Zaino...WOW!!!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(windstrings @ Sep 18 2006, 08:12 PM) [snapback]321491[/snapback]</div>

It might look good to you but we'll never know because of the horrific compression artifacts in your pictures.

 

I just received my kit. I don't have a garage or car port so I hope the weather holds up this weekend so I can do my car! I have to admit, I'm a little daunted by the enormity of this multi-stage task.

When my package arrived and I went through it to see what it contained, at first I thought, what happened to the ZFX? That's worth $20! Then I saw this tiny tiny little vial and I thought, what's this??!!! They just gave me a sample? I rechecked the website and see that you just use a few drops. Still seems really expensive for that tiny little vial. I sure hope all the time and expense is worth it!! :lol:



<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy @ Sep 21 2006, 03:31 PM) [snapback]323000[/snapback]</div>

I think the pictures look great. They are clear and sharp. I don't see any "artifacts" at all. The car looks fantastic.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusRos @ Sep 21 2006, 05:44 PM) [snapback]323163[/snapback]</div>

I was doing something stupid - so stupid I'm embarassed and not going to admit what it was.

The pictures don't show off the work though. Check out the pictures on a forum like detailcity.org. You can really see the surface gloss and reflections in the pictures on that site. Compare the pictures posted in this thread to this one - I just clicked on the first post I saw on detailcity.org.

Porsche Detailed

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cdavid @ Sep 21 2006, 01:57 PM) [snapback]322974[/snapback]</div>

Yea.. those were the same pics.. I"ve been so busy moving etc. I haven't detailed my car since... and it still looks good when I merely wash it.

 

That part about using it sparingly is probrably the hardest thing to get used to for your first time.
I almost looks like your not putting anything on at all "untll it dries", so most people put on enough to make it look like you have a coat of something, but thats too much.

This stuff is so amazing that it takes almost nothing to go a long way.
Almost like wiping on an oil rather than a wax or paste.

 

Thanks for the advise, especially about applying everything sparingly.

The weather today looks very iffy. 30% chance of rain. Tomorrow is worse. We are going on a long trip next week so I had wanted to get my car done before then.

I had waxed the car twice since I bought it, the last time about a month ago, using the 3M professional wax. So, if I do the Dawn wash and maybe the claybar, followed by the Z7 wash, without doing the polish, is that going to do more harm than good, since I would have stripped the wax?

If I go ahead and apply a coat of polish and it starts to rain before it's had a chance to dry, what should one do?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusRos @ Sep 23 2006, 08:44 AM) [snapback]323840[/snapback]</div>

I just looked at weather.com, I would not start with that rain coming. Go give it a good Z7 wash if you want and leave it at that (or do it after rain when you have free 30 minutes or so). You are going to need 4 hours to do what you are describing.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bigdaddy @ Sep 23 2006, 09:36 AM) [snapback]323851[/snapback]</div>

Thanks -- that's exactly what I did, before I even saw your reply. Of course, now that I've spent nearly two hours washing the car with Z7 and drying the car completely, the weather looks great. I could probably have done it today after all. But I don't want to start all over again with Dawn!


And this brings me to another question. After the Dawn wash, is it necessary to dry the car before using the clay bar, since it has to be lubricated anyway? In any case, it has to be washed again with Z7 and then dried before applying the polish. It's the drying part that's so time consuming! (I'm short, so I also have to clamber on and off a step stool to reach everywhere).

And one more question. I discovered today several scuff marks on the hood of my car, like it had been brushed with a hard brush in several spots. I probably did that myself, trying to get tree sap spots or something off the last time I cleaned the car using a Scotch Brite sponge-- stupid of me, I know, but I applied very light pressure and don't remember noticing any marks when I did it, but I can't think what else they could be. Anyway, do you think Z5 will be able to get rid of marks like these?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusRos @ Sep 23 2006, 10:42 AM) [snapback]323883[/snapback]</div>

If the car is relatively new, you shouldn't need a claybar... it hasn't had time to get impurities in it anyway... Of course it never hurts, but it is very time consumeing to claybar.

Z5 can do some amazing things.... fist of all, don't use pressure and friction to remove sap spots next time....get something that will dissolve them.
WD-40 "fish oil" can remove bugs etc... or that Orange Cleaner you buy in the spray bottle is wonderful for removeing tar very easily... it may get sap too.. I don't know.

But the Z5 sounds perfect for what you have.. you may need to apply some light rubbing to those areas to get the product deep into the scratches...light pressure is enough..... then it will rebuild your clearcoat base as if nothing happened.

I am pretty new to Zaino products, but I have been able to remove scratches that were not all the way through the paint as if they were never there!

For more aggressive scratches where you can "feel" a scratch and it feels as if you actually have high spots where the paint has been carved up from the scratch then you will need "<a href="http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=Zaino" target="_blank">" to remove those high spots, then the Z5 will fill in the low. This product actually acts like a mild rubbing compound but different, it will not leave the scratches a rubbing compound would, yet it can take down the high spots, the Z5 can fill in the low.

