im glad noone posted that i was too loud about Hydro.

cause now I know I still have room to be even loudAr.

drown you out? you bet. hehehe

 

Well, k, you WERE loud about Hydro. That's ok, 'cause it's spiffy stuff.

 

yah, actually, i have a 8th gen civic too and been posting over there
raving about Prima. Epic, Hydro, Nero, Clarity.

 

Some things are better left unsaid

 

Well I would have to agree with Josh. Seems that some here bang the drum so loudly others can't or won't be heard. I use Prima for about 70% of my detailing needs, but I still turn to Zaino for other things, but God forbid you bring up even the possibility of another product having some use. If this is truly a forum to spread knowledge, tips and tricks, then to jump on a poster for trying something you don't happen to use is just counter productive and not very useful. Yeah sure you can create you're little clubs and badges and belittle people for not buying gallons of this or gallons of that, but to what end. When I post I am always careful to say that it is what I do, or recommend, not what you must do or die. I notice this from few others, Josh and OG are good examples for posting how they do something and not what must be done or which product must be used and how much to purchase unless you wish to ridiculed and scoffed at.
The least fanatical Prima person on this forum is, oddly enough, Heather. Sure she plugs her line, but she is always quick to point out other options and other products.
So yeah Josh, I agree. Also I can't believe those of you that get confused with Zaino. What if instead of numbers they used names? Like instead of Z-2 the called it Epic, of Z-5 they called it Amigo. What if they called Z-PC - Swirl? Would that have helped clarify the whole complex Zaino numbering system? What about M-80? Does it make any rhyme or reason that it is more abrasive than M-82? The whole excuse that Zaino is too complex is a cop-out.
That said, I like the results of Epic more than Z-2, but Z-2 is really much easier to put on and take off. You can even add an accelerator to reduce the curing time if you choose to.
I have learned some great things from Agranger, BradB and OG. The fact that they all tend to use different products made the learning just that more potent.
Well, like JWardell, I have probably entered the shun zone, but it feels good getting that off my chest. I've been thinking this for a while now. Nothing like being called a child or shown as a dancing banana to get the blood up.

 

Humans like their little badges and clubs to feel part of a group. Looks like you do to

 

Well, I am a new poster, but a long time lurker and MINI fanatic. I am pretty darned right brained, so numbers are less potent than words. I'd love to give Zaino a spin, and probably will.



We shouldn't shun each other. Given our current government (ok, I won't inject politics), the thought that we cannot freely disagree or share ideas without fear of "shunning" is chilling. I haven't felt shunned as a newbie, or lurker. It's just so hard to relate on these kinds of forums because we don't have body language, facial expressions to tell us if someone is being facetious, playful, etc.

Just my five cent's worth..

 

Yup!

 

Ha!

We helped out where we could, but I'm happy to see that some people who make this their profession have stepped up to help. I'm an enthusiast who took a few lunch hours to type out all of my processes because nobody here had done it yet. There are some serious professionals in 'da house now... folks that I learn a lot from.

If I had much black plastic on my car, I'd be all over OG's WOW product... I've heard great things about it from a local club member. If I hadn't figured out my PCDA on my old Nissan Altima, I'd be all over his CD as well (probably wouldn't be a bad thing to do anyway). Man... that Altima looked almost new when I traded it in for the MINI!

 

luv that face. lol!

 

I have to say, thank you agranger. Your detailing procedure was the foundation of what I am doing with our Minis. Although I did notice that you have the order of Z-2 and Z-5 swapped in the sticky thread . If you use both products, according to Zaino, Z-2 should always be applied applied as the final coat.

I guess I'm a rebel type of person as I went with Zaino originally. I did get some of the Prima product line simply because I had overlooked Z-PC on the Zaino website.

That latest trial I had complete was using Prima for the compounding portion and Zaino as the sealant. I just took delivery of my R56, lets see, about 9 hours ago so I'll be clay baring it in the morning and applying several coats of Zaino to prep it for a Venture Shield install on Monday.

I'll try out Z-PC on my wife's R53 this fall. I was quite happy with the results of Swirl and Amigo on my Kia Rio. It probably could have used a bit of Cut to really make it nice but I already had a buyer lined up before I even used my new PC on it. I applied a single coat of Z-5 after using the Prima compounds.

DP does have some very nice MF products (escpecially the Monster Fluffy). But I'm still reserving my judgement on the Prima products since I've only used the compounds and not Epic or Hydro. I'm actually quite satisfied with Zaino with our Minis but I'll ways keep an open mind.

And yes, I felt I felt like I got bashed (well bashed isn't the best word choice, perhaps overly questioned) ever so slightly about my original post about Prima may not be right for me. But I took it in stride as I knew the problem even before I posted, not having the right product for the problem instead of an incorrect technique while using the product.

Once I did recieve the compound that would take care of the majority of the problems, the results were much better. I am satisfied with the results I got using a Prima/Zaino combination on the vehilce I'm parting with.

As others have said, Prima and Zaino are of very similar quality (from what I can tell) and it boils down to an individual choice. Either product line is capable of giving fantastic results as long as you get the right product in their product line to address the finish problem that you are trying to tackle.

