So reading the instructions on the Zaino site for claying it says that direct sunlight should not fall on the car. Why is this? After I clay the car in the garage can I move it out to wash it or is the paint now sensitive to sunlight?

The other issue I have is that my crappy town house "Community" doesn't have a place to wash the car so this means a mile drive down the road to the car wash. Would I be alright so long as I dry the car prior to brining it home to zaino after a short drive?

 

The 'not in direct sunlight' recommendation is so that water doesn't dry on the car and waterspot... I guess that you don't have any UV protection on the car after claybar but you probably have several months before any cumulative exposure problems could be noticed (if not several years). It would be just like driving around with no wax on the car... no big problem for a few days. For most of the world, no big problem at all for a few years or decades.

 

never heard of the "not in direct sunlight" warning for a clay bar, but I find it much much easier to see deposits in the paint with a lot of light, preferably direct sunlight :D

 

I clay in the shade, this keeps the lube(wether it be clay lube or soapy water from drying out)

 

Thanks for all the replies. I have had to put of the clay bar in lieu of Ophelia sitting just off the coast. Looks like I am in for a ride come Monday.

 

Another newbie question I'll add to this thread is when to use the clay bar.


Should I wash, then dry, then wet it again to use clay bar?

or

Wash, don't dry, and just use clay bar while car is still wet?

 

You need to wash, then dry, then use new soapy water to clay bar. The soap is the lube, not the water. Rince and dry as you go.

 

Agranger ...

Why does it seem the car most always Waterspots? Even from just rain? Doesn't seem to happen so much on other cars I've had or maybe I just didn't pay attention

Its pretty annoying

 

Different waxes and sealants waterspot more than others. And when wax deteriorates it will waterspot more. So consider what wax you are using.

 

So you don't think its like "hard water" (which is definitely possible) like from the water sprinkler watering the grass... I doubt its acid rain but it wouldnt surpise me

 

Waterspots are caused by the minerals in the water. There is minerals in all water except distilled water

 

Oh, yes, hard water is definitely a problem for ANY wax or sealant. If you have a sprinkler issue, especially if it gets baked on during the day, then you have problems. Minerals in water and hot sun is a brutal combo.

I just had an episode with that last week.

 

YES! That is EXACTLY it. The rain is pure (supposedly). Unfortunately, my wife will put the sprinkler on and it isn't exactly "cool" here this time of year so the water does BAKE in the sun

THANKS! You solved the problem. NO MORE SPRINKLERS near the car!

 

There is lots of minerals in rain water. And if there is any dust on the car, that will just add to the issue.

 

I thought rain water was like distilled water ... pure to drink but since you said that ... check this out http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasc...0/wea00044.htm
so much for rain water.

In any case, it really doesnt water spot from the rain. Its those Da..n sprinklers. City water isn't all that pure for sure!

 

Surprisingly, the water here in Dallas is fairly soft... good stuff for espresso, my other hobby. I keep my car in the garage at home and away from sprinklers at the office, so I do OK for water spotting.

Once I switched to Zaino, I found that my water spotting concerns from rain just disappeared... They just washed away with a bit of soapy water or Z6 (I love that stuff).

On the clay-bar question, I wash the entire car and rinse well. I then rinse all of the grit out of my bucket and refil with fresh water an a strong concentration of a good auto shampoo. I then just slop the wash water onto the car and clay away! Once you claybar, you will have to re-wash as bits of the bar and the removed contaminants are still on the surface. I do one body panel at a time... slop, clay, wash, rinse... slop, clay, wash, rinse...

 

So I took the plunge last weekend with the Zaino. I washed the car at the local wand wash and took along my bucket and dawn (I didn't use the brush of doom). The dawn took off everything including my DOD base stickers! I then rinsed and washed with Z7 to make sure it was clean. Then dried the car. Back to the house and a clay bar session for a few hours. Then Back to the wash for a final wash and rinse with Z7. That was the end of Friday night. The next morning I put on two coats of Z5 and a coat of Z2 using Z6 between coats and also the ZFX to help cure. That took most of the morning. Sunday saw another coat of both Z5 and Z2.

I drove the car all week and of course it rained and come friday there was a nice dusting of grit and grime all over the car. I thought that it was going to take a bit to get it back to sparkling but to my amazement a quick wash with Z7 and then a wipe down with Z6 and It was right back to new.

The local MINI dealership had a meet and greet this morning and you could really see the difference in what the Zaino does to the car. I had the service guys asking what I used on the car. I am happy with Zaino and would recommend it to others, just make sure you have the time to devot to the initial cleaning and application.

 

I love the "Zaino effect" where people come out and 'ooh-ahhh' over the finish. One experience justifies all the hard work.

My favorite was about a year ago. I was out with my wife in her dark metallic blue Nissan Murano. It had just received 2 coats of Z5 and 2 coats of Z2 the previous day. I parked infront a strip mall and walked a few doors down to the store my wife wanted to go to. When we came back to the car, the staff of a cell phone store (obviously not very busy) came running out and wanted to know how I did it... too much fun! My wife just rolled her eyes...