G'day all!

Just got my box of Zaino products on Friday and started to wash and clay the car on Saturday. WOW! Talk about clean! Now, Sunday, is the time for the other steps like the Polish Lok etc...

Can I do the remaining steps outside IN the sun?

 

I did. There were no adverse effects. The gloss enhancer is not designed to be left on the car, meaning you spray and wipe. So, if it is warm out you'll need to work quicker.

 

I have a question about using Zaino, and waxes in general.

Do you polish the car first and then wax it? Or do you wax the car and then polish? What's the difference between the two??

Here are my steps:
Wash car with water
Dry it
Apply TurtleWax Rubber Compounder to get rid of scratches (didn't work too well..left marks instead)
And then wax it

Is polishing nesseceray?

 

You are ruining your clear coat with that rubbing compound. Read the sticky post above on car care and get some quality polish/wax. I generally try the least abrasive product that will do the job (glaze, swirl mark remover, or polish). And yes, you polish the car first, then wax it to protect the finish.

 

I do a thorough wash, hand glaze, and then mguiars gold class. The car is shiny as hell, but if you get close enough, you still see every goodam swirl and tiny scrathes all over. The paint is hurting. I just don't see how any product could fix it all like Zaino, the way i see it, only a new paint job can salvage my Black Maxima.
Roger.
p.s. i am still considering buy the zaino products once i have 60 bucks to blow.

 

Ok, it is now Sunday 5:33PM EST. I started the WHOLE Zaino process on Saturday at 10:00AM EST. This is where I am at: Wash with Zaino Car Wash, Dry with Cannon towel, Use Zaino Clay Bar, Wash with Zaino Car Wash, Applied Z-1 preLok polish, Applied Z-5 wax, Buffed with ANOTHER Cannon towel, Applied Z-6 Gloss Spray. The plans are that I take the car out of the garage and let it sit 24 hours outside. Then maybe on Monday after work, put on a coat of Z-2 Clear Coat Wax.

Let me tell you, Turtle Wax is poop. Zaino is unreal! Shiny and friction free. To test, I threw my towel across the car and it went from one end of the car to the other end. NON STOP! I've used both kinds of waxes. What a difference! No powder residue. Anywhere. I didn't even break a sweat using the Zaino Kit. No elbow grease required! THis Zaino stuff is FOR REAL! No BS

I got 3 Large Size Bath Towels Cannon brand, from Walmart and the Zaino kit. That's it.

Anybody notice this? The Zaino stuff smells nice too! But please don't eat it. Looks good on the MAX but NO good in the body. :-)

 

If you have a black finish, their is nothing that trully beats having the finish wet sanded. But make sure you go to a qualified detailer or paintshop. It will look like glass and most of your orange peel will disappear (comes from clearcoat) Zaino works well w/ metallics but still think that Mothers works longer but takes more time to apply to solids.

Wash car and then dry well, use your small can of compressed air to get water out of all the cracks. Then use Mothers Precleaner or Paint/Clay bar. Second seal the finish w/ sealer and glaze. Finally wax car w/ Pure Carnuba from Can not bottle. It spreads like butter and has more Carnuba (35%). It will give you close to 6 months w/ weekly washing. I usually place a second coat of wax on tops (hood, trunk, roof) as they are subject to the elements. I have heard that Mequires Professional line is also great w/ same steps. Don't go w/ 3M, that is the hardest stuff to get off a finish even in a cool garage.

 

RACEFACE,

If you are going to apply Z2 after 24 hours, don't forget the gloss enhancer spray again afterwards. The spray is recommended to be the last step.

Also, I went back and did my rims with Z1, Z2, and the gloss enhancer spray: they look great, now, too.

 

The trick with 3M products (whether it's the Hand glaze, Swirl mark remover, or the Showcar wax) is to wipe them off as soon as you apply them. If you let them dry they are very hard to remove. Applied properly, 3M's products easily rival Meguiar's.

 

Hehehe... sounds like one of my posts!

Hey Raceface - It doesn't look like you washed your car with Dawn before applying the clay bar (as recommended by Zaino). Any issues? My understanding was that you want the car stripped of EVERYTHING before using the Z-18 which is why they say to use Dawn. Just curious.

Ain't Zaino the cat's meow? You're not going back, are you?!

 

Too late man. I couldn't resist the smell, so I ate 1½ containers of the z-2 before I regained control. I haven't been feeling well since, but the upside is that I'm shinier than usual and water beads nicely on my skin.

