0 rating on their website, of course it is going to get the highest score.


Zaino Z-10 leather conditioner is a little bit better. I like the cinnamon smell and it does an average job of making the leather supple. However, like most leather conditioners it just sits on top of the leather and doesn't really penetrate and make it soft like leatherique or leather masters leather conditioner. The downside of course is that Z-10 gets all over your clothes and you smell like it.

My conclusion, don't waste your money on these overpriced products. They are expensive and come in insultingly small containers compared to the competitors. The name Zaino can only carry a product so far, the results are what matter and Z-10, and Z-9 are average at best. If you want the same performance go to your local auto store and pick up some Lexol, Meguiars, or Mothers.On a final note, I believe Zaino and Duragloss are the same product only relabeled. So if you want Zaino for cheap, buy the Duragloss equivalents.

Properautocare.com closing!

Properautocare.com is finally closing!

I am not surprised at all. In the past I have never received items and have had improper billing statements. In my opinion they were purposely not filling out orders in order to cut costs and try and raise profits. The last and final time I ordered they left out a couple of items. I called them, e-mailed them, and didn't get a reply back until three weeks later. They said they would ship it out and guess what? It never came.

I am glad they are closing because they are a shady company and consumers have gotten smart and shopped elsewhere. It they had done the right thing in the beginning I believe they wouldn't have gone out of business and I would have kept ordering from them.

Why League of Legends is unbalanced

I found this post on this thread and it sums up why Riot purposely has champions unbalanced.

"Gameplay imbalances."

The reason for these, is quite simply to make Riot money. Look at how many people buy brand new champions as soon as it's released. If they describe it as overpowered, and show it as overpowered, chances are, people want to buy them so they can dominate as well.

If there's anyone who hasn't watched the latest Kayle spotlight, go do so. Look at how powerful they make Kayle look late game to the regular eye. It makes it look like she is an awesome champion. Until you realize she's level 18, and the enemies are mostly level 13.
Take any of the champions into perspective. They make them sound awesome to begin with. Ever so amazing in all of the champion spotlights. Most of them turn out to be far from it.

It's all a big marketing ploy. All of it. Everything Riot does, is to get money towards their game. Although, many who don't look close enough won't see it.

I've already put enough money into this game, so I'm afraid to put this game to rest in my computer. Then I remember all of the disadvantages of playing this game, as listed in the original post."
                                                                                                           
and also
      
"In an interview, a riot employee said that that don't keep ever champ balanced because first of all, it makes it is more interesting. And also, because the op champs sell more, making riot money."

This is quite disappointing because Riot is more concerned about making money short-term and looking good on paper for Chinese investors rather than caring about long-term customer loyalty and value. In Spring of 2011 Riot was bought by the Chinese company Tencent, which explains why Riot is always releasing boring champions and skins, but not improving the game at all. Riot is just another greedy company that uses League of Legends to make money. Will Riot change to a video game company that cares about its customers and providing quality game play? I highly doubt it, they are too greedy and care more about Chinese investors more than anything else. I finally got sick of how Riot was running League of Legends that I haven't bought a champion or any skins for a very long time. Riot lost a customer and I hope more people would realize this and quit playing LoL.

Picture of my Meguiar's products

 

 I love Meguiars. Their All Purpose Cleaner is amazing and so is their M105 compound. 

League of Legends

Every patch they release makes the game worse and worse. It does not improve the game at all. There are so many useless champions and items. The only thing Riot does it release new skins and champions because it is a money maker while screwing over people who have played since the beta. Ranked is terrible and the matchmaking solo is a nightmare.

My Makita 9227C Rotary Buffer

Here are the photos of my Makita 9227C Rotary that I purchsed from Amazon. I am using a Lake Country 5" backing plate and 5.5" buffing pads.

So far I am really impressed by how efficient it is at removing scratches and oxidation. It is much quicker and easier than my PC7424 random orbital and a lot quieter. A couple of passes with the rotary will take out 95% of the scratches whereas it takes many passes with the PC7424.

The Makita 9227C is heavier and takes a while to get used to the direct drive of the rotary. Some issues I am working on is buffer hop, torque steer, and right amount of pressure on the pad.

Some of the compounds and polishes I use are Meguiars #83 DACP and Swirl Free Polish, 3Ms Finesse it II and Perfect it III Rubbing Compound. I do have some Menzerna polishes on the way and I cannot wait to try them out. I have heard nothing but great things about Menzerna products. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Never thought this would happen: Bought some Zaino

I never thought I would buy Zaino products but yesterday I purchased some Z-9 leather cleaner and Z-10 leather in a bottle. These two products have been getting really good reviews and I like picture results.

