ChodTheWacko

Hey yo.

Well, I bit the bullet and did the Zaino job today.

Under normal circumstances Zaino would be impossible, since today's high is 45 degrees and 67% humidity. Time to see if ZFX is worth the $$$!

First I noticed there was crap ALL over my car, so I spent a while
washing the car and claying some gunk off. Then some Z6, and it's off to the races.

ZFX is pretty straightforward. I put an ounce of Z5 in the tube, put 4 drops in, and shook it up, and put it on. It took me about half an hour to do the entire car. ('m pretty slow)

By the time I got done with the car, I tested the very first part I Z5ed. It was already dry! So I wiped off the driver's door. Then I made my plans.

Basically, I ZFXed another 2 ounces of Z2. Then I Z6ed, then
Z2ed the driver's door. Then I moved to the 'next' section, wiped that off, Z6ed it, Z2ed it.

Basically by the time I got all the way around the car (and the roof), the first part I had Z2ed was already dry, so I could wipe that off, Z6 it, Z2 it again, and continue on. So that was cool. NO WAITING.


Unfortunately, I RAPIDLY ran out of towels. I had 5 large bath towels, and that was NOWHERE near enough, especially considering my intial wash. My towels starting moist, and that greatly slowed down wiping/drying phases. In fact, I didn't end up totally wiping off the 2nd layer of Z2, which I will do in the morning. (cuz it's getting damn cold).

So overall, I am very happy with ZFX. You don't need to Z1, and you don't need to wait near as long. And you can really jam on the zaino. I managed to do Z6, Z5, Z6, Z2, Z6, Z2 (almost) today. More pics when I finish up tomorrow, but here is a preview:

NOVAwhiteTypeS

Chod you need the cali water blade when drying your car. I only use 1 small shop towel and a cali water blade to dry my car.

KavexTrax

I use a large chemois to dry the car, nothing else.
works great. totally with ease.

Rock Dog

cali water blade?

Mike

http://store.yahoo.com/rodi/ac20002.html

Sal doesn't recommend it because you could wipe dirt particles all over you car.

soopa

i use cali water blade and te absorber.

the water blade isnt gonna wipe any more dirt across the surface of your car then a towel.

in fact... i think it wipes less since its barely touching your paint. its like pushing a puddle across your car

monkeymato

Ive had the water blade for a while now. It saves me so much time. Its the only way to go.

mrdeeno

the only thing i'm a little skeptical about is how long this holds up, 'cuz you can get a great shine with turtle wax.

wil zfx "weaken" the z2/z5 bonding, causing it to last not quite as long as if you did it without zfx over 2-3 days instead?

will zfx still require a "curing" period? (i remember it saying that no more than 3 layers of z2 or z5 can be applied at one time using zfx).

simply, there's no such thing as a free lunch, so i get the feeling zfx may make some compromises to allow the z2 or z5 to be applied without a curing period.

Scooter

if your theory is true, it's more evidence of what i call a marketing scam

think about it...3 coats at a time instead of one...ok, guess im ordering Zaino 3 times more often...and based on the fact that i only did 6 coats of Z2 per bottle (still have no idea y...long story in another thread ), that would mean i'd have to order another bottle every 2 days...not gonna happen

and for what?? sacrifice bonding to the paint just to slap on more coats??? makes no sense...with my work lifestyle, a coat or 2 a week is plenty...after the initial few coats, u're out of the critical protection stage anyway...each coat is just more reinforcement...ZFX doesn't make much sense to me...im perfectly happy Zaino'ing the original way

BTW, yesterday i slapped on a coat of Z5, the first coat of Z in a month...in 45 degree weather, i waited less than 2 hours before buffing...perfectly dry...even in cold weather, it's no problem for me.

mrdeeno

but if you think about it, zaino is "show car polish", so if you think about marketing, you'd want more coats on sooner than later just for the looks. so i think it's more about the finish than the protection, even though it does offer protection to a certain extent, but then again so does any other wax.

i'm not saying zfx totally negates any effects of having on extra coats, i'm just saying there's probably compromises somewhere between doing those extra coats all in one day and between not using zfx over several days.

but i have time to do zaino over several days (once a week, after every other wash so far since in San Antonio), so i don't really need zfx.

EricL

I have:

A water blade
P21 absorber
The Absorber

As long as someone doesn't leave crud on the blade or do something dumb, this thing works great and I also use it on my wife's Burgandy color car -- no scratches (I'd notice by now).

I prefer the p21 over "The Absorber" but the difference is so minor to forget about it. I also have 8-big Zaino approved Charisma bath towels and 8 more Charisma "irregulars" (in bath size). The blade and absorber or blade and towels work best for us.

Comment -- I could see how someone could wreck the finish of a car with a) the water blade b) a towel c) just about anything.


RE: ZFX scam, blessing, whatever... I'm still waiting and it sure would help marketing to make a product that required more $$$ going into it. However, I loathe going out and Zaino'ing at the moment without the ZFX (due to the damp and cold weather). I want to put on 2-3 coats in one session and be done with it.

Chod -- thanks for the review! Did you have any problem cleaning out the mixing bottles? And how long did you have stuff sitting in there (any tips, comments, etc) regarding the mixed-up “goop”?

ChodTheWacko

I forgot about the mixing bottles, and they ended up sitting in the car for 10-11 hours. It was kinda goopy, had the consistency of toothpaste.

I put water in and shook it, and it did not all come out. It didn't dissolve anymore. I put water+dawn in, and shook that, and that helped, but there obvious film still stuck to the sides of the bottle. See the attached pic.

So I put water+dawn in and let that sit for a couple of days (I forgot about it again, ha ha), and as you can see from the pic, it now wipes off fairly easily.