Zaino Products
 

Hey Guys,

My water pump just went at 95k. Now, I do have google search skills :cool: , a Bentley book and plenty of curiosity; I try to always do what I can on my car whenever possible and a pump is certainly within that scope. Unfortunately, water pump failures of course have no sense of timing and I was in an extremely busy patch at work. I just didn't have time to do it. Much to my regret, I hired a guy who hadn't worked on my car ever but works on older P-cars exclusively. While he was in there, he swapped the serpentine belt and the top tensioner pulley as well. Anyhow, long story short, I don't know what happened, he checked out or something. The engine work was proper but I got the car back in just filthy condition inside and out. There was literally a perfect black grease hand print smeared across the passenger seat headrest and I had just recovered the seats (and put a new Gahh top on as well) just a few months back! Both of which were solid two day jobs, respectively. The irony is, I have a set of cheap seat covers I throw on any time I go for tire work, alignment, etc. He had taken them off before he started working! I was at a loss. Needless to say, that was my first and last experience with him.

Anyhow,in an effort to clean up, I decided to give the whole Zaino process a go. Five days of scrubbing carpets and leather, clay barring and 3 coats of Z5 and Z6 polishes... Well happily, the car came out great. Definitely worth the work. I snapped off a few photos and thought I'd share. I don't know what I was thinking though, I didn't take any before pics! I guess I was preoccupied with wondering if I was going to be able to clean up the mess :eek:

This is a 98 non-S, tip. Original paint everywhere except the rear bumper.

Saul Zaino's stuff is amazing.

-ian

wow, that is one shiny box!

They say Zaino isn't the best solution for dark cars, but I think it does a great job. Those pictures are proof.

Woah. That is one seriously shiny black boxster!

Looks like you just had it resprayed by the best body shop in the world. I mean that.

If only my paint could clean up like that!

Wow, Thanks for the kind words guys! :D

Yeah, I don't know if it's the best, but it does a really good job none the less. I have a couple of friends that drive dark vettes (i try not to hold that against them) that use the stuff. Their cars always look good. Anyhow, they turned me on to it.

It's crazy, after the first coat I was getting some hazing. I wrote Zaino about it that night and Saul called me the next morning first thing! Turned out I was using too much (about two ounces). He said to only use about 3/4 an ounce for the whole car on each coat. Sure enough, he was right. I tell you what, it's a heck of a lot easier than traditional wax, that's for sure.

:cheers:

I have a couple of cars that sit outside all year long. It gets above 100F and below -10F throughout the year in Colorado. Water still beads on the surface of the cars 6-7 months after an application of Zaino. The cars that sit in the garage don't seem to NEED another coat for years (I do it anyway).

The rubber treatment, while it does wash off, lasts much longer than other brands. And the swirl remover does an outstanding job smoothing out scratches.

I a firm believer in Zaino products.

That's impressive. Yeah the rubber treatment is awesome. I put it on after a coat of Griot's rubber cleaner/surface prep which works really, really good. The window seals don't show any age now at all and they're really clean to the touch. No more black crud.

I didn't try the swirl remover though. I was curious abut it... I'll definitely have to get some and give it a go next time around.

I've been just amazed with the Z6 stuff. I thought, gloss enhancer? really? I totally thought it would be a snake oil product. That stuff is probably the most bang for your buck out of all of it.

Yeah. I use Zaino on my Firehawk, which is a "dark" car (if metallic orange can really be considered dark). I love the way it looks. I also love the fact that it's damn easy to put on, and lasts forever.

3/4 of an ounce??? Wow, that still sounds like WAYYYY too much. I Zaino my entire car with roughly a tablespoon of Z-5. My rule of thumb: If I can actually SEE the Zaino on the car, I've used too much. No joke. A bottle of Z-5 lasts me 3-4 years, with 7-8 applications per year. :cool:

Great looking car, though.

Wow, that's crazy. How do you physically get it to go that far? Seriously. Do you cut it a bunch with z6? I put a little z6 on the applicator pad before I would touch the car each time with z5, but, I can't imagine how to get it to stretch that far! Share your secrets! ;)

All you need is a tiny bit of Z-5 on the applicator pad at any given time. I usually make a very thin, dotted "W" on the applicator pad, then squeeze the pad together to work the Z-5 into the pad. (I don't use any Z-6 on the pad when I'm applying Z-5.) Do this once for the hood, once for each door, once for the front fenders, once for the rear fenders, once for the trunk, and once each for the front and rear bumpers. Like I said, if you can actually see the Z5 on the paint (other than just a faint haze), you've used more than you need, and you're just making the job harder for yourself.

Let the Z-5 dry, and when you wipe it off you'll be amazed at how much less hazing you get, and how much easier it is to wipe off. And the resulting shine and "slickness" will be the same or better after you apply the Z-6.

Try it and let me know how it works for you.

:cheers:

Thanks for the tips Gary. I'll definitely try them next go around. And congrats on the Raby work, by the way. I can only imagine, the piece of mind must be awesome!

:cheers:
-ian