How to properly Zaino your car.

[Slim]

Okay. First of all, set aside a lot of time. To properly Zaino your car, it takes a long time. The process I'm explaining uses Z-1, Z-2, Z-5, and Z-6.

I'll outline it in steps. It's best to do this on a warm to hot day with low humidity. Park your car in a spot out of direct sunlight too.

1. Wash your car with a fairly caustic soap like dish detergent. This gets a lot of grease and crud off your paint.
2. Clay bar your car. Either Zaino clay bar or Mother's clay bar will work. Follow the directions that come with the bar and the paint will be smooth as glass when done.
3. Wash your car again. You don't need the caustic soap again, but it won't hurt at this point.
4. Thoroughly dry your car.
5. Apply the Z-1 to your car. Work with the lines of the car. On the hood roof and trunk, apply front to back. On the doors and fenders, apply up and down.
6. Apply the Z-5 directly over top of the Z-1. **Important** DO NOT remove the Z-1 before applying the Z-5.
7. Let the Z-1/Z-5 mix dry for about an hour. Test a small area with your finger. If it smears, wait longer, if it wipes off cleanly go ahead and remove it.
8. Remove it in the same directions you applied it. This gives the best result and the highest shine. 100% cotton towels made in Canada or the U.S work best.
9. Spray the Z-6 sparingly on the car and buff off. Again, go with the lines of the car.
10. If the temperature is over 70, wait 6 hours before applying the next coat of either Z-2 or Z-5. If it's under 70, wait 24 hours.
11. Keep applying Z-5 until you get the paint as swirl-mark free as your want. Remember, wait at least 6 hours between each coat.
12. For optimum results, use Z-6 between each coat.
13. Follow the above directions for the application of Z-2 as well.

You may notice that all the above instructions outline hand application and hand buffing. Doing it by hand is the only proper way to use the product. Zaino is not a wax, so it's very easy to remove. Using the big, fluffy 100% cotton towels helps out too.

The important thing to remeber with Zaino is time. It takes forever to properly Zaino a car, but the results are so worth it! I turned my car into a black mirror on wheels. It definitely outshines anythine out there!

If you want more information about this stuff, check out www.zainobros.com

[01gt1]

It's a good idea man but I don't know about the cotton towels.. Say what you want but they will damage your paint. It's just a persoanl opinion.

-Jason

[iceman]

Originally posted by 01gt1
It's a good idea man but I don't know about the cotton towels.. Say what you want but they will damage your paint. It's just a persoanl opinion.

-Jason


No way... 100% CLEAN cotton towel :thumbs:

Key word being clean.. The towel won't mess up your finish, but a dirty one will.

[01gt1]

I use a shammy when I do mine like every two days!:) so your saying everytime I wash it it alright that I use a cottom towel for drying? I ask because the shammy is a pain in the a** when you have to ring it out after every swipe

-Jason

[iceman]

Cotton towel for removing the polish (the subject of this thread) not for drying your car after washing..

Theres a good thread on what everyone uses for drying and their opinions (water blade, shammy, towels), if you want me to find it for you, PM me.

[Gator]

Nice tips! But you must not know about the new ZFX kit they offer. It blends with the Z2 and/or Z5 to cut the curing time down. This allows you to apply up to 3 coats in a day. NO MORE 24 HOUR WAIT between coats! YEA! I just ordered my ZFX kit and I will post my opinions on it when I use it.

Richard
"Gator"

[Slim]

Originally posted by Gator
Nice tips! But you must not know about the new ZFX kit they offer. It blends with the Z2 and/or Z5 to cut the curing time down. This allows you to apply up to 3 coats in a day. NO MORE 24 HOUR WAIT between coats! YEA! I just ordered my ZFX kit and I will post my opinions on it when I use it.

Richard
"Gator"

I know about the ZFX, but I've never used it. That's why I stated that my post was for Z-1. If the weather's warm enough, you can still do 3 coats in one day without the ZFX.

[gagtgrrl]

You are supposed to cut the tags, the edges and that funky design off the ends of the towel. Leaving you with a nice soft fluffy towel =)
..and of course it gives you a medium to sniff your Zaino from..eh Gator? lol
:D

[Molson]

Zaino smells oh so good

[Slim]

Originally posted by Molson
Zaino smells oh so good

It sure does. So good, you almost want to drink it. lol

[Vintalage]

wow, thats a long process. I didn't think it would be that long. I have swirl marks all over my black car. :( I'm curious, how long does zanio last or how long has it lasted for you on the car? What about when it rains? How many uses do you get out of the kit?

