First Zaino...
 

Well, weather permitting, I am going to zaino my car for the first time this weekend. I have read the whole zainostore.com website multiple times. Does anyone have any tips for me? How does everyone zaino their vehicles? Do you all really use 10 - 20 dollar, made in america brand name towels like the website says? How exact of a process is this? If I mess up will it be forgiving? I plan on washing with dawn, claybarring, washing with z7, two coats of z5, and finally a coat of z2. I'll take pictures and post them up when I am done. Thanks for any input.

-JiM

I did the claybar and dawn the first time. then I waxed it, then used the spray on top of it. The next two times I did car wash then wax, then spray.

I used the towels they recommended, but then switched to microfiber cloths as they wipe the car clean of all water in one pass rather than several. Just make sure not to get the cheap micro fibers as they tend to repel water rather than absorb.

There are lots of threads on this forum that have covered Zaino technique in detail. Just do a search.

You really need the Z6 ("Ultra Clean Gloss Enhancer Spray") tho'. That stuff is just awesome. It really brings out the shine.

It's not a science, but the general principles are:

1. Even though you might think that the clay bar step isn't necessary, you'll be amazed at how much smoother the surface will feel after you've done this step.
2. Use Z2 and Z5 very sparingly. You'll get a much better result if you apply the lightest film you can manage.
3. Make sure you let the Zaino dry completely before wiping it off. ZFX really speeds up the drying process.
4. I found that the made in America all cotton towels work great but they're unwieldy. You might consider cutting them into smaller sizes.
5. Take your time and do lots of coats. The depth of the shine builds up with each coat. The first one is the slowest.

I have a NG and it looks fantastic with Zaino! Check out Elara's before and after pictures of her NG to get an idea of what you're in for:
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...threadid=10765

Good luck and post those pictures!

Well, I was able to zaino this weekend. The car came out pretty well. I think the first coat I didn't use enough polish and I also forgot that I bought the gloss enhancer untill the second coat as well. I also can't post up my pictures because I took them on my phone and it somehow ended up in the bucket of wash water. Having my two week old cell phone get fried kinda put a damper on the process, but the actuall Zainoing went pretty well.

--JiM

Don't turn your phone on! It might still be good. Take the battery out and let the phone completely dry. It might still be useable. My cell phone went through the washer and dryer and STILL worked after I charged. I still can't believe how lucky I was.

heh. My son took my brand new video cell phone and dropped it into the sink to wash it. Gee... thanks. Anyway, the phone was on the whole time, completely underwater. I took it out, flipped the lid and it was still running. Amazing.

No... unfortunately mine is toasted. It was only in the bucket for a few seconds and soon as it was taken out it was turned off. However, it fried soon as it touched the water cause when we turned it off, the outside lcd still displayed the time. Now when you put the battery back in, the speakers make a crackling, hissing noise.

I am going to try to take it back by saying it got burnt out by a lightning surge. Think it will work?

---JiM

No, but you can try.