joeykunz said:
Ok I have a new dodge ram with about 3000 miles on it. It was waxed once when first got it with gold glass. I just purchased the zaino kit with all the goodies and I plan to do it this weekend. Question, since Zaino is not a polish per say. Do I need to apply one first before I go through the zaino process? Considering I have a farily new finish, I didn't know if this would be a waste of time or not. If I do need to polish, what should I use?
I see you're fairly new to Autopia, so maybe we need a little chat about terminology first. My Dad used to say he was going to "polish" the car. Now that I'm thoroughly indoctrinated into Autopia, I realize what he meant was that he was going to
wax the car. We polish with abrasives to get rid of swirls, spiderwebbing, etc. We wax to create a nice, deep glossy shine on a nice paint job.
So ...
If you have some time, read the "Polishing" and "Waxing & Sealing" articles at
http://www.autopia.ws/topics.php?topicId=10. Better yet, subscribe to the e-book. But ... my shorthand tips.
1. Wash the car. If you still think you have some GC wax on it, use Dawn for the wash, to get rid of the oils. If you think the wax is gone, the Zaino wash (or any other) should be fine.
2. Clay. I agree with others -- you'll be glad you did. Maybe you got the Zaino clay in your kit. If you, you can find Mothers or ClayMagic (both of which are very good) at most AutoZones, PepBoys, etc.
3. If you have swirls/scratches, you'll want to deal with them. But do you know how to polish and do you have the tools and polishes on hand to tackle them? If not, you can apply the Z5 and that may minimize them somewhat ... then you can tackle hardcore polishing next spring when the weather improves. If you apply polishes, be sure to wash them away thoroughly with Dawn.
4. Start Zaino'ing. Be sure to read the tips (They're nested under several different tabs -- Tips, FAQs, etc.) in the Zaino website. And read Nick's Zaino Tips and Tricks on the Autopia Hall of Fame website. Be sure to Z6 before and after every layer of Z5/Z2. Also, apply Z5 and Z2
incredibly sparingly; as my distributor said to me: "Pretend it costs $1,000 per ounce."
Zaino really isn't all that difficult to use. First time I used it, I was just plain IGNORANT. But I read the Zaino instructions, and had superb results. Go to it, and be sure to get back to us with your further questions, comments, and (most important) results!
