Zaino 101 for Beginners: A Day in the Life of a Lazy First-Timer
Written: Jul 03 '06 (Updated Jul 08 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: glossy, shiny, looks great, buffs easily, long-lasting
Cons: hard to apply because of thinness, multiple coats required-takes alot of time, expensive
The Bottom Line: It's a great product and highly recommended.
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| wahoodude23's Full Review: Zaino Bros Z-2 Show Car Polish For Clear Coated Fi... |
I probably asked so many dumb questions before I went through this actual process, I thought it would be nice to have a place all the newbie Zaino questions could be answered. I’ll go through my process and where I thought I made mistakes so that others aren’t deemed to repeat history…. Suggestions and comments more than welcome, I’m sure the experts will find flaws and I hope so because I hope to improve and help others. I’m focusing this on Zaino but will talk about some general detailing tips that I’ve picked up in a short 24 hours. Feel free to sticky if its deemed worthy :).
I started off obviously by purchasing the Zaino kit directly from Sal’s site. It comes with Z2 Pro, Z5 Pro, Z6, Z7, 2 claybars, ZFX, 3 terry applicators, 4 empty vials (I think I got shafted on the decal but I did get an extra applicator instead). The first question off the bat is what are all these numbers and what is Zaino? The site explains everything in detail but basically it's a synthetic polish and wax which has high optical clarity and excellent durability.
As a side note – for those who are intimidated by Zaino DIY – I am not even remotely close to being a detailing buff/expert – as a matter of fact, I’m probably the opposite – pretty lazy when it comes to detailing my car. I hadn’t even heard of Zaino until right before I bought my car. I lived in a condo where my previous idea of a car wash was a disgusting auto wash that actually had brushes. This is why my 2003 TL looks like a big black spider web with wheels. Trust me when I say that if I can get through this – anyone can. The way the car looks afterwards, has made me a convert.
My regimen was as follows - I’ll go through each in detail:
1) Dawn
2) Clay
3) Z7 Wash
4) Layer Z5 Pro with ZFX
5) Z6
6) Layer Z5 Pro with ZFX
7) Partial Layer Z5 Pro with ZFX
8) Z6
9) Layer Z2 Pro with ZFX
10) Z6
11) Clean windows
Prep Work – Dawning the car
My car is about 5.5 months old and previous to this I had washed about once a week sometimes skipping a week here and there. I got it detailed with a carnauba wax about 2 weeks after I got the car and I quick waxed it with Meguiar’s Quik Wax twice since.
I started at 10AM on a sunny Saturday morning - weather called for about 90 degrees and sunny (but dry at least). I filled 3 gallon bucket with water and then eyeballed about a small gumball’s worth of Dawn liquid dishwashing detergent. Since Dawn is concentrated that was all I needed – it might have even been too much. My sheepskin mitt lathered up better than any other wash I had used previously. I proceeded to shampoo the entire car outside - top first, rinse, bottom, rinse, front bumper, rinse. I always do the bumper last since it has the most crap on it. I also sprayed the wheels down with a Meguiar’s wheel cleaner and the hosed it down after about 2 minutes and then wiped it clean with a soft terry cloth (dedicated to wheels).
I rubbed the paint a few times after rinsing to see if I really got that squeaky clean feeling. Honestly, it felt no different to me than after a regular wash but I was following Sal’s recommendations.
1) [B]Do I really need to Dawn the car? [/B]
I have no idea. I’ve read so many things for it and against it. Sal from Zaino does recommend it and I figure once can’t hurt the car. It’s supposed to strip the car of any previous waxes, oils and prep the car for the Zaino polishes since they don’t bond well to natural waxes which may already be on the car.
2) [B]Which Dawn do I buy and from where? [/B]
Normal scent, liquid hand dishwashing. Any grocery store has this.
3) [B]Why do some people say that Dawn is the root of all evil?[/B]
Good question. Again, I’m not totally sure, but it stems around the fact that Dawn is super concentrated and has a high alkaline content so it may strip the cars of natural waxes which should be there. Some say it can damage paint, but this is anecdotal.
More Prep Work – Zaino Clay
With the car still wet, I drove it into the garage for covering (the clay instructions say to do this under a cool surface). I had never clayed before so this part seemed the most intimidating to me. I read multiple articles before this process, so I kind of went by a modified process of everything I read. I took a glad sandwich baggie and a 16 oz spray bottle (bought from the grocery store) filled with ½ cap of Z7 and water and did the test. I sprayed a section of the hood and ran my fingers over it with the sandwich baggie over it. It felt very smooth. I did the same for my front bumper and it felt very bumpy and gritty.
