Well, the hard part is over.

I did the whole big first-timer-Zaino-newb-ordeal tonight: dawn, claybar, Z7, Z5, Z6. I love my DF towels, and the wash mitts are REALLY great. They seem to hold nearly infinite suds, I can wash the entire car with only about 3-4 dunks in the bucket. I highly recommend those DF towels to anyone who's been thinking about buying them. I am definitely going to buy some more of these towels, I don't think I have enough.

I would've loved to do another coat of Z5 but it was already getting late and I was getting a little tired. I was surprised to find out that Z6 is seriously the hardest step in the Zaino process, you REALLY have to work to buff it off unlike the Z5 haze. Even doing the claybar was nothing compared to Z6.

In any case, the Z is looking great and I'm already REALLY happy with the results. Z6 really made the difference IMO. Maybe I'll pick up some Z8 and see how it looks.

I am still not totally satisfied, however. The Z5 seemed to help *somewhat* at reducing swirl marks, but nothing like what I thought it would be. The Zaino website says 1-3 coats of Z5 should be sufficient... but I'm just not believing that right now. Hopefully I'll have time to do another coat of Z5 tomorrow.

I have a couple of questions for the Zaino masters again.

First, especially to SB owners, do you really think I'll be seeing zero swirl marks if I do 2 more coats of Z5? My car is only 2 weeks old and the paint was in great shape even before claybarring, but the dealer swirls are nuts.

Second, what the hell do I do with my Zaino applicators? I have quite a few of them, but the first one got pretty trashed just from one application! Not only are some fibers coming out now, but some dirt seems to be stuck in there. I washed it in the washing machine with Tide Free liquid (2 extra rinse cycles) and I'm letting it air dry because it seems that the foam would get damaged in the dryer.

Third, I feel like I used a little bit too much Z5, but I'm not sure. I used up nearly 1 ounce (~1/2 of a little ZFX bottle) with 5 drops of ZFX on the car and rims. It seems that the problem is that the applicator pad keeps on absorbing more and more of the Z5, then when I rub the applicator on the paint, it sometimes looks like it's buffing Z5 off! So, I compensated by spraying lots of Z6 on the pad which seemed to help spread the Z5 more evenly... but I feel like I wasted a TON of Z6 when doing this. What is the best way to stretch the Z5 as far as it can go? Should I get the applicator wet (with water) at all before using Z5? Or keep spraying Z6?

Fourth, the DF towels are good, but still not all that great at drying. They tend to leave that slight film of water behind the same way a chamois does. Only by wiping that film with a fresh, new, dry DF towel was I able to dry it completely. I was thinking about getting the california water blade, can anyone tell me if this is a worthwhile investment? Does this thing scratch black paint? By the way, I'm a little scared to get any microfiber towel that's made from artificial fibers (namely, the waffle weave microfiber towels people are talking about.)

Sorry for the long post, but I'm very excited about Zainoing for the first time. I appreciate any help you guys can give me regarding my questions. Any other suggestions are welcome as well! Thanks again.

 

What about doing a layer of Z-5 and then Z-6, then another layer of Z-5 and then Z-6, then IMPORTANTLY do the last layer of Z-2, then Z-8. I found out that even though Z-5 is for swirls I didnt feel that much of a difference until I started using the Z-5 and Z-2 combo. Also if you like the Z-6 you are going to love, love, love, love the Z-8. It honestly took my until the 5th. or 6th. layer for me to see a vast difference between a regular "turtle wax" detail and a Zaino detail but it will get there. Im no expert at this since im new to Zaino as well, but now today I just applied my 12th layer and its looking good. In a minute I will post colse up pics of my panels with no swirls even though I had them before check back in one sec. By the way mine is a Silverstone.

 

Here is a few!

 

Yeah, I'd definitely like to pick up some Z8 but I can't justify the flat rate shipping unless I buy more than 1 product. Anyone use Zaino glass detailer?

I am not very satisfied with Z6 on glass...
Also, any pics of Zaino tire dressing?

Oh and I have another question. For daily spot treatments, such as mud splashes (which seem to occur daily) and what I'm dreading (I know it will happen eventually), bird crap, I was thinking I could have a bottle of club soda in the car at all times. I know club soda is good at loosening and lifting the dirt or crap away. I will also keeping Z6 and a towel on hand, so I could just buff out the affected area with Z6. Does this sound like a good idea? Or does anyone have any better suggestions for daily touch ups?

 

Dude NO CLUB SODA! Just keep the Z-6 or Z-8, whatever you prefer at hand in the car if you want. Actually Z-6 is good to go over the whole car between washes actually. Z-6 can replace a whole day of Zainoing.

 

What is wrong with club soda? It just has CO2 which makes it ever so slightly acidic. It shouldn't strip zaino, it's still just water. Anyways, I'm not going to leave it on the paint, I'm just going to get the crap off then wipe it dry, then Z6.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if there's dirt on the paint (mud splash) and I use Z6 directly on top of the dirt without removing the dirt, won't rubbing the dirt scratch the paint?

 

I just wouldnt mix other stuff with Zaino, its just my opinion. But im sure other Zaino users with a lot more experience comment on this one. Maybe your are right.

