Is it live, or is it Memorex?









EDJ

 

P.S. - that Zaino job is on a white car. White! Usually only dark colors reflect like that!

EDJ

 

Geat job. Full body shots ?

 

So do you guys recommend getting the Porter Cable Buffer, or do it by hand?

About how many hours will it take to do the waxing? Or should I say days?

Lastly, how long do you think the wax will last?

Ed

 

geez joe..thats nice..is it paste or liquid? I might have to give that a try..

 

Zaino is a liquid polymer. There really is no need for a PC or any type of orbital buffer.

The job you see reflected in the photos took about 4 hours of total labor time. I did not use any Z-5 swirl remover. I simply did this:

0630-0800 hours Sunday Morning:
Wash car with Dawn to strip it of wax, film, etc.
Clay bar car (Z-18) to remove any road tar, rail dust, environmental contaminants.
Wash car again with Clear-coat safe car washing soap (not dishwashing soap).
Sheet rinse the car to remove maximum amount of water (simply run water out of hose without nozzle and watch how much water "sheets" off the car).
Dried car with 100% cotton towels. Opened doors/hood/etc. to dry sills and to prevent future drippings.

0800-1100 hours. Car sat in garage to air dry. I have yet to invest in a cordless airblower to get the water out from behind moldings, taillights, etc.

1100-1115 mixed up my 1.5 ounces of Z-2 with 7 drops of ZFX and got out my cotton pad applicator. I pre-moistened my applicator with a few squirts of Z-6 Quick Detailer. I should have used half as much because after two coats I had to throw away half of what I mixed up!

1115-1145 Applied a nickel sized drop to my pad applicator, folded it a bunch to sorta spread it around the applicator, and began applying in a front to back motion on roof of car. I proceeded to apply additional Z-6 squirts to keep pad moistened and additional Z-2 nickel sized drops every few body panels. I applied the Zaino front to back on upward facing surfaces (roof, hood, trunk deck) and top to bottom on vertical panels (side panels, doors, trunk face, etc.)

1145-1200 Drank a beer.

1200-1220 using 100% cotton towels (face cloth sized) I buffed off the wax with little effort.

1230-1300 re-applied a second coat as described above.

1300-1330 Buffed off as described above, and then cleaned up my gear, washed the towels in liquid Tide without bleach and dried without fabric softener, put away my hose, etc. Then I took photos and posted same.

Not bad, 4 hours for the whole thing. Six months down the road, and every six months after that a simple wash and single coat of Z-2 will take me all of an hour or two tops.

Cheers,

EDJ

 

Got more pictures?
Lookin' good as usual.

Is that your car or wifes? Did you also do the other W211?

 

No.
Thanks.
Mrs's.
No.

EDJ

 

EldiabloJoe, just a few quick notes:

You can dip your applicator into a bucket of (clean) water and wring it out well. This will help you spread the Z2/Z5, and you do not have to use up the expensive Z6.

When Claying (you didn't mention what kind of lube you used), you can mix up some Z7 car wash with some water in a spray bottle and use this for lube. Some people use Z6, but I think that's an expensive option.

In between coats of Z2, you could have applied a quick coat of Z6. This will help increase the depth of the shine. And of course, you could have finished off with a coat of Z6 and/or Z8.

When buffing off (make sure it has dried to a haze; drying time may vary based on temps and humidity), make sure you rub back and forth and not in a circular motion. When buffing the sides of the cars, you should go up and down. A lot of people go left and right but up and down is better as any fine scratches made from buffing will reflect less light, and therefore be less noticeable when they are up/down as opposed to left/right.

Last note, I think you also should have added a another beer to the menu after you applied your second coat, and before you buffed it off.

 

I would recommend getting a Porter Cable Orbital Sander/Buffer, but I would not recommend using it with Zaino (at least not with Z2/Z5). It's just as easy to buff off by hand. And using a buffer to apply will waste a lot of product.

The PC comes in handy when you need to do some more aggressive work, like removing swirl marks. You would use an abrasive polish for this. I normally use Meguires #9 swirl remover and/or Meguires Dual Action Cleaner Polish for this.