I took one claybar (left the other wrapped and untouched) and cut in half. Then I cut that half into 4 smaller pieces (4 cubes). I then took one cube, smushed it around a little until I had the piece firmly wedged into my 3 middle fingers of my right hand. With my left hand holding the spray bottle and spraying constantly for lubrication, I proceeded to clay the hood. At first, I was checking the bottom of the clay after every wipe, paranoid that I would trap dirt in the clay and scratch the paint. My hood was actually surprisingly clean. I clayed one half of the hood before folding the clay to expose a clean side. There was hardly anything on it. I folded the clay again and did the same thing for the side panels. I proceeded to do this for the entire painted section of the car, saving the front bumper for last. I did about one panel at a time (i.e., right front door, roof, left rear door, trunk, etc). I went through all 4 pieces. I’ll be honest, aside for the front bumper where I did get quite a few contaminants – mostly black spots – I didn’t feel like the clay did anything productive. The paint felt and looked clean before that. (I’ll clay my Acura next and see if it feels different).
1) [B]What is clay and why should I use it? [/B]
Clay is exactly what you think it is – clay. It’s supposed to be a substance which removed contaminants in the paint that washing won’t get off like rail dust, brake dust, etc.
2) [B]How much clay do I use for my e90 or any other car for that matter? [/B]
I think that depends on how dirty your car is. A clean car could go through less than half a bar and dirtier car might need more. I would suggest folding the clay for the clean sides as often as possible to maximize the life of the clay piece. Also, I didn’t drop it, but if you do, I’m told to throw it away immediately.
3) [B]Is claying difficult? What does it feel like? [/B]
No, it’s not hard. It’s just somewhat unknown so it can be intimidating for beginners. When done right, the clay should slide over the paint very very easily almost like a puck on an air hockey table. I encountered a few times where a hit dry spots accidentally and I immediately hit resistance and left a streak on the car. You have to use A LOT of lubrication to get the clay to glide correctly. I went through about 24 oz of diluted Z7 mixture to clay the whole car.
4) [B]Can I clay windows and wheels? [/B]
From what I was told, yes and I did. I clayed the windows the same way as the rest of car – except I used my old used pieces of clay that I was done with… since windows won’t be scratched. Just remember if claying the windows, it will take off any rain-x or aquapel you already have on there. Then I took the clay from the windows and used them on the wheels. I took off a few pieces of baked-in brake dust but not everything.
5) [B]Can I clay the whole car and not dry each section as I go? [/B]
I did and it seemed to be ok as long as you wash the car again afterwards.
Prep Work – Rewash and Dry with Z7
I drove the car back outside to rewash it, this time with Zaino’s Z7 car wash. I again filled the bucket with water (dumped out Dawn left over and rinsed thoroughly) and put in about 5 capfuls of Z7. The shampoo lathered up nicely, better than the Megiaur’s Gold Class I had been using. Using the sheepskin mitt, I proceeded to wash the car with the same method as I used above (described in my Dawn washing). I will say the Z7 smells really good.
With the car still wet, I pulled it into the garage to dry. I always find this part of washing the hardest and most frustrating and maybe it’s because I always wash during the day when it’s sunny. But every time I wash the car and rinse, in a matter of seconds the car starts to dry and water spots start to form. In the garage, I used MF weave tables to blot the wet sections until dry. If I’m quick, I can usually get most of the droplets before they dry. It helps a little more to get it out of the sun as fast as you can.
1. [B]Why do I blot to dry the car? [/B]
Wiping with any kind of towel no matter how soft or plush will cause swirls and micro scratches in the clear coat. If you just press and blot the towels on wet spots, there’s very little chance that you’re going to drag a trapped contaminant across the paint and cause a scratch. If you’re really crazy and OCD, buy a leaf blower and blow dry the car. Then there’s no chance of a scratch unless you drop the blower on you car ;) .
2. [B]What kind of MF towels do I use to dry the car? [/B]
I’ll probably get some comments here but I bought some made in Idonesia waffle weave towels to do my drying from Walmart. Since I blot only, I don’t think it’s too big of a deal that it’s not made in the USA. I also have Meguiar’s plush MF XL towel for buffing off waxes.
3. [B]How does Zaino’s Z7 compare to other car washes shampoos?[/B]
I’ve used Meguiar’s NXT Car Wash and also Gold Class. Z7 lathers better than either of those and is more concentrated. You pay more for it but have to use less each time to achieve the same results. There’s probably still somewhat of a premium on it, but I think it’s worth it.
Final Pre Prep – Mixing the Zaino
At this point it’s noon and I took a break to mix the Zaino. I’m applying the Z5 Pro first because that’s supposed to fill in any swirls or micro-scratches if I have any. I had a small spot on the hood as well as an area on the side rear panel from improper previous drying technique.
