Z5

Finally tried the Z stuff on both sides of my car. I clayed, hit the sides with SSR1 with a Griots orange pad and applied 3 coats of ZFX/Z5 followed by Z6. First - Kudos to PBs again. The SSR1 removed so easily it must have cut my polishing time in half, which was much appreciated. It left a beautiful finish and I felt no need to use Pro Polish to finish it up. Anyway- the Z5 looks absolutely stunning and it does hide VERY faint flaws. I spoke to Zaino about not using Z2 and they said that they use Z5 alone on their black cars and that it was probably impossible to tell Z5 from Z2 except for Z5`s filling ability. In any case, it is a superb product. We`ll see how it holds up, which is why I bought it. I thought it would be good for the winter. I can`t really say it blows UPP or EX out of the water though. I`ll have to do an A/B when I have the chance.

ACE,

I agree, the Z5 looks better on dark colors than the Z2. Are you using the new Z5? It came out in June, and is supposed to be better at filling swirls.

Boss, I just bought the stuff a few weeks ago, so I assume it`s the latest product. I actually did 2 applications yesterday with ZFX and one more coat today straight from the bottle without ZFX. Apparantly, you don`t have to use ZFX if you are just adding layers, but Zaino recommends ZFX every 10 layers, I believe, although that isn`t going to become an issue for me. :) I wouldn`t go as far as to say that Z5 will fill actual swirls, but it appears that it will fill the most minor imperfections, which is nice because you don`t want every defect magnified. I`m going to check on the finish during the week to see if it needs any more layers. It appeared swirl-free in direct sunlight, which is fine with me.

ACE,

A little FYI.............. the new Z5 is yellow in color, and comes in a white bottle with a black label. The old Z5 was dark orange in color, and the bottle was all black.

This way you`ll know for sure what you`ve got. I`m really interested in your thoughts on the new stuff, as I`ve heard some very positive remarks.

You know, I sort of keep going out to stare at the finish. It has incredible clarity. I hold my hand in front of the finish and it`s like holding it in front of a mirror. You get accurate skin color and so forth. Admittedly, I have not A/B`d this against freshly-applied UPP or EX, so I don`t want to go overboard, but i`m quite enthusiastic about it. BTW- this is the new product with the yellowish stuff in the white bottle. It does go a long way - I put one ounce in one of the 2 oz. ZFX bottles and it did both sides twice with stuff left over. It definitely would have done both sides 3 times and I wasn`t insane about getting it on super thin. I put it on plenty thin, but probably used twice what I had to.

Yes, Z5 looks great with proper prep and finish work. Too many people forget to strip all oils/silicone off the finish first and end up with a haze or "plastic" look.

No plastic here, just wet:

Regards,
Deanski

Deanski - I noticed that in your ritual, you used Z6 before your first coat of Z5. It sort of made sense to me to do that also, as it allows you to apply the Z5 much thinner because of the lubrication. I agree that it`s very important to start with a silicone and oil-free surface, which is why I went with Poorboys for prep. Nothing but clear, clean paint. I can hardly wait to do the hood.

Dang it i thought this thread was going to be about a new BMW roadster. Dang you and your confusing title!