Help Me on the Road to Zaino Nirvana!

A

amedman

New member
OK I broke down and bought a PC. Know I have both a PC and a Dewalt Rotary. I am now only waiting for the SSR2.5, SSR1 and Zaino to arrive.



I plan to use the PC to remove a moderate amount of swirls, mostly from washing. After polish, its Zaino time!



I have two questions:



1. I plan to order Top of the Line 6.5 LC, LCVC or Sonus DA pads. I will use the DA most of the time and use the Dewalt Rotary only on deep swirls and scratches that the PC won’t fix. I would like one set of pads. Can any of these be use with a rotary as well as the PC?



2. Do I really need to claybar before polish since I am polishing every panel anyway? Seems like a good wash and polish would get rid of all surface contaminants and the claybaring is a wasted effort. What am I missing on this?



3. Why not dawn wash just before Zaino LSP? That way all wax, silicone, and residue from polishing is guaranteed gone for a Zaino friendly surface.



Thanks for helping me with these NOOB questions!
 
amedman said:
OK I broke down and bought a PC. Know I have both a PC and a Dewalt Rotary. I am now only waiting for the SSR2.5, SSR1 and Zaino to arrive.



I plan to use the PC to remove a moderate amount of swirls, mostly from washing. After polish, its Zaino time!



I have two questions:



1. I plan to order Top of the Line 6.5 LC, LCVC or Sonus DA pads. I will use the DA most of the time and use the Dewalt Rotary only on deep swirls and scratches that the PC won’t fix. I would like one set of pads. Can any of these be use with a rotary as well as the PC?



2. Do I really need to claybar before polish since I am polishing every panel anyway? Seems like a good wash and polish would get rid of all surface contaminants and the claybaring is a wasted effort. What am I missing on this?



3. Why not dawn wash just before Zaino LSP? That way all wax, silicone, and residue from polishing is guaranteed gone for a Zaino friendly surface.



Thanks for helping me with these NOOB questions!
Click to expand...



1. I know www.exceldetail.com pads I use have a hole that look they could be used with a rotary too, but not sure.



2.Yes if you haven't clayed in awhile, you need to do it somethings will not be polished/cleaned away. It seems to me polishing over a non-clayed surface could push contamination further into the surface.



3. You could just do an water/alcohol wipe down and save some time, also did you know Zaino has its own polish/cleaner coming out very very soon might be worth checkin' out.
 
I always clay before polishing. Contaminants can be like small grain sand paper and can complicate polishing process, but you can probably get away with it if you chose. Any pad can be used by rotary, just back it down a little for constant pressure or smaller pads. By all means Dawn wash, I do all the time with good results. It's just dishsoap, it wont harm anything, especially since you are putting back the lubrication and protection of zaino.
 
Burlyq said:
I always clay before polishing. Contaminants can be like small grain sand paper and can complicate polishing process, but you can probably get away with it if you chose. Any pad can be used by rotary, just back it down a little for constant pressure or smaller pads. By all means Dawn wash, I do all the time with good results. It's just dishsoap, it wont harm anything, especially since you are putting back the lubrication and protection of zaino.
Click to expand...



Correct me if I'm wrong but I've heard it mentioned a few times the Dawn wash won't fully break down some sealant type products:nixweiss ?
 
I just got done detailling my car with Menzerna IP and FPII, then Zaino. I blue taped and the process took 2 days. I used Z6 between each layer of Z5 and Z2 pro. The car was absolutley flawless and looked amazing.

Here was my process:



Dawn

clay

Z7 wash

IP w/ LC orange pad

FPII w/ LC white pad

Z6

Z5 w/ ZFX x2

Z6

Z2 Pro w/ ZFX x2

Z8
 
Are the ones you are talking about the Propel pads? The picture on the website does not show the hole.



http://www.prestostore.com/cgi-bin/store.pl?ref=exceldetail&ct=29307



I see your point on claying it first so I will do that. Most here believe SSR is Zaino friendly so I am not too concerned about IA wipe down. What are your thoughts?



The Z cleaner is sure taking its time. Why would I need this since I am SSR2.5, then SSR1 before Z. I see the cleaner wax if my car were near swirl free but wouldn't this just be a extra step given the polishing that’s needed?



Thanks for the Help!
 
Fatchance



That is what I plan to do but sub SSR2.5 and SSR1 for IP and FP. Also, I am not sure I will do the Z5. What are your thoughts on Z5? Did it work on light swirls? Does it have other benefits to black finishes?



How long did the polishing take?
 
amedman said:
Are the ones you are talking about the Propel pads? The picture on the website does not show the hole.



http://www.prestostore.com/cgi-bin/store.pl?ref=exceldetail&ct=29307



I see your point on claying it first so I will do that. Most here believe SSR is Zaino friendly so I am not too concerned about IA wipe down. What are your thoughts?



