Six coats of Zaino lasted four months

C

chevyguy28

New member
The six coats of Z-5 on my car seem to be exhausted in four months. Certainly not bad durability, but I live in Southern California in near perfect weather. I have been washing a lot less in the past two months, which is the time period where I received the most loss in beading. I'd like to raise a few concerns:



1) Decrease in Z-6/Z-7 use seems to have caused more rapid deterioration of Zaino. I hadn't realized that these two products were so essential to the product line.



2) I had a conversation with AlBoston about Zaino. His numerous coats have also lasted around four months. He feels that coats applied WITHOUT ZFX or Z1 may not be bonding properly and aren't necessarily providing extra protection. Hopefully he can chime in and give his thoughts on this.



3) Where to go from here? I think I ought to mix up some more Z-5/ZFX and apply three more coats. Either that or top whatever is left with S100. I hear too many people commenting that topping Z is not a good idea, what causes this? Klasse can be topped with excellent results.



4) Does Z-5 have less durability than Z-2? There's little evidence to say that it does, but not many people only use Z-5.
 
JustinTRW said:
The six coats of Z-5 on my car seem to be exhausted in four months. Certainly not bad durability, but I live in Southern California in near perfect weather. I have been washing a lot less in the past two months, which is the time period where I received the most loss in beading. I'd like to raise a few concerns:



1) Decrease in Z-6/Z-7 use seems to have caused more rapid deterioration of Zaino. I hadn't realized that these two products were so essential to the product line.



2) I had a conversation with AlBoston about Zaino. His numerous coats have also lasted around four months. He feels that coats applied WITHOUT ZFX or Z1 may not be bonding properly and aren't necessarily providing extra protection. Hopefully he can chime in and give his thoughts on this.



3) Where to go from here? I think I ought to mix up some more Z-5/ZFX and apply three more coats. Either that or top whatever is left with S100. I hear too many people commenting that topping Z is not a good idea, what causes this? Klasse can be topped with excellent results.



4) Does Z-5 have less durability than Z-2? There's little evidence to say that it does, but not many people only use Z-5.
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#1 to quote the Zaino site >>Z-7 Show Car Wash was designed to deep clean, increase the paint gloss and reinforce the Zaino Show Car Polish system with every washing.

yes they are very Important :)



#2 You need to use Z1 for the first coats, If your using just Z1 then Z5/2 then add a coat off Z1 every 10 coats of Z5/2. If your using The ZFX way then the first 3 must be with ZFX. I still like Z1 for my first one even if I am going to be using ZFX.



#3 If you have ZFX you can add a few coats now if you want, if not You can use just Z5/2 also. But if you want it to last as long as possible I would hit it with some Z1 first.



#4 I think that Z5 lasts longer and looks better. I have been using for about 4 years. That is just my

$02:)



hope this made sense? LOL
 
I think that ultimately, any number of factors can come in to play when measuring the durability of a product on different vehicles. Perhaps the Z just doesn't last as long on certain types of paint? It really seems to last longer on domestic paints, IMHO.



For example, our Tahoe was last Z'd in February and was beat to heck w/gas station car washes (no wax cycle), and rarely got a Z7 wash -- I think I washed it twice between February and last weekend. Yet, when I went to wash it last weekend, the water beaded like mad, and I had a hard time keeping water on the truck while washing...typical "good Z".



On other cars, it seems that you can wash it weekly with Z7, QD with Z6 and yet, after 4 months or so, it's losing its life.



I've personally never experienced the second situation, but I've read about it here and elsewhere on the net...



I totally agree with the theory that w/o ZFX additional layers may not bond properly - I'd like to test it to prove it, though.



