Ok, first the guilty admission... I've never waxed/polished a car to date (previous cars: Plymouth Sundance and Dodge Neon... so do you really blame me???) I plan to take car of my Legend Lime Mustang due to arrive next week. I've read many threads in regards to detailing and went ahead and ordered a Zaino kit (for it's quality, durability, and ease of application). So I'm wondering.... is the Zaino's process, including claying, so idiot proof that I can't screw up the finish (due to my lack of detailing experience)???

I've read the instructions which seem pretty straight forward and feel comfortable... but in the back of mind I still have some concern about doing more harm than good in doing my first claying/polishing on my prize vehicle... my intentions were to do a practice detail (clay/polish) on my Neon but it doesn't appear that I'll have a chance to do so before the Mustang arrives... so would you suggest going ahead and doing my first clay/polish on the Mustang when it arrives or leave the Mustang naked a couple weeks until I've practiced on the Neon?

btw. The Dealer just gives the car a wash when it comes in, right? They Don't normally apply any sort of wax or polish, do they? Thanks for any suggestions...

 

Umm. I would like to add that I am in the exact same boat, already have the Zaino & am scared to death to actually use it when my new baby comes in next week. So can anyone comment on this for us?

 

OK, I can help you here, but first....What is a "Zaino"? Is it some type of clay detailing kit? Cause you don't need to clay the car unless the paint is oxidized, which a new car will not be.

When you get the car wash it and keep it clean for about a week or so. It takes about 15 to 30 days for all of the thinners from the painting process to fully evaporate. Washing it will not hurt the paint, but you don't want to wax it yet and trap the thinners under the wax, they need time to evaporate and fully cure the paint.

Then, you want to do a three step process. first apply a micro finising compound to make the paint smooth. UsE SMALL AMOUNTS. This stuff is a very fine abrasive and it will smooth the paint and remove any slight imperfections in the paint.

Then apply a hand glaze over all of the painted surfaces. This fills all of the microscopic swril makrs from the first step and further smooths out the paint.

Finally, apply a coat of good quality wax. I like Meguires Carnuba but any good quality wax will work. When you buff off the wax, follow up with a soft terry cloth to buff the wax to a high luster.

When you are all done, you should be able to slide a soft rag across the hood an it will feel like glass. The rag should slide easily because there is no friction grabbing the fibers in the rag.

Do this process twice a year and wax the car four times a year. This will keep the paint from oxidizing and fading.

You can get the micro finishing compound and the hand glaze at any auto paint supply store. Apply it by hand. You may be tempted to use a buffer but you risk burning through the paint on the hard edges of the body. Applying by hand gives you more control, and allows you to "feel" the paint as you work the products over the paint.

Good luck. It's not easy but the results are well worth it! Send pics when you are done!

 

When you get the car wash it and keep it clean for about a week or so. It takes about 15 to 30 days for all of the thinners from the painting process to fully evaporate. Washing it will not hurt the paint, but you don't want to wax it yet and trap the thinners under the wax, they need time to evaporate and fully cure the paint.



You do not need to wait, you can apply it when you get the car. Paint is heat baked from the factory and is fully cured when it arrives. Just follow the instructions in the Zaino kit and it will be a breeze. And yes you should claybar it after washing.

 

This has been discussed extensively here and the consensus is that new cars should be clay barred due to rail dust and other paint damaging materials your car can pick up before you even get it. Just be sure to wash it before clay barring. With todays paint application process at the factory, it's no longer necessary to wait for the paint to cure. You can wax/polish immediately. Hope this helps!

 

I'm intrigued by the Zaino phenomenon on these boards. Naturally, I want to take the best possible care of my new car when it arrives, but I've been told that the best way to maintain a car's finish is to leave it alone. I've heard that the less you touch it, the better off it will be.

When I was growing up, I learned that it was appropriate to wax your car once a year. Nowadays, I wonder if these companies are trying to move more products off the shelves by convincing us it must be done two, three, or four times a year! I would think once would be enough for most people, twice if you live in an area with a lot of acid rain.

 

I owned a laser red 1998 mustang that i used to wax every other week.
yes you heard me right every other week.
Ive been told im **** but anyway. I belonged to a mustang car club so i would use spray detailer in between wax jobs. This car was so slick that nothing would stick to it.
It got to the point that I could wash and wax the car in less then a 1/2 hour. I used to get many compliments on this car.
In fact the finish was so good that if you parked it next to another laser red car it actually looked like a different color, looked much deeped like you were looking in a mirror.
My point is i may have gone a little over board but I think a good regular wax job every so often is a great way to protect your investment. I would never just leave it alone.
In fact i got more then book value for the car when i traded in. The sales manager had about 6 different people look the car over and could not find one swirl mark or scratch.
Just my 2 cents

 

I should send you some pictures of our Explorer that we use for the horses. Got to a point where nothing was ever done except washing because it was getting dirty all the time at the barn. Sun ate it up. Paint is now gone. So much for doing nothing but wash.

