Sheepskin....absolutely. As long as it's real and not the fake yellow synthetic stuff. Good ones are expensive but very soft and quite nice.

Yes, the Big and Little Blue's are among the best!

 

My car not only lives outside, but on a ranch, meaning currently no roof, and dirt road and parking....detailing is tough..

I use Zaino--the whole kit, and wow, its easy to do...BUT...I have a dark gray car and when I got it, it was cared for with Zymol...I LOVED the color--dark and deep.
The "reflective" nature of Zaino has NOT made me happy with the color of my car....its very noticeable...much lighter and while I can shine it up, the color is "blah"...on just about any other color, I would think the Zaino shine would be great, but now I have a dark silver car instead of dark gray metallic...

I am considering trying Zymol, (the cheap type) to see if I can recover the lovely deep color in my car....is there some kind of tape or something I can protect the black trim with? I am a total KLUTZ when it comes to painting projects, etc...I'm afraid I'll make a huge MESS!

 

People have used regular masking tape or you can try painters tape.

 

Don't give up on the Zaino, top it with a good carnuba wax.

Use the blue painters tape if you want to mask your trim.

 

I like my Zaino "straight" but playing with carnauba toppers on top of a durable polymer base is a lot of fun. I have used Klasse as a base on several cars and have at least 15 carnaubas in my arsenal that I have tried at one time or another. Have fun! :smile:

PS: One of my favorites for dark cars is Pinnacle Souveran but "cheap" aint the word!

HINT: You know what makes a good masking tool? An extra large flexible Bondo spreader or painters edger from the paint department. (they come in shapes and sizes) I move it along as I wipe wax with my foam applicator. Keep the masking tool lying on the trim and just keep wiping right up to it. It's super fast and there is no tape prepping or clean up. Hey, I have a lot of cars. I learn!

 

I know I have read this before somewhere on this site, but I can't find it. The Zaino products go on the stripes too, right?

Kirk

 

Absolutely!

 

Brad I never did get the Z6. I have the Meguiars quick detailer that I had been using. Is the Z6 a better product?

I was at my brothers when I did the clay and wax job. He and my nephew were so impressed with the results they got online and bought the Zaino and have done 3 of their cars already.

 

Z6 really is infinitely better. Better slickness and lubricity. Smears less and hazes less. Better shine that lasts longer as well.

When you feel like it, treat yourself to some Z6 for detailing and then relegate the Meguiars for the dirty jobs or claying and stuff like that. That's what I did.

 

Although I'm not Brad, I have followed his advice religiously and the z6 you've got to have. I got the entire Zaino kit and followed instructions and the results were outstanding. When I drove the car, I couldn't believe how quickly little bits of "stuff" were on my silky surface again. But the topper is being able to come home and spritz on the z6 in about 10 minutes and the mini feels like glass again. I have a feeling I will go through this more than any other product. I am thinking it will really help me out during the winter months when I can't really care for my mini like I can now. Had to put my two cents in.
Kirk

 

Brad, A friend of mine with a Corvette likes my Zaino shine. He wants to use it on his car but was asking if the process is the same for fiberglass. Do you treat it the same? Claybar, z2, z6 etc?

 

Yes, it works the same way. In fact, I just helped a friend Zaino her Vette last week! Looks fantastic!

 

Simplify your life. Get Klasse AIO and Klasse Sealant Glaze from www.properautocare.com

I've used almost every popular wax/polish out there including zaino when it was first popular (and later when the fx or whatever the quick dry stuff is called came out), and I've settled on the Klasse.

 

Seriously..one tip I've picked up to keep wax etc off of rubber/plastic trim such as the wheel arches etc..is to apply your plastic/rubber dressing first and leave it wet while you apply the wax/sealant. Any that gets onto the trim just wipes off. The painters edging tool is a great tip as well...but hard to use on curves. Another tip I've gleaned is to use foam paint applicators to apply trim dressing. They have a chisel tip and it's easy to keep dressing off the paint. Having said all that, the nature of Zaino is such that any that gets onto the trim is easily cleaned off...not like wax products.

Detailing is fun and acquiring detailing supplies and knowledge is the best scavenger hunt ever !!

Peter...new adherent to Autopia...in Denver

 

I use 3m products. The show car wax is a great wax. I also use the swirl mark remover to remove any swirls left over then I finish it off with a coat of autoglym sealant.

 

After reading this (and other) thread, I finally decided to try Zaino over Klasse. Take your pick of my short and long reviews.....

Short Version:
I couldn't be happier with Zaino! I've already recommended it to half a dozen people.

