What a shine!

[xarir]

It took me a (long) while to get aroud to it, but I finally took the advice of several TERBites and tried Zaino Brother`s Car Polish.

http://www.zaino.ca/
http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

See also:

https://terb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=12342
https://terb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=53181
https://terb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=83105

I was a little skeptical at first, which is really what held me back. Even as I was applying that first coat, I was still kind of wondering. But when I buffed out the haze, I was seriously impressed. Once again the TERB collective wisdom came through for me.

My car is generally quite clean - I`m anal / insane enough to wash the car pretty much weekly in the summer and once / twice a month in the winter. In the summer months the car got a nice coat of Turtle Wax more or less every 6 weeks or so. Even in winter I would wax the car at least once. (I park in a heated underground garage on the weekend when I go into work. After work the car is warm enough to wax.) So take your pick - I`m anal / insane / obsessive compulsive / all of the above about the way the car looks.

The instructions to the Zaino system were not the best - the website is replete with grammatical errors. The use of the Imperial system didn`t help me very much either. Also, since I`ve used regular wax quite religiously it took several extra steps to remove the wax prior to the application of Zaino. But, once I puzzled out the instructions and did the work, I felt it was worth the effort.

While waxing the car gave a nice shine to it, the Zaino process adds a buttery-smooth finish to it. Ever run your hand over a new Rolls Royce? That`s what Zaino feels like; no bumps, no grit, no unevenness - just a smooth, clean, polished feel.

If you`re looking for a great shine with a clean, smooth finish, look no further than Zaino.

 

[xarir]

Summary of How To Apply Zaino

1. Wash car with dish soap. Recommended is Dawn but I used Palmolive. This step helps to remove a lot of the pre-existing wax you may have previously applied.

2. Use clay bar to remove any other wax buildup, dust, grit etc. Just mix a bit of proper car wash fluid with water. I used a cloth to gently wipe a bit of the car then ran the clay bar over the moist panels.

3. Wash car using car wash fluid. (Not soap.)

4. Once car is dry, apply Zaino Z5. Mix a little bit of Z5 with 3 drops of the ZFX (blue stuff). I used about 20 mL of Z5 and had some left over. You don't need much Z5 here. It's hard to see it haze but it does work. Remember - use sparingly.

5. Buff Z5 off using cotton towels.

6. Spray some Z6 "gloss enhancer" and wipe off with more cotton towels.

7. If desired, polish again with Z2 + ZFX. You' should use Z6 again after you've buffed Z2 off.

It sounds like a lot of work and it is. But from this point forward, I don't feel like I need to clay the car. In fact, given the state of my finish I'm not convinced that claying actually did anything. (It didn't hurt though.) I suspect that if you park your car outside, claying is a must. Otherwise if you car finish is reasonably smooth then you might skip that step. YMMV of course. For me I think I can now get away with doing Z5 + Z6 or Z2 + Z6 on their own. In other words, once you've "Zaino'd" your car the first time, subsequent applications should be pretty easy.

 

[thewheelman]

Additional coats really enhance the depth of the shine, and apply quicker than the first coat.

The Zaino webpage discusses the "100% Cotten Towel" myth, and rightly so. You should get some micro-fibre towels for washing, drying and polishing. Everything else will scratch the finish.

Small micro-fibre towels are available at Cosco, large ones, made by Simoniz, can be found at Canadain tire.