I poured one ounce of the purple Z5 Pro into a 2 ounce vial (1/2 vial) and then added 4 drops of ZFX because I planned to apply multiple coats. Then I sat on my couch and shook that thing for 90 seconds straight, let it sit for 5 minutes and then took it out to my garage.
I did this the exact same way for mixing the pink-colored Z2 Pro later.
Applying Z5 Pro with ZFX
Using the Zaino supplied terry cloth applicator, I prepped it by spritzing it twice with Z6 QD. Then I applied the Z5 Pro in an X across the pad to get full coverage. I worked the polish into the ½ of the hood. The first few swipes (long ways from the top of the hood down towards the bottom of the hood) were pretty apparent on the hood as I could see the polish and haze. As I finished off the half of the hood, it became kind of hard to see where I was applying it even though I had a dark gray car. This might have been because I was in a covered garage with not a lot of pass through light. Regardless, I found myself forgetting where I waxed and then viewing from all weird angles and bent head angles to see if there was haze on the car. Everyone has said, the thinner the application the better so I was being extra careful. I found myself applying more pressure to the applicator pad to get every last drop of Zaino onto the paint. Looking back, I probably should have just used more Zaino. Better to waste Zaino than risk scratching the car. I went about this procedure for the rest of the car, applying a thin X for each panel with some QD spray on the pad. The first layer took about ½ ounce of Zaino. As a side note, my technique was rear to front swipes for horizontal surfaces (roof, trunk, hood) and top to bottom swipes for vertical (all door panels and back and front bumpers). It took my about 20 minutes to apply one layer on the whole car.
1) [B]How hard is it really to mix and apply Z5 Pro? [/B]
Mixing it is a cinch – just follow the instructions that it comes with. I would recommend applying it with a MF towel because the pad that it comes with is hard to grip and I almost dropped it a few times. I also found that it took a while to get the pad to a saturation point where it kind of just started polishing easily. Applying it for me was a little harder than expected because of my paranoia in trying to get it on thin. I can’t imagine how hard it would be for light colored cars. Once I got to the last few door panels, it was applying much easier. In retrospect, I should have saturated the applicator with water or more QD in the beginning to get it going. I would say that in general, it’s harder to apply than your regular carnauba waxes since you have to worry about the thickness of the application.
2) [B]Do I need to switch applicators within the same coat?[/B]
I suppose if you are really OCD, but I would highly recommend against it. The applicator needs a few minutes to really get going so keep the same one – just check it periodically to make sure you didn’t accidentally pick up random crap in it – otherwise you’ll scratch the paint.
3) [B]What if I drop my applicator on the ground?[/B] Put it aside and use a new one and don’t use the old one until you wash it. Therefore, always have backup applicators handy.
4) [B]If I apply more layers of polish on a different day, do I need ZFX again?[/B]
Only if you are doing multiple layers quickly again. If you only want to add one layer, you probably don’t need it, although it may help with drying time. You can add layers any time the initial base is set up. Obviously make sure you wash and clean your car before applying additional coats.
Buffing off Z5 Pro
By the time I finished getting the Zaino on the car (20 minutes), I went back to wipe the hood with my finger to see if it was dry. It came off dry and slick so I knew it was already dry. I used a plush MF towel to wipe off the Zaino. I wiped in long strokes in general going against the grain of the way I applied it. I don’t know if this is a recommended method but it worked better for me because I could see better if I missed a spot. Buffing it off was extremely easy. The Z5 Pro came off with a soft buff without even having to apply a lot of pressure. Some spots where it was a little thicker had some dry white residue so I had to wipe a few times. Don’t wipe circular – if you trapped crap in the towel you’ll cause a very unsightly swirl if you go in circles – much worse than a longitudinal micro-scratch. After you buff it off, the paint starts feeling a lot smoother and you start to see the shine and the gloss. The buff off process should take about 10-15 minutes if you don’t take breaks. I took a few breaks here and there because my arms aren’t used to all day washing and waxing.
1) [B]How does buffing off Z5 Pro compare with buffing off carnauba wax?[/B]
Much easier. Not nearly the same amount of pressure. Sometimes you’ll feel like you’re buffing off nothing, but it’s there.
2) [B]How long should I really wait to buff off? [/B]
You can use the finger test that I described above. It depends on the weather conditions. You can leave on for 20 minutes or overnight, it’s ok. It’s up to you as long as its dry when you buff.
3) [B]Do multiple layers of Z5 Pro make the car glossier and shinier? [/B]
Yes. After I applied my 2nd coat and stood back to look at the car, I could tell it was shinier than the first coat.
4) [B]Do I do anything differently to apply the 2nd and subsequent coats?[/B]
No. I did it the exact same way as I described above. Some will say to get a new applicator. Mine was clean and I didn’t feel like saturating a new one so I used the same one for my 2nd and partial 3rd coats and it was fine.
