i was looking through the threads, and saw that everyone uses zaino Well on mb you can buy a whole package witch includes everythin you need, has anyone tried that, and if they did, whats better, zaino, or the mb stuff....also, when ppl say wash the cars with dawn....is that with water, or just the soap...and rinse it off??? I should mix it with water right?

 

Zaino all the way ! And yes, you mix a little Dawn with water and that will strip all the factory silicon and wax off the surface before Zainoing.

 

i see.....do you guys buy thier 2.50 towels, or no? Also, is the zfx accelerator worth it.....it seems like it takes forever w/o it! Al, i have a few questions, i already pm'ed you, but if you have a e-mail you can give me that will be appreciated, but can you plz respond to my questions in the pm...thanks....o yea, if i wash it with dawn, i need to get......z-1, z-2, z-6, z-7, clay?? or no clay, and zfx right...? i am getting a obs. blk. e500. Or do i skip the clay, the e500 will be mostly garaged, so what do you guys think, thanks!

 

also, do i use z-7, or dawn, or both, thanks in advance

 

There is all the information you need about the process on the zainobros.com web site. Some say the clay is optional and as I did my car from new I did skip the clay and it seems fine.

I am now on a "maintenance program" with the Zaino and I am very happy with the ease of use and the durability.

JR

 

how often do you wax your car?

 

sorry i could not answer u earlier, i was out detailing a black CL55 AMG all day with Zaino. Anyway Zaino is fine for metallic paints, actually Zaino is best on metallic finishes imo. Anyway for regular washes use Z7, only Dawn wash the first time to strip off all the silicones and stuff like awiner said. Pour an ounce of dawn in the bucket and 2 gallons of water. Wash using the technique JustinTRW posted, i made it a sticky. FOLLOW THAT WASH METHOD and you will not get swirl marks. Also I suggest claying your car with the Z18 clay bar, follow my claying instructions that i posted, and follow Zaino's instructions for using the Z7 wash as a lubricant on their website www.zainobros.com You can find the Zaino prices in the order form, go to their main site and select order form. I recommend getting ZFX, Z2 or Z5 (id get both), Z6, Z7, and Z10 for leather if you want. all of these products should last you about a year. I apply the Z2 and Z5 with ZFX the first time and I apply 3 coats, using the Z6 spray between coats. I then will layer 1 coat per week till i get to 5 coats. I probably wont put more coats on for about 3 months. Just Z7 wash and you will be fine!

 

cool, thanks a lot, but i thought in metallic paints, there is no swirls, so i dont need z5?, or should i get it?

 

also, can i use clay magic with zaino, or is it better to stick with z-18, i heard it was cheaper for clay magic also..and whats the maintinance program...did i spell that right?

 

One layer of Zaino lasts six months!! Most people keep layering their Zaino for a little extra protection, but mostly looks. I would get both Z-5 and Z-2. Metallic paints can get swirls easily, they just tend to hide them slightly if they are minor. Clay magic is a great clay, I would not hesitate to get it. It's only $10. Zaino is very easy to maintain. All you do is wash with Z-7 shampoo and dry. I like to wash weekly, but you be the judge. Every two or even three weeks might be okay. If you want, you can wipe it down using Z-6 gloss enhancer SPRARINGLY. If you want to go another step, you can add another layer of Zaino. As for ZFX, it will greatly help you the first time applying it. You do not have to use it everytime you use Zaino. I have five coats and have used about 8 drops of ZFX. If you use ZFX with every coat, it will last you one entire bottle. If you use it only initially, and then when you want to get three coats in one day, it should last much much longer.

FYI. What Mercedes sells is repackaged Meguiar's products. You can probably guess what is what. I'm in SD so maybe I can help you out. You are knowledgeable for someone who is not quite 16 yet! School started Monday, sucks don't it

 

heeey Justin TRW... you are also on autopia-carport.com huh? so is Alboston

i would try to answer soem of the newbie questions here but it looks liek you guys are handling it well and im already tied up at bimmer fan site answering questions.

im trying to convince a couple of my moderator friends over there to open a detailing forum and make me the moderator. there are like 10 posts a day in the general forum regarding detailing and i think that it would organize the forum a lot better if they had a separate board for detailing.

wish me luck!

 

hey thanks a lot justin, i go to scripps, but my car is coming in october....so then i will prob get the zaino stuff...but im lucky, school starts on tuesday. I just know why clay takes so long..ppl were saying it takes up to 2 hours??? Is that right, thanks, im just putting a lot of time during the summer b4 school starts..but this forum is the best....i swear ppl at benzworld are stupid as hell....same thing with edmunds..

