What... do people not read the posts here?

I hate writing something, ONLY to have some idiot say exactly what I ALREADY said - that DID NOT HAPPEN.

A. It didn't sit in the sun

B. It was removed right after it hit - upon returning home.

C. There were 5 (count them) FIVE layers of Zaino on the hood.

D. The clay bar won't remove it

E. It is faint. Yellow or orange.

F. If you don't have a pepper white Mini with the same problem... don't bother to respond. Especially with an idiot response like the one above... pointing out the obvious... that I already mentioned were NOT the case.

 

So you're saying you hit a bug, and it was on the car for what - minutes? Until you drove home and washed it off...and it went through 5 layers of Zaino and into your paint? Yeah....ok.

 

Don't scoff kaelaria.

minimonkey, I know exactly what you're talking about. My MINI is pepper white, I use Zainos, I live in the San Diego area and I find the yellow spots. Even on the clear bra. They're not bug splats, at least on my car, they're definitely dropping from above. But I still don't know what causes them.

Bug poop? Hummingbird poop? I do find that after any solid residue is removed, the yellow spot eventually fades from the paint or clear bra. I don't think it would be noticed on any other color.

Now I've got some light tan freckling on my car's backside paint. I've no idea what it is, doesn't come off with clay bar or light polishing. Sure hope it fades out too.

Shelly
And so far the best thing I've found for removing bug splat is spit and a rag.

 

Well that's where I disagree with you.

These are pictures of a black MCS. This was buffed out with a Dual Action Polisher using only NXT Tech Wax. The reason that Zaino won't give you this kind of results is simple. Zaino is a pure polish. NXT Tech Wax is a synthetic wax & paint cleaner which means it'll give you that shine AND remove the swirls when applied correctly.

How long did it take to buff out this hood??? Well around 10 minutes tops.

BEFORE


AFTER


SIDE BY SIDE

 

Almost 2 years old,100+ miles a day,throught -40F winters, LOTS of bugs, tree sap, dirt, back road gravel, more bugs. , Clayed, and NTX every 2 months, well except in the winter.

What swirls?

 

Great post!! Here's mine!

Also almost 2 years old, 40,000 miles. NXT Tech Wax once every 2 to 3 months. Quick or NXT Speed Detailer daily.




After about 500 miles and 3 days of driving along the coast and no car wash--just NXT Speed Detailer.


Lousy picture of me, but great reflection off side of MINI.


MINIMONKEY,

I know that yellow gunk you are talking about. It stains my vinyl, and if left on the paint for more than a few minutes--it will eat the clear coat. I've seen it and witnessed it. Still have no idea what it is but it's nasty stuff.

 

Nice looking MC ya got there Octane
I think the main thing is, keep it looking clean. Use whatever you can, like to use, need to use. Just keep it clean

Clean shiny MINIs rock

 

Absolutely agree with you there!!!
Thanks!! Love your ride too!

 

same site but notice what's in the background??? http://www.meguiarsonline.com/galler...&cat=500&page=
another http://www.meguiarsonline.com/galler...&cat=500&page=
Man would I love to have that elise also!!!!!!!

 

Yep that's my MC. We did that 2005 Elise last week. Here's the thread I posted on NAM from that day. We only used NXT Tech Wax since the finish was so good and just had some swirls from the dealership. Taping off that thing was a royal pain. Plastic everywhere, and a lot flimsier than anything on our MINI's.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=44318

Richard

 

Taping off.

 

Hahah nice job!! The Elise has about a million more plastic grills and fins on the sides, front, back, hood, and engine lid!

 

Octane Guy.....those are great pictures! I haven't used Zaino yet, but it is my understanding the Z2 is a pure polish ( a sealant really as polish by definition has some cut to it ) but the Z5 does have some swirl removing properties....you are able to remove swirls with NXT by machine but not with the Z2, but have you tried the Z5 using the same technique??

 

Thanks Umberto!

I've never tried any of the Zaino products by machine--only by hand. I probably still have some Z5 left over, but I'll have to find a car to try it on---oh maybe my wifes car. LOL.

