Zaino Review (56K warn)

[groebuck]

I never figured I would ever get Zaino. Not because I hated it or anything, but with UPP, EX, FMJ, Duragloss in my stable, I figured I would skip it.



Then I saw a picture of a silver mustang on Autopia that had a mirror like finish and the poster used Zaino. I was curious enough now to give it a go, so 40 bucks later for ZFX and Z2 I decided to block out my Saturday and give it a go.



I prepped my car by using the rotary @1400 and SSR2 on the horizontals to get at some lil tiny scratches. I then moved to the PC and SSR1 on the horizontals and the rest of the car (@ 6 with Meg`s Yellow). I must admit at this point - it looks schweet. I wanted to give the Z2 my fairest shake so I followed the ssr`s up with AIO applied by PC (@3 with white Edge).



Still looking great - so here we go into Z land.



I followed the instructions and put in just shy of 2 oz of Z2 in the little bottles included with ZFX and 8 drops of ZFX. ZFX is a deep blue color..very deep blue!. I shook it like a poloroid picture for 90 seconds and decided to use the applicator sent with the product. I hated that (terry cloth brick thing) and ditched it for a fresh viking applicator.



I applied layer one - went in the house and waited a half hour (caught up on my YUH GI OH..gotta love the DVR). One YuhGiOh down and I went out and got my Mullet Wax Awesome Polishing cloth and began to remove the product. Removal is a little difficult and I experienced a little bit of tough spots (maybe I put it on a lil to thick in areas?), but I got it all off. First impressions on layer one were "not as slick as I expected." To this day nothing has ever been as slick coming off as UPP. EX and FMJ are close, Duragloss too and I was expecting it from Zaino but it was not there. Maybe it`s an aspect of the accelerated curing with ZFX..I dunno.



Layer two applied and back in to Yugi v.s. Marrik. Another half hour and I went back out to remove layer two. Again it was not the easiest to get off in some parts and I tried to go lighter this time.



Layer three on and off to the final battle of Yugi v.s. Marrik..Yah Yugi won!! (duh look at the name of the cartoon!)



I went back out for the final removal. Same thing, it was slightly difficult in some areas (and not the same areas as 1 and 2). I thought maybe I just used too much but of the 2 oz I prepared I had used less than half (wasted too since I cannot reuse ZFX`ed Zaino - oh well I will know better next time how much to use !! ).



Now don`t get me wrong the finish is slick, but you don`t know slick till you wipe off UPP with a MF and slide across your hood :lol. I dunno, I just thought with all the awesome stories about Z that is would be slippery.



I went over the car with some FCS to clean up any residue I might have missed and pulled it outside. It really sparkled. I guess that 99% optically clear thing is true! The sun was going down so I did not get the best lighted shots but judge for yourselves.

















I think it came out really well - very shiney and showing all the subtleties of the metallic paint. I didn`t notice any deepening of the color like with wolfgangs. It is very reflective (as you can see) but IMHO nothing over UPP/FMJ/EX/DG. If I had to use a word to describe the results I would say `crisp` fits the bill.



The ability to do three applications in a day is great but I am not sure it`s worth the extra money. My personal opinion is that the 3 coats of Z look as good as one coat of UPP or FMJ. I may change my opinion when I get coats 4-5 and 6 on there.



So....looking at the results..what do you guys think?

[chevyguy28]

I always apply the coats so thin that I can barely see it on the paint. This makes removal a relative snap.



Slickness seems to approve with curing. Feel the surface again in a few days and tell me what you think. It will get close to FMJ, but it may require 5-6 coats to do so. I would probably stop there, because after that there isn`t much improvement.



My main reason for Zaino use is durability. The whole system works so well together. How much durability are you getting from FMJ?

[l33]

Is it something you would use again?

[groebuck]

hehe -



I get about two weeks max out of any product - but that`s because I strip and try another combo of something else! :lol



My roomate`s truck I did with FMJ is going on 1.5 months and still is slick as snot (no wash either in that time !!)



Don`t get me wrong on the slickness - it`s there!



Just in all my products tests nothing has ever come off like UPP..no knock against any other products...just my benchmark for initial removal.





(L33 - would I use it again - well I plan on putting on 4-5-6 next saturday..I want to give it a fair shake and see how it all comes out so I would reserve judgement till then ).

[imported_Unreal]

Nice write up and review. Car looks great. I too had some trouble with trouble spots on removal of Z for some reason.



I have tried Z2 and Z5 and my color is similar to yours and I like Z5 better. Seems to depen it just a bit.

[RedondoV6]

Interesting review; I`m a long time Zaino user who values its durability, but I`m very interested in testing FMJ, EX-P and UPP. I hope to do so in a few weeks, just too busy right now.



I`m not sure what could be causing the difficulties you are having in removing the Z2, I`ve never had that problem.



Let us know how you get on next week. I`ll be very interested to see how you compare it to UPP and FMJ.



Oh ... almost forgot ...nice job!!

[1 Clean WS6]

Great review and GORGEOUS detail!!:xyxthumbs

[X-Trail]

Zaino is a wonderful product that produces awesome reflectivity. I Like it with Silver because I dont need to do much prepping to get rid of swirl marks compare to doing it on a dark color vehicle.



I had problems sometimes with applying Z2 or Z5 evenly because of how thin it needs to be. Sometimes there are "small areas" where the Z2 / Z5 are not swiped onto the paint. Thats why I love the Z6. Since its sprayed on, the "small areas" are easily covered.



Groebuck -> You might want to apply some Z6, it enhances the gloss for me.

[Woob]

Haha want me to swing buy with my UPP Layers? Then again I have pizazz and I need to relayer....:nixweiss

[04BlackAV]

Looks great!!!To get the Z on thin it`s a good idea to mist the applicator with water or Z6.And by your write up I guess you don`t have any Z6.

[imported_mahd]

Car looks excellent! I read a post regarding difficulty removing Z2/Z5 and it was suggested to try a mix of Z7 and water , 1oz Z7 12oz water, mist over trouble spot and remove. I tried it when I applied Z and it worked very well.

[imported_memnuts]

Zaino needs to dry completely before buffing off. Did you do the finger swipe test prior to removing any of the coats?

I normally allow at least 45 minutes to an hour, from the completion of application on last panel, to dry. Normally, when I return there is hardly any polish to remove. Very, very thin coats.



You are also using too much polish per coats. Moisten MF applicator with H2O or Z6 and work into surface. 1/2 to 3/4 oz max would be plenty to do 3 coats on a vehicle of that size.

With practice you will learn the exact amount to mix for this vehicle.



Get some Z6 (Zaino does not contain the oils of UPP for that creates its initial slickness) and wipe down. Throw your MF and watch it fly.



Also a month from now do the same test after a wash and Z6 QD and notice how the surface still has this great appearance and slickness.



Car looks great. :xyxthumbs Get us some sun shots to really show-off its brilliance

[Mindflux]

Way way WAYYY too much product used as others stated.



I used 1/4 of an OZ yesterday, and got 2 layers of Z2. I then waited a bit, came back out and did another layer of Z5 with 1/8th of an OZ.



With how thin It`s going on, by the time I`m done covering the car in Zaino It`s ready to come off, and it comes off E.A.S.Y as pie.



You`ll get the hang of it, I think.



Also, I found mixing Z6 1:1 w/ Distilled water not only gave me double the product but I didn`t have as many streaking issues that I did with with straight Z6.



I love the stuff.



YMMV.

[groebuck]

Well I used less than 1 oz for three coats - waited the 30 mins between removal (using ZFX) as instructed. I did the finger test on the last panel treated and it came off...



Layers 4-5-6 will go on next saturday - I will definatley be using less for mixing.



I use FastCleanShine which is awesome and available off the shelf. It bonds to ploymer polishes to increase depth and durability, is anti static and removes dust and residue (after coat 3 I used it for my final wipe down and it was very very slick!!)

[J.T.'s CL-S]

Nice TL. You need to get some Z-6. It helps out with the shine and feel of the paint IMO.