Does anyone still Zaino?

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Uranium235

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Hi everyone, new in town, but not new to detailing...just to detailing correctly. I learned that for nearly 10 years, I have been using my PC wrong!
Moving on...I have a brand new car that was not dealer detailed, I watched them pull the plastic wrapping off the paint and everything! This is my first car with white paint, but I am still swirl-allergic. I ordered a few Zaino products (had I gone on here prior to my order, I'd have gotten Wolfgang instead). My questions are:

1. I know what Sal says, but can I apply Z-AIO with a Griot's red pad?
2. I know what Sal says, but can I apply Z-5 with a Griot's red pad, or a LC black pad?
3. Can I expect good results with this combination? I will be using a light clay bar prior to AIO, but no need to compound or polish anything. If this isn't a decent combo, I have lots of products on the shelf.

Thanks guys, this board has been very helpful!

Matt
 
I don't know if you've used ZAIO before, but like most AIO's it's a little finicky by machine, just use a very small amount or it will tend to gum up on you. The red pad is ok, I would more likely use something a little stiffer, if all you have is Griot's I'd use the orange, then go to red or black for the Z-5. On the other hand, if the paint is perfect and you don't really need to clean it with the ZAIO but only prime for the Z-5, then the red pad should be fine. I just have found that with the soft pads it's hard to work the ZAIO enough.

It's a good combo, nothing wrong with the Zaino stuff. Still waiting for Sal to come out with something new, the last entry on the "what's new" page of his website is from Feb. 2007.
 
Thanks! AIO is paid for and delivered. This winter I will be re-doing my Viper, which is 13 years old and swirl city. Looking at CCS pads Mezerna, and Wolfgang for that one, but the immediate priority is the new car. It gets driven daily and I want to keep it looking good. So far it's had Griot's Best Of Show (which sucked), and Pinnacle something or other (sample - thanks AG!), which I liked...I went back to Zaino after a long time away because even though it's not the best, it was at least a known quantity. Never used the AIO though.
 
I no longer use Zaino but did use it for years. Setec is right on. Use ALL Zaino products sparingly, i.e. not a lot of product on the pad and super, super thin on the Z-5.

I always used ZAIO on my PC with a white LC pad. Just liked the slightly firmer feel of white vs. black or softer. I liked to work it into the paint and let it do it's thing. I applied my Z polishes (Z-2/Z-5/ZCS) with a gold LC pad. Black or red LC pads would work as well. Sorry, don't have a reference to the Griots pads and their scales of firmness/softness.
 
I still used Zaino. As a matter of fact I just used some Z16 on my tires. I still love Z10 Leather and some of the other products. Z8 is an awesome spray wax.
 
I will add that when i finally exhausted all my inventory of Zaino stuff and abandoned it for Blackfire Wet Diamond sealant, i had a bunch of ZAIO left over. I still have some and use it occassionally for chemically cleaning some paints. It's great stuff and makes short work of removing transferred "rubs" on paint...things that are above the paint surface from other things like, door ding paint, bollard paint, garage edge rubs, etc. You will like it but again, as Setec mentioned, don't saturate your pad with it. A little goes a long way with Zaino.

I also use DG501 as nubaseal suggested now. Love that stuff as my ZAIO replacement. That and BFGEPC.
 
I used Z back a few yrs ago and because its so easy to use, I find using a machine too time consuming with all the putting it down and picking it up, especially with how Z just seems to disappear basically when you start to apply it, especially in your case with white. I would do a clay barring, then AIO and then as many coats of Z-5, do you have ZFX with it?

Sent from my SPH-M930 using AG Online
 
I didn't bother with the ZFX. The only advantage I saw was waiting between coats...I prefer to wait between coats. It gives me more time with the car before I have to return it to the missus.
:)
 
Uranium235 said:
I didn't bother with the ZFX. The only advantage I saw was waiting between coats...I prefer to wait between coats. It gives me more time with the car before I have to return it to the missus.
:)
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There's nothing wrong with waiting inbetween coats for sure, its just that the ZFX let's you apply 2-3 coats in a row and since Zaino is so easy to apply/remove that once your in the groove you just wanna keep going and not a lot of time has gone by.

