Showdown! Blackfire vs. Zaino

Dave N

Dave N

My PC goes to 7...
I was going to post this entirely in this forum, but I just kept typing and typing and typing and finally realized that a web page (or 2!) would be better.



Here is my account of a Blackfire vs. Zaino comparison. I have put some side-by-side pictures in -- see if you are able to tell the difference!



http://www.staff.uiuc.edu/~dneece/zaino/battle.html
 
Looks good, I'd still have to go with zainos though. Shouldn't u have used Z2 with that? Isn't that the main polish/wax in the system?
 
Dave- Good Job on the comparo! I just ordered some Zaino after looking at blackfire. I wish I would have seen that before hand. Oh well.:sosad
 
Great comparison!:xyxthumbs



I could tell a difference between the sharpness of the two halves.

I love Z on metallic paints, but I must say I like BF on solid and darker colors, especially when topped with Souveran or Blitz!



Anyways, your truck looks great!



:wavey
 
thevolvoguy said:
Dave- Good Job on the comparo! I just ordered some Zaino after looking at blackfire. I wish I would have seen that before hand. Oh well.:sosad
Click to expand...





Just curious--why would you decide you'd rather have Blackfire? From everything I've read Zaino's durability is better AND it doesn't attract dust like it sounds like Blackfire does. Anyway, just wondering why you think you'd rather go the other way.



Eric
 
I formerly had Zaino on my car. I currently have Souveran on it. I have Blackfire sitting in my garage as we speak. For me, I want my black car to have the wettest look. Zaino gives more reflectivity and clarity whereas BF gives gloss and depth something similar to a carnuba. But I plan to top BF with Souveran though.:wavey
 
Excellent test and website layout!!



I think the vast majority would be hard pressed to tell the diff between the two. Some say they can but they've got a 50% chance to get their guess right. I looked at the pics several times and guessed the wrong one.



Some Autopians who have used BF and Z have said they cannot tell a diff either. On my car I can tell the Z leaves a glossier finish but that's just a reflection of my paint, not so much as result of the product. Some paint and colors will respond well to Z and others won't.



Well done on the comparo.:up :up
 
Nice work with the comparo!



IMO, even though BF may offer a comparable look to Zaino, I still feel the biggest advantages of Z are the longevity (durability), UV protection, and minimal dust attraction. What Z may or may not lack in the depth department, it more than makes up for in the durability, slickness, and ease of maintainence areas, which makes it awfully hard to switch to a another system in my case.



About putting Z5 over BF, well, I honestly don't think it would do any long term good. BF is loaded with silicones which Zaino will not form a bond to. So, the Zaino topper won't be any more durable than the BF that's underneath it. Just my $.02...



Anyway, nice testing, and keep us posted on long-term durability and shine/slickness....



:wavey
 
eboller said:






Just curious--why would you decide you'd rather have Blackfire? From everything I've read Zaino's durability is better AND it doesn't attract dust like it sounds like Blackfire does. Anyway, just wondering why you think you'd rather go the other way.



Eric
Click to expand...



Eric- Webviper took the words out of my mouth. Blackfire seems to provide more of a deeper shine on darker colors, I LOVE BF topped with a good carnauba like Souveran or P21S. Zaino's shine is great as well I dont have any regrets on ordering I just wish I would have considered the BF a little more than I did.



:wavey
 
Thanks to everyone for the replies and comments. Of course, pictures don't come close to doing justice to any detail job. I'll bet you could use Turtle Wax and snap some pics and people would say "looks great, man!" as a common courtesy. In my case, the Blackfired panels look markedly different than the Z'd panels. In direct sunlight, the effect is less noticeable, but then again my paint kind of takes on a funny orangish hue in bright light. In indirect lighting, the Blackfire looks much richer and wetter. Oddly enough, if I take a pic in direct sunlight or bright artificial lighting, sometimes the paint looks purple-ish. I had one of my Z'd hood that turned out that way. I wanted to get a nice hood shot because the Tacoma has some nice hood lines, but all the pics turned out purple-ish.



Back to the subject -- I was comparing truck halves today, and the Blackfire looks much darker, which is what I really want. But I want that Z reflectivity, slickness, and durability as well! Hey, maybe I should try Klasse again! Looks like things have come full-circle. :rolleyes:



Seriously, does anyone know if you can put Zaino over AIO? I tried some AIO on a panel that had SMR haze just to make sure that it would darken back up, and it did nicely (I then removed the AIO). I was all set to try Zaino over Blackfire polish until MM mentioned the silicones.



