Zaino Car Care Experiences

wayn1

Well, it works!!! I did'nt even log in??? I liked the old set up better.

joebob6

And Yes Pat I did go to that board. All they tell you is to hang in there they are working to get things right. Quite useless IMHO.

To get into this board so that posting is allowed, I must first Select Topic: Maintenance And Repair. Then search for Zaino. Then come to this board and I am able to post.

If I Enter Edmunds and do Board Search "Zaino", it will bring me to this forum but not allow me to post. Pretty weird.

pblevine

I saw that the original M&R header page came back yesterday and that was good. Then I scanned the conference and read the message in the last topic which rerouted me to this new M&R page set. Looks very good. Now lets see if I can post messages again.

chevyman4

Just finished using the Zaino products on my 2001 Summit White Yukon. I did the Dawn wash, clay, Dawn wash, Z1, Z2, Z6, Z2, Z6. I have never had a car wax/polish that was this slick to the touch. It looks very good. Am interested in seeing how it holds up. Planning to drive from Florida to Richmond, VA for Xmas. When I get home plan to wash, Z2, Z6 again for three coats of Z2 on the Yukon. Been ujsing McQuire's 26 on my wife's '98 Lexus, but will Zaino it in January.

ruking1

Good for you! I have always had to "pump up" to do a TLC/Yukon sized vehicle. Multiple coats do look wonderful I might add!

I don't have the same motivational problem on a C-5 Z06. Six coats later it looks like white iced glass!! Zaino on!!

reid8

I have a black 99 Suburban that has some fine white overspray on the hood.Will the zaino claybar take this off. I think I am gonna order this Zanio after reading here, I have never heard of it before. Thanks for your input.

pjyoung

I havent' used the claybar, so I don't know if it will remove the white overspray. You might try to call or e-mail Sal Zaino and discuss it with him. You can get his e-mail and phone number from www.zainobros.com Good luck and welcome aboard!

reid8

I am going to order the stuff and see how it works . I also just bought a black Formula for my wife, I love the way black looks but it is tuff to keep it clean. Maybe the Zaino is just what I need for 2 black vehicles. I e-mailed them to see if the sell the stuff here in Houston,does anyone know?

joe166

ANY clay bar will probably remove the overspray. There is an advantage to using the Z bar if you are going to do the whole job at or near the same time, but if you just want to remove overspray, you can buy Mothers or Meguiars at pep boys or similar discount auto parts stores and use that product. Since they use their spray gloss as a lubricant you would have to wash with a strong alkaline detergent (Dawn is one of them) before starting the Z process, but you would probably want to wash afterward anyway so it is no big deal. I have found Mothers to be marginally easier to use than Meguiars and Zaino suggests you use their car wash as a lubricant, which I found to make it even more difficult, but others seem to have found it a piece of cake. Either way, I think you will find it most interesting and easier than it sounds.

automophile

Agree with Joe - Clay should take off the overspray. I used Mother's with good results.

Claying is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED under ANY circumstances - even a new car. I had alread "glazed" my car the last time I had waxed it, but when I changed to Zaino I decided to Clay it as well. The difference was astounding - I could't believe paint could be so smooth! Of course applying the Z layers was even easier after that!

umpopa

Hi, Reid8. Sal has a distributor here, living in Pasadena, named Donald Brunswick. He is very nice on the phone, has everything in stock, and will fill your order promptly, like he did mine. Sorry, I don't have his phone number, but you should call Sal Zaino. He has the number and will be happy to give it to you.

-umpopa

pblevine

And here's to a shiny new year!

pjyoung

May Santa fill your stockings with your favorite Z product. As for myself, I only want him to bring me a day of above freezing temps and no slop on the roads. 3 below on the way to work with freezing drizzle and snow for the weekend. At least it'll be a white Christmas.

reid8

OK you people have me sold. I am going to order for a black 99 Suburban,and 4 week old black Formula. I thougth I would order Z 1,2,5,6,7,18. Does this sound right? Thanks for your help.

reid8

1 more thing will this stuff work as good on baots too?

phkck

Sorry did not want to scroll thru 1000+ posts. Where can I buy Zaino products and what will the initial cost be for the Zaino system. (Black 2000 Excursion with Leather seats).

pjyoung

go to www.zainobros.com and look at the product list. There is a good description of what each product does. There is also an order form that has pricing on it, so pick what you want and add it up. They don't take credit cards, but they have a very quick turnaround on mail orders...even if paying by personal check. Suburbans and Excursions are gonna take a bit longer to do, but I think you'll like the results.