Btw do you apply Z-5 to the windows? I ask because I apply all LSP's to the glassn except KSG and it works out great!

Sent from my SPH-M930 using AG Online
 
I do to the side windows. Front and rear get Griot's Glass Sealant. But that may change in the near future, I am not sure I dig the Griot's.
 
Uranium235 said:
I didn't bother with the ZFX. The only advantage I saw was waiting between coats...I prefer to wait between coats. It gives me more time with the car before I have to return it to the missus.
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Klasse Act said:
There's nothing wrong with waiting inbetween coats for sure, its just that the ZFX let's you apply 2-3 coats in a row and since Zaino is so easy to apply/remove that once your in the groove you just wanna keep going and not a lot of time has gone by.
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I find ZFX makes the product easier to apply as well, plus the durability increase.
 
I didn't realize there was a durability increase. I've used ZFX before (when it was first released around 2003 if I recall), but all the hassle that went with mixing in the little bottles, cleaning the little bottles right after, etc., was getting to be a pain. Went with AIO to eliminate that.
 
Uranium235 said:
I didn't realize there was a durability increase. I've used ZFX before (when it was first released around 2003 if I recall), but all the hassle that went with mixing in the little bottles, cleaning the little bottles right after, etc., was getting to be a pain. Went with AIO to eliminate that.
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Yeah, I hear you. I always used ZFX until ZAIO came out, and then I wondered why the sealant was so much harder to apply/remove. Maybe it's my imagination but the ZFX seems to let you spread thinner and easier.
 
Have used the Zaino product line extensively in the past but as it was pointed out before (in other thread) they seem to be rebranded Duragloss products. Leather in a bottle has been my favorite smelling leather product and did find the DG equivalency so happy once again. The fact that Sal has not really progressed is one of the reason I haven't used the product line in years. As Setec stated, there is nothing wrong with Zaino products, but in my opinion there are better products on the market and newer technology that has left Zaino way behind the 8 ball.
 
I agree with Sal's lack of progression. I will counter that with the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and he still, i am sure, has hundreds of thousands of users worldwide most likely. Zaino was incredibally huge in the Corvette community and probably still is. I have to think, though, Sal isn't blind to all the sealants and coatings on the market now. I would think he would light a fire under his chemist to get a coating on the market!

I also noticed a durability extension with ZFX. Yes, it was kind of a pain to mix it up and make sure you don't let it exceed it's mix time but doing it maybe every 6 months i got used to. I remember one of my neighbors some years ago getting a kick out of the science lab approach!
 
Puckman said:
I agree with Sal's lack of progression. I will counter that with the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"
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Yeah, definitely no flavor-of-the-month or new product treadmill there. On the other hand isn't half the fun of this hobby buying new stuff that we're only going to use an ounce of and then move on to the next new thing? Or worse, I try not to use the new stuff until I use up some of the old stuff...you have no idea how many unopened bottles I have...doesn't seem to stop me from buying new stuff...when does the sale end? Tonight or tomorrow night?? I don't have my Blackfire trim stuff yet...
 
Corvette guys do love their Zaino, almost as much as their nylon Corvette jackets. All kidding aside, back when I was a Mustang guy, I would get a good base coat going, then wash the car weekly and Z5 it weekly/every other week. That's what I planned on for the new car. So durability isn't a huge issue...unless I get lazy about it over the winter, which has been known to happen.
There's a NAPA near me...sure wish I would have known this Duragloss secret a week ago! I will have to find that thread.
 
Uranium235 said:
sure wish I would have known this Duragloss secret a week ago! I will have to find that thread.
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I don't know, there undoubtedly are some strange coincidences between the product lines, but I never seem to be able to get the same performance out of the DG sealants as I do from the Zaino.
 
I used to be a Zaino guy, however, I no longer use any of their products. I use other products from AGO and other sources. Zaino is good but I feel there are better products out there
 
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