Finally, it's pretty well known that Z7 and Z6 have polymers that help replentish the Z protection, which is why I like Z7 so much. It's a great wash by itself, but when you factor in the added protection "refresh", it's worth its weight in gold. Where else can you wash and replentish protection at the same time??? :)



4 months is still great - that's 16 weeks in the CA sun. I'm willing to bet that with the S100, you're lucky to see 8 weeks.
 
it's been about 3 months since I last applied Zaino to my car (ungaraged, sometimes covered). After washing with Z7 - I was disappointed that the shine didn't get turned up a notch as usual. I thought the Z was waning. I doubled up on Z6 wipe down, and voila - that blinding Zaino shine is back, and has held up for a week now. Either way - still better durability than a carnauba. So - maybe give Z6 a shot before thinking the Z is worn out.
 
Thank you for the responses.



For reference, all six coats were applied with ZFX. I also think that Z-5 looks better. Quite the surprise that it may last longer. I Z-6 the car after every wash as part of my water spot policing. The car still looks wonderful by the way, it's just that my finger squeeks on the surface like mad.
 
This makes me very nervous....how am I going to get through the NY Winter with my Z? I am not able to Z-7 wash in Winter, only DIY baywashes and QEW wash sometimes and it is tough to Z-6 my car when it always seems too dirty for a QD. I have been using Z-7 in a spray bottle at the DIY wash instead of their soap so hopefully that will help me. I have 12 coats of Z-2, the last 6 about 5 weeks ago done with ZFX and the base for the first 6 coats was with Z-1 done over the course of the previous 6 months. I am still beading fairly well but some of the beads on the horizontal surfaces are getting larger.

I hope I can make it through Winter!!!!!:nixweiss
 
What I want to know is - how the heck do you know it isn't there any more? A waxless, polymer-less but freshly clayed and polished paint job will bead like the dickens, and a nicely waxed one with adhered crapola wlll not - so beading isn't a good way to measure.
 
carguy said:
What I want to know is - how the heck do you know it isn't there any more? A waxless, polymer-less but freshly clayed and polished paint job will bead like the dickens, and a nicely waxed one with adhered crapola wlll not - so beading isn't a good way to measure.
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:up I tried making the same point once. I'm totally with you on that. I think that sometimes we place too much trust in what the beads are telling us.



A lot of these products cause a pretty dramatic visual change when you first apply them, but if they wear off gradually then you can't even tell by the time they are gone. Kinda like putting a frog in a pot of water and turning up the heat. By the time it realizes that its hot, its too late. If a product wears off slowly then by the time its totally gone you won't even know it. That's why I like to add a coat of whatever I'm using every month or so just to stay on top of it.
 
carguy said:
What I want to know is - how the heck do you know it isn't there any more? A waxless, polymer-less but freshly clayed and polished paint job will bead like the dickens, and a nicely waxed one with adhered crapola wlll not - so beading isn't a good way to measure.
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I don't think that this would happen in any of these situations, because while brand new, undamaged/marred paint will bead water like nothing else, once you introduce 'damage' in the form of marring, swirls, fine scratches, etc., the paint won't bead like before.



Since what JustinTRW is apparently witnessing is a decreased amount of beading on his Zaino'd finish, which I'm assuming was not applied to brand new paint and was applied over paint that had been abraded by other products, I would assume that the paint would no longer bead water when wet, unless there was some sort of protection in place.



I also believe that we're talking about beading after a wash/during a wash; so, situation 2 probably isn't applicable? I may be completely confused - it happens regularly. :D



PS: And, I would expect a freshly clayed, polished surface to bead water like crazy - it does - b/c when I do my wash prior to applying Z (after clay/smr/p21sgepc), the water beads like mad, due to the oils in the products. I don't see the comparison?
 
Have to say on many cars the Zaino last for 6 months on it's own, sometimes without even washing. On Certain cars however hard I try I can't get the product to bead for more than a few weeks.



Again these cars that don't hold a bead but for a few weeks are in the minority. Seems to be mostly on BMW's. Now I have done several BMW's that have held beads for the usuall 5-6 months, but the few cars that don't hold the beads seem to be mostly BMW's. I always use Dawn and prep the car properly but every now and then Zaino won't bond.



On white cars I find dirt will embed(sp?) itself into the surface even after washing with Z6 and using Z7. Now these cars still have great beading action so I know their protected, but I have to use a cleaner wax on top to remove the dirt. This may compromise the bonding of the next layer of Zaino but I need to remove the dirt.



