I've been using Zaino since July of last year. Now that my car has been out in the elements, it has picked up some fine swirl marks (spider-webbing). I started all over and Dawn'd the car then Clay Bar'd then Z-7'd then applied two coats of Z-5 followed by Z-6 and then by Z-2. During this process I kept a close eye on the swirl marks and noted that none of them even slightly disappeared. I've applied two more coats of Z-5 and still they're there!! Has anyone else had this experience with Z-5???

BTW, my next door neighbor has a new black car with fine swirl marks and Zaino Z-5 couldn't fill them either...

 

While I really love zaino - I agree the z5 doesn't do much for anything other then VERY MINOR swirls....i use it more for adding depth and wet look to the finish. For most swirls you will need something more abrassive...3m sells a few products for swirls that are really good.

 

Dom.... at 130 mph Zaino develops swirl marks. Were you driving 130 mph last weekend???? Fess up there guy. Sounds like you neighbor may have the same velocity issues.

 

I get 2-3 questions a day regarding the use of Z5 as a swirl remover. I recently wrote these notes to help people enhance the Zaino experience.

 

Dom, as david explain in his notes, use Z-1 before using Z-2.....what I actually do is Z-1 and apply Z-2 right over it and then either use Z5 if necessary of after buffing off the previous compound, go straight to Z6.

 

naw - skip z1 all together and just get the zfx, i've used both and would never go back to z1 again - depending on the weather the drying time of using zaino without zfx can be quite high compared to using it with zfx...plus it eliminates one step. In the article link above it stated using a porterfield you could get 3-4 coats on in a single day....Zaino actually recommends not putting more then 3 coats on in any 24 hour period even with zfx.

 

Ah yes. I forgot to mention that I've never used Z-1...I've only used ZFX drops into the Z-2 and Z-5...

 

>>I get 2-3 questions a day regarding the use of Z5 as a swirl remover.

David, I know Z-5's not a swirl "remover", but a swirl "filler". I've used it on my eye glasses with good results in "filling" in those scratched, but it appears it doesn't work very well on swirl marks on my car...

 

Z5 can only fill so much, then it begins to echo the scratch.

As I said in my notes, Z5 does a great job masking minor swirl marks. In my testing, I found that using more than 1 or 2 coats of Z5 was worthless. After the first coat you achieve 90% of the filling capability of the product.

If you have swirls, your best bet will always be to use a gentle polish to remove them over time. What you don't remove can be further masked using 1-2 coats Z5.

Z5 has its trade-offs. It does not create as good a final finish as Z2. Of course, you can apply Z2 over Z5, but it gets to be a lot of work.

I agree with the comments regarding ZFX vs. Z1. It is better, and saves a lot of rubbing.

Regarding the number of coats you can apply, I wrote the instructions. In fact, all of the copy for the Zaino products was written by me. Sal wanted to keep the number modest because he was concerned that my test conditions (So. California) were more idea than most. I tested extreme loading (12 coats a day) on my black 911, with no visible problems.

db

 

I have had the same issues with Z-5 and swirl marks. I used to used 3m hand glaze/swirl filler and that did a good job of hiding the swirl marks. Can Z-2+ZFX be applied over the 3M product?

thanks,

 

The Z Show Car Polishes like a clean, oil-free surface. For the most part you can get this by washing with Z7. It does not require a Dawn wash as people suggest. If you're not in the mood to wash after paolishing, you can use a 50/50 mix of denatured alcohol and water in a spray bottle. You paint will be ready for Z.

 

>>naw - skip z1 all together and just get the zfx, i've used both and would never go back to z1 again - depending on the weather the drying time of using zaino without zfx can be quite high compared to using it with zfx...plus it eliminates one step. In the article link above it stated using a porterfield you could get 3-4 coats on in a single day....Zaino actually recommends not putting more then 3 coats on in any 24 hour period even with zfx.


Gotcha...good to know. btw, dominic and i are in AZ and drying time here is lightning fast!

 

zaino will apply just fine over most rubbing compounds...as these are not leaving anything behind...they are simply removing a very very very small layer of your clearcoat that the swirl mark is in. Simply use the 3m compounds then wash and then apply zaino. I've used the p21s cleaning polish and had success with using zaino directly over that. It would be nice if sal would come out with a more aggressive cleaning compound.

As far as the usefulness of z5, for swirls it is minimal, but i find a couple coats of that helps alot to add depth and wet look to a darker finish like black. I talked to sal a year or so ago and he recommended if just going for the added depth and wet look, a good thing would be to apply two coats of z2 and z5 mixed 50/50 with zfx and then use z2 with zfx as the top coat. The real imporant thing is to always finish with a pure z2 coat, no z5. This will leave a much shiner, mirror like finish as well as being smoother.