[StarFire]

You've got to use the ZFX Kit, Me and 4 of my friends can get 3 cars COMPLETELY DONE in about 1 day Including claybarring and everything (exterior)

Steps for ZFX...Make sure it's above 70 degrees F. for the best drying times. And make sure you eat before applying, otherwise as Molson said, it will make you hungry. You will also want a large pizza order or something afterwards cuz you get hungry doing all this work ;)

1) Wash with Dawn
2) Claybar
3) Wash with Z7 (seems to work really well this way).
4) Z2 apply (wait about 10 - 30 minutes to dry)
5) Wipe off Z2
6) Z6 sprayed on and wiped in/off
7) Z5 apply (wait about 10 - 30 minutes to dry)
8) Wipe off Z5
9) Z6 sprayed on and wiped in/off
10) Repeat 4 - 9 so it goes (Z2, Z6, Z5, Z6, Z2, Z6, Z5, Z6, Z2, Z6)
11) ALWAYS End with Z2 (has higher optical properties than Z5) apply and wait about 30 minutes to dry
12) Wipe off Z2
13) Z6 sprayed on and wiped in/off
14) Finished! Should take about 3-4 hours total to do a car (and with the all the time waiting, you can do two or three at one time in about a day, start early, like 9am).

I switch between the Z2 and Z5 applications because, for me, this has worked the absolute best to keep any swirl marks down. Along with that, the more applications you put on the LESS zaino you will use and the EASIER it applies. It's definitely great stuff, I've had it on my car for 6 months and the car still beads quite well (even with sitting outside all the time). My friend's mother's car sits inside the garage at home and in a parking garage at work, and her car still beads like the day we put it on. I was completely shocked.

Zaino (a full buy of all the products listed above will last about 10 cars) or about 10 applications on our GAs. You WILL need more of Z2 and a couple bottle of Z6, since you *should* use Z6 after every car wash. All I do was buy one bottle of Z6/per member in my group buys (normally about 4 or 5 guys). You will find that some things go faster than others and some last a lot longer...You'd be safe buying one of everything then after one or two applications you'll see what you use faster.

[Slim]

If you read the directions on how to *properly* apply Zaino, even when using ZFX, you will notice that you can only apply three coats in 24 hours. I pulled this information pulled directly off the Zaino website. You can put more than three coats on in 24hrs but you will definitely notice a difference if you wait.

Trust me on this one..... It's a PITA waiting, but the wait is SO worth it. :D

[StarFire]

Straight from the zaino website...

ZFX™ saves you time and effort. It's no longer necessary to keep your car in the garage for a whole weekend just so you can apply two or three coats of polish. Using ZFX™, you'll apply multiple coats in just a few hours.

Also you never want to put more than three coats on it (which a full coating consists of Z2, Z5, Z6).
So you can get it done in plenty of time to go out drinking at night! :cheers:

I also talked to Sal about it and he said the way I was doing it was fine and he wanted info on how well it worked, I told him it works great this way. :)

...but you will definitely notice a difference if you wait.

hehe, if you use Zaino period, you will notice a difference ;) Much better than any waxes I've used (normally Zymol)

[Slim]

That's odd... I'm not doubting you at all, since you talked to Sal about it. (read: I'm not arguing with you. :)). I'm just going by what I pulled off the Zaino website. Under the application section I found this:

http://www.grandamgt.com/forum/attachment.php?s=&postid=134063

[StarFire]

Slim you are right, the rest of the website actually goes, or says above that, a coat is one application of Z2 & Z5. Z6 inbetween both of them is up to you, but highly recommended. :)

So you are right, you shouldn't apply more than three coats. Which when done, you are applying only 3 actual coats of Z2 and 2 coats of Z5.

That is what I talked to Sal about and he said that it's fine and works really well. I think I wrote it up wrong before so it was more coats then it should be. That was my fault.

edit: I noticed the img tag isn't working either the other day, wonder what's up.

[Slim]

Cool.... Thanks for the info. I didn't know that one coat was a full application of Z-2, Z-5 and Z-6. Now that I do, that changes how I'm going to Zaino my car in May. :D

See, that's what I love about this website. Not a week goes by that I don't learn some new tip or trick.

[JHawk GT]

Originally posted by StarFire
Slim you are right, the rest of the website actually goes, or says above that, a coat is one application of Z2 & Z5. Z6 inbetween both of them is up to you, but highly recommended.

Where exactly does it say this on the website? Couldn't find it. :confused: Sounds like Sal may have changed his recommendation. This is the response I got from Sal when I asked him this question before the first time I used ZFX last year.

