I'm planning on spending an entire day to clean the exterior of my car in a month or so Since I've heard such good things about Zaino, which Zaino products should I buy? I can't find any Zaino products locally, any internet sites that you guys reccomend to order the Zaino products from? Any good FAQ's online about thoroughly cleaning the exterior of the car? Should I just get my (black) car wet-sanded first and then give it the zaino treatment? Reccomendations?

Thanks all,
Nick

 

Order directly from Zaino at http://www.zainobros.com/.

You need to send them a check as they currently do not accept credit payment nor can you order online. They are pretty fast in processing the order even when I over here on Guam.

Chu...

 

If your car has wax of some type on it, you need to remove it before you put any polymer (Zaino is a polymer ) on it, or it won't bond properly. You can do this by using blue DAWN dishwashing liquid. Never use DAWN any other time, as it is too alkaline (harsh PH ) to use normally. I would also CLAY the car after the DAWN wash, using regular car shampoo as you clay, as a lubricant. This will help remove the Dawn and also lubricate the surface while you are claying the car.

Then rinse WELL, and dry. Now you can apply Zaino.

If you have a black Lexus, word is that they are NOT clearcoated, thus you will have to order Z3 for non-clearcoat cars. Most everyone else uses Z2 and /or Z5 , but they are formulated for clearcoat.

You will need :Z1 (pre-cleaner/conditioner)

Z3 (the polish itself)

The rest of their products are up to you, but those 2 are mandatory. Cheers.

P.S. I'm a detailer by profession as well as a Zaino user.

 

Zaino's website should be able to answer any questions that you may have; Sal himself will answer any email queries, usually within a couple of hours.

To amplify on Chu's response, they are extremely fast!! in order processing, to the point that it appears that they don't wait for your check to clear before shipping your order!!

I've used a number of products over the years (since 1974); I'm a Zaino convert. Even my non-gearhead wife could tell there was something different about the shine on her RX!!

 

I guess I should have read this thread before posting a new one, but anyways, Guitarman is right on in his recommendations. In my search for the best polish to use on my Lexus, I came across this interesting comparison test of the two products on the Acura NSX forum:

http://www.nsxsc.com/nsexcitement/waxtest.html

...and FYI, a great deal of car-finish care information is in the forum at:

http://www.autopia-carport.com

I am currently looking for a good clay bar for my Lexus, and then my plan was to polish it with Finish First auto polish from Liqui-Tech, but maybe I'll try the Zaino Z-2 Show Car Polish that was tested.

Guitarman, do you think, after claying, that I need to bother with Z1 (pre-cleaner/conditioner)? Or can I go directly to the polish?
My car is Sandstone Beige, if that makes any difference.

 

Thanks for that article Perry, I'm definitely going to place my order soon! No wonder I felt that i had to re-polish and re-wax my car every week with meguiars... their oxidation remover is pretty good though.

I found out my car has a clear coat on it (did the sandpaper test).

Guitarman, I've never ClayBarred a car before and I heard that ClayBarring a black car might give it fine lines, is it true? Here's what I'm thinking of ordering: Z1, Z2, Z5, Z6, ZFX, does that sound good?

Thanks!
Nick

 

Nick, truth be told it's no more risky than washing your car (plenty of people put swirls/fine scratches in their cars when washing improperly). I just clayed a 2002 Camaro SS with 114 miles on it, brand spankin new. It had the ram air type hood that is added by a separate company and that part of the car was real rough to the touch while the rest of the car was smooth. I clayed it with car shampoo/ water as a lube and the hood came out like glass with zero swirls, even in my garage under flourescents etc. You just want to be sure you keep the water and suds up and don't apply too much pressure to the clay, just enough to remove the bonded contaminants. Knead the clay over itself after each panel, to obtain a clean part of the clay. If you drop it toss it. (cut new clay into about 3 pieces so if you DO drop it, you can toss that piece and grab a clean , new piece ) You can do it, just take your time, and you'll be fine. Don't rub the clay in circles, a back/forth motion is sufficient.

Good luck.

 

I am not sure why you guys are using polymer based "waxes" on your cars. I have avoided these formulas and have had much better luck with real carnuba waxes. For the past 4 years I have used nothing but Wax Shop products for all my bikes/cars/trucks and could not be happier with results. For stripping car of all oxidation & old wax and grime I use a Wax Shop product called Safe Cut which is an absolute miracle worker in reviving neglected finishes that have literally gone YEARS without proper care. After buffing vehicle with Safe Cut I then apply Wax Shop's carnuba wax called Super Glaze which goes on and off very easily and leaves incredibly deep and long lasting shine. Last summer I helped a friend strip his 1988 RX-7 turbo of the chalkiest oxidation you can imagine - the car was white and literally looked like chalk, when we were done with polish and two coats of wax the results were unbelievable. I also regularly maintain a black SC300 and a fire engine red F150 and couldn't be happier with results. I Safe Cut each vehicle once every six months and use the wax every couple of months. I live in Maine and drive vehicles year round in harsh conditions and plenty of road salt and gravel for 4 months a year. I believe you can buy both of these Wax Shop products directly from manufacturer on web at www.waxdepot.com

Josh

 

I have been using Zaino but I have 2 question.
1. I have black sc400 (paint code 202) that means I have non-clear coated but I've been using Z2. Should I change to Z3? Does it make any better?

