What's wrong with Z5?

V

vjarnot

New member
So, I finished applying Z5+ZFX 2 hours ago and it's still not ready to be removed. I've removed it on a few panels and am left with a hazy/streaky finish; and yes, I'm using high-quality cotton towels to remove.



Oh, I know, I must have applied too much! Of course! Well, I did my whole S2000 with ~1/4th oz. Less is probably possible, but I can't believe that the amount I used is 'too much'.



Maybe next time I'll rub my car with a dry foam applicator and pour a drop of Zaino in the gas tank. Would that be thin enough??



According to the weather channel, it's 88 degrees and 22% humidity - the humidity is probably actually a bit higher, but these are near ideal Zaino conditions.



I feel like a complete sucker at this point. Not only did I buy a relatively expensive product that doesn't work, I keep thinking that ZFX will allow me to do multiple coats. Well, so far I've been mixing enough for two coats and always throwing half the Zaino out ... I can't spend 4 hours per coat!



Hmmm, maybe I could transport my car North of the Arctic Circle, then I'd have enough daylight to apply 2 coats...



Can you tell I'm pissed?
 
dude. I hate to break the news to you, but those "weather numbers" were taken from a fixed position. How far from you is that fixed position? Could there be any chance that the conditions in that distance could be different?



It needs time to dry. Be patient.



If you feel like a sucker for buying somthing soo expensive as seven bucks, (while you buy 20 oz of coke for 1.00 and right behind you 2 litre is 1.09. look at the convienance store!) Just send the Zaino to me. I love the stuff.



If your patient your car will look :bounce
 
I hate to break the news to you, but I really don't think temperature and relative humidity will vary much over a 6 mile distance ... especially with no mountains involved.



As to your second point, I purchased ZFX so I wouldn't have to be patient.



As to your third point, I didn't say expensive, I said relatively expensive. And I'm referring to the total cost of the Zaino 'system'.



I know the car will look good; but ZFX is like roulette - a sucker's game - at least for me...
 
How much Z5 did you put into the bottle and how many drops of ZFX did you drop into the bottle? Did you shake the mixing container really well? (I mean like really well.) Then let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes. Then shake well and apply.



I applied 3 coats with 1 ounce to a ML320 so 1/3 ounce per coat, so thats roughly 1/4 of an ounce for a car the size of your S2000. I think you applied the Z as thin as I did, so the thickness of the coat is not a problem.



I had my Z dry in 10-15 minutes.



:nixweiss



Jason
 
Mixed up a bit more than 1/2 oz, used 4 drops of ZFX, shook well and let it sit for an hour (while I washed), shook again and applied...
 
Make sure the towels you are using have been washed using fragrance-free dye-free liquid detergent and also make sure the towels were not washed or dryed with a fabric softener.



I have seen what you describe happen with towels that were dried with fabric softener dryer sheets.
 
We don't have any fabric softener in the house (don't like it), and my wife is allergic to most fruity detergents - so we use simple, unscented stuff...
 
Wipe your finger across with moderate pressure across one of the heavier coated areas, if it wipes clear and clean, you are dry. If any Zaino is left behind, it is not dry. I have never seen any amount of ZFX mixed product take 2 hours to dry, even in 60 degree weather.

Did you wash your towels before using them?

All of my customers have had great success with ZFX, so I am very interested in finding out what happened.

You have not been suckered, we just need to find out what happened and get it corrected.
 
I think I'll try washing my towels twice (yes they were clean) next time...



I did the finger test, I found that the Z was not quite ready (this was 1.5 hours after applying), but I tried proceeding anyway - big mistake (see first post).



The Z got easy to remove finally about 2.5 - 3 hours after application! At that rate, there's no way I can do more than one coat per day...
 
Definitely unusual. The only thing that caught my eye was the 4 drops per for 1/2 oz.



"For each ounce of polish, add 4 to 5 drops of ZFXâ„¢ (no more than 10 drops for two full ounces)" Off the website, your 4 ozs per 1/2 oz gives you 16 drops for two ozs. Reaching for something to help, maybe that was a factor.



I am cheap so I use 2 drops when I go for a 1/2 oz mix, which keeps me under the 10 drops per 2 ozs. Even straight Z2 or 5 drys in under 30 minutes for me, SoCAL WX ~ 70 68% hum.



