Zaino?

[Carbo]

OK. I'm reading/hearing about Zaino being the greatest car cleaning products on the planet. Who can shed some light on this?

 

[onza]

it's good but not the greatest.

Check out sites like autopia!

 

[JulesMaximus]

Waste of time-o and money-o.

 

[Carbo]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Waste of time-o and money-o.

OK. So you're not a happy customer. Why, and what would you recommend?

 

[iamwiz82]

Its awesome, awesome stuff. The key is prep work though. The car needs to be swirl free otherwise it's going to look like crap.

 

[Carbo]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Its awesome, awesome stuff. The key is prep work though. The car needs to be swirl free otherwise it's going to look like crap.

I'm buying a new car and have the fever right now to keep it looking showroom prepped. That's why I'm asking. Hate to ruin a new paint job right out of the box.
And Zaino has so many different products to choose from. What ever happened to good ol' carnuba wax?

 

[Dr. Detroit]

For a good hand wax I would suggest a 3-step process. If you step up to a orbital buffer than you are on to the advanced stages of car care and would not be asking this question.

1) Paint cleaner - clay bar if paint is not in good condition
2) polish
3) wax

repeat the wax every 1-3 months unless you let it go too long and than go back to step 1.

For wax - I like a heavy carnuba wax like Meguiars Gold Class Paste.

Meguiars NXT & Turtle-Wax Ice are great products as well.

 

[Mutilator]

If you're getting a NEW car and can get to it before the dealer does tell them NOT to wash it if you want it swirl free.

Product recommendations will depend on what color car you're getting and whether it's clear coated or not. As a general recommendation I'd say go with Klasse AIO and P21S as a topper. (Acrylic sealant + Carnauba wax).

 

[Carbo]

Originally posted by: Mutilator
If you're getting a NEW car and can get to it before the dealer does tell them NOT to wash it if you want it swirl free.

Product recommendations will depend on what color car you're getting and whether it's clear coated or not. As a general recommendation I'd say go with Klasse AIO and P21S as a topper. (Acrylic sealant + Carnauba wax).

Aren't all cars these days clear coat finishes? It's a Honda CR-V, by the way.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Its awesome, awesome stuff. The key is prep work though. The car needs to be swirl free otherwise it's going to look like crap.

The key is spending waaaay more time than anyone short of a college student would have on waxing your car. Seriously, I've seen threads where guys spend like 7 hours doing 1 car. Who the fuck has that much free time? Certainly not me.

Honestly, I've had good luck with Meguiars products. Paint cleaner, showroom glaze, and carnuba wax in that order. You can use clay instead of paint cleaner if you want.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Its awesome, awesome stuff. The key is prep work though. The car needs to be swirl free otherwise it's going to look like crap.

The key is spending waaaay more time than anyone short of a college student would have on waxing your car. Seriously, I've seen threads where guys spend like 7 hours doing 1 car. Who the fuck has that much free time? Certainly not me.

Honestly, I've had good luck with Meguiars products. Paint cleaner, showroom glaze, and carnuba wax in that order. You can use clay instead of paint cleaner if you want.

Well you could get off the Internet for awhile and I'm sure you would find the time. I have spent more than 7 hours on one detail before. It's a hobby

 

[kevman]

I'm starting to become a believer.


Here's another

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Its awesome, awesome stuff. The key is prep work though. The car needs to be swirl free otherwise it's going to look like crap.

The key is spending waaaay more time than anyone short of a college student would have on waxing your car. Seriously, I've seen threads where guys spend like 7 hours doing 1 car. Who the fuck has that much free time? Certainly not me.

Honestly, I've had good luck with Meguiars products. Paint cleaner, showroom glaze, and carnuba wax in that order. You can use clay instead of paint cleaner if you want.

Well you could get off the Internet for awhile and I'm sure you would find the time. I have spent more than 7 hours on one detail before. It's a hobby

I spend spurts of time here and there on this place. Sometimes I will leave myself logged in for hours and I have a job that has a bit of down time between busy periods. There's no way I could get 7 straight hours free to detail my car. I just have way too many other obligations.

Surfing is a hobby, riding motorcycles is a hobby, guns are a hobby, detailing my car is a chore.

 

[BUTCH1]

I use Zaino exclusively, it does take a while as for best result you must wash first w/blue dawn and then claybar/polish if necessary but the stuff will last for months if you don't have a chance to detail it for awhile. Meguiars also gave a nice shine but 3 weeks later it was gone, combination of FL sun and black car was to much for a carnuba based wax. Pic of car after 2 coats of Z2.

 

[mb]

It's nice stuff but it takes a lot of work and the results aren't THAT much better than you can get while spending less time and money.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: mb
It's nice stuff but it takes a lot of work and the results aren't THAT much better than you can get while spending less time and money.

I'd consider Zaino fairly cheap. $13 for a bottle that will last 2-3 years easily is a good deal, in my opinion. Now time, well yes, it takes a while. But again, if you enjoy doing it then it's not a problem.

 

[Mutilator]

Originally posted by: Carbo
It's a Honda CR-V, by the way.

What color? Darker colors get more dramatic and obvious results whereas colors like white and silver may not show them as much. There are actually waxes specifically designed for certain colors - an example of these would be some of the Swissvax line.

It's also a matter of how much time you want to spend and whether you have a garage or will be subjected to the elements if it decides to rain while you're detailing. I use to hate being in the process of putting on my 3rd coat of Zaino at the end of the day only to have a popcorn thunderstorm come rolling through. :|

Here are some pics of results you can get if you spend the time and don't use Zaino... different types of products give different results. IE do you want a mirror like reflection that looks like shiney plastic or do you want a car that looks like a puddle of melted paint? These are just a the first two I grabbed links for... a lot of pro detailers will post their results on car forums. You can get the same results, but you're going to put in what most people would consider an excessive (obsessive?) amount of time detailing the car (8+ hours).
Black Porsche transformation
Black 335i

I chose those 2 so you can see the difference a good detailing can make on an abused car and the 2nd one was somewhat a response to Kevman's Corvette pics. If you can't tell the difference between Zaino and these sealant + carnauba pics then I'd say save your time and money and just use the Zaino.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Mutilator

Originally posted by: Carbo
It's a Honda CR-V, by the way.

What color? Darker colors get more dramatic and obvious results whereas colors like white and silver may not show them as much. There are actually waxes specifically designed for certain colors - an example of these would be some of the Swissvax line.

It's also a matter of how much time you want to spend and whether you have a garage or will be subjected to the elements if it decides to rain while you're detailing. I use to hate being in the process of putting on my 3rd coat of Zaino at the end of the day only to have a popcorn thunderstorm come rolling through. :|

Here are some pics of results you can get if you spend the time and don't use Zaino... different types of products give different results. IE do you want a mirror like reflection that looks like shiney plastic or do you want a car that looks like a puddle of melted paint? These are just a the first two I grabbed links for... a lot of pro detailers will post their results on car forums. You can get the same results, but you're going to put in what most people would consider an excessive (obsessive?) amount of time detailing the car (8+ hours).
Black Porsche transformation
Black 335i

I chose those 2 so you can see the difference a good detailing can make on an abused car and the 2nd one was somewhat a response to Kevman's Corvette pics. If you can't tell the difference between Zaino and these sealant + carnauba pics then I'd say save your time and money and just use the Zaino.

That 335i was hardcore. It looks like he smoothed out a bunch of orange peel.

BTW, this was my car after I took delivery. Brand new

 

[exdeath]

I've used Meguiars NXT the last two times, but it seems to be quite the dust magnet. I'm thinking it's because its a harder synthetic sealer rather than a softer wax, so it builds up more static during the application and removal process?

 

[evident]

Originally posted by: Carbo

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Its awesome, awesome stuff. The key is prep work though. The car needs to be swirl free otherwise it's going to look like crap.

I'm buying a new car and have the fever right now to keep it looking showroom prepped. That's why I'm asking. Hate to ruin a new paint job right out of the box.
And Zaino has so many different products to choose from. What ever happened to good ol' carnuba wax?

the complaint w/ carnuba wax is that it wears off pretty quickly.

 

[Squisher]

I'm a Zaino guy too. Besides the great shine, one of the added benefits is the lack of dried polish/wax powder left in anything you don't go over meticulously. And, it doesn't take that much longer unless it's pretty cool out, then you just have to wait a while for it to haze over. The gloss enhancer makes it look like its freshly waxed without doing so when you don't feel like waxing too.

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: BUTCH1
I use Zaino exclusively, it does take a while as for best result you must wash first w/blue dawn and then claybar/polish if necessary but the stuff will last for months if you don't have a chance to detail it for awhile. Meguiars also gave a nice shine but 3 weeks later it was gone, combination of FL sun and black car was to much for a carnuba based wax. Pic of car after 2 coats of Z2.

I also use Zaino, and I'm lazy. I got my TL in Dec, so I didn't get to Zaino it until last month, when I was in NC. It was just too cold here to do it. When I did it, I didn't wash it myself, I went to a car wash. I did wipe Dawn all over the car first though. That step is a must, as it strips away the old wax.

I used Z-AIO for my base coat because I had a few scratches from clearing the car of snow. It did a fine job, but I wasn't happy because I had swirl marks. Lucky for me, I still had some Z-5 that I bought back in 2001. I was a bit afraid to use it, because it was so old, but it turned out I had nothing to worry about. After I put it on, I went inside to get something to eat.

About an hour later, I took it off, then sprayed it down with the Z-8 that I ordered. I wanted to add a coat of Z-2, but my gf had other plans. I added it the next day. Total time spent was about 3 hours. Most of that was waiting for the Z-5 & Z-2 to dry.

If your CR-V is a dark color, nothing will beat Zanio.