 

Venture Shield? I searched and see it is like the 3M Clear Bra.....any advantage of venture shield over the 3M product? Which venture Shiled are you goingto gert installed, the 3 mil thickness or the 6 mil thickness? I would think the thicker one might be better, but I wonder if since it is thicker if that would make the demarcation line more noticable??

 

^ Logically, that would have to make the line stand out more.

I wonder if any of the manufacturer's have studies available to show the advantages of the 6 mil over the 3 mil. That would be the only way to know with any degree of certainty if the trade-off would be worth it.

 

basically the impact chip under the bra will be the same...but, the
6mil will not tear as easily as the 3mil if it was a sharp object which
ultimately preserves the paint from appearing as if nothing happened.

there is a major trade-off on clearbra's. i would not use it on lighter
colored cars due to the lines (quite obvious from close) and also the
bra turns like this dark gray spot each time something hits it and it will
look just as bad as if you didn't have clear bra.

i only use it over the dealer painted aero kit where it chips SUUUPER easily.
plus my car is a dark blue (IB) so can't tell from 2ft away that im using
a clearbra.

 

btw, if you do the install, keep the excess. i made smaller pieces for the
sideskirts near the rear fender arch, and also on the front fender
arch where the black paint easily chips from the front tire kickup.

i also replaced the large side piece that got torn off on my G35C a year
or so back. it's kinda fun making your own custom pieces. btw,
the paint was flawless on the G where the bra got torn.

 

You are correct... Z2 should come after Z5. I'll have to go and check for that boo-boo.

Thanks!

 

I chose Venture Shield because that is what my local installer uses. The product itself has a lifetime warranty and the installing shop offers a lifetime warranty on it's installation. Basically, if I ever have any problems with it, it's covered.

The shop that is doing the installation was recommended by my local BMW dealership. It is only costing me 600 versus 900 for the dealer (third party) installed bra. The dealer installed one also only has a 5 year warranty.

 

Actually I was wrong. I must have been a bit dyslexic the day I first worked on my wife's R53. As I go back through the Word documented you posted. It is correct, Z-5 then Z-2.

Hopefully you haven't gone looking for non-existent boo-boo yet.

 

yep, just another example of why these numbers are so damn confusing.

even Griot's polish #1 to 4 is confusing people. best to just name it with
something that makes sense.

 

I still prefer the Zaino numbers versus the Prima names. Yes, I misread agranger's instructions the first time I used the products. Since then, I've used them on my old Rio and on my new R56. I don't have to look at the instructions anymore to know what goes on in what order. It's like anything else, until you do it a few times, you should always read and follow the directions carefully.

When I used the Prima compounds, it doesn't make sense to me that you would use Amigo after Finish. I mean, you have two compounds and one is called Finish while the other translates to friend, it seems like the one that should be used last is Finish, but it isn't. Thus the necessity for reading labels and getting familiar with the products you are using, no matter what the brand name is.

 

I agree. I had the same confusion with the two-part "Leatherique" system. One part of the treatment is called "Rejuvinator Oil", and the other part is called "Prestine Clean".

First off, I don't know if they misspelled "Rejuvenator" and "Pristine" on purpose, or if they just can't spell, but that's beside the point.

What I thought was confusing is that with every other leather-care system, if you have one product that's called a "cleaner", and another part that's a "conditioner" or "rejuvenator", you always use the cleaner first, followed by the conditioner. But with Leatherique, it's the other way around - the "Rejuvinator Oil" goes on first, followed by the "Prestine Clean".

It wasn't hard to figure out after reading the directions again, but it's still a little counter-intuitive.

The Leatherique systems works great, by the way. Just do NOT order both the "Rejuvinator Oil" and the "Prestine Clean" in the 32-ounce bottles. I did that, and it turns out that 32 ounces of the Rejuvinator oil is more than a lifetime supply, while 32 ounces of the Prestine Clean will probably last about a year or two. You only need the Rejuvinator Oil for nasty, dirty, neglected leather. Once it's clean, all you need for periodic cleaning & conditioning is the Prestine Clean.

 

Amigo and Finish are too different things, and these are options you have
after you use swirl if you need to go the extra step for a very fine polish.

They are 2 very different products, from wat i understand from reading.

ie they are not in order unless you want to use it that way..rather
2 different options you have to complete your prep before waxing.

 

Surely glad Flo's painted with Pepper White so I don't have to agonize over it. Here's a picture my husband took around 7:00 am the day after I waxed her.

 

Yes, I know they are different yet similiar in some ways. Heather has already explained the differences between them, I think it was even in this thread.

Both products are included the DP Prima Polish bundle. If you were going through the whole Prima product line of polishes (which of course in most instances shouldn't be necessary) you'd use Cut, Swirl, Finish, then Amigo.

The Prima naming doesn't exactly make sense to me (some are very straight forward such as Cut and Swirl) I was simply commenting about the naming of them since I would think Finish would be the final polish in the line when in fact it isn't.

 

Hummm.

Look at it this way, Amigo is your friend who helps you out of a jam after you overdid the Finish with your power buffer. I sure hope I never have to deal with a thin layer of clearcoat.

I do admire the fact that you (SimpsonGI), if I read correctly in another thread, your already claying your 07 before you have your Venture Sheild applied. OCD to the max.

But we own MINIs, so nothing is to good for our little guys and ladies.

Now back to your regular debate.