>>What color is your car? Have you noticed if it is any lighter appearing than it was with Zymol? (I don't think you would notice if its black)...

Mine is IB/W. I didn't really notice it being lighter, but definitely shinier.

 

I find ZAINO to be "greesy" and leaves finger marks. Not sure if I am sold on this product, and have thought of Zymol more than once.

 

buz,

Yes, I did the Dawn treatment on my car before I did the Zaino steps. I washed my car twice with Dawn on a slight incline to not promote spots on the surface, then proceeded to claybar the car with Z7 and water.. After all that was done I did the Z2, Z6, Z5 steps. All done in the shade. It took me about 4 hours total, and I was using ZFX with the Z2 and Z5.

My LY car now has more shine than some black cars I see! The reflection bouncing off of it is amazing. On top of that, the boot hardly gets muddy and dusty anymore! Water just pushes whatever's on the surface off. Man.. That Z6 stuff is nice, definitely adds a nice shine between coats. When I rub my hand across the bonnet, it's so much smoother than the MINIs at the dealership!

I ended up getting that Z-16, Perfect Tire Gloss. I wasn't sure what to expect, but after Z2, Z5 and Z6, it couldn't be that bad. My goodness, Z-16 does do nice work with tires and the plastic trim around the edges. It doesn't make it glossy and shiny, but it gives it a very nice satin finish. Like new. I might try another coat to see if it does truly go VERY glossy after multiple coats.

When I was done washing my car and applying Z16, I walked away from my car backwards, it looked so awesome.. Man.. It's obsessive! Especially with such a nice CLEAN car!

 

I think the Zaino products are amazing. I fishied round four of Z2+ZFX after 2 rounds of Z5+ZFX. The car "appears" a lighter color, but it's only an optical illusion as its reflecting more light than before. I did the whole 10 yards (not 9), wash with Liquid Dawn, Clay Bar, Wash Again ... before applying any Zaino product, a good days work (Glad I am toasty SoFLA). I kidd you not, I am glad I only have to do that every 9 months. Once the you have a good base, upkeep of a Zaino car is a snap.

Cheers

 

How soon after you got your Mini did you do the Zaino treatment? I always thought you had to wait a few months before waxing a new car.

 

>>How soon after you got your Mini did you do the Zaino treatment? I always thought you had to wait a few months before waxing a new car.

I did the clay bar bit with the first coats of Zaino about 45 days into Mini ownership. I've heard rumors about having to wait up to 6 months to let the paint properly cure and vent all the gases. I thought that sounds kind of Flintstones, so I did a little research. Modern paints (Baked Acrylics) used in today's mass produced cars have a super fast set time and cure only after a few hours. Years ago and in some of today's hand made cars (Enamels) require a longer set time and they vent gases during the drying process. As for the Mini, you can apply the Zaino or Wax day one.

Cheers

 

I too joined the ranks of the ZainoPhiles this weekend on my 4 week old CR/W MCS.

I did the Dawn wash, claybar w z7m then z2 and z6... then it started to drizzle, and I put off more layers until tomorrow.

In the meantime, even with one coat this product line is pretty impressive.

Thanks all for the heads up about this product.

 

I did another two rounds z2 and z6 today, for a total of three z2 coats.

I don't notice any particular swirling, so do I assume correctly that I don't need a z5 layer?

How many more z2/z6 applications do you folk recommend for a car that lives on a New Jersey driveway?

I'm glad the zfx additive works as advertised... no long dry times for me.

Thanks.

 

Alanz, I see that you mention living in Jersey. Did you by any chance get your Zaino products from Shore Motorsports in Howell? I'm just asking because I'm debating making the drive over there to pick everything up or just going mail order.

I've been using Griot's Garage products for several years and they work great, but the thing that is drawing me to Zaino is the fact that I won't end up with white marks all over my black trim.

 

Robyn,

The NJ distributor does not ship mail order (and is about 70 miles from me), so I contacted the PA distributor who shipped the same day. I ordered on Wed afternoon and received the package on Friday.

 

>>I like Zaino. I always felt, though, that their Z7 car wash soap could be sudsier (is that a word? I don't know).
>>I double the recommended amount, using 5 or 6 capfuls per gallon of water to get a nice liberal amount of
>>suds going. It smells really good too, sorta like bubble gum.

I've been using Zaino on Maxwell for almost a year. One thing I've notice about the suds is that that once you've applied the Zaino to the car, it suds up a lot less when you wash it. I noticed a big difference in suds on the car with the Zaino wash from before I applied the rest of the Zaino product to after I had applied them. I can also take the same Zaino car wash solution and wipe it on my Rodeo (which has no seen any TLZ) and it suds up a lot more. I think once the Zaino is on there's just not as much friction left there to help create them when you are wiping them on with the mitt.