For even deeper scratches that go completely though the paint "like getting keyed" you will need to first get some paint from toyota in the touch up bottles you can buy online... they work great for little rock chips etc!
If you have a touch for details with a brush, you can do a perfect job.. if you splash over, just wipe the excess off with your finger or a soft towel... then once it dries, your good to polish over it!
The bottle comes with an adapter, so you can use it like a writing pen, or with a small brush. The writing pen is easier for tiny things.

I just called up Toyota and asked for it and they sent it by ups!

There are guys out here with far more experience than me on these solutions, but I'm just telling you what worked for me.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusRos @ Sep 23 2006, 11:42 AM) [snapback]323883[/snapback]</div>

We did dry the car after the Dawn wash before using the clay bar, so not sure if you can skip that step or not. It really didn't seem like the claybar was doing much, and the surface of the clay stayed clean so maybe you can skip it with a fairly new car. I'm also short so made DH dry the roof and worked on low areas myself. Hope the weather cooperates for you to give your car the "works" soon.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(windstrings @ Sep 23 2006, 01:25 PM) [snapback]323933[/snapback]</div>

Since I have the claybar, seems that now is the time to use it, even though the car is still new. Would I really need to use it in the future, after I've treated the car with Zaino?

I hope the Z5 works on the scuff marks. I think it should be okay since the marks are shallow. Is it worth trying it before I do the whole Dawn wash thing -- or will it be a waste of time since I haven't stripped the wax yet?

By the way, since you mentioned it, do all the Prii come with a clearcoat by default? I wasn't sure -- I've only seen people mention Z2, which is used for clearcoated paint, and not Z3. Does this mean they all have a clearcoat?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pirateprius @ Sep 23 2006, 02:36 PM) [snapback]323960[/snapback]</div>

Yes, thanks...I hope I can do it soon!
I probably could have done a coat today, but that would have been all. It tried to rain, though for a very short time. I guess it doesn't work well if the weather is at all damp.

 

Well, like I said.. keep in mind I'm not an expert.. before I got my two prius's in jan 06, I didn't even know what Zaino was.. but I have done alot of reading so I'll give you my opinion.
Theoretically, if you have a new car and the finish has not gotten corrupted with contaminants through neglect, you should never need to use a claybar with regular upkeep.
Now, lets talk about real life.... I have never used a claybar on mine yet and still don't feel I need to.. but I can tell if I was to neglect washing and allow contaminants to start "sticking" and bonding with my paint surface that I would need to.
Every time I detail my car... I finish feeling like it just came out of the showroom, but better!..
If you do half hearted car washes and neglect for long, then a claybar would be a good idea.

I would be afraid that wax may "shield" the zaino from proper bonding with the paint surface.. there is no harm in using it beforehand "for fun", but keep in mind, you still need to strip the old wax and "again" apply the Z5 to get down to the bottom of the scratches to properly bond with the existing clearcoat.

To the best of my knowledge, yes they all come "by default" with a clearcoat. Sometimes the scratch you see never even touched the paint, but is still quite noticable since the clearcoat scratches can really stand out.
Even if the scratch did touch the paint, by the time Z5 is done, you'll never see the difference as long as its not through to the metal!

Apply Z5 to the small area and then wipe it off... if you can still see it "at all".. do it again and repeat until its gone.... if after 4 or 6 attempts you still see a scratch, you may need something more aggressive first as mentioned.
Like I said.. if a scratch is deep enough, you can fill it in, but you still see or feel the high ridges on the sides of the scratch... thats where the Z-PC "comes in first.</span></span>



<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusRos @ Sep 23 2006, 04:12 PM) [snapback]324020[/snapback]</div>

I think it needs to dry to do its thing by bonding with the surface properly.
It seems thats why when you put it on too thick so it can't dry, not only do you waste your Zaino, but it makes it murder to get dry.
Remember if the weather is cool, to use the accelerator to lessen drying time. You should be dry in 15 to 30 minutes at most. If it takes longer than that, you may want to use accelerator to speed up your job.
I forget the exact temps, but probrably temps below 70 may need accelerator unless you don't mind letting it set long enough to dry. If the humidity is low, you can get away with lower temps.

 

Thanks for all the advice, Windstrings.

I did it today...the whole 9 yards, or 10 steps, or whatever it was. A whole lot of steps!

Did the Dawn wash. Didn't dry it -- just pushed off excess water with my hands.

Used the claybar. That was fairly easy and I didn't spend a whole lot of time on it. Probably didn't really need to use it because my car is only a few months old and I have been washing it regularly, but I do park underneath a fairly messy tree so get quite a lot of droppings from the tree, birds, etc.

Rewashed it, using Dawn. Couldn't see the point of using the expensive Z7 before applying polish when I could use Dawn and make doubly sure I got every inch of wax off. Dried it off thoroughly.