I first heard about Zaino in 2001 on some car forums. This was when I was first getting into car detailing and found Autopia forums. I was really put off by the "Zaino Zealots" and vowed to never buy Zaino products. Fast forward almost 10 years and seeing other people results with their products has changed my mind. I don't think I will ever buy their polishes or waxes because of their zaino system. I would rather just stick to a polish + wax and be done with it.

I will post my results of how their leather care products stack up compared to other competitors

Update: Order with Detailedimage.com

Good news, my order with detailedimage.com shipped today which is a week earlier than the original ship date. They were backordered with 1Z Gummi Phlege so the order that I placed on black Friday was going to be delayed several weeks.

I took advantage of their free shipping over $150 and 20% discount which is the best deal I could find on any online detailing store. In my order I purchased some Menzerna which will be my first time ever trying out the polish. It is quite pricey but I believe the results justify the cost.

Disappointed with ProperAutoCare.com

I just received my order a couple of days ago and it was missing an item. I have contacted them several times and they have given me no response. Maybe that is why their shipping an handling prices are a bit lower than competitors, they screw you over. I will not be ordering them again, they obviously don't care about customer lifetime value.

Tips for saving money in today's economy

With the struggling economy and higher cost of living, here are some tips to save some money

Gas prices and the price per barrel of oil hit historical highs during the summer of this year. Record high oil prices have made U.S. inflation and living rates surge upwards. Also some of the largest American banks have failed due to the sub-prime crises which not only hurts the U.S. markets, but worldwide as well. With all these economic calamities, it would be wise to save some money here and there. Here are some things I have done to cut back spending. Millions of people have lost their jobs and savings in this recessionary period. Some analysts predict the economy will not rebound until 2014. So what can you do to save the pennies?

Starch Iron instead of cleaners
Instead of taking your clothes to the cleaners every week, wash and press them yourself. This is very easy to do and does not take very much time. A can of spray starch is only a dollar and lasts for several pairs of clothing.

Checkout books from library instead of buying
Instead of spending money on buying a new book, why not check it out at the library for free? Yes, there is satisfaction is owning a book, but if you read frequently this tip could save you a lot of money.

Borrow books from students instead of buying or buy used
If you are a college student, you know how expensive textbooks can be. I suggest buying used ones textbooks from half.com or amazon.com. Buying used textbooks still in great condition are almost always less that half than brand new ones. If you have classmates in the same course, or have taken the course in the previous semester, borrow the textbook from them.

Go easy on the gas pedal
Do you like speeding away what the light goes green? or attacking that high-way on-ramp? Every time you do so puts more wear-and-tear on your engine, transmission, and tires which can cost you several months of savings. A more noticeable dent in the wallet is how much more it will cost you at the gas pump.


Don't eat out as much
Who doesn't love to eat out and be served food? I enjoy sitting down at a nice restaurant and have someone else do all the preparation to cook my dinner. It saves me time and I get a chance to appreciate the company of family and friends. Eating out is a expense I dislike cutting back on. I calculated the costs, and I discovered that eating at home saved me over 75% of my food expense.

Energy Efficient Washers and Dryers
Energy Efficient Washers and Dryers can save you a lot of money in the long run. Their listing price may be more expensive than less-efficient machines, but they make up the difference in energy costs.

Invite your friends to a potluck
Find yourself always cooking and spending money on food for others at dinner parties? Next time, inform your friends and family that it will be a potluck and hopefully they will get the message to bring food with them.

Keep those tires inflated
Having deflated tires can affect gas mileage by 3% for every 1 psi drop in all four tires! Hypothetically if your tires were deflated by 3 psi in all four tires, for a year, you would lose about $200.00.

Another benefit of keeping your tires properly inflated is longer tire life. Tires are getting more and more expensive these days, especially for those who have SUVs and trucks.

Coin-operated and automated car washes

If you wash your car frequently, you know how expensive this can be. Especially if you go to coin-operated car washes or the drive-through ones. For example, the 'medium' car wash at gas stations averages about $5. If you wash your car twice a month for a year, that amounts to $120.00

You could save about half of that washing the car yourself. The cost of a bucket, car soap, wash mitt, drying towel and the cost of water is cheaper than going out and washing the car at automated places.

Another less known fact about coin-op and automated car washes is that they use recycled and reclaimed water. Do you really want recycled water from some other car that went mudding being scrubbed on your paint?