My MCS should be in within 2-3 weeks. In the interim, based on agranger's excellent writeup and recommendation of Zaino products, I purchased a rather large Zaino kit. This seems to have everything:

Z2 - polish
Z5 - Polish for use when there are swirl marks
Zfx - "accelerator" for the polish
Z7 - car wash (liquid soap)
Z6 - "gloss enhancer"
Z16 - tire gloss
Claybar
2 leather products (Z9 cleaner and Z10 conditioner)
polish applicators

Wow, it's great but more than a little bit daunting. I've read through the Zaino instructions, and the info on the Zaino site as well (eg, the FAQ, info on cotton towels, etc.) AND I also read through agrangers detailed instructions a couple of times.

I'm still confused about one thing:
When I first get the car, what should I do? Should I clay it first, or just wash and polish? I've never clayed a car before - heck, I've never polished a car before either - so I am a little bit apprehensive about the whole thing. The Zaino instructions talk about using Dawn first to really clean it, is that needed on a new car?

I'm thinking that I will do this:

1. wash my car with Z7 (car wash)
2. Apply Z2 polish between 1 and 3 times (depending on time I have and how much work this is)
3. Use Z6 gloss enhancer spray in between Z2 applications (and at end).

I'll also use the leather cleaner and conditioner.

Since I'm new to this I thought it makes sense to start slowly - just do a bit and then I can increase my involvement depending on how much I enjoy it/ie, figure out the work/reward ratio.

Does that approach make sense to any of the zaino afficionados? Thanks.

Tony

 

Congrats on the new car purchase.

1. Wash car
2. CLAY car

Then proceed.

Even new cars need to be clayed.

Your end result(s) will depend on how well your prep work was done.

 

i would remove the dealer wax with some Griot's PaintPrep.

 

So the dealer waxes the car? Maybe I should ask them to skip it, I wonder if they would?

 

yah, usually they put some kind of wax on it. i would note the dealer
not to swirlize it (their way of preping the car)..

 

its a good idea (and even zaino does recommend that) to dawn wash the car before anything else... dawn (as in dish washing detergent) strips the car off all waxes, also removes all oils from the plastic so you have to dress those after but it will remove all waxes on the car, i'd start there

 

While I agree that new cars need to be clayed, there is a big difference between claying a new car and one that is about a year old. The first car I ever clayed was my 2008 MCS when it was about a month old. I didn't really notice a huge difference before and after and the clay didn't look much different when I was done. On Saturday I clayed (then polished) my wife's year old Eclipse and the difference was like night and day.

 

Don't the dealers put on some sort of special coating that protects the paint against acid rain and the like? I thought I read somewhere that some polishing techniques should not be used for awhile because of this...I may be wrong...

 

Not sure about that but the clay didn't hurt the paint on my car. It looked better, just not a dramatic difference.

 

I think clay is ok but anything more abrasive than amigo or equivalent would intutively not seem like a good idea on a new car. I waited on my new RDX.

 

1. Dawn Wash
2. Clay (just in case - you want to start the right way, should be easy though)
3. Wash again (your choice of dawn or Z-7)
4. Z-5 if you see any swirlies at all*
5. Z-6
6. Repeat 4&5 several times (it's quick - less is more!)
7. Z-2*
8. Z-6
9. Repeat 7&8 several times

*both with Z-FX. Mix it up just before you're going to start in one of the little bottles for a MINI 1/2 a bottle of each is more than enough. Again, less is more - it's hard to stress that too much. Put a thin layer on and buff it off, then wipe it down with Z-6.

After a few coats (I did like 5 of Z-5 and 3 of Z-2) you'll be ready to sit back with your beverage of choice and admire your MINI, knowing you won't need to do that again for quite a while.

For even more shiny goodness, try Z-CS and Z-8. And I don't know what else you're using, but microfiber from detailer's paradise works really well for drying and polishing. And their wheel armour works better at keeping wheels (easier to) clean than Zaino, in my experience.

Congrats, and happy shiny motoring!

 

A tip on the claying process. You must keep it very lubricated as you rub it over your car. I use a old water bottle with a dawn & water mixture in one hand and the clay bar in the other hand. Don't drop it on the ground. Some people reccommend that you throw it away if it lands on the ground just in case it picked up a small stone. I don't go to that extreme but if you do drop it, stop what you're doing and inspect the clay.

 

Thanks for your help. When you say "wheels", you mean the rims, not the tires, right?

As for drying, Zaino recommends white cotton towels with the hems cut off, I was planning on using those but I would love to hear if there are any strong opinions of that.

Tony

 

Most here will direct you to good quality microfiber towels. I did not see much difference but when OG says microfiber I take the recommendation seriously. He has given me some very good advice over the last couple of years.

 

No strong opinions. And yes, I was talking about rims.

Mircrofiber is just kind of cool, and easy to work with. The big drying towels are really good at drying. One will do a MINI. And all the smaller ones are just so soft and good for buffing and all of that.

If you want to check it out and have money to spend, I'd recommend getting some Black Wow and the "sampler platter" of microfiber from Detailer's Paradise. And Wheel Armor.