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Comments
-Larry
Sal clones!
The interior of my car is charcoal gray leather. I have the Z cleaner and treatment. Any recommendations for the vinyl portions like the dash?
Also, I remember someone mentioning a product called California Duster? Do you (or anyone eavesdropping on this post) know of this product...is it any good...where on-line can it be bought (if worthy of my hard earned dollars)?. Thanks!!
For your car interior, it is hard to beat Lemon Pledge for Vinyl, plastic, leather, wood and chrome. It is self-cleaning, and will not attract dirt like other treatments, looks good and smells nice. It even keeps your leather seats nice between Lexol treatments.
By the way - Bushwack - It is really dangerous to wipe anything on your car between washes. It only takes one grain of dirt as your are wiping to make nice, permanent scratches in your paint.
My neighbor liked the look of our cars so much that she bought a kit and Z'd her Passat over the weekend. She was REALLY delighted with the results!
You won't find any "sympathy" here for applying Zaino without following the directions. If you want to see what you're missing, click on my name above and follow some of the links to my pics to see a true Zaino shine. We're just here to help. If you want to waste your time and your Zaino- more power to you, but don't complain if your car doesn't look like ours. We're just trying to help.
fastdriver
Just Curious NORT
Knock yourself out with your "experiment".
My point in being somewhat cynical is that this group does not seem willing to even consider that a better product could or would exist and that is not right, which is why I mentioned the Sal Clones bit. Sort of like lemming going to the cliff!!!! All that I want people to have is an open mind to the product in question and not believe that it is the one and only savior of a cars finish!
Your logic, or lack of it, escapes me.
A completely fair, unbiased test of car care products would be to completely strip a car hood of all previous products/contaminants (use Blue Dawn or similar cleaner/degreaser) and then do one half the hood with one product and the other half with the other product. That way you have the exact same base/color under the products, under the same conditions.
But of course, that would be too much work and completely logical.
Zaino also sells a similar spray detailer type product that works equally well.
I too have had those hard to remove water spots on my windshield. And Windex wouldn't do. Try a mildly abrasive glass cleaner. Zaino has such a product and I rate it very good. Mine were (and are) due to pollen which seems to act like grease under pressure. Ugh! Its all over the damn place! More about that below.
Bushwack,
Automophile and I agree, be very when dusting. Don't use any pressure. I've heard good reviews for the Cal. Duster but haven't tried it yet. I tried "dusting" off the damn pollen (which came down in huge quantities here in Westchester) the other day. I used one of my 100% cotton towels and tried to not apply much pressure. Well, just a wee bit of pressure was too much. The pollen contains some sort of grit, and the result was a whole series of swirl marks! Now I'll have to use some Z5.
Ironsr1,
I've seen a review of Zaino's Z2 reprinted in the Corvette forum - by Chris Parrish I thing. The Consumer's Report review was (by their own admission) limited to common, easy to buy, over the shelf and moderately priced wax products. After a number of objections (lots of other products were not in that review too), CU stated they could not possibly review (and do objective justice to) all the available products. So, the picked the products where are easily available to the mass of their readership. As long as they state their limitations and testing bias up front, as they have done, then their reviews are legit and objective within their range. I wish they had included Zaino products but I cannot argue with their limitations. I think Car And Driver has a future review in the works but I'm not sure. I first tried the Zaino products after reading recommendations from a number of professional detailers such as the legend himself, Chris Parrish. And I haven't been disappointed!
I've also used Carnauba waxes all my life. I swear by Zaino now. It just works; check out www.deja.com and search back as far as you'd like for any bad comments. The only thing I'd worry about is if it ever needs repainting since it has silicones so new paint may not stick properly to a Zaino'd surface. You have to warn the painters to clean the surface w/ alcohol to get rid of the Zaino first.
The main reasons I switched were: 1. decreased time of application, 2. ease of application and 3. durability of polish. The finished cars look great. I kept my cars in great shape before so my expectations were tempered. I do have some questions for you Zaino veterans though:
1. Ok so I did of course fall into the trap of using too much z-5. The result was that I still see some streaking that won't come off. Yes I used 100% cotton towels (Royal Velvet ones). Yes I let it dry for more than an hour in the sun (actually a couple of hours). The z-6 helped a little but I still see a little streaking. I also put on a second z-5 layer as well. I really used a minimal amount. The z-5 looked nearly invisible as I applied it and it looked like it dried on contact. Any suggestions?
2. How do you apply touch-up paint now that the Zaino has been applied?
3. What do you use to wash your car? I bought a "streakless" sponge that worked well. I have read that others use one of the cotton towels.
Thanks.
There may be lots of products that are better than Zaino. For the cost, ease of application, longevity and shine - Zaino is the best thing I've found for the money.
armtdm - FYI, most people who post on this forum DO consider Zaino to be superior to any other auto care product. Like me, they've probably tried many other products over the years, but they're now convinced that Zaino yields a deeper shine, lasts longer, is easier to apply (even over wax, if one chooses to ignore instructions), and lasts longer. Obviously, they also are enthusiastic about the products and want to share their experiences.
BTW, if you do happen to find a better product after all your "scientific" testing, I for one would be eager to learn what the product is and why it's superior. However, after my many years of using many different products, I'd be willing to bet that eventually you'll also become a "Zaino Fanatic" -- if you use Zaino according to directions and lose some of that cynicism.
Keep us posted. We're looking forward to the results of your experiences!
