Help! Paint / Zaino question

[Tig]

I've been trying (for a while now) to patiently remove the swirl marks from my paint using Z-5. I've been using most of the Zaino stuff for over two years. However, on my rear bumper and hood there are swirls / fine scratches that just won't give up the goat. Seems as if I've put on Z-5 so often they should be gone...

[Joe 1320]

That depends..... Deep scratches will never disappear, but swirls should blend in well if you are allowing the zaino to cure overnight. I found that letting it sit overnight, then buffing it off and letting it sit in the sun all day allows the best cure. Don't add coat after coat immediatly, the zaino isn't building up in layers when you do that. 5-7 coats of Z5 with the gloss enhancer in between each coat gives awesome results. Then follow up with the Z2 with multiple coats. If the scratch is deep, zaino isn't going to make it disappear.

[markd79ta]

Originally posted by Joe 1320
Don't add coat after coat immediatly, the zaino isn't building up in layers when you do that. 5-7 coats of Z5 with the gloss enhancer in between each coat gives awesome results. Then follow up with the Z2 with multiple coats. If the scratch is deep, zaino isn't going to make it disappear.

Joe,

Exactly what is Z5 suppose to do? Does it fill fine scratches in the clear creating a smooth surface? I haven't had a chance to use any of the Zaino products. I definitely know autobody, painting, and I am extremely good at buffing as in I am going to open a shop when I have the money to do so. Anyhow, I blocked this hood down with 2000 grit sandpaper (typical color sanding after painting), removing all of the HVLP typical orange peel as well as some of the imperfections. The bumper cover was also blocked down removing some of the rock chips, etc. It was pretty easy to bring it back to a mirror finish with my 3M professional compounds. Anyhow, swirls are pretty easy to buff out with my old school ways, but I am always open to new suggestions. I am sure Zaino has its place with care and maintenance, and perhaps I can learn how to use it properly. Exactly what do these polishes do, and how are they different from the polishing hand glazes that I have used in the past?

[Joe 1320]

The deal with Zaino is that it build up in layers and is 99% optically pure. It fills in the swirls and straightens the light as it passes through the surface, making the swirls less noticable. I've tried every product on the market, to me nothing compares to Zaino. You must use the whole system from the polish to the wash concentrate, but the results are stellar. Last month I pulled into the dealership to check out a 02 Ram Air T/A they took on trade. It was black just like mine, but to look at the two side by side was an embarassment on their part. The salesman swore that I had a custom paint job. Mine literally looked like wet, black ice. The car on their lot had 100K less miles, had swirls in the paint and in general looked crappy in comparison. Funny thing is that they were calling it "mint". Once you try Zaino, you'll never use anything else.

http://www.zainobros.com

[markd79ta]

Originally posted by Joe 1320
The deal with Zaino is that it build up in layers and is 99% optically pure. It fills in the swirls and straightens the light as it passes through the surface, making the swirls less noticable. I've tried every product on the market, to me nothing compares to Zaino. You must use the whole system from the polish to the wash concentrate, but the results are stellar. Last month I pulled into the dealership to check out a 02 Ram Air T/A they took on trade. It was black just like mine, but to look at the two side by side was an embarassment on their part. The salesman swore that I had a custom paint job. Mine literally looked like wet, black ice. The car on their lot had 100K less miles, had swirls in the paint and in general looked crappy in comparison. Funny thing is that they were calling it "mint". Once you try Zaino, you'll never use anything else.

http://www.zainobros.com

How durable/water resistant is the film placed on the car? Does it protect against sand and salts on the road...like on a daily driver? My paint looks as though it has 10,000 miles not 100,000 miles. It was show room perfect before I started school and neglected it. I have always been reluctant to try Zaino because this was a question to me. Now that I retired the car, I think I will order some, and see how it goes.

[Joe 1320]

Durability is incrediable. For the fist 5 years, the car was outside 24/7 and looked like it was garage kept. Here in Florida, everything else cooks off the car in no time. We also have these pests called love bugs. They contain an acid in their blood. Nothing will eat them and they are like a plague twice a year. If left on the car, the acid will eat through the paint. With Zaino, they come right off. This stuff has a UV of spf 40 and I would guess lasts twice as long as anything else. Believe me when I tell you that I am the most picky person when it come to automotive stuff, you'll be satisfied.

[markd79ta]

Originally posted by Joe 1320
Durability is incrediable. For the fist 5 years, the car was outside 24/7 and looked like it was garage kept. Here in Florida, everything else cooks off the car in no time. We also have these pests called love bugs. They contain an acid in their blood. Nothing will eat them and they are like a plague twice a year. If left on the car, the acid will eat through the paint. With Zaino, they come right off. This stuff has a UV of spf 40 and I would guess lasts twice as long as anything else. Believe me when I tell you that I am the most picky person when it come to automotive stuff, you'll be satisfied.

The site points to hand application. Can a orbital buffer be used, or is that bad? I am thinking about color sanding the car to a perfect satin finish, removing the factory orange peel, and using the Zaino polish to see how it comes out. It is amazing to feel the paint after detailing it. If I get the paint to perfect condition, it should look pretty good. However, my hood does have little dust in it from the garage paint job...oh well.

I am ordering some so wish me luck! Hopefully, my experience won't work against me

[Joe 1320]

Do not use an orbital buffer. The polish system works best when applied in certain directions. Go to their website and read through the tips section and you'll see what I am referring to.

[Tig]

Thanks for the advice guys, I'm putting on the next coat over the weekend, so I'll let you know how it goes after I fiish.
*crosses fingers*

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

Originally posted by Joe 1320
The deal with Zaino is that it build up in layers and is 99% optically pure.

No way is it 99% optically pure. On a bright sunny day, I held up my bottle of Zaino and blocked out the sun with it and couldn't see light through it at all. It is opaque. You can see through metal if it is thin enough, but anything 99% optically pure would transmit a lot of light, even in a thick layer.

[Joe 1320]

You are confusing optical transparency and optically pure. You just demostrated optical transparency. What Zaino does that is different than regular polishes and waxes is that Zaino doesn't disperse light on a treated surface the way wax does. When the light reflects off the paint with a waxed surface, light rays scatter in a non linear direction. With Zaino, the light is "straightened" and reflects in a straighted direction. That is what enables scratches to blend in with the rest of the painted panel.

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

Gee, I dunno. When I was studying optics in the Navy, then again in college, they forgot to mention that. Maybe you can explain how 75 coats of opaque pink Zaino on a curved surface bounces the rays straight back at you. I've heard all kinds of explanations about why this stuff is so great, but I still contend that if you have rubbed your whole car over 150 times or whatever, you have rubbed it smooth, and that's why it looks good. I haven't seen any proof that this stuff is better than any other finish product and if you have to apply it that many times to get it shiny and protect the paint, then how great can it be? I'm not saying your cars don't look good, but I challenge someone to measure a coated area next to an adjacent non-coated area and tell me how many mils thick it is after 75 coatings. After using it on the front of my car and having some smashed bugs eat through the paint in only 2 hours, I concluded that stuff wasn't protecting the paint at all. the only advantage I have found in using it is that it seems not to attract as much dust on the rear fascia.

We all take really good care of our cars and pay careful attention to detailing - that's why they look good.

[Joe 1320]

Kevin, I studied optics in college myself. I can simlify it this way. It is like the difference between clear monofilament and fiber optical cable. Monofilament disperses light when it passes through, yet fiber optic strands let the light pass with a 1000% less dispersion.

It is evident by previous posts that you feel that rubbing the car many times will produce the same results. So be it. I am not a distributer for Zaino, I don't make a dime off of it, I am a paying customer who used to run a detail business while attending college. My personal opinion is that Zaino lasts longer and look s better on a car than any other product and believe me, I've tried them all. Let's just say we disagree and we'll let it end there.

[N20LT4Bird]

I tend to agree with Joe, just not so whole heartedly. Zaino is a nice product. I only put 3 coats on my car, and it looks better than ever. Is it worth the money? Well, probably. I will continue to coat it until my supply is gone and see how it looks. My car is silver though, so it will never have that mirror finish like Joe's. It does have a very nice slick look to it though.

I brought my 69 GTO out to go to a local cruise night last week and have not done any Zainoing to it, but I did squirt it with the gloss enhancer just to clean it up a bit and that works better than any other ive tried as well - mothers, maguiers etc...

I wont try to comment on the optics of the product.

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

Joe, that's cool with me. I know you guys have had success with the product & really like it a lot. I get all of the same comments on my car regarding it being custom paint etc., and I chalk it up to good detailing. They always want to know what product I use & I'm always trying new stuff. I don't think there are any miracle products out there, though. I still think Zaino smells like Pepto Bismol, but I haven't had the guts to drink any of it yet.