Zaino rocks. Now if they could only make a product that completely repels brake dust... <sigh|>

-grantbob

 

I use blitz wax, a carnuba based, wax. Its probably one of the longest-lasting carnubas. I've heard many great hings about Zaino...especially the shine, but whats the durability like? That's one of the main reasons I do not use zymol - great shine, but doesn't last that long. I'm more concerned with durability than outright shine...but then again, I'll bet Zaino'd Indi Blue looks great Not to mention the added plus of no white marks on the plastic trim... ops:

 

I red a report comparing several different products and Zaino came out tops on durability. I think it was from an NSX board. I don't have the link anymore.

 

Ordered my MCS last Saturday and picked it up yesterday. Dealer found one that just arrived almost exactly as mine and was willing to pay for the differences. Now that it is in the garage I have some Zaino questions (Zaino is on order).

- How do I use Zaino? I read their online guide and it seems confusing to a person who used to use any wax available. It says that you are supposed to leave Z2 and Z5 on for an hour each. I thought all wax had to be removed promptly and wax usually hazes in a few minutes.

- Do you apply Z2, wait an hour, apply Z5, wait an hour, and then apply Z6? I have read that people apply numerous coats, but at that rate it would take forever.

- I bought a Microfiber Drying towell from NAM, do you use that to wipe off the polish? People were saying they were not using cotton towels. I though those towels were for drying only.

- Is the dash and inside of the doors leatherette also? I guess I just apply the Zaino leather cleaner to it.

Thanks a bunch in advance. The MCS drives like a dream.

Jason

 

>>- How do I use Zaino? I read their online guide and it seems confusing to a person who used to use any
>>wax available. It says that you are supposed to leave Z2 and Z5 on for an hour each. I thought all wax
>>had to be removed promptly and wax usually hazes in a few minutes.

Hi Jason,

Print out the "Application" section from zainstore.com and study it for a while. It will sink in and make sense eventually.

Your wait time between coats is going to depend on if you are using ZFX or not. If you use ZFX you're ready to go with the next coat after the coat you have just applied is dry and you've removed it. If you don't use ZFX you need to wait 24 hours if it's under 70 degrees (only 6 if it's above 70) before you apply the next coat. I haven't used ZFX yet but after spending 3 days applying Zaino this January (1 coat of Z5 and 2 of Z2) I probably will get some ZFX for future use.

As for the dry time, it varies. When I did the process last April, it would dry and be ready to remove in 45 minutes to an hour. When I did it in January, it could take three or four hours to dry. It's really dependent on temperature and probably humidity too. It's hard to tell by just looking for a haze. you kinda get a haze when you apply it and it doesn't get much more hazy. If you wipe a spot with your finger and the spot wipes clean it's dry and ready to remove. If you wipe it and it just smudges it's not dry yet.

I like to use the Z6 between each coat. It seems to help make sure you got all of the previous coat off. You don't have to use much Z6 at all... just enough to get a little friction under my towel. I use big cotton towels and turn them often for all Z2, Z5 removal and Z6 application.. I guess you can use microfiber. I've never used them for that. Note that a few people on the forum have reported scratches from them so... I don't really know.

Again, stick with the application instructions on the web site and you'll do fine. If something I said doesn't make sense maybe I can clarify it some more. Also, call or email Zaino. They seem to respond email extremely quickly.

Yeah it's nutty (especially without ZFX to speed things up.) But it works. So I do it.

-grantbob

 

The hardest part of using Zaino is the prep work. I used a clay bar for the first time and had amazing results on a 198,000 mile paint job. The car was sooo much smoother and cleaner than when we got it 38,000 miles. It took time but was pretty easy work. Then came the Zaino.

Talk about easy and really fast for an amazing look. I did only two coats of Zaino and people kept asking "if the car had been repainted", "What year is it?" and "You have HOW MANY MILES on it?"

This product is best I have ever used. Protection is still going.

 

How do you all keep the exhaust pipe clean? After just a day of driving it is already getting dirty. Also, do you have to wash your car with Dawn before using Zaino. Seems like adding to the existing coat of polish would be better.

Jason

 

I have about 2 coats of Z5 and 4 coats on Z2. Last coat applied 2 months ago. Today, I washed the Mini and planned to apply another coat of Z2.... It just didn't need it. Since I had been looking forward to doing this all week, I looked real close at finish, ran my had over it (smooth as baby ***)... it just didn't need it . Finally, I decieded to do a quick application of Z6 (took all of 10 min) looks even better and I happy again:smile: