I've recently had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with the good folks at Carolina Shine in Charlotte. They're distributors of Zaino Brothers car care products.

Wish me luck! This weekend I'll be making my first attempt to beautify my MINI using these premium products. I'll let you know how it goes when I'm finished. If all goes well, I'll be showing my car with my BMW CCA friends at the upcoming Auto Fair at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

In the meantime, if you have detailing needs, Steve and Leslie are great friends to the local MINI community, so check them out at: http://www.zainocharlotte.com/

 

You will love the results! The MINI is a joy to detail - not only is the surface area smooth and small, but the paint is excellent from the factory - not much care is needed compared to others!

 

"Drinking the Koolaid." Nice reference. Thanks for that.

 

EMini, Thanks for your post.

XAlfa is a little too sensitive.

This phrase is clearly now used for more than just references to the photo provided.

 

I have got all may Zaino products lined up and waiting to go.

Bought the Autopia detailing towel kit as well. As soon as my MINI is off the boat, I'm getting started.

Cheers!

 

XAlpha,

I meant no harm. Only that I'm getting on board with something that many people are clearly fanatical about. My apologies.

 

No worries. Image removed.

 

OK, even for a first -timer, I'm probably not the fastest w/ Zaino products, but I wamted to do a good job. I started at 1:00 pm and finished at 6:00 pm. Though it took quite a while, I'm very pleased with the results. The car has a nice wet-looking shine. The paint looks deep and very glossy. It feels super smooth.

After using car wash shampoo to take care of the tires and wheels, I washed the car using Dawn to strip off the existing wax. Then I used the clay bar to remove any contaminants and re-washed the car using a small amount of Z7 Car Wash. I dried the car and moved it into the garage, where I used an electric leaf blower to flush out the last of the rinse water from the grilles and mirrors. To get the paint ready to accept the polish, I gave the car a once over with Z6 Gloss Enhancer. Then I applied two very light coats of Z5 polish and a final pass with the Z6.

I put a third coat on the bonnet and repeated the Z6, primarily to darken and add gloss to the black bonnet stripes. After the UltraShield was applied, it became obvious that the stripes need some additional gloss to minimize the line where the UltraShield ends. It was actually pretty darn effective.

One thing I have to comment on is how easy it was to apply & remove the polish. I mixed it using 4 drops/oz of the ZFX accelerated curing addiitive. The only tough part was adjusting to the dramatically different look and feel of the polish. Probably because the paint is so new and so clean, the polish went on and came off so easily I wondered at first if it was really doing anything. No rubbing, no buffing; just wipe it on, let it dry and wipe it off. There was no doubt however after taking a few steps back that the polish was doing its magic.

Tomorrow I'm going to apply a coat or two of the Z2 Show Car polish to finish it off. I don't claim to be an expert in the use of these products. Despite that, the car looks like it received expert attention. My BMW friends will be jealous.

 

I Zaino'd my MCS yesterday for the first time (I'm a first-time Zaino-er as well). It was hard work -- strip wax, clay-bar, shampoo, Z5, Z6, Z2, Z6, wheel arches and black trim with Z7. But the results are simply AMAZING! Very HIGH gloss!

 

Sounds like you did a really nice job! You can periodically add a coat of Z2-Pro without mixing the FX. If you want to layer the Z2-Pro in the same day, use the FX.

 

I have one Zaino question which I can not find an answer to. When I apply the Z5 or Z2. Should the applicator pad be dry? I know you only use a small amount, but doesn't the pad just soak it up?

BTW, like the leaf blower trick.

 

Per Steve @ http://www.zainocharlotte.com just moisten the applicator pad periodically with Z6 Gloss Enhancer. It makes application much easier. You can then apply dime-size amounts of Z5 or Z2 to the pad allowing for thin coats that dry quickly and remove easily.

 

This response is spot on. If you are using the Zaino all-cotton applicator, 2 spritzes of Z6 should get you to the right level of dampness. If you are applying to a warm surface, you will have to use an occasional extra spritz to keep it at the right level. I've found that I don't need as much Z6 if I'm using a foam applicator.

 

Wow yet another great thread/great read as I prep for Zaino-initiation!

By procrastinating (due to weather and time commitments, not JUST laziness) I have picked up bunches of great advice:

1) leaf-blower "final" drying - that's my favorite... I was always finding after-drying drip-marks (in a different location each time ) and that should take care of that!

2) Provided you use the right ones
http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/...S&Store_Code=Z cotton is OK for removing dried polish.

3) Moistening the applicator!

Do you suppose NASA did as much research prior to the first Apollo rocket mission to the moon ? If it was (the typical) me, I woulda launched that baby WAY too quick!

Gracias,
Tatt

 

Happy polishing, Tatt. Let us know how it goes.

 

I went a little crazy a few months ago and posted all of my detailing processes here on NAM. I think it was over 10 pages long...

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...iled+detailing

 

Should we take a straw-poll, on making that a sticky?

Just like the kids who buy the new Harry Potter story the very day it hits the stores, I printed that sucker within the first 12 hours it was posted, a few months back .

Glad to see it's still easy to find,
Tatt

 

Thanks for taking the time to but that togeather. Really like the link to the Word.doc as well.

This is going to make things a lot easier for those of us new to detailing. :smile: