Need a ZAINO detailer in Los Angeles......

[donnals]

hey guys,



i would like to thank you all in advance for all the answers that i receive.



I`m new to the forum and i look forward to being here for a while.





i am a proud owner of a 2010 Mercedes Benz S63!!!!!



its a beautiful car and i love it just as much as my 5 & 2 year old.



its black paint is not in bad condition at all. but it has a few swirls ( not many) and the new year is coming and i want a fresh car.



i have never had a zaino detail and I`m willing to try it, but i want a pro that KNOWS what he`s doing so that way i can get the full effect of the zaino product/result.



I`m pretty anal about all of my cars so i need some one good.



is there any one who you think that has the knowledge to get this project goin???





thank you all in advance!!

[SuperBee364]

Hey, nice car! And welcome to Autopia!



Couple of thngs to think about... Zaino is a good looking sealant, but it certainly isn`t the end all/be all of detailing products. Zaino has done a very good job of marketing their products, and the Zaino Faithful (I call them Zainoites or Zaino Zealants) often won`t listen to alternative thought regarding other products.

IMO, there are many other products and product combinations that look better, protect better, last longer and look better on black than Zaino.

You might want to find a pro detailer in your area, and allow his expertise to decide what products will look best on your car.

[jl114]

Hey, nice car! And welcome to Autopia!



Couple of thngs to think about... Zaino is a good looking sealant, but it certainly isn`t the end all/be all of detailing products. Zaino has done a very good job of marketing their products, and the Zaino Faithful (I call them Zainoites or Zaino Zealants) often won`t listen to alternative thought regarding other products.

IMO, there are many other products and product combinations that look better, protect better, last longer and look better on black than Zaino.

You might want to find a pro detailer in your area, and allow his expertise to decide what products will look best on your car.



I think Zaino is a pretty good sealant overall. Good durability, looks, and has tight beading that I like. It still doesn`t bead like a carnauba or hybrid wax but its pretty close. Do you have any other recommendations? I prefer my LSP stuff all to share the same product line, like spray wax/sealant, aio, qds.



To the OP, Zaino`s website has almost all the information you need. And congrats on that one sick ride :drool:



I`ll just do a quickie, since your car is new, but your dealer might have done some work prior to delivering, you will need to do a paint cleaner sort of wash with some sort of paint safe apc (or dawn as zaino likes as everyone has this). Then you can follow up with Z5 or Z2. If your planning to apply more than one layer back to back you will need to use ZFX, or wait 12 hours before applying the next layer. Top it off with Z8 from time to time, it is my favourite gloss sealant spray.



Things to note

-Z2 or Z5? I can`t see a huge difference between the two but there are discussions on it. I have only seen Z5 mask minor swirls from nail scratches from door handles and it just reappears after washes.



-ZFX may or may not boost shine, I don`t use it since the product itself has a short shelf life. I would rather just wait for the layer to cure. I have never felt the need to apply two layers back to back except after I have polished my car, and the only reason for that is to make sure I didn`t miss any areas. Now I just use ZAIO as my base foundation and that itself has strong durability so I only follow up with 1 layer of Z2 or Z5.



-50 layers of Zaino? Nah... just two or three followed up by monthly maintenance.



-Get Z2/Z5 on thin, as a sealant I find it may flash on almost invisible if you don`t have good lighting but it is there. You shouldn`t need more than one towel to buff it off.



All this talk on using the entire Zaino system to boost shine is I think moot if you clean up your car well prior to the LSP step.

[mikenap]

Hey, nice car! And welcome to Autopia!



Couple of thngs to think about... Zaino is a good looking sealant, but it certainly isn`t the end all/be all of detailing products. Zaino has done a very good job of marketing their products, and the Zaino Faithful (I call them Zainoites or Zaino Zealants) often won`t listen to alternative thought regarding other products.

IMO, there are many other products and product combinations that look better, protect better, last longer and look better on black than Zaino.

You might want to find a pro detailer in your area, and allow his expertise to decide what products will look best on your car.



Great advice here. I have a buddy who keeps badgering me about how much better Zaino is than ANYTHING else on the market, and all I can do is roll my eyes, since he`s never even tried anything other than Zaino.



On another note, Samsung makes the BEST HD TVs, because I`ve never had anything but a Samsung. :wink:

[Scottwax]

Hey, nice car! And welcome to Autopia!

You might want to find a pro detailer in your area, and allow his expertise to decide what products will look best on your car.



Joe of Superior Shine gets incredible results using mostly Meguiars products. He`s the one I`d probably call.

[Cleaning Fool]

Zaino will look great on the car and is very durable. Unfortunately I have no connections in LA.

[Dan]

If you like the Zaino look, there is only one product that really delivers it. Zaino keeps its look for a long time too. The only thing really that is still topic for debate is how well it actually protects. If you really want Z, order some and have someone put it on for you.

[David Fermani]

hey guys,



i would like to thank you all in advance for all the answers that i receive.



I`m new to the forum and i look forward to being here for a while.





i am a proud owner of a 2010 Mercedes Benz S63!!!!!



its a beautiful car and i love it just as much as my 5 & 2 year old.



its black paint is not in bad condition at all. but it has a few swirls ( not many) and the new year is coming and i want a fresh car.



i have never had a zaino detail and I`m willing to try it, but i want a pro that KNOWS what he`s doing so that way i can get the full effect of the zaino product/result.



I`m pretty anal about all of my cars so i need some one good.



is there any one who you think that has the knowledge to get this project goin???





thank you all in advance!!



I`d contact SpoiledMan (Chris) as he`s in your area and a well known paint correctionist and Zaino user.




Couple of thngs to think about... Zaino is a good looking sealant, but it certainly isn`t the end all/be all of detailing products. Zaino has done a very good job of marketing their products, and the Zaino Faithful (I call them Zainoites or Zaino Zealants) often won`t listen to alternative thought regarding other products.

IMO, there are many other products and product combinations that look better, protect better, last longer and look better on black than Zaino.



No, not the end all-be all, but it is very unique and has a large following. Can`t remember the last person I saw someone looking for someone to use Zymol, Swissvax, BlackFire or whatever detailing product on their car? I`ve used several waxes/sealants, but keep going back to Zaino Z2/Z5 for it`s unique ease of use, looks, cost, water beading appearance and cleaning power. Out of all the other waxes/sealants I`ve used, Zaino is the only one that keeps looking constant and doesn`t wash away. My customers like it too and request me reapplying it so I don`t argue with them.

[SuperBee364]

No, not the end all-be all, but it is very unique and has a large following. Can`t remember the last person I saw someone looking for someone to use Zymol, Swissvax, BlackFire or whatever detailing product on their car? I`ve used several waxes/sealants, but keep going back to Zaino Z2/Z5 for it`s unique ease of use, looks, cost, water beading appearance and cleaning power. Out of all the other waxes/sealants I`ve used, Zaino is the only one that keeps looking constant and doesn`t wash away. My customers like it too and request me reapplying it so I don`t argue with them.



Same here, David, but honestly I believe that has more to do with what a good job Zaino has done of marketing their product as the "must have" thing among car enthusiasts who love cars, but don`t know a lot about detailing. There are a ton of other products that do as good/better as Zaino, but haven`t been hyped to that level. Although I have had a few people insist that I use the same stuff as I did before.



The first problem I have isn`t Zaino specific. It`s about putting a sealant on an uncorrected black car. Sealants in general (not just Zaino) have a way of amplifying defects in paint. Swirls, etc. stand out even more after a layer of sealant. If a car is gonna have a sealant put on it, then it really needs to be polished first to avoid the "wow, look at those swirls" effect sealants have. The OP noted that he was looking for Zaino on a car with a few swirls. If I was gonna do that car, and not correcting the paint first, Zaino would be the last thing I`d want to put on it. I`d start off with a sealant safe glaze to help hide the defects first (like CG`s EZ Creme or DWG, DWG v2) before putting on a sealant that doesn`t do the amplify effect to such a degree. Some sealant safe glazes do a pretty good job of hiding stuff, and making the paint look better prior to applying a sealant. Even just putting down the EZ Creme/DWG prior to the Z would be better than nothing. I`ve tried so many times to get Z5 to do what it says... "reduce the appearance of these surface imperfections without using any abrasives" with zero success.



Zaino, on a corrected black paint, looks good, no doubt. But then again, many other sealants do, too. Some of which offer (and this is subject to endless discussion and argument/disagreement) better environmental protection and ease of cleaning.



I really don`t want to start another Zaino flame fest thread... there`s been enough of those.



Zaino is a good looking sealant, for sure. But as with all things... there are other alternatives that certainly are worth looking in to.



Have you guys ever compared black dress shoes that are shined with a plastic (comparable to a car sealant) to a pair shined (by someone who knows how to do it) by a good wax? Shoes shined with plastic *look* plastic. They look like they have a layer of candy shell coating applied to them. Whereas wax shined black shoes make the leather *glow*. Some people prefer the candy shell look, others the wax. It`s all in the eyes of the viewer. Sorry for the rather poor analogy, but I have to wear dress shoes for work, and have tried both approaches (I prefer the wax shine, FWIW, on both black shoes and black cars).



How would you know which one would actually look best to you? The only way is to actually *see* them. The OP might want to consider putting a good wax on part of the car, and a few different sealants on other parts. Compare them, and decide. `Cause the product that *looks the best to the owner* is the proper product to use, regardless of the brand (if looks are the primary concern).

[Scottwax]

Can`t remember the last person I saw someone looking for someone to use Zymol, Swissvax, BlackFire or whatever detailing product on their car? I`ve used several waxes/sealants, but keep going back to Zaino Z2/Z5 for it`s unique ease of use, looks, cost, water beading appearance and cleaning power. Out of all the other waxes/sealants I`ve used, Zaino is the only one that keeps looking constant and doesn`t wash away. My customers like it too and request me reapplying it so I don`t argue with them.



I might get asked about Zaino once or twice a year and it is what my opinion is, not a request to use it. The product line I get the most questions about or requests for is Meguiars. I think the typical higher end detailing customer is going to assume we detailers know what we are doing and are going to use quality products, regardless of the name on the bottle.

[David Fermani]

Sure, I agree that waxing over a swirled finish isn’t the best way to go about things. But after re-reading the OP’s request I don’t see where he wants that.
i want a pro that KNOWS what he`s doing so that way i can get the "full effect" of the zaino product/result So to me I interpret that as he may already be aware that to get the full effect of Zaino (or any other product) you must properly prep the underlying surface. He didn’t just say he wanted a Zaino application. And if he did, I agree with you and Scott that it would be left up to the discretion of the detailer to educate his client on the correct way of viewing things.



Zaino must be doing something right as they hardly do any promotion of their products, they haven’t come out with anything new for ages and it still gets a lot of mention on the forums. And as far as I know is still selling incredibly well which speaks a lot for the product as I don’t know any other company/product that has this much force. Sal probably knows that all these Zaino users being overly satisfied by his product is the best form of advertisement as they are the ones that create the buzz. Many (not you Supe) like to take their aggression out on Sal Zaino and/or his company for offering a unique line of products when in fact I have never seen anything put out by Zaino to deserve such anit-Zainoism. It’s the people (Pros/Enthusiasts) that feel so overly adamant about the product and its performance that usually push the discussion beyond the point of comprehension. I personally think that most (not all) of the products are great, and can honestly say that when I apply them I get a different look which I like and so do my customers.

[Cleaning Fool]

Have to disagree with Superbee on the idea that Zaino has marketed there products as "must have" and "hype". When was the last time you saw a wax or sealant that didn`t tell you how great it was in the product descpription? If you look at Zainos web, there is one simple key that causes there phone to ring and it has nothing to do with what Zaino has to say about there products. What is the simple key to there success? Testimonials.... Look at Z2 Pro, 178 testimonials on that product alone. The old saying in marketing is people will believe what you say about me versus what I say about me, and its true. Zaino doesn`t have to say a word about there products, all the potential buyer has to do is do look at whatever Zaino product they want and most will click the testimonials and it sells itself. Its smart. And you have to be smart in business to stay in business. Unfortunately as well, whenever you have a stellar product, no matter what kind it is, people will be out to tear you down. Sadly, that`s the way our society is. The bigger and better you get, the more criticism will follow.

[SuperBee364]

I could post pages in response, but it`s all stuff that`s been said here enough times, and would probably tend to turn this thread more towards a flame war.



So to the OP...



Sure, try Zaino. A ton of people like it. Maybe you will, too. But keep in mind that there are a lot of other products (many of which are little-known) that are also worth considering. You might be surprised in what product you find that suits *your* needs best.

[Dan]

I`ve used several waxes/sealants, but keep going back to Zaino Z2/Z5 for it`s unique ease of use, looks, cost, water beading appearance and cleaning power. Out of all the other waxes/sealants I`ve used, Zaino is the only one that keeps looking constant and doesn`t wash away. My customers like it too and request me reapplying it so I don`t argue with them.



I couldn`t have said it better myself. For the same reason I keep going back to Z. I have tried so many lines, Meguiars, Duragloss, Optimum, FinishKare, Menzerna, Autoglym, BlackFire, Chemical Guys, Poorboys, 1Z, Wolfgang, and probably a few others I am forgetting. If I was a pro, I certainly wouldn`t want to use Zaino as it IS more work, not the actual product, the the prep work required. If your surface isn`t prefect, it will look worse. If I was doing this for money, I too wouldn`t want to use Zaino unless I was doing 2+ day correction jobs.



Of all the products mentioned above, Z2 is the only product that makes a surface polished to perfection with P085RD look even glossier/wetter past the first wash. Many of the above products look great, but after the first wash, the magic is gone. What makes me really laugh out loud is in one breath someone will mention that Zaino looks cheap and plasticky, while in another says that all sealants look the same on a well prepped surface. I think too many people formed their opinion on the old Z2, which did look a bit plastic like but things have changed. Just recently I split my car down the middle, 1/2 with Fuzion, 1/2 with Z5 topped with Z8. The Z side looked better in every respect.

[jmsc]

That`s exactly how I have been doing my cars for the last 4 years.



Corrections, PO85RD, Z-2 or Z-5 or Z-3 (3 is my fav), then Z-8.