Advice on what to use next-Please!

[smoldin]

Help! I am not sure what to do. My 03 Porsche 996TTis a garage queen and has Zaino on it; Z5x1 and Z2x1. After washing it I can feel some surface contamination. On a scale of 1 to 5 its probably a 1 but nonetheless I want to get back to that super slick finish. I tested a small section with P21s paint cleaner and it did give me the finish I want but I am concerned about removing the Zaino. My questions are:



1) will P21S paint cleaner or Pinnacle paint cleaner remove Zaino?



2) should I just try another layer of Z5? I have noticed some cleaning properties with Z5.



3) should I try something like 3m IHG? Will that remove Zaino? I guess if I do this I will have to put a wax on top to protect and if I do this do I have to Dawn wash prior to another coat of Zaino or is Zaino wash enough?



I really want to put one more layer of either Z5 or Z2 and then I will start to put a wax on top.

Sorry for so many questions but I am a bit confused.



Thank you, Bill

 

[F1Crazy]

In most of the cases if you feel contaminated, gritty surface it's time for good ol' clay bar. Unfortunately you will have to reapply your Z again.

This is what I would do:

clay

P21S GEPC

Z5/Z2.



All paint cleaners will remove any wax/sealant.

IHG will not remove Zaino but it will not help with contamination, it's a glaze with no abrasives and cleaners.

 

[Brad B]

Let me clear a couple things up.



Are you using ZFX? If so, great. If not, then you should be using a basecoat of Z1 before you lay down the initial coat of Z5.



You may have thought so but Z5 does not have any cleaning properties. It has some swirl filling properties. Z2 is an optically clear sealant. You should put on a couple coats of Z5 first then finish with multiple coats of Z2.



Next, IHG is a totally inappropriate product to be using in conjunction with Zaino. Don't use it. It is intended to be used with Carnuba products.



I suggest you get rid of the contamination you feel with a clay. I prefer Zaino clay using Zaino auto shampoo as a lube. Other clays such as Mothers, Clay Magic, 3M and Pinnacle are ok as well. You should feel an immediate improvement in the feel of the surface.



Claying a car is very quick. Cut up your bar in several small pieces. Knead the pieces into flat discs and rub them on the wet, lubricated surface back and forth (only) several times in one spot and move on. Use each side until dirty then flip over. When both sides are dirty toss the bar away. Do not knead debris into bar and reuse dirty bar pieces over. The debris could come back and scratch the car. You can clay a car in an hour. Don't make a big deal of it. It works fast!



Check the car after claying and see if any polishing is needed. It isn't always necessary. This would be for any swirl removal or just a once over.



Continue to apply more coats of Zaino as desired

 

[shaf]

I'm fairly confident IHG would strip Zaino (or anything) off anyway.



Paint cleaners/cleansers should be thought of as mild polishes, just like swirl removers and things like that. They shouldn't be at all used to clean dirt, contamination, tar, etc, etc, off of the paint the way clay is, despite their unfortunate naming. Good luck.

 

[F1Crazy]

I'm fairly confident IHG would strip Zaino (or anything) off anyway.

What makes you think that it will strip Zaino?

IHG doesn't contain any cleaners, silicones, is nonabrasive, it's mostly oils and some other wetting agents and fillers.

If anything it can speed up deterioration of Zaino but I doubt it would strip it.

Like Brad said it's not a product one would use with synthetic sealants and is mostly used by paint shops on fresh paint and in preparation for car shows prior to carnauba.

 

[shaf]

What makes you think that it will strip Zaino?

The solvents are probably incompatible. I know that it's been discussed and proven in the past that this is why a glaze will strip things like Klasse, so it's not much of a leap to guess it would also strip Zaino off. People used to say that it's the abrasives that do the stripping (and glazes might have ultra-fine abrasives too) but it just seems to be the carrying solvents that make up polishes/glazes that doesn't mix.

 

[F1Crazy]

The solvents are probably incompatible. I know that it's been discussed and proven in the past that this is why a glaze will strip things like Klasse, so it's not much of a leap to guess it would also strip Zaino off. People used to say that it's the abrasives that do the stripping (and glazes might have ultra-fine abrasives too) but it just seems to be the carrying solvents that make up polishes/glazes that doesn't mix.

So it's safe to say that liquid waxes like liquid Souveran will strip anything as well since they also have a lot of solvents?



I get what you're saying and I wouldn't use it with any of the sealants but I wouldn't be so confident in its stripping abilities.

I just don't want others to think that IHG is a product to use when attempting Zaino removal. I don't think you meant it that way either.