Ok, so I love the way my Anthracite TL looks and I want to keep it that way. This is only my second new car and I'll admit I wasn't that good to my prior car's finish. Here goes nothing:

Will using a good polish like Zaino get rid of that "orange peel" look about the paint or is there nothing that can be done about it.

When I received my car, the dealer had put something on it that was oily to the touch, does Z6 leave this residue? It was too easy to leave fingerprints on it.

Do you wax/polish the black parts around the windows?

Is using the clay bar really necessary on a new car?

My wife's car is a black 2003 Nissan Murano that I had previously been taking to one of those "brushless" carwashes. I washed it by hand this weekend and noticed that it has really bad swirling. Will Z5 help this?

The murano also has a pretty serious scratch in the door about 6 inches long. Should I try to repair it or is it a job for the pros? I saw reference to some product that "smoothes" out the raised area caused by using touch-up paint. Does it really work?

 

I just started using Zaino, tried first on my wife's Pilot, and the orange peel is alive and well after two coats. It remains to be seen if Zaino will minimize the orange peel after successive coats. I'm skeptical at this point.

Z6 leaves absolutely no residue.

I didn't touch anything black using Zaino, only the paint.

The Claybar is the magic in the Zaino system - don't skip this! Besides, it's so easy and fast to do if you lubricate the paint liberally with a spray bottle, like they recommend.

The Z5 will definitely help the swirling from the car wash. I'd try it on the long scratch you have also, because it won't damage the paint when you use it. So, you have nothing to lose, only a chance at fixing it yourself.

Good luck! I can tell you that I'll never use another wax system, the look of my wife's Pilot after 4 hours of initial work was unbelievable. I could have sold it as new, with a zero odometer.

 

BrandHDriver covered just about everything...

I DO use this stuff on all the black trim....It cannot hurt it and can help to protect it.

No residue at all, in fact, the stuff is supposed to help repel dirt.

Clay bar CAN be skipped, it can always be skipped, but it is best if you take the extra time. I did not clay bar when I applied to my 1 month old car, and it still looked great. Many of those on the forum that are using Zaino agree that clay bar is recommended , but not 100% neccessary on the new ride.

Z5 likely will help...I may clay bar that car first to get the cleanest surface possible, especially since bad wax/washing jobs left it this way.

Finally, stop calling this sutff a wax...this is a polish and it is a completely seperate animal. The fact that it is not a wax means that you avoid all of the residue left behind by waxes. Also, it is more optically pure, so hazing is not an issue.

Good luck

 

Definitely use it on the black around the windows. It makes me wish I'd bought a black car it gets so dang glossy. Doubles as a vanity mirror.

 

Under no circumstances are you to wax or polish the windows with a wax meant for paint.

Their is a "wax" you can use for cleaning windows but it is specifically made for glass.

The way wax works is it smoothes in the surface of the paint by filling the microscopic imperfections in the paint so that light will bounce off it the paint more evenly. Thus the ability to "read text off of the reflection". Adding car wax to the windows will only dirty your windows and since wax repels water you are going to have a good time cleaning it off.

 

HA maybe I should read the post better. Sorry about that. You meant the black AROUND the windows. Not the windows themselves.

 

Save yourself a lot of money and work, use Maguiar''s new NXT. I have used Zaino for years and this stuff is just as good!

 

Orange peel is a problem that is difficult to deal with. We have been pretty lucky with our recent cars, but they all have it to some extent. It doesn't mean the car can't be a shiny as possible. Also, more layers of Zaino WILL help as the layers of polymer build up, but it really depends on how bad it is.

I recommend claying at least once in a while. The test is to put your hand in a baggie and rub it over the paint (when clean). If you feel anything but perfectly smooth, you need to clay. It isn't hard, and the paint becomes SO smooth that wiping the polish on and off is even easier.

I use Zaino on everything that is shiny - trim, headlights and taillights, wheels, etc. Not on the glass, but some people do. I can see that the glass would stay cleaner, since the Zaino polish is so slippery. I can't see any harm in it.

Beware of so-called "touchless" car washes. They TOUCH your car plenty, with high pressure water that sand-blasts the dirt into your paint, making swirl marks and other scratches. The soaps are also extremely strong to get all cars clean in one pass. finally, the towels used are surely poly/cotton, which adds even MORE swirl marks. ALL Car washes are to be avoided at all cost! I will let my car get filthy before taking it to a car wash.

If you have really bad swirling, you must power buff the car with a glaze or swirl-mark remover. THEN polish it and stay the H**L away from car washes!

Here's our anthracite TSX after washing only - 2-3 months after last polishing.

 

Hey automophile do you use a power buffer or do you apply by hand?

 

glad to hear that will be trying NXT this weekend. i was going to spring 80 bucks for the Zaino but changed my mind after reading all these great things about NXT. if its close to the results of zaino i am fine with it. will take me an hour to wash and wax, can't beat that. i dun want to put down coat after coat of zaino.

 

Zaino does not recommand using power buffer. Hnad polish is the right way to go.

 

I can't believe how many times this totally inaccurate statement is made. (Okay, Okay, I know I'm starting to sound like automophile),

Zaino does not take longer!

You can claybar and Dawn your car before applying Meguiars and you will get better results. Zaino(Z1 and Z2) takes no longer than Meguair's 2 step cleaner and wax and comes off a heck of alot easier.

 

I`ve used Zaino 2 and Zaino 6 on my windows. They look great and water beads off just as fast as the paint.

I would not use WAX on the glass because it builds up and makes the wipers stick when moving.

Zaino is a synthetic polish and does not "wear off" like wax does

 

NXT is one (1) step and you're done. I've used Zaino and preached it's greatness for years. I am just suggesting spending $15 on NXT and try it, I was sure surprised! It also smell great.

 

I've never heard of a wax or polish where the layers actually build up. They don't work that way, although the manufacturers lead you to believe they do. The first time you use a car wax, coverage isn't 100%. Subsequent applications take care of the areas that were missed and may add a tiny bit more. But it doesn't really build thicker and thicker layers. Once a certain point is reached, the next application just takes off the previous layer(s) or is completely buffed off. Waxes and polishes aren't even complete coatings over the surface, like people think. Microscopically, paint isn't all that smooth, especially as it ages. A greatly-enlarged cut away would look like a mountain range. The wax gets into the valleys, and the peaks are right at the surface. That's how wax can create a smoother surface, by smoothing out the irregularities and providing a more perfect surface. How clear the wax ends up in the "valley" also contributes to the look of the finished product.

If it truly became thicker every time you applied it, wouldn't somebody by now have proven you can make it 1/8 inch thick or something, by now, thereby offering bra-like protection? Even if it took 500 coats, somebody would have tried it just to prove it. If you don't believe me, experiment on a piece of painted metal somewhere, maybe a model car or something. Put as many coats as you want on it, buffing between coats. (Yes, I know the thickness would only amount to microns each time, but that would add up, right?)

 

I don't necessarily believe all the claims made by Zaino. What I do think:

Zaino Z2 is probably about as shiny as the Meguiars Gold Class I was using. Although, adding Z6 to the Z2 or the Gold Class on my wife's car, makes them both super glossy.

Zaino beads and sheds water like nothing I'ver ever used. It has rained on my car and it shed the water so well there were no water spots on my car after it dried. The bug splater on the front bumper just slides off or wipes off very easily.

 

There was an interesting comparison done between Zaino and Zymol on an NSX web site. Zaino ended up the winner.

http://www.nsxsc.com/nsexcitement/waxtest.html

They included the Meguiars gold class and it didn't hold up too well.