I have a 95 Honda Passport (dark red) that I had to have repainted a year and a half ago due to a hail storm. Since the repaint it has had nothing on it but zaino. The initial process is very long, but also very rewarding if done right. If you go the zaino route make sure you follow the steps as outlined in the instructions. Like you, I had mine cut and buffed also.
My initial process was as follows:
1. Wash with dawn liquid soap
2. Clay entire vehicle (body, glass, bumpers, everything except tires)
3. Wash with Z7 car wash
4. Applied Z-5 with ZFX accelerator additive (x 2)
5. Wipe down vehicle with Z-6 between coats
6. Applied Z-2 with ZFX accelerator additive (x 1)
Total time 9 to 10 hours. I detailed other area of the Passport while waiting on for zaino to cure about 30min each coat.
Tips I have used:
1. Apply using straight back and forth motions and not circular motions. This took a while to get used to, but now I apply all of my LSP's this way. Not a swirl one in my Passport in a year and a half.
2. Take your time and do it right. Follow every step.
3. Apply very thin layers. If you can see it going on the car then it is to thick. I can wipe down my Passport in less than 15 minutes to buff of the haze after zaino dries. Remeber to use straight back and forth motions to remove.
Once done, it will leave a super slick surface and a highly reflective "show car" shine surface. So far I have 6 layers of Z-5 and 3 layers of Z-2 on it.
Having said all that, I am not a zaino convert. I also have a 2 Toyota Tundra D-Cab's (Natural White) that I use carnauba wax on. This gives me a rich, warm glow that I am looking for and makes the paint look wet, which is hard to do on white IMHO. I recieve compliments all the time on all 3 of the vehicles.
I guess it comes down to personal preference on what look you are trying to achieve. Just remember you can get most LSP's to look good on any color if you have done the prep right. To me, achieving stunning looks and jaw droping paint is 95% prep and application and 5% products.
seems like we always have at least one vehicle that I can't wax for this reason. But auto paint is soft enough as it is, I don't want it to turn out any softer than it's supposed to.
But it's nice for all the paint on the vehicle to be the way it oughta be, hardness-wise. It's a little detail, but it still matters to me- no big surprises or need for different approaches for different panels.