DaveW68

I'm looking to simplify my car cleaning life this spring. I've never purchased the Zaino polishing kit, but I've seen so many rave reviews that I'm going to take the plunge and spend an entire weekend on the project.

I know that there are several ceramic paint coatings such as Adams, CQuartz, etc that are supposed to put a durable glass finish on the paint that locks in the surface and supposedly lasts for up to 2 years before needing it again...and takes away the need to polish or wax again until it has worn off. It supposedly makes washing the car a lot easier and less frequent.

Has anybody tried doing the full Zaino treatment followed by ceramic coating? Are any products better than others?

I'd love to hear results before diving into all of this work.

Mike5215

Big fan of Zaino, especially on black. You'll love the results. The first couple of applications require a little more effort and product than subsequent ones, but once the base is established it's easy to build up layers. Four or five coats will provide protection for six months without ever touching it.

As for locking in the shine with another process, I have a feeling whatever they do will require them to first strip the Zaino off, but I'm not sure.

DaveW68

The makers of the ceramic coatings state that the car should be compounded and polished prior to applying their coatings, thus allowing that swirl-free and scratchless finish to be locked in by the ceramic coating. The ceramic is supposed add a layer of hard and scratch resistant protection to the car with a more brilliant shine that lasts up to 2 years.

I believe that Zaino is just a polish and not a wax, right? With this being the case, it would seem that Zaino would be the ideal polishing system to use prior to applying the ceramic final coat. Do I have it wrong about what Zaino really is?

xabo

From what I've read on the Zaino site, it's a polish. There are different levels of polish, i.e. some contain abrasive to remove light to moderate swirls while some contain no abrasive at all and are primarily used to clean the paint.

Does the Zaino that you're using have any cutting ability?

DaveW68

I don't think they do any cutting. I believe they "hide" some light swirls. I would likely hit it with some Meguiars swirl remover prior to Zaino and ceramic coating.

Mike5215

Zaino is a non abrasive, optically pure polish, so whatever is in/on the paint has to removed first (or it gets locked in to the finish). Typically you'd wash the car with Dawn to strip the old wax/polish, then clay to remove contaminants. The paint should be perfectly smooth to the touch. The first application needs to have the curing additive to the polish (ZX5).

As a non abrasive it won't remove swirls or holographic defects but it will fill them, causing them to disappear. It takes multiple layers for the full effect.

Sounds like the ceramic would accomplish what you're looking for.

xabo

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

GPrime2

Do a decent paint correction before using either imo, a medium cut then light cut polish (I personally use meguiers 105 and 205 for this), as others mentioned, hit it with dawn before starting to make sure you get all the old wax off, then do one or the other once the paint is perfect.

I probably wouldn't do one over the other though, I don't think zaino is a polish in the traditional sense, normal polishes you want to get them off after you're finished working them, zaino stays on, I think.

xabo

You can try https://www.carpro-us.com/compounds-...s-primer-16oz/

It's a polish/gloss enhancer/filler that will have some cut with the proper pad.

Once coated, you can use:https://www.carpro-us.com/compounds-...ss-agent-16oz/

It will repair/fill in swirls in a coating.