I am going to do my first Zaino tomorrow. I just read through all the directions. I have some questions.

It says to use the claybar with the Z7 wash then buff till shiny. Soooo I am not to rinse the Z7 wash off? Just wondering because one of the few things I ever knew about cars was to not let the soap sit on it.

How do I know if I have a clear coat? It's a 2010 with about 1000 miles on it. Do I still need to do the Z5 before I use the Z2? Here's my plan:

wash with dawn-dry
claybar with Z7 wash as lubricant-buff till dry?
Wash again with Z7 and dry.
Use Z2 unless you all suggest Z5 first.
Spray Z6
another coat of Z2
Spray Z6.

Anyway I can mess this up or anything else I need to know? Someone who didn't even know what Zaino was said that "that stuff will eat up your rubber and moldings"? huh?


I am kind of freaking out about this since I have never done this stuff before. Seriously, always ran my car through a wash until I got my RX8. I never even checked my oil before. Now I am learning-more than most chicks know about cars. I finally got the towels. Gilbin does carry 100% made in Usa towels.

 

Nowadays most cars have a clear coat finish. In terms of the letting the soap dry, i doubt that. When i zainoed my car i claybared with the z soap then rinsed the soap off.

Props on being a chick who takes care of her car. Most girls dont really give two S***s. Its kinda hot

 

Never fear, Jedi is here!
(you know... a simple PM would have worked instead of starting a new thread but I am touched.)


- Clay Bar:
The easiest method I can recommend is to have a spray bottle with a an ounce or two of Z7 and then fill the rest with water.
- Spray down the area you want to clay (work in small areas to be most effective), run the clay on that area in straight verticle lines. The movement should feel similar to gliding a hockey puck across ice. If you feel resistance, spray more water. You'll feel / hear little clicking noises, that's the clay picking up particles.
-Once you are satisfied with that area take a small towel / microfiber cloth and wipe down the area you just worked on and move to the next. You don't need to dry the entire area completely, just wipe off most of the soapy water.
- do NOT BUFF the area at this point simply are drying.
- If a little car wash soap dries, it's perfectly okay. Zaino soap is very easy to rinse off and since you're going to wash the car immediately after clay barr'ing, it's perfectly acceptable to have some soap on there as it'll come right off afterwards.


What color is your 8?
I recommend Z5 for the darker colors as it is great for masking fine swirl marks. I've found that while it works for lighter colors (white, yellow, silver) it appears to be more effective on darker colors such as my Black RX-8.
If you choose to use it, great if not you can move directly to the Z2. Just remember to always use Z2 as the final coat since it has greater optical characteristics then Z5. (ie; it'll be shinier at the end if you finish with Z2)


Zaino is non-abrasive and will never eat up your plastic and mouldings. In fact, it's actually safe to use on all exterior parts of your car including plastic and mouldings so whoever told you that needs to do their homework.

There really is no way of messing this up to be honest other then being VERY careful with the clay bar. Make sure that the surface you are working on is properly moistened with soapy water as you don't want to rub the clay bar over a dry surface because you can end up causing more damage then good. (scratches)
Also, that clay bar WILL get very slippery as you work and there is a chance you'll drop it. If you drop the clay bar, PLEASE do not try and use it again, it's ruined. It will instantly pick up dirt particles off the ground and you don't want to then rub those into your paint. Fortunately Zaino provides 2 clay bars with every order so simply toss out the one that fell and open the 2nd clay bar.


One last tip: after you've applied the Z2 / Z5 to the entire car, you need to let it 'cure' for a tiny while before removing it. The best way to know if it's ready to remove is to take one finger and glide it across a small area of the zaino. Did the zaino come off cleanly or did it streak? If it streaked it's not quite ready to take off. If it came off cleanly, grab a clean towel and begin removing.

Congrats on wanting to learn all of these things, let us know if we can be of further help in any way.

 

Hey Jedi-thanks for the tips-it actually went great!!
I am new to the board and did not know about the PM thing but do now.

I have to tell you I LOVED the claybar. I almost skipped that part because I was scared about using the soap on the car etc. Once I saw and felt the difference in the paint I was hooked and am glad I did not skip it. I also broke the claybar in half and am glad I did, because yep, I dropped it-couple of times. I still have a half left to store in the car with bottled water in case I get something on the paint while out-yep, I am learning.

I know my friends think I am crazy because I spent the whole day in the garage with the car and Zaino, while they were out doing chick stuff. I put on 2 Z2 coats and going to do a third tomorrow. Now time for a rum and coke to celebrate my Zaino success!! Who would have ever thought a girl who never even hand washed her own car would get so hyped about car care???

 

Forgot to tell you it's a Velocity Red GT. I'll post pics tomorrow or Monday.

 

Awesome Pinky, I'm glad to hear it all worked out!

 

While were talking about this. I know some people use 50/50 mixture of isoprol alcohol (or however you spell) and water to remove any excess wax. I found that sometimes even after i buff off the zainos still a bit left. I know its because im putting too much on some places, proabbly because once i do the whole car i always have a bit left which i go around applying another layer. So do you think i can use this 50 50 mixture with zaino ?

 

I didn't have that problem at all. It came off nice and easy. I did find one smudge when I was in direct sunlight that I am going to have to try to fix. I will be watching to see what everyone says about the 50 50 alcohol.

While we are on it. does the Zaino leather cleaner and treatment work good on the dash too? I saw where it says vinyl so I am guessing my dash is made of this? The rest is leather as far as I can tell.

 

Just did a few coats of Z5 on our IS300 today. Really makes the graphite gray sparkle! I find that any excess is easily removed with the Z6 spray and clean microfibre. No need for another solvent on the finish... Excess Z2 takes a little extra elbow grease though.

 

I would not recommend doing the 50/50 alcohol.
as Eug mentioned: a clean microfiber, a little elbow grease, and some Z6 should do the trick.