MikeS 18

Okay, I am only interested in those who have tried both products. If you have not, then keep quiet! J/K

Anyone have experience on their own car with both products? Comments?

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MikeS 18
'01 CL-S #22,299 Black/Parchment with Nav, Spoiler, door guards, wood trim kit, fender guards, PIAA 19169 & Platinum 9005, V1, trunk tray, winter mats, Salt Coat Finish by Mass DOT

volsfan0911

here we go again

Two black cars ('98 Corolla, 00 Mustang GT), both daily drivers parked outside 24/7/365.

Meguiar's Gold Class - used on the Corolla. Good results applied by hand. Pain to apply. Only lasted a month in admittedly tough conditions (never garaged). Left white residue everywhere possible on the car (body side molding, trim pieces, between body panels, etc.). Used Zaino on it prior to trading. Zaino looked as good/maybe better on 3 year old paint.

Zaino - First session a lot of work (Dawn, clay, Z1, Z5). Easy to apply after that (less than an hour to wash & Z6/Z2/Z6). Has lasted 3 months on last Z2 application and still beads water just as well. Snow & ice also slid off easier No white residue. Also Z2 treats glass as well as or better than Rain-X. UV protection. More cost effective in long run than Meguiar's for me.

Bottom line. I've used both and Zaino is in the pantry right now. It's the only product used on my current Mustang GT and it's what I'll use on my new $48,000 Corvette Z06 when it gets here (unless something better comes out in the next 60 days). A very large percentage of corvetteforum folks use it also and that's a pretty damn good endorsement (if you can afford a 'Vette, chances are good you can afford whatever the hell you want to use for car wax ). That's my personal experience, YMMV.

[This message has been edited by volsfan0911 (edited 01-06-2001).]

EricL

volsfan0911:

I didn't know about the Z2 and the glass. I purchased the glass polish from Zaino. Do you use the Z2 all the time on the inside and outside of the glass?

Thanks for even more Zaino info!

MikeS:

I've used the Meguiar's on my Maxima and it was good for a "garage queen". (Also used Mothers)

I'm trying out the Zaino on the Acura now (1 month and still testing). I used the Z1+Z2 vs Z1+Z5 back to Z1+Z2 on a side panel. I only "dawned" the car. I just need to get off my but and do the entire car!

One comment, I think it is easier to apply and touch up the Meguiar's or Mothers (or at least that is what I am used to). I'm still trying to get the hang of the Zaino (Touch-ups, bugs, mud spray, etc)

The Zaino sure looks great!!!!


[This message has been edited by EricL (edited 01-07-2001).]

volsfan0911

yes, Z2 can be used on any 'non-porous surface' (ie: glass). Works great - just make sure glass is squeaky clean before you apply it. Lasts a hell of a lot longer than Rain-X too! Sal sells a great glass polish called Z-12. For older windshields that have scratches, pits, etc., it works wonders. The Bimmer guys use Bon Ami scouring powder for the same effect, but Z-12 is custom designed for automotive glass. I personally only use Z-2 on the outside of the glass, but I don't know of any reason it couldn't be used inside as well.

The 'trick' to applying Zaino is pretend you're running out. Very thin, even strips is the way to go. Put too much on and it'll never dry. For reference, 1 bottle of Z2 is enough to do a Mustang 16 - 18 times!!!!!

Z6 (the 'spray detailer') is VERY concentrated. Remember, Sal says 1 - 1.5 ozs. is enough to do an entire car! Set the trigger to a very wide mist and go very short & light on the trigger pulls. 1 full trigger pull is enough to do my entire hood practically, so I personaly use like 1/3 or 1/2 pulls and work in smaller sections as recommended on the site.

Hope all the above helps.

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I used to be disgusted, but now I try to be amused.....

volsfan0911

Eric - Claying makes a huge difference. Been there, done that. It's not that bad, really. Why Z1/Z2 and then Z1/Z5?

Dawn - wash car with it one time to remove all old wax based products. Wash twice if you're paranoid like me.

Z1 is the prep product. Think of it as a 'base coat' of polish. You use this the first time and then every 6 or 12 months afterwards, depending on whether the car is a garage queen or daily driver.

If you've got visible swirls, scratches or other imperfections that need to be 'filled' in, then use Z5. Otherwise, Z2 for all modern clearcoat finishes.

That's it. Not that complicated and it only took me half a Saturday to do the first steps on my 'Stang. The exact sequence was (1) wash car with Dawn to remove any wax, etc. Car was brand new off the truck. (2) clay using Z7/water mix as a lubricant. Well explained in directions. (3) Wash with Z7. This is optional, since I used Z7 as the lube, but again, I'm paranoid. Certainly won't hurt anything. (4) Apply Z1 AND LEAVE IT ON!. (5) Apply Z5 directly on top of hazed Z1. The Z1 hazed very quickly, so no wait time involved. (6) watch TV for an hour or until Z1/Z5 combo is completely dry, then buff off with 100% cotton towels (7) Spray down with Z6 and buff again.

That's all there is to it - and afterwards, it's a thousand times easier. It takes me 30 minutes to wash & dry car now. Another 15 minutes to Z6 it (which I do after every wash or as needed to remove bird crap, mud, etc.). Application of another Z2 coat is easy - 30 minutes max and maybe every month if the weather's nice. Drying time is short on black cars - especially in the summer. Damn stuff is completely dry by the time I finish all the way around usually!

