My Story Detailing New Truck Zaino S100????

L

Lookin4aTruck

New member
Basicly in a nut shell this is what I have done.



Got the Zaino kit for my new Black Dodge Ram. Made a mistake really and didn't get a clay bar but washed with Dawn and then follwed with the Zaino Car Was Concentrate.



Water spots were still on the paint. I had nothing to remove them but needed protection on my new paint from the winter elements here. So I went ahead and used the # 5 Zaino polish. My new truck's clear coat already has scratches all over it. It scratches at nothing as the clear is way too soft I think. Anyway after applying the Zaino #5 I buffed off with cotton towel. It looked very good to me for just one coat of the # 5 but I was dissappointed in the fact that if didn't fill any of the blemishes or scratches. That was my understanding that it was supposed to fill them and then you follow with the # 2 polish.



Well I never got around to the # 2 polish because of the weather and lack of time but the shine was good and maybe it takes more than one coat of the # 5 to fill the scratches in. I then follwed this with the Zaino detail spray and the results were good.



Now someone had told me to buy this S100 Cleanser product and S100 Wax so I did. I now have those products comming and would like to know what would really be the best course of action to take with the products I have and after what I have already done.



I was told the S100 Cleanser would remove the water spots. Thats why I purchased it becuase I have nothing that will even touch the spots as they are baked in! I din't know they would be this hard to get off. I was then told that the S100 wax would fill the scratches in the clear coat.



So should I wash truck again now with the S100 Cleanser? Will it remove the water spots? And if so how should I follow up with the polish? Use the Zaino #5 and #2 again first and then finish with the S100 wax? I thought the Zaino being synthetic product or I think it is, is supposed to last longer than the S100 wax?



I also bought some 100% cotton bath towels for removing the Zaino and some drying cloths and wheel and tire cleaner. I plan on starting the middle of next week when the weather warms up.



Any advice would be helpful.



Thanks.
 
I think you should start by reading DavidB's e-book "Autopia Guide to Detailing". It has the whole chapter about swirl and water spots removal.

Another thing you could do is to search this board, you'll find tons of information on the subject.

There is nothing wrong with the products that you purchased but I get the feeling you don't quite know much about them and how to use them. They are well known by Autopians so use the search again.

Welcome to Autopia!;)
 
one more thing, To get good results, and prevent any new scratches. Instead of using a cotton towel. Use a microfiber towel. Search for information on good ones.



Welcome to Autopia
 
Water spots are tricky. S100 should be able to take care of most of the water spots since your truck and the paint are brand new. However, you may need something extra like a dawn wash if the spots have already been shielded underneath the Zaino coats. Swirls on a new vehicle? Depending on the serverity of the swirls, you just might have to go the SMR route if they're really bad. Various threads claimed good results with S100 topping the Zaino, but at the same time some stated that this combination may cause an unsightly haze. You probably want to test it on a small and unconspicuous surface (like the bottom portion of the rear fender?) first before doing the entire truck.

When you have the time, do search through some of the past threads which contain a vast amount of very useful information.



Aloha!
 
Do not expect Z5 to cover (fill) anything more than very,very,very,very minor surface marring. My first go with Zaino and 70 coats of Z2 and Z5 later no significant improvement in surface marring. But boy did it shine. My mistake. Zaino stresses meticulous surface prep beyond a Dawn wash but I ignored the meticulous part and prep like I have been doing for years. That was sufficient for waxes with their cleaners and fillers but not for Zaino. Zaino does not have a high "make-up" value. If anything it amplifies defects in the finish. This is not a Zaino problem but a prep problem. Zaino is a hi-end product for car lovers who spend time to make their vehicle the best it can be and not mind going the extra mile in preparation.

What I am trying to say is that you have a layer of good protection in place for now (Z5). Go back and eliminate your surface defects with whatever is necessary when the weather improves and you have time for this project. After this initial prep Zaino is a breeze to maintain and work with.

S100 SEPC ( great stuff that really brings back the true surface gloss and remove minor marring) may be all you need if the problem is mild or as suggested a SMR type product may be necessary. As soon as you have your finish to your satisfaction than apply the Zaino.

Also one coat of Z5 will not show much change. You could apply the 5 -6 coats that Zaino recommends for maximum product results and see what happens. If no great change any further application of Z5 would be futile. Go back and re-prep finish.



S100 (P21S) over Zaino did not work for me ( haze and lifting) but others have had success. I have since faced up to my addiction to carnuabas and moved on to other sealants ( BF II and EX) that are made to be topped with a carnuaba if one desires.