2. I used clay bar last year but should I do it again?

Nick, oh you have black sc and clear coated? I'm confused.
anyways yep, http://autopia-carport.com/ has good info about zaino and other product. use search engine about zaino on the site and CL site.
I also use Z7. I'll order ZFX next time.

 

There's been some confusion about whether the black paint Lexus uses is clear-coated or not. Someone said they called Lexus and asked, and confirmed that black doesn't have a clear-coat. Beats me why Lexus doesn't clear-coat all their colors.

 

It was either in 98 or 2001 (with the new SC430) that Lexus decided to clear coat black paint. Black was the only color that Lexus didn't clear coat.

Mine is clear coated because AFTER I bought my car I took a closer look and found out that the front end had been involved in an accident (not reported though, so carfax was clean). About a year ago a piece of wood flew off a semi and nicked my car, I had insurance take car of it and when they tested my car for a clear coat, it came up positive. So I'm assuming that when my car was in its car accident they repainted the front end and went ahead and clear coated the rest of the car.

If you want to see if your car has a clear coat on it, rub a spot on an inconspicuous part of your car with sandpaper LIGHTLY. If a white scratch mark comes up then it's clear-coated. Don't worry about the mark, it's not permanent. That's the only way that I know of how to check for clear coat.

Taka, how did your SC look after you clay barred your car? If my car didn't have a clear coat I would go with Z3.

 

No need to use sandpaper , a simple polishing compound and cotton towel will tell you. If you get the car's color coming off on the rag, it's single stage paint, if you get no color on the rag, clearcoat.

It surprised me greatly also to find the black cars not clearcoated. Go figure.

 

I use white 100% cotton towel but I dont see any black paint on my towel...is it possible to come off like that :eek: I dont think I wanna do Zaino anymore

 

Don't know how appropriate this is but I do follow these finishing and detailing threads. hellasboy - I wouldn't wet or color sand unless you have some fairly good problem. Color sanding definitely takes paint off and you only have so much to go around. If your paint is not heavily scratched or oxidized I would go with a polish at most. ape907 - I am a significant believer in good carnuba waxes. This is still what you see at concours events. But I did give Zaino a try. My biggest complaints are that 1) it didn't seem to get as "hard" as a good carnuba (making it more prone to those wonderful swirls we all love) and 2) I really think a good carnuba beads a little better. But I stuck with it and I found out a few things. My opinion is to not put Zaino on every weekend. This stuff takes a while to fully cure, probably weeks, and it does toughen up over time - probably UV exposure more than anything. It never seems to quite bead like a good wax but I think now it is just that it is different in its sheeting action. Net result, it is expensive and you can argue that it isn't all that much easier to apply but it is competitive with the best waxes out there from what I have seen. I am hoping the new accelerator will speed up not only the application time but the full curing time as well. I have it order, probably here in a day or two. One of my old friends is in the paint business and we have talked about this clear coat versus non clear coat issue. What I was told is that clear coat was really developed to go with the metalflake paints. The metalflake is usually aluminum particles in the paint, although mica has been used as well. The aluminum oxidizes and causes that really dull finish so clear coat was put in the sequence to help the metalflake stand up. Toyota has had a tendency to have three non-metalflake colors - black, white, and red. Although each color can be metalflake and it is probably not consistent year to year. Obviously, my old buddy figures that the black that is not clear coated is also not metallic although he doesn't know for sure. You can probably tell with the sandpaper test (ouch!) or just look at the paint. If you see the metalflake particles, my guess is that it will be clear coated. If it is not metalflake, well, it may or may not be clear coated. Sure wish the Toyota/Lexus guys would spend some time on this board. We could learn from them and they could learn from us.

 

RON430: The reason I like the carnuba is ease of application and the results seem to be the very best I have been able to achieve. I also have read several other places than some of the polymer compunds that are found on store shelves today can actually over time be hard on a car's finish because the paint is not able to "breathe" - I am not sure if this is marketing BS or the truth?

The other reason I like Wax Shop Super Glaze is because online you can order it by the gallon! I think I only paid around $30 for it and I have maintained 3 motorcycles, 2 trucks, a snowmobile, our Lexus SC300 plus countless times that I have helped detailed my friends & family's cars and I still have around half a gallon left after 3 years - a little will go a long way!

Josh