Applied Zaino over the weekend (pics)

[Eric S.]

My informal poll on the Roadfly forum indicated that Zaino is as shiny as Zymol but lasts longer, and is cheaper.

One thing for sure: Zaino is laborious:
Steps required:
- Wash with Dawn (to remove any existing polish/wax)
- Clay bar (I could have skipped the clay, my car was in good shape already
- Wash again
- (extra step I threw in) Remove all water spots and minimize swirls with 3M Perfect-It glaze for dark color cars
- Apply & remove Zaino polish for dark color cars (#5) with hardener
- Apply & remove Zaino #6 spray-n-shine
- Apply & remove Zaino #2 Polish, with hardener
- Apply & remove Zaino #6 spray-n-shine

It doesn't look like 130K-mile paint (yet it is!), except for the road rash in the front (look near front grills).

[d3ity]

I've always been curious about zaino, Is it really worth the money? I've been generally happy with the meguiars products I've used, is it really that great of an improvement?

I'm all for spending inordinate ammounts of money on car care, I just want to know if the improvement over the "mid-range" of car care products gives that dramatic of a result.

[thejobman]

Nice! Finally got to see your car from the front, lol

I use Meguiar's products like d3ity, they seem to work ok for me. I just moved, but when I get my home comp set up, I will deff add pics aswell.

[d3ity]

Meguiars

They make just about anything you could ever imagine. Hell, if you've got a blemish on your paint from alien abuction, they probably make a Medium cut alien goo remover, paint cleaner, polish, and abduction repellant wax.

They're the kind of company that has a product for every animal in the zoo so to speak.

[Eric S.]

I agree Meguiar's is good stuff. The reason I went with Zaino is because our local BMW CCA chapter sposored a Zymol demonstration and it was impressive. I did a quick poll on Roadfly's E39 forum and found that almost every person who'd tried both Zymol and Zaino preferred Zaino for its longevity. Further, Zaino Brother's stuff was a little bit cheaper than Zymol.

As indicated, there's no doubt that the Zaino product produces a nearly flawless shine that's very deep and butter-smooth, but I was irritated at how difficult the Zaino polish was to remove. Both coats were equallly tough.

That's why I think, considering application effort and sweat factor, there must be a better product out there. I've tried Finish First polish products and have been happy with them. A Finish First kit (paint cleaner, polish, and car wash) is only about $35 or so. The Zaino kit I bought cost $81 and included: two clay bars, spray-n-shine (use with or without clay), hardener/accelerant, #5 dark color/anti-swirl polish, and #2 Regular polish, plus about 3 applicator pads, and a really neat sticker (yippee).

The best paint cleaning/glaze product I've used is 3M "Perfect-It" - it is awesome for dark colors.

[superdeadman]

3M makes excellent products for the cars!

the only thing that i've used and will be using soon is Rejex - kinda like a wax, some shine, but it protect the paint. When birds poop - the poop don't stick in hot weather, you can easily wipe it off with a paper towel - which means washing the car will be very very easy and fast.

[d3ity]

Originally Posted by Eric S.

The best paint cleaning/glaze product I've used is 3M "Perfect-It" - it is awesome for dark colors.

Yeah, I'll drink to that. That stuff is AMAZING, especially on black cars....and as they say with all luxury cars and most sportscars...

"You can get it in any color you can imagine, as long as it's black."

[cnn]

Originally Posted by d3ity

Yeah, I'll drink to that. That stuff is AMAZING, especially on black cars....and as they say with all luxury cars and most sportscars...

"You can get it in any color you can imagine, as long as it's black."

a $7 bottle as good as $25 bottle.

[d3ity]

Originally Posted by cnn

a $7 bottle as good as $25 bottle.

thats my question.... is zaino really worth all the extra bank.

[cnn]

Originally Posted by d3ity

thats my question.... is zaino really worth all the extra bank.

with:

1. Wash with a bucket of water and only 2-3 drops of Palmolive dishwasher detergent.
(The makers of car soap always use scare tactic to scare people so peopl use all kinds of car soaps).
In fact dirt is dirt and Palmolive works just fine.
The key thing is concentration, do not use any soap in heavy concentration.
Actually diluted Palmolive cleans all grease and dirt very well.
Rinse it then dry it.

2. Use "Nu-Finish", $7/bottle.

Even the dealer compliments my waxing techniques.

[gotKRAUT]

sweet now do about 6 more coats...and im not kidding thats what that stuff is great for...just ask alex AJs320i, he is like the detailing/Zaino GOD lol

and BTW it should be Dawn, Clay bar, dawn, Z1, Z5, Z2 is pretty much ideal...then you can run a couple more coats of Z2 but you gotta wait like 24 hours between coats...

BTW: NuFinish, will never, and i repeat, NEVER give you a finish like this after 6 months....




Here is before yes, that is the same paint:

[Eric S.]

Originally Posted by gotKRAUT

sweet now do about 6 more coats...and im not kidding thats what that stuff is great for...just ask alex AJs320i, he is like the detailing/Zaino GOD lol

Sorry, but I developed tennis elbow and a rotator cuff tear from just the two coats of Zaino that I DID apply, because of how frickin' difficult-to-remove Zaino is once it's cured.

Maybe I'll throw another coat on there after the next time I wash the car. If my arm has recovered...