After I got my mustang I gave it the full zaino treatment - wash with dawn, dry, clay bar, wash with mr clean auto dry, dry, then 2 coats of zaino z2. How often should this be done? Is it neccessary to do this whole process again each year, or just keep doing the z2, or z5 as needed?

 

Since the purpose of using Dawn is to get off old wax that would interact with Zaino, I would say that you would never need to wash it with Dawn again. As far as the claybarring, I would say as needed.

 

If lets say next year you wanted to start from scratch then yes, use Dawn. I do this once a year. If not you will be applying new wax over old wax.

 

My last three new cars Lightning, MDX, Mustang. I do the Dawn, Clay bar, Z-5 one week, the next week i do a Z-2. And the next week I do another Z-2, after that, i'm so friggen tired of waxing. I do a Z-5 every other month.

FRITZ, Silver "05" GT Coupe, IUP and the works ...

 

Are mustangs clear coat vehicles? I've heard of Zaino, but the instructions for applying look complicated. Did you use Z1? or the Z18 Claybar?

 

Every vehicle bought today is basically a clearcoat vehicle. I believe it has been the standard for 10 or more years now.

If you use all the products they tell you to use, then it is complicated and very costly. I think a lot of it is a marketing ploy to get you to buy extra items. Having said that, I use Z-2 PRO and Z-5. I am very happy with both, and they are not hard at all to apply.

I didn't Dawn or claybar mine because it had never had any wax put on it, so there was no need to remove old wax, and also because I ran my hands over the entire surface of the car and it was smooth s can be. I couldn't find any contaminants in the paint. Thus, I believe claybarring mine would have been a waste of time. Mine also did not sit in the railyard very long, as it shipped via truck from the factory and train within 12 hours of one another.

Anyway, back to the point. It is not complicated, but really figure out what you need. In the beginning, if the finish on the new car is scratchless and swirless, as mine largely was, Z-2 PRO (and the ZFX accelerator) is probably the only things you will need.

 

Does the zaino product offer anything in the lines of extra protection to the paint?

 

Is it a problem to apply new wax over old wax when it is all zaino? Does the wax have a "shelf life", that after a certain period of time, it needs to be removed before putting on any more wax?

 

According to their website no. You just keep applying it. The more you apply the better it looks. There is a guy on their site (here: http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/mercha...e=TESTIMONIALS) who has 34 coats of Zaino on his car.

I'm not sure about what kind of time period he took to apply it but. . . whatever.

 

[quote=Xader Vartec,June 27, 2005, 2:03 PM]
who has 34 coats of Zaino on his car.



I'm getting close...

 

I just ordered the full kit (after this thread reminded me) just now.

 

[quote=GTJeff,June 27, 2005, 3:01 PM]

Your paint seems dull............just kidding. That is the shiniest red I have ever seen!!!!

 

I bought the Zaino Ultimate kit and claybared my 05 satin silver vert last weekend. Even with it being a brand new car the claybar gave outstanding results and was very easy to do. I love the smoother than glass surface. Then I did one coat of Z2 followed by going over it with the Z6 gloss enhancer. The finish is beautiful.

 

Lets see some pictures!

I've been trying to find the time to do the whole shebang since picking her up last month, but still have not been able to (difficult to find both the time and a place to do it, living in brooklyn - I usually drive to my parents' house in NJ to do work on the car.

Instead of waxing, I've been spending my weekends doing performance mods. This long weekend, though, the zaino's coming out, finally. I'll post pics when done.

 

You probably don't NEED to wash with dawn and then claybar every year, but if you're going to spend the time to apply new coats of Z2 or Z5 down the road, you might as well start fresh.

I'm planning on doing the whole process at least once a year, twice maybe. When I do, I'd rather spend a little extra time to ensure that I've got a good, clean base before applying more polish.

Again, probably not necessary though.

 

I did the whole thing, and I think the claybar was not all that meaningful, but I know there's nothing under that first coat. I only got one coat on and then I went a week and put another on. The second application was far easier to get done than that first one. The water slides right off now. I am going to try to get a couple more coats on this weekend, time permitting.

 

[quote=GTJeff,June 27, 2005, 3:01 PM]

I love that 1967 yellow Fairlane in the reflection of your paint!!!!!!


P.S. I dig Zaino too

 

all the diff. shine products seem to say clay once a year. maybe twice, but no more. the twice a year schedule would be followed if your ride gets dirty a great deal. your call.

i read where some ppl say clay a new car. some say don't. i did. to tell you the truth, hardly anything came off on the clay bar. but some traces did in very limited areas. if you don't clay your new car, i'd say that would be ok from my first hand experience. but i'm slightly **** about things some times. so i had to clay it for my sonic blue for my piece of mind.

when i took off my mirrors to paint, there was a layer of grey dust under the entire area under the mirrors. surely the dust, metallic?, infused the area after painting and before the mirrors where mounted by Ford. that dust must've been over the whole car. that alone made me happy i had clayed my car first.

just my 2cents.

btw, don't use Z8 or you might get hooked on it like me. Z8 on chrome is insane.