ANYONE that believes doing nothing to their paint and expects it to look good after a few years use is nuts.

I wax my car with Zaino a couple of times a quarter. My car is wahsed every week. My Cobra is 6 years old and I STILL have people come up to me on a REGUALR basis asking me how I keep the paint lookng so good.

I am also confused why some of you are "scared" to use Zaino ??? It is the easiest stuff on the planet to use. Just go to their site and follwo the directions. How tough can it be ???

heck, you can even put the stuff on in the sun. The only way you are gong to screw it up is if you use sand paper to put it on or take it off ....

 

Allright Silly,
First don't be scared. This is easy. Second, don't listen to anyone telling you to wait or not to use wax. Paint needs protection and modern factory finishes are baked on so they do not need time to "cure".
I would personnally talk to your dealer and give specific instructions for the car not to be washed or waxed at all. Your car will have rail dust on it from the train ride and the dealer is not going to take the necessary precautions to make sure your car doesn't get scratched.
The only possible mistake you could make that would really damage your paint is with the clay bar. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS ZAINO GIVES. If you drop the bar on the ground just throw it away, don't try to save it. Since the car is new, use only very light pressure and keep the bar well lubricated and you will be fine. Remember Zaino offers lots of extra little tips on their website to help out!
One thing that you may want to consider is setting your goals...lol. When I got my new GT I wanted to stop after my first coat of Zaino (I was getting tired). So tell yourself to keep going until you reach your goal. Set aside a good six hour block and a bucket of motivation. The car will look great after just claying, but remember it needs the wax for protection! I personnally used one coat of Z5 and then two coats of Z2 with Z6 in between.
Also, let us know what you think of the product for all the other guys/gals that doubt thevalidity of all the praise those of us that use Zaino give.

 

1) BAKED is the key. The paint is baked in basically a giant oven. When it comes out, it is DONE. This is NOT the same as the heat lamps used by many shops to speed up drying. They do not cure the paint all the way to the metal the way the factory baking does, so aftermarket repaints DO need to sit unprotected for a while to allow them to finish up.

2) Zaino is VERY easy to apply. The hardest part for me is not using too much. It goes on very thin, so you start to think you are not applying enough, when you are actually hitting that "just right" stage. It does not go on with a thick glaze the way a wax would.

3) clay baring is DEFINITELY the way to go. Just follow the directions. You will not believe how much smoother the paint is after clay baring. Everyone in my family is sold after seeing (and feeling) the results). It really gets the paint ready for Zaino.

4) Zaino is NOT a wax! It is a polymer based protectant. No wax at all involved in this stuff. Sorry. Pet peive!

 

The beautiful thing about Zaino is that is actually easier to NOT screw up than screw up. You can get the stuff on anything, including rubber and black trim, and it will not turn it white. In fact, it will shine and protect it. It is about the most foolproof "wax" I have ever used, you won't be sorry.

 

Ya, I'll echo several opinions:

If you believe that these cars are "clean" when you get it from the dealer you are flat WRONG. The cars are absolutely infested with rail dust. I threw away my claybar after ONE use because it was filthy, and this is after both the dealership and I had washed it! You have to understand, rail dust embeds in your clearcoat layer and cannot be removed with washing, period. (Like a sliver in your finger) If you leave it alone, the particles will rust further and eventually work their way to the paint layer. If you wax over them, ...well, obviously that's not a solution...

I showed a local skeptic the benefit of using a claybar by doing a one foot section on his hood. This is a guy who is not easily impressed. He thought his car was clean... (LOL). He ran his hand along his hood surface and when he got to the clayed section he was blown away by the difference.

It was already pointed out that these cars are baked before assembly. There is NO need to wait for any paint curing or anything else to begin detailing your car.

I practiced on my Ranger before going after the 'Stang. But it wasn't necessary. The Zaino products are easy to use and there are great instructions for all their products at their website.

 

ive used the zaino already and ive put 5 coats of it on. just FOLLOW the detailed instruction it comes with and if you have questions CALL the guy. he WILL answer and help you. its extremely easy. you cannot screw it up and you cant mess up. its fun and quick as well.

