Applying Zaino AIO

Ben D.

New member
Ok so this week on tues and wed gonna try to get my truck in decent shape. 2008 dodge ram 1500 reg cab short bed 4x4. Brand new and it's my baby. Paint is in great shape i've had the truck for three months and with washing once or twice a week i'm proud to say Ive done a great job keeping swirls away. so the paint looks great it's a nice black with a flake to it. so i'm gonna wash her, claybar to get the bugs and stuff off and other stuffs and hit with a coat of AIO and then next weekend wash and go with teh z5 and up through.



my question is with AIO. it says to apply and work in to the surface? I wanna make sure I understand this part. in other words I want to just sort of "rub" for lakc of a better word, it in to the paint and then allow to dry? Not just wipe it on and then let it dry and wipe it off. if anyone who uses AIO or knows what their doing...(everyone on this forum i think) enlighten me a bit?
 
If you have a P/C then use that. I much prefer to apply products by machine than by hand. Machines work the product in better. They are faster and they allow for very thin coats which makes removal a breeze. Otherwise, rub it on thin, let it haze then wipe off.



Patrick
 
Unfortunately i don't have a PC. It's on my list but I'm only 19 workin my way through school and such and atm don't want to drop the money on the PC. It's something I plan to do and I know I will but for now since i'm not needing a ton of corrective measures the good old hands are my best bet. so I should rub it in and give a little pressure and work it in at small areas at a time then allow to haze? don't just wipe on let dry and wipe off. I know not having a PC is tough but i think just having the products and the knowledge i have now and the willingness to learn i'm bounds ahead of others my age lol.
 
Don't read too much into this. Your hands will work fine. Just rub it in with firm pressure and let it dry thoroughly. Try to keep it thin. The more product you use the harder it will be to remove. Do the whole car, then go back and remove the haze.
 
Most here started by hand until they went to the PC, UDM, Flex, and rotary to speed things up. The hardest part is applying thin layers. It just seems more intuitive that the more product you apply the better it is, but therein lies the trap. The thin layers are easier to buff off and dust less. If you can't afford boutique multifibers, go to Target and get some vroom or go to walmart or k-mart and get the multifibers you see there. It shouldn't set you back more than $10 for 3-5 good mf's. Walmart also has some decent waffle-weave MF's in the housewares section. They may not be the softest but $3 for a pair is a good deal.
 
Yea I'm using the Zaino claybar. I'm not going to do the whole truck. I'm really just getting problem spots. I work between 5-7 days a week atm and drive home at night. so the bugs are a problem that not normal washing will get out. so really just spot treating the problem areas. I'm very careful about putting keepign the area liberally lubed up an not using a huge amt of pressure merely enough to get the job done.



I have tons of good microfiber ordered from autogeek and others. some from sonus, cobra, and even a bunch of bath towels from linens and things that work great as well. (made sure they were all cotton even the backign). I'm really just short a PC lol. It's on the list tho.
 
I've experienced that bugs don't stick as well to a well waxed car. I've used S100, Zymol titanium, and collinite 845 & 476 waxes to good effect. The collinites are the longest lasting with a good 4-6 months durability (in 3 layers over 3 weeks) after that both the s100 and zymol are pretty much gone after 2 months (no matter how many layers).
 
I've had the same cheap coleman 6" random orbit polisher going on 10 years now. It does an excellent job and for only about $20-25 beats going at it by hand. The advantage with the smaller buffer is that they have the same motor as the big 10" cheap random orbits so you can apply slightly more pressure if needed and they get into tighter areas plus they spin faster than those big over sized ones. They may not have the power like an orbital but you can get good results just by using it very slowly like making your passes at a speed of like 1 foot every 10 seconds.
 
If using ZAIO by hand use a foam applicator and work it into the paint. Allow it to dry and then buff off. It needs to be worked in to get the best cleaning ability from it.
 
Ben D. said:
Yea I'm using the Zaino claybar. I'm not going to do the whole truck. I'm really just getting problem spots. I work between 5-7 days a week atm and drive home at night. so the bugs are a problem that not normal washing will get out. so really just spot treating the problem areas. I'm very careful about putting keepign the area liberally lubed up an not using a huge amt of pressure merely enough to get the job done.



I have tons of good microfiber ordered from autogeek and others. some from sonus, cobra, and even a bunch of bath towels from linens and things that work great as well. (made sure they were all cotton even the backign). I'm really just short a PC lol. It's on the list tho.



If you haven't been regularly cleaning to get the bugs off the clay bar isn't going to do any better. If anything you will find the paint is already permanently stained by the bugs. Let us know what you find.
 
When applying Z-AIO via Flex/PC, do you work it like a polish/compound, only not as long, or just enough to cover the paint surface, then stop?
 
The only Zaino product I use by machine is Z-AIO because of the cleaning abilities. I like using Z-AIO with a white pad.
 
I've been using Zaino products for a few years by hand. Make sure you go to their website as there is allot of information about how to apply. The "Tips and Tricks" section is very good. You should clay the entire car as even a new car has imbedded contaminents that need to be removed before you go to Zaio. When you apply the Zaio use some pressure and as others have said try to put on a thin coat. If you use one oz of product for the entire car you have used too much. Let it dry then buff off. I think you can add the Z5 immediately as the Zaio acts as a bonding agent.
 
yea I've gotten the hang of it pretty well at this point. previously i wasn't working the stuff into the paint the way I should have been and was definately using too much. The bugs are just on teh chrome and such on the front. I wash the vehicle once a week and it gets most of them off except for some of the really nasty ones that seem to self destruct upon impact. and the claybar takes them right off. so does more pressure with the wash cloth... I'm getting gutsier as I go merely before was just too scared and being a wussy not wanting to mark the paint up. But all is getting better as I learn more what to do. I've got my systems down pretty well for keeping the paint protected and such. Ie. the Zaino products. as time moves on i'm looking more towards polishes and such to remove the minor imperfections that will pop up as years move on. as well as more equipment. My next purchases are going to be more stuff for the interior and possibly for the plastics on the outside and inside. Sal Z. says to use the tire shine or the Z6 for my porous plastic. the z6 works great inside havn't tried tire shine inside yet. altho outside plastic like the mirrors and the plastic between hood and windshield the tire shine works great. We shall see as time moves on tho.
 
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