lynne29

until I can give my husband the Zaino products, including the leather cleaner, for his car. Hope it's a little warmer. We have a garage, but outside it's so much easier to get around. Any minimum temperature I need to work in? Hope he likes the job when it's done; I don't have a leather interior, so I'll have to practice on his, which makes me nervous!

reid8

If you click on check messages at the bottom it will allow you to post,worked for me anyway. Putting my order in the mail this week.Merry Christmas to you all.

ryguye

I just recently purchased some Z1,Z2, and Z6 for my new car. I ended up using half the bottle of both the Z1 and Z2. I think I put too much on though because it took about 3 hours for it to dry and I put the stuff on in a warm garage. How many coats should one bottle of Z1 and Z2 last? Btw, I own a Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder so I don't have to do the top. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

pjyoung

I had a bottle of Z2 do 5 coats on a Chrysler 300M and 1 coat on a Taurus. A half bottle on a car with no roof is waaayy too much.

joebob6

You put it on way, way too thick. When I put it on it looks "kind of like the haze you would you see if you sprayed windex on glass right before it evaporates". That description may be hard to understand...I hope not. When I apply Zaino (Z2 or Z5) I can hardly tell that that there is anything that needs to be taken off. A quarter size drop(not very thick) is enough to cover a large size hood. Moisten the applicator with Water or Z6 when applying Z2 or Z5 to improve its spreadability over the surface. However, do not Moisten the applicator when applying Z1. Hope this helps you. Z1 and Z2 should each get you around 8 coats on a mid-sized vehicle as per zainobros website. I can usually get 13 to 16 appplications now. I put on too much Z1 my first time (about 1/4th of the bottle) but it was very dry outside and did not cause any problems.

pblevine

JoeBob is right. I Z6 to pre-moisten the applicator and on the first use of Z2, I make an "X" with the Z2 on the applicator and work it in very mildly. After that, I use a single 'stroke' line of Z2 on the apllicator to cover a good sized panel. I use light even strokes which slightly overlap. As per Sal Zaino's recommendations, I stroke 'front-to-back' (horizontally) on the top and other horizontal panels (hood, trunk, etc.), and 'up-and-down' (vertically) on the vertical panels (doors, etc.).

praisethelord

I have been using all of Zaino products since July of this year. My other cars never looked as good as this one does. Have a silver acura tl. This might sound like a dumb question. I turn off all the pipes during the winter, so dont have access to outside spikets, off course if I turned it back on. How does one wash their car when it is 20 degress outside. Without it turning to ice once you wash and rinse the car. Obviously I always took all my previous cars to the car wash. Do not want to put their junk on my car. Appreciate any tips.

pjyoung

I'm in the midwest and we haven't seen above freezing temps for about a month now. We also haven't had any weather (except today) where it has been decent enough to wash the car, and I'm at work, so there's another opportunity lost. I have washed it when temps were near freezing, and I didn't have a problem with ice on the car, however the ice on the driveway was another story! After 3 weeks, I finally bit the bullet and took it to the spray wash. If it's any consolation, the last Z coat I put on in late October was still beading nicely, despite the infrequent washings. Only thing I can suggest is to wait for the January thaw, give it a good Z7 hand wash and apply another coat of Z2.

pblevine

Car Wash? NO! Don't take your car to one of those automatic commercial car washes. The stiff brushes will ruin your clear-coat. The even stiffer side mounted things will do a job on your wheels/rims. The hot recycled water will inject water spots all over. And the 'hot wax' will ruin your finish. And a Zaino shine will be .... (can't even say it). Gone! And all that will remain is a collection of swirl marks. Ugh!

The average car with about 2 layers of Z2 on it will be able to get through even a nasty winter. Just let the dirt pile up and wait for a thaw. All I do is (given a moderate thaw of about 40/50 degrees) spray the car with a mixture of Z7 Car Wash in water and rinse clean with a moderate spray from a garden hose. That gets most of the stuff off the car. Winter is a pain, but Zaino will outlast it.

automophile

Good Luck Guys! Winter IS Hell! Here in L.A. the wind is blowing leaves into the pool and into my open sunroof! Our 'Z' looks great however!

Joking aside - I have not had to live through a freezing winter, but I aqree 110% with pblevine - I feel that being dirty is preferable to going to a car wash. Too bad there isn't just a hot water spray to rinse off the bulk of it.

bretfraz

I'm a bit surprised to read some of the responses about winter washing. Let the dirt pile up? Dirty is preferable? Wasn't it just a few short months ago where claying to remove rail dust (of all things) was aggressively debated in here? Rail dust is bad, but dirt and salt are good?