 

That explains the "glow" about you

Hey, BTW, there's a guy in my neighborhood that got 2001 I30 back in December and I FINALLY got a chance to talk to him. When the subject rolled around to our cars (which didn't take long), he started talking to me about a problem he was having. Two-guesses as to what it was but you're only going to need one.

That's right... PAINT CHIPS!!! So what do I do? Point him up here (and to www.nissanpaint.com) . Looks like we'll be getting a new member in the very near future. He was pumped to hear there was a place like this on the web.

L8R.

 

You had the choice whether to use CLAY bar OR Dawn. Wasn't too crazy about using Dawn. That stuff is lethal. Anyways, going to apply another layer tonight. This morning I rubbed my hand over the paint...Not even a spec of dust! Unreal!

 

You had me going there for a second. I thought I read that ideally (i.e. you DON'T have to do it this way but) you want to use Dawn, then the clay bar, then the Z-7 car wash, then your other applications.

Here's a quote from Zaino's site:

How you should use Z-18 ClayBar?

First you should thoroughly wash the vehicle to make sure that there is no dirt or debris on the paint finish. Although Z-18 ClayBar is not abrasive to the paint finish, if dirt or debris is present on the paint finish, scratches could result when Z-18 ClayBar is rubbed over a dirty surface. Using a dishwashing detergent such as Liquid Dawn diluted with water will make sure
that the vehicle is free from grease, wax and oily film. (Mix 1 ounce of Liquid Dawn to 2.5 gallons of water for an effective cleaning solution)

Here's the link:
http://www.zainobros.com/files/z18.htm

Just thought this might help.

Cheers!

 

I would recommend using Dawn. It's very good at removing grease and gunk that will dirty up the clay bar and possibly scratch paint. A lot of people will tell you that Dawn is bad for your paint. They are right if taken to the extreme. However, I think that when using Zaino exclusively on your car, the dawn wash and clay is only needed once a year if that. I don't feel that a once a year wash with dawn is going to have any negative impact on the life of your paint. My general system is to every spring wash with dawn and clay the car to get down to clean paint. Then I apply alternating coats of Z5 and Z2 (two coats Z5 and 3 coats Z2). Then I forget about it until fall when I add another two coats of Z2. I think in the grand scheme of things this protects my paint more and is far less work than monthly application of a wax.

 

You can probably get away with skipping the dawn and just using the clay bar on the entire car, especially it's been a while since you waxed. Clay bars will probably remove any wax.

Dawn is used exactly once in the Zaino process - at the beginning, to strip any old wax on the car. After that point it is completely unnecessary, unless you have a habit of applying wax over your Zaino. Dawn does not strip Zaino.

And yes, you can use Zaino in the sun. Careful not to burn your hands, though.

 

Can't you just use a carsoap instead of dawn?

 

Car Soap is not alkaline based and will not strip wax. Using Dawn will strip old wax quickly. Clay bar and/or precleaner should do the jobn also.

My Zaino says to wax car and allow 24 hours to set wax. I am fearful of trying to chisel wax off a car 24 hours later, even in my garage.

 

i ordered a bunch of zaino products two weeks ago. they still have not cleared my check. all this talk about waxing cars is getting me jeolous. i just bought my new Maxima and i want to protect the coating of paint. well i am just going to have to wait.

 

Don't sweat it. Provided you've applied it correctly (i.e. evenly but sparingly per directions) the stuff'll just wipe right off with your 100%, made-in-the-USA Cannon or Fieldcrest towel even after 24 hours.

But, you don't wait 24 hours for the application to set before removal, only to dry. You can if you want, but they say to wait at least 24 hours BEFORE applying the NEXT coat.

The directions actually call for the following:

Let Z-5 or Z-2 polish dry at least one hour.

To test if Z-2 or Z-5 is dry and ready to be removed. Wipe your finger on a hazed section. It should immediately come off and leave a crytal clear finish. If it smears, it is still wet. You can leave Z-2 or Z-5 on for hours or overnight if you desire.

After removal of Zaino Z-2 or Z-5. You should wait 24 hours if the outside temperature is under 70 degrees and 6 hours if over 70 degrees, before applying the next coat of Z-5 or Z-2.

Cheers!

 

So you want to use dawn since it gets rid of the old wax coating you applied before putting zaino? I think i'm going to get some ZAINO!!!

 

You are more than welcome to detail any of my three rides. I do prefer a three step (Mothers) on the GN as it is black. My wifes supercharged Regal GS is platnium and the easiest to wax, and looks good in Waxshops Super Glaze. Finally the Majestic Blue Max needs some Zaino ......