-----Original Message-----
> From: Sal Zaino [mailto:zainobros@zainobros.com]
> Sent: Monday, October 7, 2002 9:39 AM
> To: JHawk_GT@
> Subject: Re: Zaino question
>
> JHawk_GT wrote:
>
> > I'm planning on applying ZFX, instead of Z1, to my car for the first time this weekend and am excited to try it. Heard a lot of good things. But before I do, I have a question.
> >
> > I'm going to use ZFX enabled Z2 and Z5 and would like to apply 3 coats of each beginning with Z5 and use Z6 between each coat. Does this mean that I can only apply 3 coats (Z5, Z2, Z5) on Saturday and then 3 coats (Z2, Z5, Z2) on Sunday?
>
> Yes....
>
> Apply no more than three coats of Zaino Show Car Polish enabled with ZFX(tm) in a 24 hour period. for optimum results use enable ZFX withing 6 hours of mixing.
>
> Thank You,
> Sal Zaino
> (732)833-8800
> http://www.zainobros.com

[JHawk GT]

Ran across this post about layering on the Z28 forum: http://web.camaross.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=99078

It also looks like Z1 may be on the way out: http://www.ls1.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=277410

[Cliff]

I actually did this yesterday, but I didnt wash after I claybarred her. I hope this didn't greatly effect my outcome. it took me a total of 4 hours to do this: dishwash soap, claybar, z1, z2. im gonna do a coat of z6 then z5 this weekend.

[StarFire]

typically you wash after claybaring to remove the residue that the claybar leaves. I've always washed after claybaring...if it looks fine, it's probably all right...

Though I'd still be hesitant to not wash after the claybar.

[Panacea]

Definately wash before claybaring!!! When you claybar your car those contaminents are on the surface of the paint; and when you polish/wax it you'll just be rubbing those contaminents into the paint (causing it to scratch the paint).

[iceman]

Originally posted by JHawk GT
Ran across this post about layering on the Z28 forum: http://web.camaross.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=99078

It also looks like Z1 may be on the way out: http://www.ls1.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=277410

FYI the guy "hcvone" in the LS1 thread is my local Zaino rep, he is seriously a detailing encyclopedia and his z06 is trick too :) I'll snap some pics of it later this week

[Panacea]

Just wrote Sal today, and here's his response on a few things.


"Michael S." wrote:

Sal,


A few months ago you told me that about every 10-12 coats I should reapply the Polish Lok. Well, I just purchased some ZFX and I don’t know whether or not I should do that or not. Would it mess anything up or should I just stick with the ZFX?



ZFX replaces Z-1 and is superior to Z-1

Z-1 is not necesssary when using ZFX....

The new Zaino ZFX is an accelerative additive that can be mixed

with Z-2, Z-3 or Z-5....
Below are just a few of the improvements....

1. When mixed as per directions, you will not need to apply Z-1...

2. It will reduce the drying time, thus making the polish more user
friendly in damp environments...
3. It will increase the gloss factor and extend the durability level..
4. It will have an instant cure time, so you can immediately apply
multiple coats.. No more waiting between coats...
5. And more........



Also, with the ZFX, I tried my hardest to clean out the bottles, but there is still some residue on the cap and inside of it. I used dish soap to clean it it out but the stuff wouldn’t come off. Will that create a problem?

Should I reuse the bottles?

Yes....
I stick a cloth in the bottle with a popsicle stick to twirl the cloth around...






Someone told me that one coat of Zaino would be the Z2, Z5, and Z6.

That's wrong...

So, does that mean I can apply 3 coats of each of them in one day?

No.....

3 coats total.....






Thanks,


Micael

--




Thank You,
Sal Zaino
(732)833-8800
http://www.zainobros.com

[Panacea]

Question, do you think when I asked about reusing the bottles he said "Yes" to reuse the bottle or "Yes" it will cause a problem?

[Vintalage]

Originally posted by Panacea
Question, do you think when I asked about reusing the bottles he said "Yes" to reuse the bottle or "Yes" it will cause a problem?

Hard to tell. "Yes....
I stick a cloth in the bottle with a popsicle stick to twirl the cloth around..." It seems he said that after you clean out the bottle, you can reuse it. I don't know. It could go both ways. You would have to clearify with him.

As a side note, you should make the text light red or some other light color instead of blue. The blue text is fading into the background layer. It's kinda hard to see it.

[Panacea]

Yeah, it's supposed to be orange-red, but it didn't come out that way, now did it? Haha I'll try that in a sec...

[Vintalage]

yes, now it is. :thumbs:

[Panacea]

Yeah, Sal said it was okay to reuse my bottles :)