Anyway, don't waste the bandwidth responding. I thought I'd throw in my experiences to help the "unwashed" masses.

Having lived in Chicago for 5 years with most of that time in high-rises, I never had the luxury of a garage/driveway. The buildings did offer enclosed, heated parking garages which was beneficial. What I did all those years (and still do) is bucket-wash my car at the coin-op joints. I used all my favorite products and washed liked I would if I had a driveway. I found several DIY places in the suburbs that had good equipment. I only used the spray wand to rinse; I never used their brush or soap. I wore heavy rubber gloves and old clothes. It usually took about $8 in quarters. You've got to dry quickly and get the car back to the heated garage to melt any ice build up. It's a little uncomfortable but I did it once a week for 5 years.

Now living in GA we have a different problem, water restriction. My complex's car wash stalls have been shut off since June. So I'm back to bucket-washing at the coin-op. Same techniques and tools as before, no big deal.

pblevine

Now, now, I didn't say you shouldn't wash your car all winter long. But when water turns to ice, fingers get numb, wind chills freeze your breath, and paper becomes brittle, then our Zaino products also tend to freeze. Washing your car under those conditions will rather enhance the chances that cold dirt (being moved about during washing) will scratch and clear-coat or add-on finish be it wax or polymer. So,...Don't wash your car under those conditions and stay away from the commercial auto washes too. The DIY places may be OK provided that the provided washing bay is: above 32 Degrees, the water is fresh (not recycled), the air is relatively dust free, and you can use your own products. In NYC, the water is re-cycled. I'll wait for a thaw!

pjyoung

Automophile, Imagine this since you also drive a white car. My car looks spectacular during the spring, summer, and fall. But this winter, we have had snow about every other day. They throw down tons of salt and the roads turn to a nice slushy slop, that eventually melts to a nice salty and dirty mixture that is then thrown up as a fine mist all over the car. Dirty snow that is piled on the sides of the roads from the plows can melt from the sun hitting it, making the roadways wet, even on a day with no rain or snow. My white car eventually becomes a dull brown color. One can only take so much of that before the urge takes hold to clean it. In this part of the country during the past years, we have had some days with temps around 40 or 50 which would allow for a quick, but cold, hand washing. But so far, the temps have not seen the north side of freezing for almost 30 straight days. After accidentally brushing up against this dirty mess when entering and exiting the car, causing yet another suit to be sent to the cleaners, one finds it hard to drive past the u-spray-it wash without hearing a tiny voice crying out wash m, wash me. And so I do.

Hand washing at the spray-it wash is verboten by order of the retired [non-permissible content removed] that own the places, although I have seen people with a bucket of water hand wash the car outside of the stall while waiting their turn for the rinse cycle . The [non-permissible content removed] cannot do much about that as they are not tying up the stall, but they do get the evil eye as the wash owner paces, waiting to load the dollar bill changer with fresh quarters.

Finally the stall, also referred to as the ice cavern is available. Donning the goofy Fargo hat, gloves, and parka, you pull into the stall, unable to stop yourself from inserting the 4 quarters in the slot and selecting soap with hands shaking. You point the sprayer at the dirty beast and watch as some glimmer of white appears. A feeling of elation passes over you as you wash the salt and mud off the sides of the car, yet at the same time you are begging forgiveness from the carwash gods for spraying recycled soapy water at high pressure on your vehicle. Once the car looks reasonably white, you switch to rinse and get the residual soap off. Deep down, I know that the car is not really clean, it is just less dirty than before. I do not towel dry it as I know that there is still a thin film of road gunk just waiting to scratch the finish. It is off to the freeway for the air dry cycle.

There you have it. A confession from one who cannot bear driving a mudmobile. It is a price I pay for living in the heartland of America. Bless you all.

joebob6

I basically do the same thing as you. Except while waiting for the bay to be free I spray the entire vehicle with Z7 water mixture to loosen up the dirt and salt. May try a soaking wet hand towel next time along with the Z7-water mixture.

After driving on the highway(with the heat blasting) I use a spray bottle mixture of Z6, distilled water and a tiny bit of Z7. I use about 5-7 cotton towels applying and removing the mixture from the finish. I haven't noticed any scratching. It takes about 20 minutes. And the car really shines like new, until the next round of inclement weather. I really want to apply another coat of Z2, but it is just too damn cold.

BTW, is the recycled water really that bad? Doesn't it go through some type of filtration process?

graphicguy

Oh my goodness....after the Edunds Town Hall software changeover, I've just now been able to get back in here after a month of having no was to post.

Anyway, in response to your comment about recycled water...