5) [B]Did you really apply 2.5 coats with one ounce of Z5 Pro?[/B]
Amazingly enough for my first time – yes. I was anal about getting it on thin and planned to do 2 coats. I did a partial 3rd coat on some areas because I didn’t want to waste the rest. I probably went a little too thin here. In general, people say that if you using > 1 ounce per coat, then it's way too much.
QD with Z6
Using Z6 between layers brings out the shine and also makes applying the next layer easier. This is pretty easy and quick. Use a new MF towel for this and wipe the Z6 immediately after applying. This is also super concentrated so a small spritz per panel should do the trick. I wiped down the whole car in about 10-15 minutes. Make sure you are misting and not streaming.
1) [B]Do I have to use Z6 in between layers? [/B]
No. But it does help by getting rid of dust or lint after buffing and it doesn’t take long.
2) [B]Should I use Z6 after the car wash and before applying my first layer of Zaino - you didn’t do it? [/B]
I know but I probably should have in retrospect. The Z6 would’ve cleaned off some water spots before I waxed it into the paint. Lessons learned for next time.
3) [B]Does Z6 really make that much of a difference? [/B]
To be honest, I couldn’t tell since the car was already glossy after the first Zaino application but it did add to the slickness of the paint.
4) [B]How many towels will I go through with Z6 QD? [/B]
If your car is clean, you can QD 3 times easily with one XL MF towel (> 16"x16"). There is enough real estate to find dry clean spots.
Applying and Buffing Off the Z2 Pro]
See method for applying and buffing off Z5 Pro. A few FAQs below for differences.
1) [B]So then – are there any differences between applying/buffing Z2 Pro and Z5 pro?[/B]
There are a few differences. I found Z2 pro easier to apply because it went on more visibly than the Z5 Pro and hazed more visibly. The thinness of the application was for both polishes. For buffing off, I noticed that Z5 Pro dried faster and was easier to buff out. The Z2 Pro took about 5 extra minutes to dry and required a little more elbow grease to get it out – but it was still relatively easy compared other waxes. Aesthetically, the Z5 Pro adds depth to the shine. I had only see pics before of Z2 Pro but it was very mirror like. I think the Z5 Pro makes it warmer and deeper and then the Z2 on top gives it the gloss and optical clarity. And of course, one is purple and one is pink.
2) [B]Does it matter what I apply first – Z2 Pro or Z5 Pro and can I switch back and forth between the two?[/B]
Answers are straight from Sal’s web site… He recommends Z5 Pro first to fill in the swirls or micro-scratches and then switching to Z2 Pro. You can use them interchangeably with no adverse effects. They both are polishes which will make your car very shiny. I bet most people won't be able to tell the difference. Even for me, it might have been the placebo effect.
3) [B]How many coats can I apply in one session?[/B]
I did 3 and that’s what Sal Zaino recommends as max also. Probably less so of adverse effects and more so for law of diminishing returns. You won’t gain much by adding > 3 coats in a 24 hour period but I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt. I sorta cheated and applied 3 coats and then a little bit of a 4th coat since I had left over I didn’t want to waste.
4) [B]Can I re-use bottles that have been mixed with ZFX?[/B]
Yes – as long as the ZFX mixture is cleaned out before sitting in the vial for 12 hours. I used a heavy Dawn concentrate to clean these out. As a matter of fact, I used the same bottle for Z2 Pro after I washed out the Z5 Pro during my Zaino day.
5) [B]Can I re-use the applicator pads? [/B]
I posed this question on some other forums and the answers I got were yes. Wash them and re-use them for next time. I would presume the same goes for the MF towels.
Final Thoughts
After my QD of the final Z2 Pro coat, I windexed all my windows and re-applied rain-x and then called it a day at 4PM. It was a grueling 6 hours (with breaks of course) but I’m happy with the results. Only time will tell the durability, but everyone thus far has sworn by Zaino.
1) So – was it worth it?
Yes. Just to learn how to do it and go through it myself was worth it. Now I know the feeling everyone else does when they’re done applying Zaino their car. It’s euphoric – more so because you can rest your arms… lol. Seriously though, it’s a lot of time and money, but it’s supposed to be a great-looking long-lasting synthetic polish/wax. So far I’m pleased with the initial results.
Good luck all. I hope this help Zaino newbs get a better grasp around the process so it's not so intimidating. Feel free to PM or email me questions!
Recommended:
Yes
Ease of Application: Excellent; a breeze to apply and shine - lasts forever
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Epinions.com ID:
wahoodude23
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Location: Ashburn, VA
Reviews written: 29
Trusted by: 24 members
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Mommy, where do babies come from?
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