For answers to all the other questions, www.zainobros.com Sal's phone number & email address are on there and all my questions have been personally answered by him. Usually within 12 hours! I mean, do you think the CEO of Zymol is going to answer his own phone and know who you are? Customer service just does not get any better, IMHO.

[This message has been edited by volsfan0911 (edited 01-07-2001).]

EricL

Thanks for the info. I have talked to Sal a few times, but I appreciate the additional "hands-on" info. (I'm still experimenting, but I think you have cleared some things up for me!)

I was trying the Z1/Z2 vs Z1/Z5 to see how the swirl polish worked vs. the clear coat (no polish). Car is new, but I was trying to see if the Z5 was like using the 3M hand glaze. I guess my mode of learning is by analogy.

BTW, the glass polish I mentioned was the Zaino stuff. I wanted to use Wurth glass cleaner (liquid) etc to really clean the heck out of the glass, then get rid of any tiny scratches (super clear glass), then protect it (keep it nice).

I think you've answered my question about the Z2 on the window.

Sorry, one last question (who, knows, maybe more). I used to use Rain-x on my old Bimmer's front windshield, It worked great in the rain, but the wipers chattered. Do your blades slide along better or worse now that you have the Z2 on the front window (or is there no detectable difference)?

volsfan0911

Don't know. Keep OEM blades for a year max and then get rid of them for Bosch MicroEdge. Best damned wipers I've ever used! Graphite impregnated, smooth & quiet all the time. Z2 can't hurt though - and it definitely decreases my wiper useage. If I'm going fast enough (over 60 mph), don't have to use wipers at all unless it's a real downpour.

Oh, and no, Z5 is nothing like 3M's products (which are excellent, BTW). 3M Imperial hand glaze (or the machine glaze) is ABRASIVE and designed to buff out the imperfections by removing a little of the clearcoat. Zaino has no abrasives. Z5 works by 'filling' in minor imperfections so you get a smooth surface to apply Z2 on. Smoother = shinier . If the swirls or scratches are bad enough, Z5 won't be good enough to completely fill them. That's when you switch to an agressive product like the 3M to get a perfectly prepped surface, then wash with Dawn and pick up the Zaino routine. Sal would know more about serious scratch repair using this method than I do. Also detailing forum on www.ls1.com is very informative!



[This message has been edited by volsfan0911 (edited 01-07-2001).]

EricL

Ahhh, the picture is now complete -- thanks!

BTW, Sal makes great products, but he got quite crusty when I mentioned the 3M hand glaze (hence, my delight at your detailed instructions).

volsfan0911

Ummm, I thought I read him posting some info on ls1's detailing forum about 3M. Or maybe that was Chris...anyway, you shouldn't need anything abrasive on a new car. Z1/Z5/Z2/Z6 has been more than adequate for me. Zaino is Sal's product, he should know a hell of a lot more about it than I do.

Also - remember that anytime you take an abrasive to your paint, that's what I call aggressive. The less aggressive product that gets the desired result is the best one. Personally, if I needed to remove serious swirl marks, I'd use a Porter-Cable DA random polisher and Griot's Garages polishing products. I'm sure their wax is great too, but then you're back to a 'wax'. I do swear by the Porter Cable machine for that type of application - thing will not burn paint and works better than hand polishing.

www.carcareonline.com for lots more info if you feel like reading!

[This message has been edited by volsfan0911 (edited 01-08-2001).]

EricL

BTW:

I just bought a bunch of stuff (at Xmas) from local and 3 mail order places (lots of overlap, lots of $$$, ...). I actually spent days reading the car care online stuff *and* there was a Maserrati forum that pointed me to the following 3:

1. Griot's
2. Car care online
3. Zaino's thru Costa Mesa detailer.

My car has no visible scratches. I just wanted to do some experimenting. You answered my questions very clearly!

My wife's car ('95 Altima) sits outside a lot. It got a professional going over a few months back. (My hands-on detailing is a bit stale, so I got new info, products, called friends etc, scanned with search engines...) I saw what the 3M Imperial Hand Glaze would do for a new car (side mirror). So I wanted to see what it would do for my wife's (She had a lack of high gloss).

After application of 3M product *and* Meguiar's on my wifes car, the car looks amazing. I just didn't know how long it would last vs. the Zaino. (Carnuba's seem to be good for about 3 months -- MAX.)

Gee -- I was using Dupont # 7 on my Maxima with Meguiar's between detailings (As I said a lot has changed over the years. What once was ok, is now out-of-date.)

I just wanted to get that Zaino look I've been seeing in the forum shots for my car (very new), and my wife's car (great condition). (Just want to brighten things up, not grind the finish down!)

Reason for ramble: Sal seems to almost jump out of the phone when I mention's 3M Hand Glaze. I heard the, "...I'm been a painter for xxx years, etc ... that stuff grinds the paint off...". He is helpful, but seems to really dislike any analogies from other products to his products (end of rap). BTW, the 3M Imperial Hand glaze, also uses a "filler" to fill-in small scratches (in addition to the micro abrasion).

Thanks for the info -- I actually printed out your tips!


[This message has been edited by EricL (edited 01-08-2001).]

CLpower

i use mequiars

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"the needle got buried at 140.....1,500 RPM later...the tach got buried"

pays to be young and crazy


99 3.0 CL
55 Chevy Suburban (chopped, dropped, tubbed and FLAME RETARDENT!!)

58 Eldorado Biarritz