Hi All. Need Zaino advice. Is the clay bar really needed? What about ZFX? What happens if I dont use ZFX?

 

"Clay Bar"? In my opinion, yes! "ZFX"? Go look at some of the "Posts" by Dr Bonz in "Detailing". Also go to Zaino.com and look at "Tips & Tricks".

 

If you want the best possible starting surface then a clay bar would be best to use. There are a few times when I would not start with a clay bar, one would be if the car is brand new and you knew for a fact that the paint was covered with plastic during transport and that no foreign deposits where inflicted on the paint. But really you go by feel, does the paint feel perfectly smooth under your hand? do you feel specks and dirt? You have to decide.

To use Zaino properly you either use the Z-1 activator or the ZFX activator. Z-1 is used on the first application and then once per six months to maintain the bond with the paint. If you are using the ZFX the polish is activated any time it is mixed with the ZFX, also the ZFX makes the polish dry much faster and allows you to do three back to back coats in one day if you wish in order to stack or build up the layers of protection and more importantly the gloss level and scratch and swirl filling ability. ZFX is also one step, where the Z-1 is a two step process.

 

I read myself from Sal Zaino's instructions that it is a good idea to clay bar the car directly from the factory to remove transportation dirt, rail dust, etc. from the car. He states that even new, the car will have contaminants on the paint already.