ok what am i doing wrong?

[xanaduguy]

i am new to detailing and i even practiced on my wifes red focus before going at it on my black 328xi..



I am using zaino zfx and a PC.



my problem is this... I am putting it on very thin and the odd thing is I have left the z2 and z5 on for up to 1 hour and when i do the "finger swipe" test the zaino still smears. what gives?

I ended up after 1 hour and 30 minutes to moisten a MF towel with Z6 and buff the z5 and then z2 out but i must be doing something wrong.



the last application of z2 i did was by hand and i used the pad that comes with the kit. it actually seemed harder since the z6 dried on the paint and left spots that I had to use more z6 to buff out... which of course left smears.



any thoughts on what i am doing wrong?

[bwalker25]

applying way to thick....IMHO you should barley be able to see it when applied ;)

[bwalker25]

are you doing z2p and z5 via PC? if so IMHO you are applying way to much and wasting alot of product.

[xanaduguy]

hmm... I put like a small dime sized spot of it when i applied by hand. how can i tell if its dry when it is on thinner than what i did?



does anyone have a pic of what zaino looks like on a black car when dry? mine never seems to haze up.

[Mindflux]

You should really be getting 2-3 coats of Z2/Z5 w/ ZFX out of an ounce of product. You`ll never get anywhere remotely near that with a machine IMHO.



Zaino goes on so thin and I can`t say that I`ve ever seen it haze up. I just do the car and come back to where I started and buff it off.

[xanaduguy]

so here is what I have in spots on my car.... seems if I try to buff it out I am getting micro scratches to boot. :( not cool. :(



http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2125/2542896567_703b31bded_b.jpg



and another pic



http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3167/2543723242_a2cbd97bc2_b.jpg





so since it looks like I put too much on .. uh how do I get it removed? do I have to wash the car with Dawn or something and start over?



thoughts?

[xanaduguy]

not sure if my last post came thru or not... I read where I need more than 10 posts before a moderator doesnt need to check my post... I added some pics to show what I am seeing...



hopefully soon it will get approved. :)

[xanaduguy]

bumping this post.. any thougths now that my pics are posted?

[imported_advs1]

where did you get your towels? they might not be the best quality if they scratch that fast. when you apply the wax is it humid? i live in so cal and i noticed when there is a lot of humidity it is harder to get the wax off. usually in the later part of the evening. try a small spot and use very little, and dont rub it in, just lay it on the surface. ive seen some people try to rub it like they are polishing metal. just my .02

[Mindflux]

If that`s truly Zaino on your fender arch a light spritz of Z6 should remove it no problem. Don`t go overboard with it. Just a half a trigger squeeze.

[xanaduguy]

that might be part of my prob too... i was rubbing it in and in some cases i had to put some pressure on it to remove the zaion smear/ghosting. :think: i dunno.




where did you get your towels? they might not be the best quality if they scratch that fast. when you apply the wax is it humid? i live in so cal and i noticed when there is a lot of humidity it is harder to get the wax off. usually in the later part of the evening. try a small spot and use very little, and dont rub it in, just lay it on the surface. ive seen some people try to rub it like they are polishing metal. just my .02

[xanaduguy]

i am gonna try to take a pic of the car in direct sunlight where i can see the smears/ghosting / whatever you want to call it.. maybe it will tip someone off on what the heck i can do to fix it.