I haven't had a day off in a long time, so I'm taking tomorrow off and Zing my parents' white minivan. I may AIO a truck panel and try some Z5 over it, since I'll have it all mixed up for the van.
 
thevolvoguy said:




Eric- Webviper took the words out of my mouth. Blackfire seems to provide more of a deeper shine on darker colors, I LOVE BF topped with a good carnauba like Souveran or P21S. Zaino's shine is great as well I dont have any regrets on ordering I just wish I would have considered the BF a little more than I did.



:wavey
Click to expand...



I guessed that after reading some of the other posts. That's cool. I guess for me, my goals are different. Although, I definitely might like the deeper look, I also would rather be driving than "waxing". So if Zaino has greater durablity, it is better for me. Have you used Zaino before? Maybe you'll be smitten. =)



Eric
 
Dave, that was a very impressive write-up! Thanks for sharing that info with us.



I have used AIO as a base for several coats of Z-5 before with no apparent problems. Of course, I added layers of Zaino as time passed so I couldn't tell if KAIO had any adverse effect on Zaino's durability.



You wrote: "Back to the subject -- I was comparing truck halves today, and the Blackfire looks much darker, which is what I really want."



That is pretty much the difference I was seeing between Zaino and carnauba. The black paint on my car looked darker when using carnauba and I believe that is what I prefer as well.



As a follow-up question, how would you rate Z-5's swirl-filling abilities?



Thanks.



Tony
 
I spoke with the tech support before I ordered Blackfire. They indicated that while other colors would look good, that this was specially formulated to give blacks and reds a Carnauba like shine. That special dark, wet look. With some others here, that is a look that I really like. On the darker finishes with both Klasse and Zaino it seems to be a more silvery finish. I'm planning on topping it with P21S after a few weeks. I like the ease of use element.



The comparison once again convinced me that I prefer less forgiving waxes than Zaino even if I have to do it more often.
 
Intermezzo: I Zaino'd my parents white minivan today, and between that and my truck I can't really say that I'm seeing a whole lotta fillin' goin' on. I used Autoint "SMR" on my truck, and what swirls (mars) that did not take out, the Z5 didn't really fill. I have 3 coats of Z5 now, so maybe I need more?



The minivan is fairly neglected by Autopian standards. It gets a lot of automatic washes, and when my dad hand washes it he uses an old chenile mitt that has a lot of grime in it. Still, it's really hard to see marring in the white paint -- I think it's called "golden white" or something similar, and it has some gold flecks in it (it's a Town & Country). Today I Dawned it, went over it with OTC Meguiar's Paint Cleaner (yellow "Waxmaster" pad on the PC), Dawned again, then put on 2 coats of Z5/ZFX. The Zaino gave it a really nice shine, but upon close inspection I could still see those "every-which-way" mars in the paint.



I also experimented with Z5 over AIO. I taped off a section of a panel of my truck and hit it with the Autoint SMR with a white CMA pad. Wow, that sure did remove the Zaino shine! I cleaned it with some FI, and then applied AIO x 2 using a CMA black pad. That brought the shine back up, but it still wasn't as dark or wet as the BF. I let that cure while doing the prep on the van, then when I was ready to Z5 the van I put a coat of Z5 on the AIO'd panel. I ended up putting 3 coats of Z5 on, but I'll be darned if I could tell the difference between that area and the plain Z5'd area once I took the tape off (actually, I took the tape off before applying the Z5, but you know what I mean). Klasse can take a day or so to fully cure and come to it's full depth, so I'll be checking it over the next few days.



I put some of the Z5 over a couple of BF panels as well, to see if it would keep the dust off. I couldn't believe all the dust that the BF'd half of the truck had picked up already! It would really be sweet if the Z5 would stick to BF, if for nothing more than to keep the dust off.
 
Dave: Could you try the Z6 spray over the BF? It would be interesting to see if that gives you the anti-static properties you're looking for. I used Zaino for three years on a black 99 Lightning - sometimes cursing it, sometimes praising it. To me, the Z6 really helped with the dust issue. The Lightning was replaced last week by an M3, which is carbon black, and I'm trying to decide if BF would be a better choice for me. Oh, and thanks for the time and effort - it is good reading.:up
 
FWIW, I've had pretty good luck applying Z6 over BF. It does seem to enhance shine somewhat and reduce dust pick up a little.
 
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