The only problem is that the water is usually still dirty. Yes, they do have a filtration system that takes away the "bigger chunks" of dirt, but there will still be some dirt that gets through. What you're doing is rinsing/washing your car with (still) dirty water.

Not bad if your car is really filthy (like mine is with salt and road grime), but not nearly as good as you can do with totally clean water.

It's rarely been above freezing in the midwest for the entire month of December. I don't worry too much about the discomfort of washing my car in this weather. I do worry about the doors and locks freezing if I go to a "spray off" place. NO matter how well you dry the car, some moisture will still be there.

If it gets anywere close to above freezing temps, I'm off to one of the spray bays to get some of the salt off and to spray the undercarriage.

I think what pblevine is alluding to are the places that have drive through washes. They usually use either "softcloth" (a real oxymoron) or nylon brushes to wash your car. These will, in fact, scratch your finish (resulting in the dreaded "spider web" haze).

bat1161

After managing to get in a couple of coats of Z-5/Z-2 before the cold set in the NYC area, I have held off washing until the other day when the salt and road crud demanded to be washed off. My method is to use the hand wash car places in NYC. I know it is not Zaino, but I can not wait until warmer weather to clean the car. These places do a nice job. They pull it into a heated garage, wash, soap, rinse, and then pull it outside where a team of guys wait to dry it right away. I figure that when it gets warm enough that I can wash it myself, I will have to do a few coats of the Z5 and then Z2 to bring it up to par. Sorry for using a commercial place, but I figure it is better than keeping the salt and crud on the car.

reid8

After hearing the talk of freezing weather,salt and road grime its nice to be here in Texas if it gets below 32º more than 1 or 2 times a year hats a cold winter. Haven't used the zaino yet ,waiting on my order.

ryguye

I just got a brand new Mitsu Spyder at the end of November. I put one REALLY THICK coat of Z1,Z2 so far but I probably won't be able to put more until Spring. Right now I'm forced to use the Do-it-Yourself wash places because the hoses in my house are turned off. Plus it's waaaaay too cold to wash it in this below freezing weather. I find that in the DIY bay places, the water is warmer and doesn't freeze while you're drying. When I dry it off, I don't notice any dirt on my towels. I'm pretty sure the place I go to uses recycled water although I could be wrong. I only use their water to rinse. I dry off the car mainly to keep off those water spots. So which is better, a car coated in dirt/salt or a car rinsed off in "dirty" water? I would think that the dirt and salt buildup would be more damaging to the surface than a thin dirt layer. Yes no?

this_is_nascar

I'm under the opinion that it's always better to rinsed off the dirt and salt as opposed to doing nothing. That salt sitting on the car not only start deteriorating any wax/polish, but it opens you up to getting some major scratches if kids or someone decides to rub their fingers down the car.

automophile

Thanks for all the great stories. I have never lived in snow, so I cannot imagine what this is like. I really, really feel for you guys. You are right - leaving salt on the car is very bad - I forgot about that. Isn't there some other alternative to a car wash? I like bretfraz's ideas about bucket washing as an alternative.

Maybe what is needed is a low cost, propane powered portable water heater/sprayer so you can easily hose off the crud once in a while. How about this scenario - A portable plastic tank with a hose that hooks to the exhaust pipe so engine heat can warm the water, and a pump and wand that plugs into the cigarette lighter so you can rinse the car off wherever you are, and can get a few gallons of clean water. Do we have a possible new product idea here? Would you use such a gadget?

protegextwo

We have had almost a solid month of below freezing temperatures here in Pa.! When the snow turns to ice and sleet, the Penna. Depart of Transportation de-ices the roads with a calcium chloride solution. This treatment leaves a oily residue that does an awesome job of melting the ice. PennDoT loves calcium chloride because it is slow to wash away during the daytime warm-ups. However, the residue is water resistant and attracts and holds that nasty gray dirt you see on vehicles in the winter. I personally believe an occasional wash at good automatic car wash, is better than letting the calcium chloride set up on your synthetic clear coat protectant of choice. Not to mention what the calcium chloride might do to your cars under carriage. If the infamous "soft cloth" car wash leaves some light scratching, I just visit the clear coat with some 3M imperial Hand glaze and polish to a brilliant lustre in the spring.

-Protegextwo

from_autobaun

Wanted to try Zaino products on my new MB E320. According to Zaino's web site, I should use Dawn hand dishwashing liquid to wash away the wax before using Z1. However, MBUSA web site says, "Avoid using dishwashing detergents, which may cause paint to fade and oxidize."