LC



Reread your post, give one more shot before you write it off!:)
 
vjarnot - just another towel hint, I use a little bit (maybe a half ounce) of simple green and a small half-scoop of oxi-clean in with my detailing towels in addition to my regular detergent. Run them thru a full cycle once, then run a cycle again on the washer without any detergent. This ensures I ridded all the detergent from the towels. Then I dry them to near-completion in the drier and with the little bit of remaining dampness I iron the towels to get them as dry and "perfect" as possible. I find they fold alot easer this way too.



just an idea.



oh, and if you only mixed up a half ounce, you should've been able to get away with 3 drops of ZFX. On a black car like that you should be sure to put the car in the shade - Z streaks if its being removed from or applied to a warm/hot surface. :up
 
vjarnot,



I'm Z5/ZFXing my truck tomorrow for the first time ever. I ordered my Zaino a week ago Thursday, and got it last Wednesday (ordered direct from Zainobros). I suppose it's not impossible that there is a bad lot of the ZFX, so if you got your Zaino within the past week, maybe we can compare experiences. This is probably a very slim chance, but I'm guessing it's not impossible.



I'll post again tomorrow and let you know how my Z5/ZFX curing went.
 
Shiny Lil Detlr said:
On a black car like that you should be sure to put the car in the shade - Z streaks if its being removed from or applied to a warm/hot surface. :up
Click to expand...



Well, that looks like the best possibility so far. I actually moved the car into the sun to speed the drying; also, I get little droplets of sap if I leave it under the tree near the driveway - that's the only shade available to me...



Any confirmations of streaky Z when dealing with a hot surface? (Not that I don't believe you Shiny ;), but I'd like to hear of other experiences).



Dave N: I got my Z a while back actually...



Another question: Can I apply more Z5 tomorrow without using ZFX or Z1? I'm thinking of doing a QD in the morning followed by another coat of Z5; it shouldn't need a wash, as it hasn't been driven since the Z was removed this afternoon...
 
Like Likecars the thing that popped out at me is you said you used 4 drops for 1/2 oz. 4 drops should be used for a full ounce. You should've probably used 2 drops max. Strangely enough I would think having more drops would make the car dry faster and I guess I'd be surprised if it kept it from drying. However, maybe that has an effect on the streaks. Did you shake it for a 60-90 seconds? Or just 10-15 seconds. Maybe it didn't distribute thoroughly if you didn't shake it very long.



As for the sun thing, I kind of doubt that's a problem. I did my steel grey (which is pretty dark) car in full sun last weekend. In about 85 degrees and 60% humidity and I didn't have any problems myself. I used Z2 though not Z5 so I don't know whether that has different factors to it that make it a little harder to work with.



Other than what anyone else said, I'm not sure I can add. Is this the first time this has happened?--Like have you used Zaino successfully or unsuccessfully in the past? I think I've read that you should be able to wash with Z7 if you have streaks and everything will be corrected (but not sure where I saw that--i think on Zaino's website).



I used one or two Meguiar's Ultimate Towel (microfiber) to remove myself. Those work very well. I'd suggest that except I think most people do fine with cotton towels.



Not sure what else to say.



Eric
 
vjarnot said:




....



Any confirmations of streaky Z when dealing with a hot surface? (Not that I don't believe you Shiny ;), but I'd like to hear of other experiences).



....
Click to expand...



Zaino on my black hood streaked but went away after a few days.
 
For what it's worth...



I Z5'd my truck for the first time today, and it came off no problem. I used 1 oz. of Z5 and 5 drops of ZFX. The spots where I put it on a little too thick took some extra rubbing, but my Neatitems MF towels worked well. The Z5 was dry before the half hour was up. Temps here were mid 70's and low humidity.
 
Outta curiosity, what color is your z5? Apparently there is a reformulated z5 that's a light orange in color, whereas the old one was white.



We're discussing the exact same thing over on the MDX board, where @ least a couple of people are getting smears w/the "new" z5 on black.
 
AcMDX said:
Outta curiosity, what color is your z5? Apparently there is a reformulated z5 that's a light orange in color, whereas the old one was white.



We're discussing the exact same thing over on the MDX board, where @ least a couple of people are getting smears w/the "new" z5 on black.
Click to expand...



if y'all are having problems with the "new" Z5 specifically, be sure to alert Sal about it - there may be some adjustments in chemical formulation that he can make to keep the improved filling properties/shine properties, but eliminate the streaking problems people are having. (oh, and just so you note, the "streaking" I was referring to recieving was also on the "new" Z5.)



:xyxthumbs
 
I did three coats of the new (orange) Z5/ZFX on Saturday and two coats of Z5/ZFX on Sunday (applied with PC/gray pad). These were done in a garage in 90+ temperatures with very high humidity (probably over 80%). I used about 1/4 ounce a coat and one drop of ZFX per 1/4 ounce mixture. It dried very fast (about 15 min) although it seems to have a little different texture than a dried wax (much softer). I did find that Z will saturate MF towels very quickly. When removing I used about 5 MF towels per coat. If I did not change frequently, smearing would occur on my black car. I'm very pleased with the results and beginning to become one of those fabled Zaino zealots :p .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top