 

Thanks for the info/suggestions... again, as someone who's never clay barred or applied a wax or polish, the thrust of my original question was just whether a complete novice like myself should feel confident doing his first claying/polishing on a brand-spankin new Mustang or if it was necessary/advisable to do a test run on an old car for learning purposes... I didn't intend to start any kind of wax vs polish debate (ie. Meguiar vs Zaino)... I did do some homework here, reading through many threads on the site and decided on giving Zaino a try as a result (which I currently have)... Also read the faq which speaks to the fact that the paint can be worked by the time we get the car:
Where I became apprehensive is that in most of the threads about detailing it seemed that most spoke from considerable experience (which makes sense) so I wondered how much general detailing knowledge was essentially a pre-requisite for doing this and where I could go wrong from lack thereof... the responses seem to confirm what I was thinking:
The product that I will be applying, Zaino, is essentially idiot-proof and that the biggest mistake with Zaino is over-applying and wasting it... As for possibly doing any harm, that seems to be for the most part restricted to the claying. (although I still need to get towels for the wash/dry which otherwise could put scratches if not the true %100 cotton stuff from what I read)

So I'll go ahead and do my first exterior detail on the Mustang when it arrives and will be very careful with the claying in particular (keeping it lubed and what not)... Think I'll have to do a little more research about claying tho... specifically, how to work the clay such that the particles you're capturing aren't cutting into the clearcloat (conceptually, that one still looses me )

 

I'm actually doing my first Zaino tonight, starting with the clay bar. I thought I would "practice" before my car gets here (15 days!!) and I need to clean up my Tacoma for the sale (if I can ever find a buyer).
I've read through the directions, made sure I had everything I needed, and even pre-mixed the lubricant for the clay bar this morning. I'm all set to go home and make my truck shine! I've only washed it the last three years, so it really does need more. When I was drying it last night I could feel how rough the roof was. I should've tried the clay bar then, but would've wanted to do the whole truck at once. I'll do that this afternoon, and probably 2 coats of Z5. Then maybe one or two of Z2 just to make it really shine! I'll be placing a fresh order tomorrow to make sure I'm ready for the Mustang.

The dealer I'm getting it from does a claybar treatment on the cars specifically to get the rail dust off of them, which is nice. That'll keep it looking good for the first 2000 miles, then I get to do my own claybar and Z treatment. (it's 2000 miles from Des Moines IA to Seattle, WA)

I'm getting so ancious my cube-mate wants to kill me! All he ever hears about is the Mustang. My girlfriend has even stopped talking to me because that's all I talk about. I'm going to be really bad the first week of May, knowing that on Friday I fly out there to get it. Yeehaaa!

Anyway, I'll be taking pics of my truck, and will post a link if anyones interested. Might do something like clay half the roof, then take a picture just to see if there's a difference. Or maybe clay it and put on some Z5, then show the difference. Who knows?

Can you tell I'm a little excited about this?

 

The claybar part is what makes me nervous, too. I'm going to practice on my '02 Dakota first!

I do have a newbie (to Zaino and claybar) question--is it safe to claybar the body color plastic (bumpers, door handles, etc)? Or do you just claybar the painted metal surfaces?

 

OK............. So how do we get Zaino?

Can someone tell me the exact products we need. I dont need the whole kit. Thanks

 

You can order Zaino products from: http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/mercha...gory_Code=Zaino

I ordered the total protection kit which gets you set up with everything you need to protect/shine the paint and costs about $85... (PonyGirl you may just want to grab this kit if you're going to give Zaino a try, even if your not interested in claying... price for indiviual products will probably cost you the same bought individually)

This thread has a lot of info: http://forums.bradbarnett.net/index.php?sh...=21101&hl=zaino

I just need to decide on what tire care products and towels to use for polishing(microfiber or cotton... decisions... decisions...) I might just grab this tire care kit http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?L1..._1002&SKU=11261
Ohhh, then I'll need some extra clay and also should grab a California Duster... ohhh my, I'm going to have to sell my Mustang to pay for all these car care products!!

 

Got the paint protectant that the dealer offered at the time of the sale. You know the one that everyone says is such a waste of money. It came with a bottle of protectant renewer. Used that once a summer for the first 3 years and haven't touched it since. The car is used year round and we get plenty of salt on the roads here. Water still beads beautifully. The paint is deep and shiny and the surface is incredibly smooth after a car wash.

I love my car and I enjoy washing it, but I just hate waxing (or whatever you want to call it since it's not actually wax) and for me this was an excellent deal.

 

I want to clay bar and wax. How many steps are there for waxing? The package seems like a lot of stuff I would never use.