It's been several months since I did the whole Dawn, clay, Z1, Z2 treatment, and I want to put on a couple more coats of Z2. I don't want to clay again though, can I just wash the car really good and do the Z2? Last time I washed the car everything still felt almost as smooth as glass (90-95%), except for the bottom panels behind the rear wheels which is understandable. Do I need to do the Z1 again or is that only done after the car is clayed? I'm hoping to put on two more coats of Z2 in the next couple weeks.

Also what is the process to do the wheels? Clean them really good, Z1, Z2? Or skip the Z1?

 

You don't need to reapply Z1. Maybe once every 6 months based on you Zaino habits.
You don't need to clay, although it would certainly make the finish much smoother and cleaner.
Wheels - clean very, very well then apply just Z2. No need to apply Z1.

 

Claying isn't that bad........JUST DO IT

 

That would be a LOT of work for a minimal return seeing how everything is still nice and smooth (relatively)! I think I'll be re-claying later on in the year. For now I guess I'll just put another couple coats of Z2 on. I'll hafta see how clean I get get those wheels, always a pain!

 

Once you clay, the 92 coats will be removed and basically one would be starting from scratch, right?

My car is 2002 and when I was putting on Z2 it felt a bit gritty. Little bits of residue here and there. It shines nicely now and I am afraid once I clay, I waste all the coats that I put on previously.

One thing for sure, there are a lot of swirls!! Is it a Import car thing? I don't have an Acura, I have a Maxima. I heard Acura people complain about paint also. Are the European cars better?

 

Switch from z2 to z5 to get rid of the swirls

 

You won't be starting from scratch. Claying may only remove a small amount of Zaino. After claying, put on another coat of either Z-2 or Z-5 and that should level out where the clay has lifted those contaminants from the finish, and you're good to go. Just did that on my Toyota Solara -- and the paint ain't that great on Toyotas either.

 

If the wheels are painted or clear coat you should use Z-1 before Z-2.

Ira

 

So that means little particles could be trapped under a couple layers of Z2, and then if you clay again you might remove a little bit of Z2, but the stuff underneath will still be there? If you want to start *completely* from scratch, will a couple good washings with Dawn strip everything away? How bad is it to Zaino over a surface that is really clean, but has not been clayed so it's not 100% smooth?

 

The clay will usually remove the stuff under the Zaino and the Zaino covering it, but not the larger areas of Zaino. You should always apply a cost of polish after you clay because the existing polish we removed somewhere. But the generalization that Clay does not remove Zaino is true.

Ira