The streaking could be due to uneven levels of the Z1 and uneven levels of Z5. I'd try another coat of Z6 followed by an application of Z2 and Z6 again. The streaking could also be due to uneven drying - which may go away over time. 'Give Sal a call, he'll know what to do. Also, when applying Z2 or Z5, you should follow the "panel pattern". On the hood, top and back, apply Z2 or Z5 with even strokes from front to back. And on those side panels with a vertical alignment, stroke up and down. And allow for enough drying time.
re: Touch Up Paint: That's a whole subject by itself. Basically, you DO have to expose the scratch's underlying paint or clear coat layer. A women's nail file can be used to cut the "Z" on top of the scratch without widening the affected area too much. Given an exposed scratch, you now have to build up several layers of touch up paint in the scratch itself. That's because as the paint dries, it will shrink leaving a depression. Use a tooth pick to paint. Dip the tip of the toothpick in the touch up paint and gently stroke it over the scratch to deposit a very light layer of touch up paint. After it drys, repeat the process until the built up level matches the rest of the panel. It won't be absolutely perfect but can sure fool the eye from a distance of more than a foot.
I use one of my smaller cotton towels for washing purposes and so far, I've had no problems. As far as I know, a good "streakless" sponge should also work well. Just make sure you don't apply pressure which could embed dirt into finish.
And finally, armtdm: Ha, don't mind some of our comments. Now that you've go Z over wax, monitor it and let us know. After all, we all could start a little 'sporting' pool to guess how long the Z will last.
I was a little disappointed after the second coat as the shine seemed a "little less" than after the first coat. Will add another coat next weekend.
Had a little trouble identifying what areas had been covered and when Z1 and Z2 dried to haze as Ariziona Beige color makes it difficult to see the change.
Looks as though I will get 6-8 coats out of one bottle of Z2 on the Expedition.
Only significant problem has been working this closely on the vehicle has caused me to see all of the paint flaws and two dings from rocks on the roof.
If all else fails, you may need to resort to one of the bathroom products designed to eliminate water spots, lime, etc. that will dissolve the spot. Good Luck!
By the way, if there is something better and easier than Zaino, I am all for it - just haven't found it yet! ! Any suggestions?
Speaking of Rain-X...the Lexus LS430 windows are coated with something that repels water. Think of it as permanent Rain-X?
Brad
Most people do not remember feeding gravel to their pet parakeet or canary. YES - MOST birds use eat gravel to digest their food, and it comes out in the droppings. If you rub it, you will scratch the paint big time. My neighbor did just that and left BIG permanent scratches in her hood.
Wet the droppings thoroughly, and then gently scratch with your fingernail under the running water to remove the droppings. Also - you must do it as soon as possible, since the droppings can be very acidic and stain your paint - even with Mulit-Z layers if you leave it long enough and it gets sun-baked!
LOL............The pollen is brutal here in CT. Yesterday I washed my car TWICE! The thought of those pollen grains scratching my new Acura is making me nuts. If we would only have a little rain, it might lessen the pollen. No rain here in over 30 days. The wind whips up every day to cover the car with a nice yellow/green finish. Doesn't go well with the red finish! ;-))
fastdriver
All that effort will pay off later when your protected car has to go through really bad conditions.
fastdriver:
And you know about those conditions! POLLEN! Hate it. I drive up to Westchester every morning and am commonly in CT and MA. But it is really worst in our area. Folks, the pollen is so thick here you can use a shovel to pick it up. Its higher than this last winters' snow fall. Small babies have drowned, and .... The damn stuff has some kind of grit in it and it also will smear. Attempting to dust it off only produces swirl marks. And an hour later its back again.
daverose:
Good reminder about those bird droppings. I carry a spray bottle with water and Z7 just for those sort of things. But up here, the birds are having trouble flying as they are being covered with too much pollen.
I really don't want to buy the entire car care line, and only end up using one or two. Also does anyone know what the Z3 is for? Out of all the Zaino topics I've seen, I have yet to see someone mention it.
Emaison, Fastdriver, & Pblevine, to quote Bill Clinton, "I feel your pain". I live on LI and the pollen is ATROCIOUS! Is it even WORTH washing cars when they get covered with pollen so quickly? Granted I may be looking for excused not to wash my car, but I seriously think that this is the reason why they can't find Jimmy Hoffa's body. It's getting to the point where small children are going to become buried!
About a month ago it was 1000 and up. We had a day that it was 3350. Yep, that's right.
When the pollen count is that high, it's like a desert dust blowing around. Imagine a volcano erupting but instead of silt and ash its greenish pollen. It's unbelieveable, really.
When I bought my house, I removed every tree from the property (they were old and did nothing for the landscaping), but the house next to my driveway has some crappy trees that dump pollen everyday on my vehicles. I'm thinking of borrowing my friends's chainsaw when they are not home ;-)
Hopefully car mfr's will offer a color like "hide-the-pollen green".
Saw a BMW Z3 today in Mocha brown but we all know its "hide-the-dirt" brown and not mocha.
I can't wait for the "hide-the-bug-guts" color palette.
Dennis
At least with the blackouts you can't see the dirt! ;-))
fastdriver
After wiping off the dried Z2 it had gotten dark. When I look across the hood i can see hazy swirls. They are NOT scratch swirls, because if i wipe the swirl it will appear to go away or change direction, or show up a few inches away. And when I look at the paint under the streetlight, at the right angle, I can't see it at all. I'm sure that tommorrow in the sun I wont be able to see them. What is causing those haze swirls? I'm using a big cotton towel to remove Z2. My paint is new, totally cleaned/clayed so there are no imperfections in the paint itself. Is it normal to see swirls?
After the rain, I dried it, removed the remaining Z2, and applied the gloss enhancer. it really looked great...and then I had to go to work. As I pulled away, guess what? The sky opened up again! I could see the big beads of water just running down and away from my paint..but now my car will be dirty so it'll need a washing before i do another Z2.
It didn't work out to get some pics this time...