Dave N
My PC goes to 7...
Since the "other" detailing site seems to be down for the count, I found my way over here to post my first impressions of Zaino Z-PC.
I guess I'm just lucky in the respect that UPS gets my orders from the Zaino store to me in 2 days. I ordered a bottle of Z-PC on Wednesday and it arrived on Friday, just in time to detail my parents' minivan for Father's Day.
The aim of this detail was to clean and seal the paint -- no swirl removal. Here's what I did:
2004 Town & Country light blue minivan
Dawn wash
Light clay
Z-PC w/Sonus orange pad
Z-6 wipe-down
Z-2 Pro (x1)
Z-8
Here are my observations regarding Z-PC
Consistency - Out of the bottle it reminds me of #80 Speed Glaze. It has a medium consistency with little bead-like chunks in it (I guess those are the "ultra-intelligent abrasives"). The color is green/yellow and it has a sickening mellon scent (I personally despise "scents" in detailing products, but I'm sure others will love the smell).
Application - I kept the speed of my PC at 4.5 the whole time, and tried to keep the pad just a little damp by periodically spritzing with Z-6. I found that the Z-PC broke down too quickly for my liking with a dry pad, but with just a little extra moisture I could easily work it for twice as long.
Performance - In all honesty, I must say that this is one of the most effective paint cleaners that I have ever used. I know that people rave about AIO, but I've just never been able to get AIO to actually "clean" well for me. Maybe it was the Sonus orange pad (my first time using this brand of OP, but I've used others in the past), or a combination of the pad and the Z-PC, but this stuff really cleaned the paint well. There were several spots of tar, etc. that I missed with the clay, and they came off easier than I have ever experienced with a little pressure and a couple of extra passes. With other cleaners/polishes, I can make several passes over similar contaminants without much results. Product removal was very easy, and the Z-PC left the paint with a silky smooth feel, compared to the "squeaky-clean" feel like Menzerna polishes.
Dusting - Z-PC dusts just about as badly as anything I've used. I suppose it has to do with the fact that it is water based and doesn't contain any oils. I found that I could minimize dusting by removing it immediately after application.
Pad Clogging - As long as I kept the pad moist, it didn't seem to get too gummed up. Half way through, I rinsed the pad out with the hose, and all of the Z-PC residue came out nicely. However, after I was through cleaning the paint, I let the pad sit for a couple of hours while I applied the Z-2. Big mistake! The dried Z-PC was VERY difficult to remove, even with Dawn and hot water, and in fact it is still soaking.
Z-2 Application - One final note here -- I have had a fair amount of experience applying Zaino sealants (three different versions of Z-2 and two versions of Z-5), and this time the Z-2 Pro went on more easily than I have ever experienced. A LOT more easily. I always use the same type of applicator (Meguiar's yellow foam pad), so that wasn't a factor. The only thing I can think of that was different this time was the Z-PC.
Well, there are my initial thoughts on Z-PC. I can't comment on the swirl-removing qualities because I wasn't trying to remove swirls, just clean the paint. As a result, I didn't spend a lot of time on any one panel, or crank the PC up. But for paint cleaning it worked very well, in my opinion. I will definitely use this product again.
Here's a final +/- overview:
Pluses
Cleans paint very well
Easy to apply
Easy to remove
Made Z-2 Pro application very easy
Rinses out of pad with cold water (if not dry)
Minuses
Dusting
Very difficult to clean out of pad if left to dry
Sorry, no pics...
I guess I'm just lucky in the respect that UPS gets my orders from the Zaino store to me in 2 days. I ordered a bottle of Z-PC on Wednesday and it arrived on Friday, just in time to detail my parents' minivan for Father's Day.
The aim of this detail was to clean and seal the paint -- no swirl removal. Here's what I did:
2004 Town & Country light blue minivan
Dawn wash
Light clay
Z-PC w/Sonus orange pad
Z-6 wipe-down
Z-2 Pro (x1)
Z-8
Here are my observations regarding Z-PC
Consistency - Out of the bottle it reminds me of #80 Speed Glaze. It has a medium consistency with little bead-like chunks in it (I guess those are the "ultra-intelligent abrasives"). The color is green/yellow and it has a sickening mellon scent (I personally despise "scents" in detailing products, but I'm sure others will love the smell).
Application - I kept the speed of my PC at 4.5 the whole time, and tried to keep the pad just a little damp by periodically spritzing with Z-6. I found that the Z-PC broke down too quickly for my liking with a dry pad, but with just a little extra moisture I could easily work it for twice as long.
Performance - In all honesty, I must say that this is one of the most effective paint cleaners that I have ever used. I know that people rave about AIO, but I've just never been able to get AIO to actually "clean" well for me. Maybe it was the Sonus orange pad (my first time using this brand of OP, but I've used others in the past), or a combination of the pad and the Z-PC, but this stuff really cleaned the paint well. There were several spots of tar, etc. that I missed with the clay, and they came off easier than I have ever experienced with a little pressure and a couple of extra passes. With other cleaners/polishes, I can make several passes over similar contaminants without much results. Product removal was very easy, and the Z-PC left the paint with a silky smooth feel, compared to the "squeaky-clean" feel like Menzerna polishes.
Dusting - Z-PC dusts just about as badly as anything I've used. I suppose it has to do with the fact that it is water based and doesn't contain any oils. I found that I could minimize dusting by removing it immediately after application.
Pad Clogging - As long as I kept the pad moist, it didn't seem to get too gummed up. Half way through, I rinsed the pad out with the hose, and all of the Z-PC residue came out nicely. However, after I was through cleaning the paint, I let the pad sit for a couple of hours while I applied the Z-2. Big mistake! The dried Z-PC was VERY difficult to remove, even with Dawn and hot water, and in fact it is still soaking.
Z-2 Application - One final note here -- I have had a fair amount of experience applying Zaino sealants (three different versions of Z-2 and two versions of Z-5), and this time the Z-2 Pro went on more easily than I have ever experienced. A LOT more easily. I always use the same type of applicator (Meguiar's yellow foam pad), so that wasn't a factor. The only thing I can think of that was different this time was the Z-PC.
Well, there are my initial thoughts on Z-PC. I can't comment on the swirl-removing qualities because I wasn't trying to remove swirls, just clean the paint. As a result, I didn't spend a lot of time on any one panel, or crank the PC up. But for paint cleaning it worked very well, in my opinion. I will definitely use this product again.
Here's a final +/- overview:
Pluses
Cleans paint very well
Easy to apply
Easy to remove
Made Z-2 Pro application very easy
Rinses out of pad with cold water (if not dry)
Minuses
Dusting
Very difficult to clean out of pad if left to dry
Sorry, no pics...
), we will be able to find the right dosage in which the dust production will cease. I have used PB SSR1 and AIO and both produced dust when I initially used these products. As I became more familiar with these products the dust production ended with equivalent swirl removal as the dusting dose.
nthespot