 

dont know why clay takes so long****** mb

 

yea i also noticed that people around ehre had nicer cars too

people over at benzworld drive around modded 190E's and those old craps. but all the people around here drive AMG's.. etc etc

are poeple richer here? or is it all a huge LIE

 

i dont think so....i mean for gods sake!!!! they thought there wasnt any cup holder in the e-class!!!! LOL

 

everyone is saying that clay magic is the best, and it is cheap w/ lub....but will it work with zaino, or not...cuz if it does.....i save 20 bucks..also justin i read u use microfiber mits...are they available in stores, and do they replace the #314 applicators from zaino, thanks again

 

I graduated from PHS.

Clay magic is 100% compatible with Zaino. Make sure to get the blue bar and not the red bar. A word of caution, do not use the lube that comes with the kit. It contains silicone which prevents Zaino from bonding to the paint. If your dawn wash prior to Zaino does not remove all of the silicone, you might have a problem. Pick up some Eagle One Wet Wipe N Shine at Autozone (they also have claymagic) or Napa. That is a great Zaino compatible QD (quick detailer/lube). Follow AlBoston's instructions on claying. You can also use a car wash solution in a spray bottle and clay while the car is still wet from washing.

As far as micro fiber mitts, they are for washing, not applying or removing products. I suppose you could use them to remove product, but it is generally not recommended. I have not seen any micro fiber mitts in the stores, but I have seen micro fiber towels. Use the micro fiber towels to buff off residue, for wiping the car down with QD, basically for everything concerning your paint. Neatitems.com or yosteve.com has good towels. The best store bought micro fiber towels I have seen are the Turtle Wax ones that come in a two pack at Autozone. One is blue and the other is yellow. Examine the towel carefully. I would not use any lesser of a towel on my paint, especially because mine is black. There are many micro fiber towels you can find in stores, but they are not all created equally. As it stands right now, Sal Zaino himself does not recommend micro fiber. However, he is said that he recognizes that good micro fiber has advantages over cotton terry towels. Therefore, he is currently testing them in his lab. He is finding that the best micro fiber towels work awesome, but he has not been able to get consistently good towels. I have no idea why, he should go to neatitems.com, LOL. Sal's #314 applicator is not used by quite a few Zaino users because it a) soaks up the product b) does not apply the product evenly and c) ultimately is inferior. For hand application, I think we would all agree that foam is the best thing to get. Try the yellow meguiar's applicators or the Viking foam applicators. Stay away from cotton terry applicators found in stores because they scratch.

BTW, the time required to clay a car is dependant on (besides the size of the vehicle) how many contaminants are in the paint. It took my about 90 minutes to clay my C32 my very first time with clay. There was plenty of contaminants to remove from the paint surface. I had to make more than one pass over certain areas. You can feel if the surface has become 100% smooth or not. If I were to clay now, I could do it in 30 minutes.

 

thats cool...thanks for the tips justin, did you get rid of all your swirles?

 

Not every last one, but it looks good. Z-5 does not fill swirls that much. I use it exclusively over Z-2 because it adds more depth the black. The slightly higher optics of Z-2 is not a concern.

Z-5 or clay does nothing for the swirls as you know, so I had to go with an entirely different process for them: Meguiar's #9 2.0 worked in by Porter-Cable and yellow cutting pad, then Klasse AIO with white polishing pad, rounded off by a dawn wash, and finally Zaino.

 

damn man you take a lot of good care of it huh! Where do you buy everything, off of websites, or from autozone?

 

I'm the type who likes to buy locally when possible, but sometimes online is the way you must go. I have a friend who has TONS of neatitems.com microfiber towels and will sell them to you for less than listed on the website. He lives in Poway as well. Let me know if you are interested. So basically, to answer your question, let me know what you want and I can tell you the best store or website to find it at. It's possible to do all of your shopping online, which could be more effective because larger orders get free shipping at certain sites.

A shortlist for you:
- microfiber (from my friend)
- wash mitts: chenille (autozone, target), microfiber (autogeek.net)
- foam applicators (Walmart, sometimes Autozone, online
- Zaino (lazaino.com gets to you overnight but you must pay sales tax, zainobros.com takes a 1-2 weeks but has none)
- Claymagic (autozone)

Let me know if you want to find something else.

 

thanks for the list man...after i drovce the e320, we went to price club up in carmel mountain, and they had terry towels....for the cars, are those good, they wer 100 % cotton.....and were very cheap...Also, if i do use those, what do i need them for, do they replace the towels at lazaino, they seem very expensive..

 

Do you have AIM? I'll talk to you over that.

 

bmms8

 

lol, me and justin just found out that we know eachother.....wow mbworld is better than those classmates sites! i cant wait to see your c32 man, rahul told me you have the nav on it is that true? And thanks to justin.....it was him who really told me about this site...thanks a lot man