Who is right? Advice please.

http://www.zainobros.com/files/application.htm
http://www.mbusa.com/owners/container.jsp?/care/exterior.jsp

joebob6

You are only using Dawn initially to remove the old waxes that are already on the car in preparation for putting the Zaino products on.

I would certainly not recommend using dishwashing liquid on a regular basis and neither does Zaino.

If you were to just use dishwashing liquid you would be leaving the paint layer exposed to the elements with no protection which would cause fading and oxidation.

So in answer to your question both sites are "right".

You will wash with Dawn, Claybar(optional), Z1,Z2 or Z5 <<<APPLY COATS THINLY!!!, allow time to dry, and wipe off with 100% Cotton white USA towel...all in one day. Your surface will be protected.

george2kmax

I purchased a adapter for my kitchen faucet to be able to hook up the outside hose. I then use slightly warm water from the kitchen faucet to hose off and wash the car. After washing and rinsing off the car you have a little time before the warm water that is left on the car starts to freeze. This method works great if temps are a little below freezing. If temps are much colder the slightly warm water will freeze soon after washing the car.
BTW: If you use this method be carefull of ice forming on the cement or pavement during washing. You can very easily slip during your washing. Don't wait to long to dry the car off.

George

pinecrestjim

Years ago when in college, my '73 Gran Torino Sport got washed regardless of temperatures - every weekend. The trick, wash each area while running water over it. Wasted a lot of soap and water, but the water didn't freeze on the car as long as it was able to run out of the hose.

I also had to drain the hose each time I washed the vehicle. It could be 50 this week, 20 next. We all know water will not run thru a frozen hose. One neighbor even told me I was going to wash the paint off the car!

Gosh, it looked good when I sold it with 123K on the clock. Still miss that car. Why did I want a van?

Jim M.

pblevine

bat1161: Carefull, don't let those guys with the rags anywhere near your car. Those rags are not cotton, have lots of dirt, and will scratch any finish known to man. If you can, allow them to let you apply some Z7 yourself and then just use their facility to rinse off the car. And dry it yourself.

Automophile: Is your real name "Rube"? Good and funny idea. LOL What's more amazing is that it would actually sell.

Folks, all that's really necessary in winter is a good rinse on a well protected Zaino finish. I went all (last) winter on 2 coats of Z2. Prior to that, I tried all those DIY and 'hand wash' places - That is before I learned about Zaino. The basic result was that the damn re-cycled water hurt my finish. And it didn't recover until I started using Zaino.

protegextwo

Robert, in areas of the country where calcium chloride is used, a "good rinse" will still leave your vehicle looking like a gray crapmobile, zaino or no zaino. Pride in ownership will not allow me to drive a gray crapmobile from December until March. I can deal with a few minor swirl marks in the spring.

Respectfully;
Larry

ryguye

Do you guys put on Z1 twice a year and Z2 every 2 or 3 months? I'm going to try to go with the 3-month schedule unless the 2-month schedule is recommended. Also when applying more than 1 coat of Z2, do you normally wash your car again before putting on the next coat?

pjyoung

I put Z1 on twice a year. I try not to go longer than 3 months between Z2, but in all honesty, it's still beading pretty nicely at that time. I think you'll be satisfied with applying it once every 3 months. When I do multiple coats, I don't rewash the car UNLESS I had to drive it somewhere. If I leave it garaged overnight, I'll just put another coat on. But if I even drive it a mile to the grocery store, then I'll rewash it before putting the Z2 on. It's a heat wave here today (47 for a high), so I am going to hand wash and try to put another coat of Z2 on to see me thru the rest of the winter.

ryguye

Thanks for the info. One last question though. Every 3 months, do you Dawn wash the car to get rid of the current Zaino coat? Or do you simply apply the new coat over the current old Zaino coat?

pjyoung

I only Dawn washed it the first time. I just do a Z7 wash and then apply the Z1-Z2. From what I read on Sals web site, Dawn won't remove Z.

I didn't get time to Z my car, but I did a Z7 hand wash and Z6 afterward. Car looks great, so I ought to be able to make it thru the rest of the winter on the Z that's there. (applied late October)

98monte_ls

what is this zaino stuff all about?

why is everybody putting on 5 coats of it and not washing their cars all winter?

come on, guys! go to the automatic car wash and they'll wash off the crud and the guys will dry it off....believe me, your paint won't come peeling off.

mike_542

You should NEVER use any car wash, machine or hand. They use mitts or sponges that touched other filthy cars before. Car washes will cause your paint to have NO protection which contributes to fading, oxidation, scratching, and believe me, you paint WILL come peeling off! It is a much better idea to wash your car by hand, or not let those filthy brushes scratch and swirl your finish.