 

Guys im so confused..

i never had a car that i really cared about so all i did was wash and sundry thats it. so im confused with all this jargon.. i thought the "improved" process for my mini would be wash, chamois dry, apply some wax and hand buff ?

whats Tech Wax mean?
Whats Speed detailer daily?
whats the purpose of a 'clay bar"

sorry i know these are two yr old questions but id love the help.

 

Consensus of this thread indicates NXT removes minor to moderate swirls better than Zaino #5 Polish. But does not last as long as a Zaino #2 top coat sealant.

So why not use both? Great idea except:

What happens if I use Dawn before applying Zaino #2 on top of NXT? Will Dawn remove NXT? Will swirls return? Can I use Zaino #2 over the NXT without Dawn?

Is NXT is a swirl camouflage, not a swirl remover.

BTW, in a telecon with Mr. Zaino last week, he said if swirls don't respond to #5, use 3M or Scratch-X before Zaino.

 

Dawn is horrid for Meguiars products. Actually it's bad for all waxes and polishes except for Zaino. You get no benefit by doing a Dawn wash before using NXT because it removes the essential oils that protect the finish.

No swirls will not return if you somehow managed to remove NXT, unless you managed to induce new swirls during your "removal" process. This isn't a masking process.

Yes, you can try to use Zaino over NXT but the results may not be as expected. Some people have done it, but it's not recommended simply because Meguiars products are formulated to work together. It makes sense to use a paint cleaner (swirl remover) and polish from the same manufacturer. In this case, it's all built into the same product, known as NXT, and adding Zaino won't give it a higher gloss or more protection.

I had 12 "coats" of Zaino on my bonnet and a single machine buffing session with NXT removed it and made it look dark and glossy, which is what you want if you've got a deep dark color like Indi Blue or Black.

I think it's funny that Sal recommends you use Meguiars ScratchX before using his product. ScratchX is a minor clear coat scratch removal product. If you've ever seen how much force is needed to properly use the product, you'd realize that you'd NEVER want to use that on the whole car as a swirl remover. Used properly, you need between 3 to 5 applications, and you each application you buff it by hand vigorously until the paste turns clear, which can be 40 or 50 strokes or more.

Richard

 

Don't be afraid of asking any questions, that's why we are all here!

Tech Wax is a product from Meguiars called NXT Tech Wax. The NXT line consists of a number of waxes and cleaners that represent a new formulation that works better than other products on the market, costs less, and smells great!

Doing a wash, chamois, wax, and hand buff is fine for basic maintenance, but at some point, you may wonder about how to go to the next level. Most people who use Zaino love to add more coats and are pretty picky about how shiny their cars are, so both Zaino and NXT can help you get there.

NXT Speed Detailer is a product that you can use daily to remove light dust off your finish after it's been properly waxed. It maintains that just waxed look all the time. I do this so I can wash my car only once every 3 weeks or so. Of course that is if it doesn't rain and get really yucky first.

Clay Bar is a product that's used to remove embedded contaminants off your paint. If you feel your just washed paint and it's bumpy, and not smooth as new glass, then you can use Clay Bar. It's essentially this really sticky looking modeling clay like stuff that you rub on your car. You spray some Speed Detailer as lubricant and glide the bar on. You can feel it dragging at first as it picks up the contaminants, and in a few moments, it will glide smoothly. You do this in a manner akin to gliding a hockey puck above ice. You just rub it back and forth and every so often, you inspect the clay to see if how dirty it is---then you knead it to expose more new clay and repeat. If you drop the clay bar, you need to throw it away since it'll have picked up whatever was on the ground and has too much potential for ruining your finish now.

Hope that helps!!

Richard

 

Lot15, next time, you should just remove the plastic screens just below the windsheild as they pop off very easily and will save you some taping. Plus it makes it easier to buff in theat area without that hump in the way.

 

well there's been alot of posting since I started this thread and none of it has been by me!

I have an idea! since NXT takes out the scratches and Zaino protects better why don't you do 1-2 layers of NXT as the bottom coats, and 1-2 layers of Zaino as the top coats?

Is this good?

Mikey

 

The concept of "layering" is actually kinda controversial. Meguiars says you can't layer coats, Zaino says you can and should.