Long Version:
Ordering
Zaino's distribution is fantastic. Maybe this doesn't make an impression on most people; but (being in the distribution business) I notice. I ordered ZFX, Z2,Z5,& Z6 online on a Wednesday afternoon. The package was on my door Thursday evening. Fantastic!
Instructions
The instructions that are included in the shipment were suffiecient; but a couple more pages would have been nice. There are some really great tips listed on the website that would make a nice addition to the standard packing material.
Application
I think I made the classic Zaino-Rookie mistake and applied the first layer too thick. Zaino does seem to take longer to dry than other products I have used; and my first application took about 90 minutes to dry. However, this was on a *very humid* St. Louis evening. I applied the second layer much thinner (although maybe not thin enough) and it took about 45 minutes to fully dry.
Removal
Once dry, Zaino is by far the easiest to remove of any product that I have used. Buff off and then shine with Z6. I did deviate from the directions on this step. They seem *really* insistant that the best method of removal is to use a 100% cotton bath towel. I used microfiber instead and didn't have any problem.
Results
It was hard to judge the shine by the florecent lights of my garage; but the next day I was amazed. I had two people actually stop by my office to tell me how great my car looked! The shine is incredible. The feel is also amazing. I don't hear a lot of people mention the almost silky smoothness that Zaino leaves; but it is almost unreal.
Maintenance
Perhaps it is because of the incredible smoothness of the finish or the superior qualities of Z6; but I have been most happy with how Zaino has changed my car cleaning routine. A quick car dust and then Z6 quick detail each evening has kept my MINI looking *incredibly* good. For the last 6 months I have washed at least once a week. However, this weekend I'm going to wash my MINI for the first time in about 2.5 weeks; and that is not because it appears to need it but so that I can prep for another layer of Z2.

 

Another vote for Klasse - but try a combo of Klasse all-in-one, let it cure for about 8 hours (or overnight) and then finish with a top coat of Pinnacle carnauba wax. This is a fantastic method - it is fast (assuming you start with a clean surface) and yet the finish is absolutely beautiful. I've used Zaino as well, and while it is a very good product, I find it more labor intensive (particularly trying to remember the damned sequence - Z6? Z5? accelerator?).

 

I, too, am a stong believer in the Klasse twins. Gotta love those twins. I was playing around with it one day and tried NXT Tech wax as a topper, it came out real nice.

 

I'm voting for Zaino!

I didn't think the results would be as amazing as they turned out... you just wouldn't believe how deep the color looks.

 

Good news on this front....Zaino has a new formulation, Z2 Pro that is shipping soon. This is more user friendly, dries faster, is less finicky in humidity, is easier to remove in all situations, etc. No price increase. Stay tuned!

 

I learned the technique of applying wax to the paint surface with my fingers years ago from a friend of mine, it works great.

Using your fingers gives excellent feel for the surface and allows pin point control of the wax application. It also allows you to apply wax with that 1/4" zone to avoid rubber and trim on the car -- just smooth around the trim/rubber with one finger, goes on in a snap!

Try your fingers instead of an applicator, I guarantee you'll like it!

 

Zaino dry time:

On my wife's car, I've taken to washing it on a Saturday afternoon and applying a coat of Z2. I'll let this sit overnight and simply buff it off the next day. It is apparently better to let coats of Zaino cure well before applying the next coat anyway.

Regarding Z6 - It's the best! I got a half a bottle of Meguiars QD from a friend of mine who used my driveway to wash and clay his car. The Z6 streaks A LOT less and takes less work to remove fingerprints. The Z6 is also excellent on Zaino'd glass... I've stopped using glass cleaner on the exterior of our cars... just a half of a spritz of Z6 per window and microfiber away.

I still wash every weekend if I can, but if the weather hasn't been too bad, I'll just hit the cars with the duster and Z6 w/ a microfiber to bring it all back to showroom new (or better).

 

There has always been a bit of confusion between drying and curing. Zaino will dry very quickly with or without the use of ZFX additive. It (used) to be quite dependant upon ambient temperature and humidity levels. Cooler temps and more humidity increase your wait time for buffing off. One you can lightly wipe your finger across the surface and all the residue comes off entirely in one swipe, then it's dry. In the summer, for instance. 80°, 70% humidity, I can get a coat of Z2 to dry in 15-20 minutes. Another huge factor is that Zaino only needs very, very thin coats. Most people apply way too thick of coats of Zaino. If you have lots of noticible white residual swirls to buff off you are applying it too thick. You should only just barely just see where you have waxed.

Now, without any ZFX, this wax would be "dry" but not "cured". Without ZFX you should wait at least 6 hours for it to cure. With ZFX additive, it will be cured immediately.

 

ZAINO !
Easy, fast, and great if you have an all black Mini.

Great results

 

Few remarks:

First, i'm picking up my mini in about a week and a half and was wondering should I clay bar it and everything when I get it or should wait until after winter since the dealer should have already waxed it once?

Second, Zaino is a polish right? So it seems that for protection you need a wax over it. if so, what's a good layerable wax?

Third, looked through the zaino site and it says when using ZFX only do three coats max, any reason why?