The Z cleaner is sure taking its time. Why would I need this since I am SSR2.5, then SSR1 before Z. I see the cleaner wax if my car were near swirl free but wouldn't this just be a extra step given the polishing that’s needed?



Thanks for the Help!
Click to expand...



The hole is super tiny, have to have one in hand to see.



Seems to me I remember the Zaino cleaner probably has some Z in it like AIO. The SSR's should be fine becasue of its lack of fillers etc.



My thoughts are the makers designs products as a system, anytime you go experimenting with different manufacturers systems you compromise one system. With that being said I'm an autopian and I experiment. This mainly applies to sealants which should have proper surface prep. I used VM+ EX-P for awhile did VM hurt EX-P durability not sure never let anything go more than a few months without topping or something and QD's every week.



So if not doing a IPA wipedown after SSRaffect Zaino, I doubt it and if so I wouldn't think much of it but who knows sometimes :nixweiss .



The Z polish would just be a companion product to a system and they are in the business of selling stuff, so it goes back to previous paragraph. Yeah that cleaner seems to be taking forever, I bought Some AIO and SG instead to play with, I'll wait and see feedback plus Z5 Pro is being tested but might be awhile on this one but supposedly had more filling ability than previous.



Lay down 3 good layers of Z and and add a layer or two now and again and you'll be gravy:xyxthumbs
 
DUH!,



I see the hole in the pad now, in the backing plate.



I thought it was suppose to be in the foam like the LCVC pads?
 
I’m kind of mixed on the system approach since I think using the best of different lines has merit, and I like to play as well.



and the Z cleaner sounds like an AIO replacement which wont cut it (pun) for me now. Maybe in the fall I will pick up the Z cleaner since I do not plan to need to heavy polish again at that time but only clean and light polish and Z it before winter.



With over 2 weeks of reading autopia, I think I may finally have a plan!



:bounce :) :) :) :) :) :) :bounce
 
I found IPA to work well on wax, but did not break down multiple coats of Z (like 8-10 coats, maybe?) and had to resort to Prepsol/3M Adhesive Remover... Maybe multiple applications of IPA would have done it, but the 3M did it immediately, with relatively little product or effort. Respirator required.
 
amedman said:
Fatchance



That is what I plan to do but sub SSR2.5 and SSR1 for IP and FP. Also, I am not sure I will do the Z5. What are your thoughts on Z5? Did it work on light swirls? Does it have other benefits to black finishes?



How long did the polishing take?
Click to expand...





My car is silver and 6 months old. I was in pretty good shape to start. I also did a 2000 black Vette which was horrible. When I finished it was 99% perfect. Some of the scratches were pretty bad. But the depth, clarity and the shine were perfect.



The polishing on the Vette took a couple of hours.
 
Well my car probably is not as bad as the Vette you did since it was polished about 1 year ago and only is swirled from careless carwashes. (Wish I heard of Autopia last year!)



I am most worried the PC wont get the swirls out and I really do not want to polish for days to get it to Zaino level. I am encouraged by your experience. Thanks!
 
amedman said:
Well my car probably is not as bad as the Vette you did since it was polished about 1 year ago and only is swirled from careless carwashes. (Wish I heard of Autopia last year!)



I am most worried the PC wont get the swirls out and I really do not want to polish for days to get it to Zaino level. I am encouraged by your experience. Thanks!
Click to expand...



Sometimes it takes ahwile to get swirl free, but its needed with a sealant cause it has tendency to highlight defects, where a nuba will hide.
 
amedman said:
OK I broke down and bought a PC. Know I have both a PC and a Dewalt Rotary. I am now only waiting for the SSR2.5, SSR1 and Zaino to arrive.



I plan to use the PC to remove a moderate amount of swirls, mostly from washing. After polish, its Zaino time!
Click to expand...



Not to add to the confusion, but the Zaino polish is now available. Perhaps you might want to consider using it as a final polish instead of the SSR1.



http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=Z-PC&Category_Code=Zaino

Z-PC Fusion Dual Action Paint Cleaner Swirl Remover
 
amedman



The PC works awsome and it's easy to operate, you should have no problems. I have no doubt you will get the results you want.
 
true blue blood said:
Correct me if I'm wrong but I've heard it mentioned a few times the Dawn wash won't fully break down some sealant type products:nixweiss ?
Click to expand...



True. Dawn will not touch Zaino either.



In the project above, the detailer is polishing the surface prior to the Dawn wash. This will remove all previous protectant and the Dawn wash will remove any oils that may be applied to surface during polishing or residual (in pores of the paint) from previous protectant. :wavey
 
blkZ28Conv:

So you agree that I should Z7, Z18, Polish, Dawn, Z2(zfx) x3, Z8?



What is you opinion on me using Z-PC in place of the SSR’s. Will Z-PC work well by hand or is a PC needed? If I go Z-PC in place of SSR1 and 2.5 should I try Z5?





DenisH: Great post! I read this last week when I was researching options. Your evaluation really helped me in choosing Z!
 
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