Plan to re-zaino soon, here’s my plan
06-26-2008, 04:54 PM
#1
Racer
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Plan to re-zaino soon, here’s my plan
Okay, I have a 06 Monterey Red vert that’s in fairly good shape with ~7K miles. Always garaged and only outside at work and on a few overnight trips. Rarely does it see rain and its put away at the first snow and it’s not brought out in the spring until after the street sweepers come through.
Last year I switched to Zaino with less than stellar results. I am not a pro, just an enthusiast and want my car to look nice, but don’t expect it to look like a lot of the fabulous work I see on here. I don’t have, nor do I want to get, a random orbital. IMO I have too much stuff in my garage already that I only use once a year or less and I’d rather not add to the collection. If I get my finish looking good and want to step it up a notch I know that’s the direction I need to take. Since I don’t have a RO, I fear the claybar. I know a lot of guys swear by the claybar, and I have also seen plenty of stories that required a RO to fix it up. I’d rather go the elbow grease route now and get it as good as I can.
Like I said, the finish is pretty good. However, my surface prep last year wasn’t good enough so I have some water spots on the horizontal surfaces (hood, trunk lid) under the zaino. Also, when looked at in certain light and angles the surface is kinda foggy/hazy/greasy, like the zaino didn’t properly adhere to the clearcoat. Again, my fault with the surface prep.
So here is my get-well plan, with a few questions thrown in. I wanted to run it by the experts here before I put things into motion.
1. Wash twice with Dawn, two bucket method, nozzle-less rinse after last wash. Dry with guzzler.
2. Iso Alcohol wipedown to remove any zaino or remaining products on the paint. Should this be down with straight iso alcohol or should it be cut with distilled water? What is the best way to do this? Spray and wipe, or wipe with wet towel? MF or cotton?
3. Hand polish the trouble spots, water spots and any noticeable swirls with 3M 39002. First spritz the surface and the terry cloth applicator with distilled water and a bit of Z7 as a lubricant. Apply product to applicator and lightly rub on troubled areas. Wipe with clean terry cloth or MF. If the applicator starts to get gunked up, it gets tossed and out comes a new one.
4. Repeat the hand polish process with 3M 39009. The entire care should be polished between the two 3M products to ensure a clean and uncontaminated surface. This is in my mind would be equivalent, or actually better, then claybaring.
5. Extra careful iso alcohol wipedown to remove any leftover contaminants from polishing.
6. Top down. Wipe down tonneau and waterfall, clean towel, spritz with distilled/Z7.
7. Fill 2 oz mixing bottle 1/4 - 1/2 full with Z5 and 3 - 4 drops of ZFX. Shake for one minute, let sit. Shake for 10 seconds prior to use.
8. Get bucket with dawn and warm water ready for applicator and bottle.
9. Z5 - Very faint mist of Z6 on zaino applicator pad. Thin "N" of Z5 on applicator, circular and straight motions. Let haze for 20-30 minutes. Don't worry about waiting too long, not an issue. Too short is an issue, will see smears. Buff with cotton towel.
10. Z6 - spray with light mist, use as little as possible, spread with towel and buff with dry side. Do not let dry.
11. If there are any swirls, repeat Z5.
12. Clean bottle and applicator immediately with Dawn. If polish is allowed to dry, applicator and bottle are garbage.
13. Perform same process with Z2.
14. Can apply up to 3 coats in one day with ZFX. Then need to wait.
15. When completely done, use Z8 Grand Finale light mist, spread with towel, buff and dry.
Given the lengthy process and the unfortunate realities of life that don’t allow me the time to devote to the C6 that I wished I could, I was thinking of performing the above process on only half of the car at a time. When I zaino’d the first time, with the little bit I had in the bottle I was able to do the entire car. I figure if I do half the car at a time I should be able to get two coats per bottle.
Any recommendations or other advise is appreciated. Thanks
Last year I switched to Zaino with less than stellar results. I am not a pro, just an enthusiast and want my car to look nice, but don’t expect it to look like a lot of the fabulous work I see on here. I don’t have, nor do I want to get, a random orbital. IMO I have too much stuff in my garage already that I only use once a year or less and I’d rather not add to the collection. If I get my finish looking good and want to step it up a notch I know that’s the direction I need to take. Since I don’t have a RO, I fear the claybar. I know a lot of guys swear by the claybar, and I have also seen plenty of stories that required a RO to fix it up. I’d rather go the elbow grease route now and get it as good as I can.
Like I said, the finish is pretty good. However, my surface prep last year wasn’t good enough so I have some water spots on the horizontal surfaces (hood, trunk lid) under the zaino. Also, when looked at in certain light and angles the surface is kinda foggy/hazy/greasy, like the zaino didn’t properly adhere to the clearcoat. Again, my fault with the surface prep.
So here is my get-well plan, with a few questions thrown in. I wanted to run it by the experts here before I put things into motion.
1. Wash twice with Dawn, two bucket method, nozzle-less rinse after last wash. Dry with guzzler.
2. Iso Alcohol wipedown to remove any zaino or remaining products on the paint. Should this be down with straight iso alcohol or should it be cut with distilled water? What is the best way to do this? Spray and wipe, or wipe with wet towel? MF or cotton?
3. Hand polish the trouble spots, water spots and any noticeable swirls with 3M 39002. First spritz the surface and the terry cloth applicator with distilled water and a bit of Z7 as a lubricant. Apply product to applicator and lightly rub on troubled areas. Wipe with clean terry cloth or MF. If the applicator starts to get gunked up, it gets tossed and out comes a new one.
4. Repeat the hand polish process with 3M 39009. The entire care should be polished between the two 3M products to ensure a clean and uncontaminated surface. This is in my mind would be equivalent, or actually better, then claybaring.
5. Extra careful iso alcohol wipedown to remove any leftover contaminants from polishing.
6. Top down. Wipe down tonneau and waterfall, clean towel, spritz with distilled/Z7.
7. Fill 2 oz mixing bottle 1/4 - 1/2 full with Z5 and 3 - 4 drops of ZFX. Shake for one minute, let sit. Shake for 10 seconds prior to use.
8. Get bucket with dawn and warm water ready for applicator and bottle.
9. Z5 - Very faint mist of Z6 on zaino applicator pad. Thin "N" of Z5 on applicator, circular and straight motions. Let haze for 20-30 minutes. Don't worry about waiting too long, not an issue. Too short is an issue, will see smears. Buff with cotton towel.
10. Z6 - spray with light mist, use as little as possible, spread with towel and buff with dry side. Do not let dry.
11. If there are any swirls, repeat Z5.
12. Clean bottle and applicator immediately with Dawn. If polish is allowed to dry, applicator and bottle are garbage.
13. Perform same process with Z2.
14. Can apply up to 3 coats in one day with ZFX. Then need to wait.
15. When completely done, use Z8 Grand Finale light mist, spread with towel, buff and dry.
Given the lengthy process and the unfortunate realities of life that don’t allow me the time to devote to the C6 that I wished I could, I was thinking of performing the above process on only half of the car at a time. When I zaino’d the first time, with the little bit I had in the bottle I was able to do the entire car. I figure if I do half the car at a time I should be able to get two coats per bottle.
Any recommendations or other advise is appreciated. Thanks
06-26-2008, 09:13 PM
#2
Melting Slicks
In my opinion, that's overkill. You're making way more work out of it than you need to.
1. Wash your car. I'd use regular car wash. Dawn isn't going to do much of anything positive if you already have Zaino on the car. Not to mention it's not a good idea to regularly use it on the paint or weather stripping.
2. If your paint is in good shape, all you need to do is clean it up/polish it up a bit to bring up the shine. If you have some trouble spots or watermarks, start on them by trying the least abrasive polish you have first. Then move up to a more abrasive polish if needed with a mf towel. I haven't used 3M stuff in a long time, but as long as the polish you're using doesn't contain oils or a glaze (most of the OTC stuff does), you should be ok. No need for Z6 or anything else, just use the polish as directed. Don't use any "heavy cut, compounds" etc. Doesn't sound like you need them - just a little something to bring up the luster.
3. Once you're satisfied with the trouble spots, hand polish the car with the least abrasive finish polish of the two. Even with hand polishing you'll see a better shine than you had and it will remove any leftover Zaino.
4. Wipe the car down with a 50/50 mix of ISO alcohol/water & a mf towel. I usually mix the 2 in a spray bottle. If there are any glazes or oils in your polish, the ISO should wipe them off.
5. Wash and dry car and give it a quick Z6 wipe down.
6. Z5/Z2 as you want. Personally, I think Z2 leaves a slightly clearer shine and I've never seen Z5 do a thing for hiding even the finest swirls or marring. My vote is for a few coats of Z2 and wiping down with Z6 in between. A 1/4 bottle of Z2 is more than enough to do 2-3 coats and may guide you in using less.
7. Apply super thin, blah blah, you know the deal. When you wipe off, check for any streaks - they'll wipe off with a damp H2O towel before doing the next coat. Finish with Z8 under the lights and watch out for little streaks.
Any of the steps above can be tested out on a small section of your car. If you try a polish and want to make sure there are no fillers or glazes in it, just wipe the section down with a 50/50 ISO mix. Good luck
1. Wash your car. I'd use regular car wash. Dawn isn't going to do much of anything positive if you already have Zaino on the car. Not to mention it's not a good idea to regularly use it on the paint or weather stripping.
2. If your paint is in good shape, all you need to do is clean it up/polish it up a bit to bring up the shine. If you have some trouble spots or watermarks, start on them by trying the least abrasive polish you have first. Then move up to a more abrasive polish if needed with a mf towel. I haven't used 3M stuff in a long time, but as long as the polish you're using doesn't contain oils or a glaze (most of the OTC stuff does), you should be ok. No need for Z6 or anything else, just use the polish as directed. Don't use any "heavy cut, compounds" etc. Doesn't sound like you need them - just a little something to bring up the luster.
3. Once you're satisfied with the trouble spots, hand polish the car with the least abrasive finish polish of the two. Even with hand polishing you'll see a better shine than you had and it will remove any leftover Zaino.
4. Wipe the car down with a 50/50 mix of ISO alcohol/water & a mf towel. I usually mix the 2 in a spray bottle. If there are any glazes or oils in your polish, the ISO should wipe them off.
5. Wash and dry car and give it a quick Z6 wipe down.
6. Z5/Z2 as you want. Personally, I think Z2 leaves a slightly clearer shine and I've never seen Z5 do a thing for hiding even the finest swirls or marring. My vote is for a few coats of Z2 and wiping down with Z6 in between. A 1/4 bottle of Z2 is more than enough to do 2-3 coats and may guide you in using less.
7. Apply super thin, blah blah, you know the deal. When you wipe off, check for any streaks - they'll wipe off with a damp H2O towel before doing the next coat. Finish with Z8 under the lights and watch out for little streaks.
Any of the steps above can be tested out on a small section of your car. If you try a polish and want to make sure there are no fillers or glazes in it, just wipe the section down with a 50/50 ISO mix. Good luck
