ZFX: I have a cunning plan . . .

[TortoiseAWD]

Last Saturday was near 70' in Omaha (in stark contrast to the foot of snow we received in the last two days), and I got to try ZFX for the first time. Overall, I give it a big thumbs-up. The 10-minute dry time was wonderful, and I think ZFX/Z5 was even easier to buff off than Z5 alone. My only gripe was the amount of work it took to get every last bit out of the bottle. Let's face it, ZFX isn't cheap, and wasting any at all seems, well, sinful . My gf was lending a hand that day, mostly by shaking down the bottle to get every last bit as I did the last few panels. We barely finished two coats with 3/4 oz., but I'm sure I could have done three more panels with what was left in the mixing bottle.

Then, I had an idea . . . (ok, Cindi, my gf, had the idea, but I'm trying desparately to steal credit for it, so play along). What if you mixed the Z polish and ZFX in a large "oral" syringe (no needle, just a blunt plastic tip at the end)?



60 mL is just less than 1 mL over 2 oz., and 60 mL sizes can be found from vet supply stores pretty easily. If you click on the image above, it'll take you to an online vet supply store that carries them for $1.09, or $0.85 in lots of 20 or more. I figure that the syringe will not only allow pretty precise measurements (15 mL is very close to 1/2 oz), but you'll be able to get every last drop of product out of it. The only problem I see is that after you measure out Z2/Z5 and add ZFX, you need to get the plunger into the barrel at least enough to seal it, but of course all of the product will be near the open tip. I figure I can wiggle the plunger in enough to seal, then invert the syringe so that I can get enough air out of the headspace to allow for a complete seal and a vigorous shaking . . . let the product drain back to the plunger, then take the rest of the air out of the headspace.

If the neighbors thought I was crazy blow-drying my car with a leaf blower, wait until they see the Z injector!

Well, what do you think? I won't have a chance to try it until the weather cooperates; if any of you other mad scientist-types experiment before I get a chance to, please let us know if it works.

[Guess My Name]

great idea!! maybe there are bigger ones like they use to inject stuff in roasts with at the grocery store! they hold a bunch!

GF GF

[Intermezzo]

Great idea Tortoise... and hang on to that GF of yours!!

[TortoiseAWD]

Originally posted by Guess My Name
great idea!! maybe there are bigger ones like they use to inject stuff in roasts with at the grocery store! they hold a bunch!

GF GF

Guess,

We thought of the marinade injectors, too; Cindi's looked at a few in stores, but the needle can't be removed on any of them she's come across so far. Hmmm, nothing a Dremel tool couldn't fix, though . . . I had ruled them out because of the needle, but a cutting disc would make really short work of that. And, bonus, an excuse to pull out the Dremel tool and put it to good destructive use

I think I'll go shopping tomorrow . . . I'm going to find some sort of inexpensive syringe that looks suitable for the task. Tomorrow's weather may not be fit for detailing, but it's certainly fit for shopping for detailing supplies (no matter how bizarre).

Tort

[Guess My Name]

Maybe a turkey baster????

Or Find a vet that does horses..better yet Dentist they have huge syringes...well they look huge when they are going in my mouth! :scared

[Likecars]

Truly an impressive idea. Getting ready to take the plunge, discussed some stuff last night. I was concerned about the liquid gold; this will help maximize every drop.

[8ball]

I rate this idea an A+.

I had the same thought (not the syringe, just that I needed to get ALL of it out) the first time using ZFX with the Zaino-supplied bottles.

BTW, I agree that Z5/ZFX comes off easier than Z5 alone. I thought it might have been only that I applied it with the PC, which gave me really thin coverage, but I believe the ZFX made a difference as well. It came off with no effort at all with a cotton towel.

Thanks, Tortoise

[Chuckmotor]

Actually (and I'm not kidding), I had that same idea. It came across me when I saw a plastic syringe used for a teeth whitening and naturally, being an obsessed car detailer, I looked at the syringe and thought, wow, that would be perfect for applying the right amount of a wax or something.
...but I didn't use it because it was my brother's syringe.
Give it a try! Tell us how it works!

[olivher]

I liked this plan from the start that I just asked my mother-in-law to see if she has any extra syringes in her hospital. She's going to check tomorrow and hopefully I have some for my ZFX. My wife also works in a hospital, so she'll see if they have any extra supplies laying around. Hmmm, the health care industry sure is great for the automotive detailing industry.

[William420]

Cool. Just found a syringe laying around. Really small though 12mL, so that will hold about 0.40 oz. and figure I will add 2 drops of ZFX. Usually I mix 1/2 oz and that's more than enough to cover the whole car, so sounds like it will work. Gotta try it tomorrow.

[JasonC8301]

I will look around the store next week or so and see if they have those surgical towels available.

Really cool, I would of never thought about these syringes. I'll use them for Klasse and see how much I use for each coat. My bottle of SG is still hiding somewhere, or did I jsut lose it? (then again how the heck does one lose a bottle of Klasse??)

I'll also look around or various other stuff that can be used for detailing (minus those big Q-tips/medical swabs Brad uses.)

Jason

[laynlow]

Thats a great idea!!

I was in WalMart the other day crusing the car stuff isles, and they had a big syringe intended to be used for mixing 2cycle oil in the proper ratio if you wanted to mix less than a whole gallon. I guess now I will have to check it out again.