Leaving Zaino, returning To IHG & Collinite...

M

mpawelek

New member
For quite some years I have been using a 3M Imperial Hand glaze base with a top coat of Collinite Carnuba wax on my older vehicles with great results and get many compliments. After reading two popular forums for over 6 weeks I decided to try the Zaino line as I gathered it was much more durable than a Carnuba Wax. I prepped my ’96 Z3 yesterday and did the Z1, Z5 and Z2 treatment as per the directions and was pleased with how well the Zaino products went on and finally wiped off after a proper drying time. The shine is excellent but much different than the IHG and Collinite combination. IHG and Collinite to me gives a wetter, deeper shine that almost looks as if you are gazing into a pool of clear water 6 inches deep. The Zaino gives a mirror shine without much depth, the Atlanta Blue on my Z3 appears lighter with the Zaino. The down side of the Zaino for me is that it does not fill minor swirl marks like the IHG and Collinite combination and any imperfections are noticed a lot more. This was an interesting project for me and I’m glad I did it but I will be switching back to my old process of IHG and Collinite as soon as the Zaino wears off sometime this Summer. I thought I might post this for those still searching for their preferred products, I have no complaints on the Zaino products but they are not what I need….Michael P.
 
mpawelek- Interesting post. I'm glad you gave us your perceptions and I always grin when someone appreciates Collinite :D I finally decided NOT to try Z based on experiences/comments like yours and seeing the posted pics of cars that WERE done with Z. Z users note that I DO recommend it to others, depending on what they're after, but it's just not the look that I'M after on the cars I have now. (Not intended as a slam at people who like it; I use Z-16 myself.)
 
impowekita- I'm guessing you're asking mpawelek but I'll chime in as I'm here now. What color/make/year of car and what kind of look are you after? How important is longevity? Actually, P21S and BFII don't give all THAT different of looks (BF is sorta "carnauba-like" in appearance). Haven't tried the Platinum UPP yet, but I'd sorta lean towards that instead of the BF based on my experiences with BF and what Nick T. has posted.
 
Good insight, I experienced the similar aspect of zaino that it would show the swirls and scratched/imperfections more. I do agree that it is an excellent product, but, for daily drivers (and non garage queens that experience the hazards of our roads and contaminants) I decided that I needed carnauba as a topper. IMO, klasse was a perfect fit as an excellent sealant at the level of zaino with better topping capabilities with wax.



I have had also great results with UPP and EX using klasse AIO as the base (not going to try bfII based on current smearing issues).



I personally have had very good experience with souveran and s100/ps21 as toppers, and do plan on trying collinite when I need more carnauba toppers.
 
It's great that most of the folks here tell it like it is when it comes to Zaino, instead of the majority of other forums who like to push Z-5's swirl-filling properties. Not sure what product these ppl are using, but Z-5 definitely does NOT fill swirls. In fact, it seems to highlight them.
 
impowekita said:
Which product should I use then? I have narrowed it down to P21S or Blackfire/Platinum.
Click to expand...
If you have black or red (or any dark color) paint, then I’d recommend that you stay away from Blackfire 2 since it leaves a noticeable oily residue on my black paint. If you wash off the residue you also lose the “depth� in the final finish. On my white Suburban the BF2 oils are only barely visible and it looks good.



I’ve been playing with Platinum (PUPP & PUPP-C) for awhile now and I’m very impressed with it. On my first test I did half of the rear deck on my roadster so that I could do a side by side comparison with the existing multi-layered Zaino. The first thing I saw was that the PUPP side looked blacker than the Zaino side. The PUPP also had a little more depth to the shine. When I put PUPP on half of the front of the car I found that bugs were a little more difficult to wipe off of the PUPP side. PUPP hides micro-marring fairly well, while Zaino only makes them more visible - - it takes several layers of Z-5 to even begin hiding swirls. Platinum Pre-Cleaner seems to me to work equally well for surface prep as P21S GEPC.



Platinum Ultimate Gloss Enhancer is a good QD to use with PUPP, and Pinnacle Crystal Mist is an excellent QD for use with carnauba.



I’ve now put two layers of PUPP on the entire car and topped it with two layers of Souverän - some liquid and some paste - and I’m really pleased with the results.
 
Hi mpawelek,



Go ahead and throw on the IHG and Collinite right over the

Zaino. I did, it's not going to hurt anything.



Why wait for that carnauba richness.



rd
 
Thanks for the report! Although I haven't tried Zaino, it is reviews like yours as to why I haven't tried it. The overall look and the inability to hide scratches! Collinite is just an all around GREAT performer that works for me too! BTW, I have had real good luck using Mothers Sealer/Glaze, but I will try the IHG combo to see if I like it any better.
 
When you apply the IHG put it on as thin as possible, almost to where you cannot see any change in paint color just a very thin dull difference in the surface. If it is applied too thick it wants to smear and streak and takes too many towels to get off. Easy does it!!!...Michael P.
 
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