 

I'm gonna have to add that step to my next Zaino session. Looks like it really helps with the shine.

 

And you had to expect this question; which camera?

 

LOL, Just a cheesy 4.0 megapixel Casio Exilm.

R3Vl1s, try two or more beers. I have found that the more you consume, the better the car looks to you (at least for a while...)

EDJ

 

Casio might be the next compact for me. Looking at the ZX750 (I think that's the name)

 

So true!

 

That is also true for other things...

 

I just purchased a PC 7424 and some Zaino ZFX for some scratches on my baby. Any input as to what pads to use, the scratches are fairly fine. Are the Sonus pads recommended by Autopia any good? Also what pads would you recommend for swirls for a black car, and is the ZFX good for them as well?

Thanks,

Carnag

 

I think....I mean hope you meant Z-PC......ZFX is the accelerator for the Z2 & Z5 POLISH.

 

What he said.

I haven't used Z-PC, but normally with an abrasive, I will start with my finest pad and work my way up (the color depends on the manufacture) until the scratches are gone.

 

Ooops, you are correct. My bad ZPC, not ZFX,

 

I'm also planning on trying out Z-PC with my Porter Cable buffer fairly soon. I'm purchasing the pads from properautocare.com and I think I'm getting the yellow compound pad and the whie polishing one. I think that should be enough for a first time polish. Any suggestions you guys could give me?

 

I emailed Sal to ask about pads to use with the ZPC and PC 7424....

Hi Sal, I recently purchased most of your products including the new Z-PC polish due to glowing reviews by members of MBWorld.org. I have a silver '99 Mercedes C43 AMG with a few surface scratches, not deep enough to catch your fingernail on, that I plan to use the Z-PC on along with a Porter Cable 7424. I also have a black '92 BMW 325iC with some swirl marks. My questions are what polishing pads would you recommend for both scenarios, and any input as to where to purchase given pads. I can't wait to get to "work" and post my AWSOME results on the site.

Sal said...
Use ZPC on both the Orange and White pads. Something like this:

Orange pad & ZPC @ 3.5-4

White pad & ZPC @ 5


Black Pad & Z2P/ZFX @ 5-6

Black Pad & Z2P/ZFX @ 5-6

Not sure what he meant about the black pads...I assume he means start with a more abrasive orange pas and then finish with the white pad??

Also does anyone know if you need to use a "glaze" after the ZPC polish to help restore shine, or just use Z 6 maybe???

Let me know how the pads work out, I was looking at the same ones, as well as the Sonus pads on Autopia and there are some German specific Green pads offered on the proper auto care site. BTW are you trying to remove swirls or scratches? Best of Luck

 

From the website :
When done, apply either: Zaino ZFX enabled Z-2 PRO, Z-3, or Z-5 to the surface for a long lasting, great looking shine that will lock-in the results of your work with Zaino Z-PC Fusion.

I used Z-PC and now the paint looks hazy. Is this normal?
Dark color surfaces, especially black, will sometimes leave you with a slightly hazy or milky surface after using Z-PC. Z-PC Fusion does not have any fillers or oils. To make the surface crystal clear, apply your ZFX enabled Z2 or Z5 to make this milky look go away, leaving a perfect, crisp, clear, BLACK and scratch free finish.

 

You can read up on all the different pads on this site http://www.properautocare.com/hi612infopaa.html.
I just ordered the Orange and White pad from properautocare.com and as soon as they arrive I'll be doing the detailing and updating with my results. I wasn't planning on running Z-PC twice but now I'm going to have to change that.
Only thing I won't be doing is using the Porter Cable to buff the Z2 and Z5. I've read many times that Zaino yields a better result if done by hand because the Porter Cable takes off too much.
I am pretty much trying to renew the paint of a 2001 BMW 325i to make it like new. It's a white car in pretty good condition so swirls and scratches are not very noticeable.

 

Thanks EDJ for this thread. I ordered the Zaino kit before my car arrived last weekend and applied the first coat yesterday. I am very pleased with the ease of the process and the results after one coat of Z2 and Z6.

Here are a few pics of my 2007 CLK350 Cab.