From my experience. Just spraying Z-6 on a dirty, muddy or sandy area made those spots just slide off the car without even me having to rub it with a towel so it doesnt scratch the paint. For example bird Sh**, I spray on Z-6 and then it just falls off, maybe thats why I dont scratch it. Maybe a water bottle with a sprayer would do the same I dont know.......but so far the Z-6 has worked. Good luck............

 

1 ounce should get you ATLEAST 3 coats.....if not more. Anything more than that is just applying it way too thick.

It is great the towels hold suds that well......but be careful. I would advise using the 2 bucket system and rinsing your wash tool after every 1-2 panels depending on how dirty the car is. Better safe than sorry......especially on black.

Z6 should be easy to use. Spray on.....and wipe off. If you are having trouble getting it to dry you might try a new towel or a dryer towel. Which towel were you using to remove it? I find a plush microfiber terry loop towel works best for removing the Z6.

Z5 will fill some swirls but if you have the "dealer installed swirls" you are going to have to do prep work with an abrasive to remove those swirls first if you are wanting a perfect finish.

Try out the Sonus microfiber towels at Autopia car care. They are great and even come in a kit that has one of each. The waffle weave towel is amazing for drying. ALL of the towels passed the CD scratch test and none of them have scratched my finish. They are awesome. I was like you and very hesitant to use microfiber but I am glad I tried them as that is all I use now.

The DF towels only work well for drying when they are very dry themselves. I use the Sonus der Wunder waffle weave to get most all of the water off and then come back with the DF to finish it off.

I have a California water blade....and I would only recommend using it on glass. It is just too risky IMO to use on paint. It is great for getting water off of the glass quickly but the chance of scratching paint with it is too high IMO.

As far as the Zaino applicators.....if they are trashed go ahead and throw them away. After you have a few coats of Zaino on they will last much better as long as you wash them promptly.
You should only need a couple squirts of Z6 on the applicator when you first start to help spread everything. Any more than that you should be adding just a little Z5.....of course you said you were having problems with the Z5 being too thick so you might want to practice on your technique. Leave only enough on the car to barely see the Z5.....anymore than that is too much.

The Zaino stuff is not a glass detailer. It is a glass polish which works great for removing spots normal glass cleaners won't. I personally use Eagle 20/20 on the glass and love it....although I haven't had any problems with Z6 on glass.

I would nix the club soda idea and just keep a good towel and a bottle of Z6 with you. Soak the bird crap down with Z6 and gently remove it with the towel....at which point you can shake the bird crap out of the towel. Then turn the towel and wipe down with Z6 once you have all the bird crap off.

Let us know if you have any other questions.

 

I am using all DF towels. I am very satisfied with them and I think I'll be ordering some more because they seem to work much better when 100% dry. I think I was having more and more trouble removing Z6 because the towel I was using got more and more damp, slightly, over time.

I was told by someone who details cars about the club soda idea. I know it doesn't damage paint... the only question is if it damages Zaino. I'll spot check it somewhere discreet sometime. Thanks for your help.

 

can you apply zaino with a buffer machine? i did my whole car by HAND and its shiny, but still horrible swirls and some streaks... ugh... oh yeah didnt use zaino either... so i think im gonna get me some and use a machine on my SB Z

 

To fill in a couple holes -

I always slightly dampen with water and squeeze out the Zaino applicator pad before I start. It helps a lot.

1 ounce is not too much, especially for the first coat (and especially if you didn't dampen the applicator). On later coats you should find that it spreads better. 3 coats from one ounce seems extreme to me, but if it works for him....

Your swirls should slowly fade out as you add more coats. I would lean more towards Z5 with just the occasional Z2 until they do, but SB may behave differently than my SS.

I really like my California Water Blade, have never had it scratch the car, but I always spray it off before each use and the blade has never touched anything besides my car and the inside of its container.

I like the Zaino tire dressing, it darkens without being too shiny. I have only used the glass stuff once, I wouldn't recommend it. I always apply Z5/Z2 to the glass as I do the paint.

FWIW

 

Z5/Z2 on glass? Had NO idea. I'm still skeptical of it... since the Z6 just didn't seem to do much for the glass. It was like 100x harder to wipe the Z6 off of the glass and it left mad streaks. I should probably try again with a cleaner and dryer towel, maybe that will make the difference.

 

Z2/Z5 on glass does just what it does on paint; fills in small scratches, making it optically cleaner, and makes water bead. It's kind of like (but IMHO better than) Rain-X.

I find that I use Z6 less and less; typically just before and after a coat, never between washings. I don't like the possibility of rubbing dirt into my paint.

If the Z6 was hard to get off, you did something wrong. I use two small microfiber towels, one for putting on, one for taking off. I spray the towel, not the car, wipe it on a panel, then immediately wipe off with the dry towel, then move to the next panel.

 

Unless you are doing a Suburban 1 ounce is more than enough for 3 coats. 1 ounce per 1 coat is really slopping it on. This includes paint, glass, and wheels.

I agree it certainly spreads better on coats 2 and 3.

And Z2/Z5 is better than RainX on glass......kiss your wipers goodbye!

 

So if I'm just planning to do 1 coat in a day, should I mix up 1/3 ounce or so and put in like 2 drops of ZFX?