I always use ZFX just for increasing my chances of getting a good bond.



It's well known that Z-6 contains a surfactant that will kill the beads for a second or two until it washes off.
 
CharlesW said:
Do you do this often? :confused:



Charles
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All the time, man. Its the best way to make frog soup. ;) lol j/k



Haven't you ever heard that analogy before? Its super old. They used it in that volcano movie Dante's Peak. Its a good analogy I think. It just means that sometimes we are too involved in a process or situation to really notice the subtle changes untill its too late.
 
carguy said:
What I want to know is - how the heck do you know it isn't there any more? A waxless, polymer-less but freshly clayed and polished paint job will bead like the dickens, and a nicely waxed one with adhered crapola wlll not - so beading isn't a good way to measure.
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I never said it was completely gone, but it sure is hurting. I consider the product "gone" when an autopian would reapply. The car was swirled quite badly from delivery, so I have since used Meguiars #9 on the surface with a PC. That is the only abrasive product I have used thus far.



The car still beads very well, but I can expect that from relatively new paint (the car was built almost one year ago). What I am commenting on is the regular beads that my car produces vs. the super tight beads on the surface when the Z was more fresh. As far as I know, Zaino has no sheeting qualities. Also, the quality of the bead has degraded much more rapidly as of recently that it had in the beginning.



So what I do know for SURE Greg, is the following:

1) surface squeeks like bare paint

2) surface beads similar to bare paint

3) surface still looks great (but again, it's new paint)

4) surface is still very smooth, no need for clay.
 
I'm with steve on this one...



4 coats of Z5 with ZFX applied on our BLACK MB lasted about 4 months. The hood and roof still bead excellent, but the doors have water clinging to them like no tommorow. 4 months is pretty good, but i think Klasse SG lasted longer with less fuss (no dawn wash, mixing with ZFX etc.). With that said i am still sticking to Zaino :).
 
You all have good points. I evaluate durability by observing the change in the water beading and also the slickness. I have found that it's best to space apart coats of zaino. I usually put one- two coats on a month during the spring and summer, and it lasts all fall and winter, using a Z7 wash and Z6 whenever the weather allows (around every 3 weeks or so). My car is outside 24/7 too and a daily driver. The horizontal surfaces take a beating a little worse and you can see the degradation first on those surfaces. The vertical surfaces just keep on beading :)
 
Justin,



I think color definitely plays a factor in the durability of Zaino, or any other product for that matter. On my silver Honda, my Zaino layers were still beading very well after 6 months.



I re-applied a coat of Z-2 on the horizontal panels because I wanted to test out a new polish, but the vertical panels on my car still have the original coats applied almost 9 months ago now and are still beading at a satisfactory level.



Either this weekend or next weekend, I plan to switch my wife's black car to back Zaino which will mean I'll be using Z exclusively on both my cars. I find that this works best for me since work seems to be consuming most of my time these days. What I'm seeing with the Zaino layers on my Honda has me convinced that of all the products I've tried, Z is best at retaining its "freshly-applied" properties. It'll be interesting to see how well Z holds up on my wife's black bimmer.
 
EricGTI said:
This makes me very nervous....how am I going to get through the NY Winter with my Z? I am not able to Z-7 wash in Winter, only DIY baywashes and QEW wash sometimes and it is tough to Z-6 my car when it always seems too dirty for a QD. I have been using Z-7 in a spray bottle at the DIY wash instead of their soap so hopefully that will help me. I have 12 coats of Z-2, the last 6 about 5 weeks ago done with ZFX and the base for the first 6 coats was with Z-1 done over the course of the previous 6 months. I hope I can make it through Winter!!!!!:nixweiss
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Don't worry! You will make it fine!



Z7 is VERY concentrated. Make sure it is properly diluted. if you are using it in a spray bottle. Everytime you wash the car you should be following up with a QD of Z6. It will really boost the finish and help keep the slick feeling all winter long. :up
 
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