Meguiars recommends 2 coats at most--anything more is wasted. The reason for two isn't for extra "thick" protection but rather to fill in any missing or light areas you missed on the first pass.

Putting NXT as a "base" then Zaino on top probably won't amount to much. Most likely the result will be less spectacular compared to when one or the other is used alone.

Ya gotta remember, NXT protects just as well as Zaino. Some will question that, but the truth is that if you like to take care of your car, you'll use whatever works best for you as often as you wish. Doesn't matter to me whether that's NXT, Zaino, or Turtle wax for that matter. The end goal as Lot15 said---just make it shine!!!

Besides, while hand waxing is a pain, a $150 polishing tool isn't out of the question considering how much Zaino costs--it'll significantly reduce your effort and time to wax while removing scratches, and you'll want to use it often, and you can use that with any wax that can be machine applied.

Richard

 

Dang Octane - how much commision are you getting over there?


One question - if NXT takes out swirls so well, why all the prior steps on all those projects?

Like I said before - Zaino isn't designed to do that kind of work, it's for good paint to begin with, and that's fine with me. I know it's the very best stuff I've ever used, both in quality and durability...and is super easy to put on. It takes me all of 15 min to do the car by hand once a month. I'm sure a power buffer with other products cuts that, but I have no need. I like being able to cover every inch of the car by hand anyway, to take care of any imperfections on the spot.

So for me, and probably most other Mini owners, the swirl reducing qualities, however great they are, of NXT are a moo point (Joey ). I only need the best polish and shine, not repair compounds. Other cars may certainly be a different story.

 

The MINI is so small, why would you want to use a machine? I'd much rather be up close and personal. It lets you see things you wouldnt when using a machine (Like a very very light scratch that wasnt there last week).

 

Haha funny Kaelaria, $0.

It doesn't seem inappropriate for me to be just as passionate about NXT as you are about Zaino without getting paid for it. Otherwise we'd all be rich people working for MINIUSA promoting how great our MINI's are!

re: One question - if NXT takes out swirls so well, why all the prior steps on all those projects?

Because one product isn't for every car. Some cars need more attention than others. If I'm going to make a brand new 2005 MINI swirl free because it came from the dealer with swirl marks, I'm not going to need anything agressive. NXT is mild enough to get the job done right.

For that Elise, NXT was all we needed. For that 1960 black Corvette with a single stage lacquer paint, while the paint was soft (no hard clearcoat), we needed something a bit more agressive than NXT alone, so we used what its known as a Cleaner/Polish or #80.

Give me a 1996 black Honda Accord with oxidation and well, you need more agressive products to restore that finish.

When I do my MINI detail clinics for c3, we mostly use NXT on all the MINI's except in a few occurences where it was obvious something more was either needed or desired. That is, the paint is in bad shape due to neglect--living outdoors under a tree leaking sap all over, etchings, etc.., or on the other extreme, a cabrio that was destined for a car show for close scrutiny. We wanted extra shine so we added another polish step after NXT. But in most cases, NXT is all you need.

To each is own, and I'm not trying to convert you. However, you keep misintrepreting what I'm saying (NXT is an excellent wax that will give you as good a shine as Zaino with minimal effort. it can also be used to remove swirl marks in one step if you want, but I never said it was a repair compound.). Until you've tried using a Porter Cable Dual Action polisher, you have no idea what you are missing. I'm almost certain that if you take a Zaino'd dark finish MINI out in the bright sun, you will see swirl marks. And if you can live with that, that's cool!

 

Yes it is small. Lots reasons but it's a false that you would miss a scratch or detail whether working by hand or Dual Action polisher.

1.) You won't introduce new scratches as you can by hand
2.) You will remove light scratches that are already there
3.) Fastest way to apply and remove wax
4.) You are just as close and personal
5.) Anybody can learn to use it within minutes

Do this once every few months and do in betweens with Spray Wax or Speed Detailer and you'll be set. Remember everytime you touch your paint, you apply a microfiber towel to wipe off dust, or even apply Zaino, you introduce the possibility to add scratches. The whole point is to reduce or elminate that possibility in the first place.

Apply Wax


Remove Wax


Look at what was removed from this Pure Silver MCS using Clay Bar