DavidB's E-Book is a great reference source for detailing. I highly recommend reading:xyxthumbs
 
I have an additional question. I have swirl free black paint on the Cobra, thanks to some SMR and a Dewalt 849. I've put a few coats of Zaino on it. I bought some S100 paste wax and I want to try topping the Z. Would it be best to apply some S100 SEPC and then try the S100? Do you think the wax would bond any better if there was some SEPC first?

Thanks!

TJ
 
TJ98Cobra,



I would just try applying a layer or two of S100/P21S right on top of your Zaino. The SEPC might take off some of the Zaino as it is applied.



Try an area like the trunk to see how it works for you.



Cheers,

My Black 7 Series
 
TJ98Cobra,

S100 SEPC will remove Zaino, just put wax on top of Zaino. Next time you can use SEPC as the last of your paint preparation steps before Zaino.
 
Is there anyway to stop getting the notifications everytime someone replys here??????



I went into the user settings and turned it off twice but I still keep getting emails.



I have everything that I mentioned above anyway and the S100 cleanser and wax should be here this week. Its supposed to warm up and be nicer so I plan on washing in the cleanser and then re-applying the Zaino #5 followed by # 2 and then trying sS100 wax over the top of that.



Its looking like Wendesday or Thursday right now if the weather cooperates.



I just bought the 100% made in USA bath towels for removing the Zaino because thats what the instruction sheet says to do.



I also purchased a Detailer's Choice Wash Pad at Walmart and a Detailers Choice Spotless Dryer for drying. They also had Eagle One All Wheel Cleaner and Armor All Extreme Tire Shine. I bought both those products as well to do my wheels. I may go back down there to see if they have those MF towels that someone else mentioned in another thread. It is a super center.



I'm just wondering if after washing and re-applying the Zaino if the S100 on top will then fill those tiny scratches in? They are small you can't even see them unless the sun is hitting and reflecting just right. The truck is only 6 weeks old but washed it one time and already scracthes on the clear coat.



Thanks for help.
 
When you turn off the notifications, you won't get them for NEW threads that you participate in after turning off the notifications, but you'll continue to get them for OLD threads that you participated in BEFORE you turned off the notifications. The notifications should subside soon.



I wouldn't worry too much about the swirls that you see. There are really two kinds of swirls- swirls and spiderwebbing.



Swirls are caused by improper washing. Spiderwebbing, on the other hand, is an imperfecton that no one can stop- it's present in every car's paint. Swirls can be seen from most angles; spiderwebbing can only be seen from particular angles in direct sunlight. Swirls tend to show a pattern (generally circular); spiderwebbing is just sort of scattered across the paint, like a spider web.



From your description, it sounds like you have spiderwebbing.



Whille Zaino Z5 isn't the best at hiding swrils, it does to a pretty good job on spiderwebbing. Several coats of Z5 will help, and a top coat of S100 will help also. Your truck will look great after you are done with this regimen.



One thing that I woudl suggest is investing in a 100% cotton or microfiber wash mitt and some high-quality microfiber towels. The Detailer's Choice mitt probably isn't 100% cotton; it likely contians polyester, which will cause swirls eventually. Ditto for the towels. CMA sells a good 100% cotton wash mitt. Kragen, Schnuck's, and Checkers auto supply stores also sell a 100% cotton wash mitt by Viking. Make absolutely sure you get the one with the cotton leaf symbol on the label; those stores also carry other one which looks exactly the same and even has an virtually identical label, which has a polyester backing.



Your truck will be looking great!
 
Thanks for your answers and help bud!



I will let you know how it goes and the detailer's wash mint I got says its clear coat safe on the front of package and it says it is made of soft chenille pile.



http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18967



Above is the thread I saw about the cheap MF towels at Super Wally World. I will have to go back and check at mine because I didn't notice them before and was useing the 100% cotton bath towels I bought there for drying and buffing off the Zaino.



That may be spider webbing but looks like tiny scratches to me and the kinda have a prism like rainbow reflection of many colors as well when the sun hits them. When I washed my truck I did put a bad scratch on top of the hood. I hope the S100 or a few coats of the # 5 Zaino will fill this scratch.



Thanks for all you help again!
 
I went back to Walmart to day and they did have the towels mentioned in the above thread.



Bought 5 pack of Concordia MF cleaning towels for 4.87$
 
Well I got all the products and washed the truck with the Zaino concentrate.



I then followed with the S100 cleanser and found that it did nothing to the water spots. So I just finished pre cleaning the truck with it anyway and then applied the S100 wax.



It looked beautiful and may have been just a little bit darker than the Zaino polish alone.



