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Anyone have experience with the Zaino products?
my paint is 25 yrs old but been garage kept all its life. I'm looking to get out minor scratches and get a wet look shine.
a local detailer wants $1k to prep and use ceramacoat.
i appreciate your opinions and experience.
Yeah. There is a Z5 zaino that says something like ‘worlds best polish’ on the bottle.
it claims it works by ‘filling in’ scratches. As opposed to abrading the rest of the clear coat to make it worse so it matches the scratches (like the abrasive polishes do).
i cant remember if you need to use zainos z1 prep stuff first.
No idea what cerama coat is.
my car is black so sure one side looks great and the other you can see some spidering. Zaino z5 helped but its not gonna make it perfect. I wouldnt monkey around with more than 2 coats of z5.
extra coats of wax can then be put on to ‘bury’ the fine clear coat scratches .
life was good until i moved (to well water) and washed the car, then ‘waxed’ over water spots (from hard water). Trapping them in.
I have now learned to add a tablespoon or so of vinegar to a bucket of rinse water and dump that over the car as a final rinse !
You will get all the answers you want if you go up top left to forums. Scroll down to "General Corvette topics" That will open another list of options choose "Car care discussion". These guys live and breath this full time. Dan
:My 70 SS Nova is black and has old, somewhat tired paint. I too found that Zaino and then a good carnauba wax would hide most of the hazy scratches. I figured I can do a lot of waxing for $1000. :yesnod
Ceramic coatings are GREAT, but the underlying paint has to be perfect. $1000 seems cheap to me as the product the detailer will likely put on is probably $200 plus probably another $100 in product for the paint correction. To do a car correctly with full paint correction(wash, clay, polish, wash, de-grease) to get it ready for ceramic, then to do the ceramic is at least a full days work if not more.
You cant just put ceramic on any ol paint and expect it to look great... just not the way it works.
I've used Zaino products on my C5 for 6 years now...nothing beats it !!..applying the product is the easiest thing...and it doesn't cloud up like Carnuba wax so you can put an extra few coats on...I think I have 4 or 5 coats on right now...just follow the process on their website if you do purchase it...if you live in NJ like me you can't order the stuff here and have it delivered here...has to do with FTC regulations I heard and Sal Zaino would have to list all the "secret ingredients" which he does not want to do...best to buff out all your scratches before you apply the sealant...their tire shine product is also excellent !!
I've used Zaino products on my C5 for 6 years now...nothing beats it !!..applying the product is the easiest thing...and it doesn't cloud up like Carnuba wax so you can put an extra few coats on...I think I have 4 or 5 coats on right now...just follow the process on their website if you do purchase it...if you live in NJ like me you can't order the stuff here and have it delivered here...has to do with FTC regulations I heard and Sal Zaino would have to list all the "secret ingredients" which he does not want to do...best to buff out all your scratches before you apply the sealant...their tire shine product is also excellent !!
My '99 Firehawk had 50+ coats of Zaino
Key is "less is more"....if you apply too much Zaino polish it will not cure properly. No buffing needed on surface swirls...clay and 3+ coats of Z5 polish and it should do the trick
Sal can't sell in NJ, but there is a Pa. distributor (if interseted let me know and I'll post his website
Key is "less is more"....if you apply too much Zaino polish it will not cure properly. No buffing needed on surface swirls...clay and 3+ coats of Z5 polish and it should do the trick
Sal can't sell in NJ, but there is a Pa. distributor (if interseted let me know and I'll post his website
Yes !!...less is more !!...I use the accelerator if I want to not wait the required 24 hours cure time and apply 2 coats in a day... I have a performance shop 30 minutes from me that sells his products !!
A grand to make it shinier? I dont get it...I hope you get the result youre looking for.
Any painters in the house, could he have some clear laid down on top of what he has if it was prepped for it? That would hide any fine stuff for many years.
A grand to make it shinier? I dont get it...I hope you get the result youre looking for.
Any painters in the house, could he have some clear laid down on top of what he has if it was prepped for it? That would hide any fine stuff for many years.
My brother has a paint shop. A short answer is no. You know the old saying, 90% of the pain appearance is in the prep. Unless something is done to fill and smooth imperfections, a new coat will just make them look worse. A good paint job doesn't have to be taken down to the bare metal (Fiberglass in this case), but at minimum the entire surface will need to be sanded and coat of color and a few coats of clear will be in order. Then you start talking about prepping the car for the activities. removing the lights, emblems, covering seals and glass, etc.
Most of the money in paint truly is in the prep and labor. 1 coat or 10, still have to do the same prep to the car.
There are no shortcuts to a good looking paint job.
While I'm sure the Ceramacoat is superior, it is a grand. and needs to be applied by a shop. I believe giving the ZAINO kit for a hundred bucks is worth the effort. Lot of you guys are lovin it. Hardest part is, it'll be June before the weather @ 9000 ft. is consistently warm enough to do the job.
I know many like Zaino and it is a great product but I went a different route 3 years ago and had a professional do the ceramic coating. It cost $775 at that time and took 2 days. First of all the car is washed, then claybar then paint corrected with polish. That alone costs around $500 to have it done correctly. Then after the paint is perfect and I mean perfect, no micro scratches at all, the coating is applied. The shop I used has a cure booth with infrared lights to cure the coating overnight. Normally you need to keep it dry for minimum 5 days but the infrared lights takes care of everything in 24 hours. Nice thing is it now only takes 10 minutes to get ready for a car show or cars and coffee. I just wipe with a damp cloth and dry. Nothing sticks to the paint, it is smooth and has a deep gloss to it. One example is we were driving as a group from MD to Bowling Green for our annual get together. We went through a 2 mile stretch of newly paved road. When we got to the hotel our guys were fighting to get the tar off their cars. All I did was get a towel from my room, put water on it and one easy wipe and it was off. The guys could not believe it.
Yes, pricy but gives you years of protection and with very limited maintenance. Good luck with your decision.
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Zaino vs. Ceramacoat?