Then it decided it really wanted to rain and started to sprinkle a little. The weatherman on TV had promised that rain wouldn't start until 2pm, and it was only about 9am! My boyfriend suggested I drive the car over to the Target covered parking garage. I waited a bit, and it stopped sprinkling. We quickly applied a layer of Z5 and I then took everything and drove over to Target. It sprinkled a little on the way but not enough to get the car really wet. Target was a great idea. I parked at the highest covered level, which doesn't have a direct entrance to the store so customers don't park there.

I was discouraged when I first removed the Z5 from the hood. This is where I had the scuff marks that I hoped would be removed with the Z5. They weren't -- in fact, I thought they showed up even more because they were shinier. Then I remembered that Windstrings advised to use several layers. So I reapplied Z5 to the hood only.

For the hood, I ended up doing 3 layers of Z5/Z6 and one layer of Z2/z6. Now the scuffs are barely visible. I can still see them at certain angles, but that's because I know they're there. I doubt whether anybody else would be able to see them. On the rest of the car I did one layer of Z5/Z6 and one layer of Z2/Z6.

I must say the car looks and feels great. Unfortunately it's overcast (still trying to rain, and probably will eventually) so I can't yet see the full effect.

Although Zaino is easy to apply, I found it a little difficult to work with because it's hard to see on my silver Prius. The haze is hard to see, so I never quite knew when it was dry. When applying and removing, I didn't know whether I was missing an area until I examined my work from various angles. This made the job take longer. I'm sure on a dark color it's easier to use.

You're right about not having to use very much. For each of the Z5 and Z2, I filled just over a third of a 2-ounce bottle and added 3 drops of the ZFX. That was enough for the two layers (plus extra layers of Z5 on the hood). So, in that context, it's not so expensive.

The layers didn't seem to take too long to dry.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusRos @ Sep 24 2006, 02:29 PM) [snapback]324355[/snapback]</div>

Sounds like a good job!... I didn't know your whole hood needed the scrathes removed!.. wow!...
Anyway.. like I said in the previous post.. if the Z5 doesn't quite cut it.. the " Z-PC Fusion Cleaner Swirl Remover will be a bit more aggressive"
It won't hurt to use it after the fact either... but If you don't have it and don't prefer to buy it, the Z5 will work but with more effort and elbow "gentle" grease.

And parking under a tree is murder on your finish.. if you can avoid it.. that would be good. The birds is only the minor part... all the pollen, leaves from fall and general grime tends to be nasty from trees.... but I guess you can wash more often if you have to.

I Remember I could see my scratch too if I looked at it upside down at just the right angle in just the right light.. but since I don't do that everyday... its invisible and I forgot I ever had it.

When your done, you should be able to take your dry finger and the surface should feel like silk.. as you run it along.. with no bumps or friction... Smoooooth as a babys butt!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(windstrings @ Sep 24 2006, 08:12 PM) [snapback]324445[/snapback]</div>

I've never tried Zaino, but a number of years ago I used a wax called Malm's. Has anybody ever tried it. Is there a comparison between Zaino and Malms?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(syclone @ Sep 24 2006, 10:47 PM) [snapback]324519[/snapback]</div>

I personally have never heard of that, but I'm not an authority by any means.

Wax is wax.. it covers and protects.. Zaino bonds with the surface..similiar to a polymer.. but different I believe

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(windstrings @ Sep 23 2006, 10:25 AM) [snapback]323933[/snapback]</div>

Z5 does not remove scratches. It fills them in. All you have to do is wipe it on. Since it isn't removing the scratches, there is no need to rub hard when applying or removing the product. Z5's scratch filling abiliity is pretty minor compared to other products. A single coat of Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax is equal to about four or five coats of Z5 as far as scratch filling ability goes. If you wait long enough for the Zaino to wear off (many months), you'll find that those scratches reappear.

If you want to remove the scratches, you'll have to use a polish that contains fine abrasives. My personal favorite is the Menzerna line of polishes from Germany, but if you've completely bought into the Zaino propaganda, Z-PC isn't the worst product on the market.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(windstrings @ Sep 24 2006, 08:12 PM) [snapback]324445[/snapback]</div>

Well, it wasn't really my whole hood that had scratches, but I had several scratches in different spots on the hood. I applied Z5 to the whole hood -- seemed like the easiest thing to do. I didn't want there to be an uneven appearance between the places that I applied it and where I hadn't.

Can't do much about it since the tree is over my driveway and I don't have a garage. The street is just as bad.

Exactly. I think I might add some more Z5 at some point though.

A little harder than a baby's butt, though!! :lol: It's glassy smooth and quite shiny. As I've mentioned (or lamented) in other posts, this light silver color will never achieve the deep reflections of a black, red, or other dark color, but it seems to have quite a bit more shine than before, even after I had waxed it. The two previous times I used a 3M "professional" wax. It was very easy and quick to use and it also gave a glassy smooth finish so I was pleased with the results. However, it wasn't quite as shiny and the finish seem to last a very short time. A few weeks later water wasn't beading much and the surface felt rough again.