But my question is what about these water spots? I was gonna geta clay bar but have read here now that clay bar won't remove water spots either. Someone suggested trying vinegar to remove water spots. The truck is new so they aren't etched in or anyting yet but tough to remove.



Any advice.
 
I too have a black Dodge Ram Truck. It also came with water spots at no extra charge. I found that Meguirs Scratch X or SMR had to be used to make it right.:) In your first post you mentioned your clear coat being soft, I very much agree. The micro fiber towels have been the only way to go. I have both Zanio and S100, both look great on the truck and I can't see a difference between the two. The key for me seems to be the prep not so much the topper application. To achieve that perfect look I had to use my rotary polisher. Have fun...
 
Lookin4aTruck said:
Well I got all the products and washed the truck with the Zaino concentrate.



I then followed with the S100 cleanser and found that it did nothing to the water spots. So I just finished pre cleaning the truck with it anyway and then applied the S100 wax.



It looked beautiful and may have been just a little bit darker than the Zaino polish alone.



But my question is what about these water spots? I was gonna geta clay bar but have read here now that clay bar won't remove water spots either. Someone suggested trying vinegar to remove water spots. The truck is new so they aren't etched in or anyting yet but tough to remove.



Any advice.
Click to expand...



If they are hard water spots then try vinegar or rubbing alcohol mixed with distilled water. You need to break the bond of the sediment deposits and sometimes only a chemical reaction can do this.



Beyond that you will need to polish them off and basically remove a microlayer of clearcoat. Have you looked at the water spots with a magnifying glass or loupe? Better be sure they have not eaten into the clearcoat.



You should buy a clay bar and use it regardless of water spots. Your truck has surface contaminents that need to be removed. I clayed a new Audi All-Road tonight that looked and felt great. But after clay it was even better. I've never seen a car that cannot use a claying treatment unless it just came out of a paint shop.



You really need a solid detailing regimen to build on and its clear you don't have one. Start with the basics first before tossing money at all these products which you don't know how to use or what to use them on. The e-book will help you greatly with this. Crawl before walking. Walk before running.
 
Well I will try the vinegar or alcohol to remove the water spots.



As soon as I get them off I'm gonna use all the products including the Zaino treatment and then the S100 wax on top of all of that for protection. I just thought there was no need for all of this until I get the spots off first.



Yeah man, if you have a new Ram to you know what I'm talking about. I think the clear coat is even softer than what most others are and scratches too easliy.
 
Well I've made some progress. I went to see a friend who has a body shop and has been painting cars for over 20 years. He said to try the vinegar first. I did and it had no effect. So I went back and he said he would look at the truck. Upon inspection he said these spots were not acid rain spots but were somekind of mineral deposits from my spring water that I used to wash the truck.



He went inside and came back with a black bottle of some kind of 3m polish/glaze product. It was a white liquid and he applied it to the hood in a small area where there were some bad water spots. He rubbed lightly for a few minutes and it cut the spots out. I also noticed it dulled the scratches as well and they looked less noticable. He said it wasn't really an aggressive product and most of the scratches were deeper than what the product would cut. He also said he thought this clear was "soft" and scratched very easily.



He said it was a bout 16 bucks a bottle but that I should go down and buy some Mother's Cleaner Carnuaba wax first and try it. He said it would probably get the spots off. Well I did just that and after comming back from the local Auto Zone and washing the entire truck down again with the Zaino Car Wash and then drying with a new California Water Blad I also just bought I applied the Mother's. I found it did remove MOST of the spots. I did one panel at a time and applied Mother's useing those MF Towels and then buffed it out with them. After going over the hood 3 or 4 times with the wax most the spots were removed and were far less noticable and also the scratches were dulled somewhat. I am pretty pleased with Mother's Wax and think it would work really well if you applied it sooner and kept useing it to prevent these hard water spots. It also leaves a good shine but I think it is a little duller than the S100 or Zaino shine. Or I think the proper way to describe it would be that the Black seems to be a flatter black now. But in the same token that flatter black gives a more dark appearence to my eye without all the reflection of S100 or Zaino but its close.



They didn't have the 3M products at the Auto Zone but my friend said they would have it at Napa so I plan to buy some of it Tommorow and then use the 3M to remove the rest of the spots the Mothers did not remove. Then I may go back over it with Mothers again. I may also add a coat of S100 to top it off at the end as well. I will try it on one panel or so after I'm done to see the difference between the Mother's and the S100. My friend also said the 3M was a glaze or wax itself to so I would not really have to wax over it anyway.



Looking foward to more detailing! Will post results.
 
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