My First Claybar and Zaino Treatment

[paxus]

My first post here on Autopia described my plan of attack . Well, yesterday I put that plan into action, and thought I would just share my experience with the rest of you. My car is less than a month old and is a 2003 Silver Satin Mettalic Acura TL Type S. This entire detailing session occurred outside in the shade (no garage). So as my plan described:

1) I first washed with Dawn to strip any existing wax the dealer may have applied.

2) Then I went with the Mother's Claybar system. I only clayed painted surfaces, and used the supplied Mother's Showtime (QD?) as lubricant. I thought I would hear a difference as I clayed or feel a difference in the amount of friction as I clayed, but I didn't for the most part. I was looking for some sign that claying was working. I even got some of the actual claybar on my paint and had to buff it off by hand w/ a MF towel. Maybe that area wasn't lubed enough? Granted this was a new car, and was relatively smooth to begin with, but my car is smooth as heck now! I got a little frustrated claying because I found a scratch on the passenger side sill(low), and I'm not sure if I clayed it into the car or not. I think not because I cut the claybar into 4 pieces before I started (I'm clumsy and drop things), and I didn't find any other scratches on the car as I clayed. Plus, tree particles were blowing onto my car as I did this. Had to keep dusting it off to make sure I wouldn't clay some scratches into my car.

3) Dawn Wash again.

4) Application of Z1. I've read all over this board that you should apply very thin coats of Zaino, and that people often make the mistake of putting too much on. Well I put on a very thin coat, and maybe because the car was silver, but I couldn't really tell if I was putting enough Z1 on the car. It was really very difficult to tell. I just did sections at a time to ensure I wouldn't forget to do a section.

5) Applied the Z2 over the Z1, and found that I could get enough of the Z2 onto the car to get a slight haze on the paint if you examined the car at the right angle. Then I let it sit (or cure) for about 70 minutes. Hand buffed it off in a circular motion. Looks freaking great now! I couldn't take pics as I don't have a camera...yet. Take my word for it for now. This thing was glowing at night.

So basic questions:

A) Do I apply the Zaino in a circular motion (I did)? Does it matter how it's applied?
B) Did I put enough Z1 on? How can one tell how much is enough?
C) How do you know when to buff off the Z1 and Z2? I just guessed after 70 minutes it would be ok. Plus I was running out of light.
D) Most importantly: what do I do next time to wash car? i.e. I would wash with special car soap (maybe some Z7 if I can), not Dawn, but what next? Do I apply more Z2? Do I need to get Z5? My current QD is Final Inspection. I know Zaino is a layering system, but I just don't know what my next steps are.

Thanks for reading my post, it was long winded, but I wanted to share my first ever detailing experience with you all.

[Guess My Name]

Originally posted by paxus
So basic questions:

A) Do I apply the Zaino in a circular motion (I did)? Does it matter how it's applied?
B) Did I put enough Z1 on? How can one tell how much is enough?
C) How do you know when to buff off the Z1 and Z2? I just guessed after 70 minutes it would be ok. Plus I was running out of light.
D) Most importantly: what do I do next time to wash car? i.e. I would wash with special car soap (maybe some Z7 if I can), not Dawn, but what next? Do I apply more Z2? Do I need to get Z5? My current QD is Final Inspection. I know Zaino is a layering system, but I just don't know what my next steps are.

1. Some prefer to apply waxes and sealants in straight lines to minimize the chance of seeing any swirl marks.

2. With silver it is hard to tell you applied Z....If you used an ounce you probably had good coverage ... even though less could be used....next time look at it from all angles ... you should be able to see a slight haze from the product.

3. Rub your finger on the paint...if the spot where you rubbed is clean with no smears then you can remove the Zaino...

4. QD as you desire using Z qd or other....Wash as you desire using Z wash or other....BUT if you want to apply more Z than I would wash with Z and then QD with Z and then apply another layer of Z2 or Z5....1 layer is good but I feel 2-3 gives better protection and will last a longer time....You could just apply a layer a month until you are happy....then maybe 4-8 months layer apply more.....Remember after 10 layers or 6-9 months you should apply more Z1...

HTH

And welcome to the forum

[Intermezzo]

Guess My Name is right on. Definitely use Z-7 & Z-6 on days you plan to add more Z layers. Those two products work very well on a Z'd car. As for Z-5, you might need it some-time down the road if you start noticing a few swirls here and there, but since your car is silver, that won't be for a while. You would apply Z-5 exactly the same way you apply Z-2.

On a side-note, I just wanted to say that Zaino's resistance to water-spotting is quite remarkable, at least for me. My sister's car, which is parked outside, got sprayed pretty badly by some lawn sprinklers and then got baked under the sun. I thought this was going to require some major polishing and re-zainoing, but all the water-spots came off after a Z-7 wash and Z-6 QD. It took a little more effort and pressure than normal during the QD session, but I thought the protection was quite impressive, considering I waited a whole week to wash the car. I couldn't find any etch-marks either.

My wife's carnauba'd car, on the other hand, requires touching up here and there from water, tar & sap etchings on an almost weekly basis.

[tkr128]

The other questions have been answered pretty well.
B) I did this on the Accord (same color as your TL) a few days ago, but I used ZFX. I have two silver cars so it is definately hard to see where I put Zaino on and where I didn't. I have luck with applying the products to my windows first to see how much pressure and what technique to use on the paint. Zaino doesn't harm the windows, in fact when it rains, the water just sorta runs off the window.

[Hugh27]

I think the "Plan of attack" is good. But, here is a quick question for all other Zaino-a-holics...... I have 7 coats of Z-2 on my RSX and just received my Z-5 and Z-7. I was putting on the Z-5 yesterday and it seemed to apply a little heavier than the Z-2, is this normal or is it me???????
Thanks........

[cvcaelen]

Originally posted by Hugh27
I think the "Plan of attack" is good. But, here is a quick question for all other Zaino-a-holics...... I have 7 coats of Z-2 on my RSX and just received my Z-5 and Z-7. I was putting on the Z-5 yesterday and it seemed to apply a little heavier than the Z-2, is this normal or is it me???????
Thanks........

Nope,

Z5 is somewhat thicker , so it's normal you use a tat more of it ; happens with me too

[Hugh27]

Sorry for the late response..... The Z-5 works GREAT!!!!! The combo of Z-2 and Z-5 layered works nice on My Silver RSX.
Wish I had Pics. to show.