I must start by restating I am an Imron fan based on my experience with it. But I do NOT have any personal experience using Awlgrip. So it would not be fair for me to claim that my preference for Imron is based on any personal testing of the two in similar applications. Continuing...
Painters use what they like so if our shop use Awlgrip, I suspect they would "rather not" use Imron. They might do so if you insist but they might advise that they don't "guarantee" it to the same level as what they usually use. Some shops will absolutely refuse to use a product other than what they contract to use.
The first demonstration I saw of Imron was at a drag race in 1977. One of the racers had a panel painted with it that they used as a portable bench for working on various components. They would do their work, including much banging and tossing parts on the panel. Then they'd wash it and the panel looked brand new. We were absolutely amazed.
I do not mean to imply that Awlgrip is not excellent paint. It is and lots of boat makers use it including Hatt (they used to use Imron). It seems that most marine painters now use it as well.
Re that, A boat-painter friend of mine in NY used Imron for years and, in a casual discussion in the summer of 06, told me that he had just switched to Awlgrip because he found it was a little easier to spray. When I asked him if it would last as long as Imron, he laughed and said, "It's easier to spray!" In further discussion he said that since he just started using Awlgrip he didn't know it's long-term capability from personal experience. But he was confident that it would wear "long-enough."
Imron has a MUCH longer history of proven quality than Awlgrip simply because it's been around since the 70's and has been used on virtually every industrial vehicle known to man. That doesn't in itself mean that it's better but a long history of quality results is tough to argue against.
As far as care, they are the same. Neither should be waxed. Not because wax will hurt them but because it will cause the sheen to look yellow over time. Awlgrip makes "Awlcare," a protective sealer that they recommend for the paint. The last time I was seriously involved in this, Imron did not recommend any product over the paint, considering anything added to be less effective than the paint itself.
Imron is noted to be easier to repair/color match and is available in far more colors. But having lots of colors is not really that big a deal since boat colors are fairly standard. You don't see many people painting their boats in something called "silver-blue Midnight metallic mist," for example. NOTE: I made up that color but my wife had a turbo Buick regal back in the 70's that had a paint color that was something like that!
In any case, good luck!
