Zaino ZFX removal

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dlw

New member
I just did 3 coats of Zaino Z-5 mixed with the proper amount of ZFX on the black Prelude. The first 2 coats were great, looked nicer than ever. The problem came on removal of the 3rd coat of Z5/ZFX. I had to let it sit for about 4-5 hours in the garage (about 65F degrees) before removing it. I was shocked to find that any spot of Z5 that was a little heavy and visibly white at all was really, really tough to remove. On some spots I even had to use Z6 QD to get the stuff off!. I was a Zaino distributor for a year and have probably Z'd several hundred cars so it's not like I've never done it before. I'm very conservative and used only about 1.5oz for the 3 coats, so when I say "heavier" spots, I'm talking about the type of areas that have never given me any removal problems before. Also, I used a Viking foam applicator (one that I've been using for months) and the Z5/ZFX will not wash out of the applicator (using Dawn, as always before). Is this normal with the ZFX, or is something else unusual here? I liked the convenience of 3 coats a day, but will go back to 1 coat a day if I have to buy a new applicator and work my rear end off removing the stuff, especially that last coat that I let sit there for several hours. I've left Z2/Z5 on for several days before with it being easier to remove the longer I waited.

Prelude_hood_shot1.jpg
 
DLW



I have left Z5 on the cars for 11 days before, but with ZFX I find that if you leave it on over 2-3 hrs it gets hard to wipe off. I have never left it on longer than that....
 
Thanks, Redcar GUY, that answers my question. I just hadn't read anywhere about the ZFX being hard to remove if you leave it on too long. I almost left it overnight, sure glad I got inspired to take it off when I did! I'm not too crazy about having to throw away my applicator that I used with the ZFX either. Next time I'll make sure that I try to wash it immediately after applying, not 5 or 6 hours later like I did this time. It does look great though. I probably won't be using the ZFX much anyway, I usually put on a quick coat of Z5/2 after each wash, it's just so quick and easy, especially when you can just buff it off right away if you want to drive the car or in a day or two if you want to let the car sit in the garage while you do other things.
 
I had the same exact troubles with Z5+ZFX over the weekend. The 3rd coat was applied approximately 5 hours after I created the Z5/ZFX combo. The temp in my garage was about 65 degrees. I let it dry for a little less than 3 hours. It was VERY hard to remove from the car. I had to rub quite hard to get the stuff off. I'm hesitant to use the mixture again just because of the effort required to remove the dried Z5.
 
This is completely opposite to what I observed and was going to post about. I apply and remove 2 coats of Z5 or Z2 with ZFX and then apply the third coat and allow to dry overnight. My observation was that it required no more effort to remove and that the gloss was slightly better :nixweiss. As a matter of fact I plan to use this procedure in the future. The first 2 coats were applied outside (~75* ) and the third coat applied in the garage (60 -70*). I like leaving the 3rd coat on overnight also because of the fatigue factor after meticulously applying and removing the previous 2 coats. What are you using to remove the polish? Cotton towels or MF's. I use plush cotton towels... no problem.

In term of the foam pad cleaning I found that even without ZFX these pads were hard to completely clean. With the fear of causing micro-marring from particulate Zaino embedded in the foam I switched back to cotton applicators. Cotton pads are rather inexpensive and I use a new one after about 5 to 7 uses and machine washings. They just feel so much softer than the foam after cleaning.
 
Do you think maybe the ZFX/Z5 wasn't completely dry yet? Maybe next time I'll let it dry overnight. Removal was done with MF towels. I used 3 total MFs during the entire process. Maybe by the 3rd coat the MFs were too filled with sealant to remove it easily?
 
bgruver said:
Do you think maybe the ZFX/Z5 wasn't completely dry yet? Maybe next time I'll let it dry overnight. Removal was done with MF towels. I used 3 total MFs during the entire process. Maybe by the 3rd coat the MFs were too filled with sealant to remove it easily?
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No. I am sure the Z5/ZFX was dry but maybe the fibers of the MF were saturated. The 3rd coat should dry just as quickly as the first two coats. Maybe next time try using a 100% plush cotton towel and see if any improvement. I have in the past removed 3 coats in less than 4 hours total with no problem with drying or removal. This ZFX additive is fantastic. With the flash curing the micro-marring that some people have experiences with cotton towels has been eliminated and the towels have a higher level of saturation. Also Sal recommends them for his system. You might want to e-mail Sal about your problem but from what I have read that this seems to be a MF created incident.
 
For best results always use cotton to remove zaino.....use large CLEAN towels and turn frequently...



Also, ZFX mixture should dry on the car in 10-30 mins MAX....no need to wait hours to remove...........
 
Now that I'm thinking about it, I do remember trying to use a 100% cotton hand towel. It didn't help though. Maybe I applied it too thickly?



So you suggest using cotton towels (non-mf) to remove zaino sealants? And mfs for QD and other such tasks?
 
bgruver said:
Now that I'm thinking about it, I do remember trying to use a 100% cotton hand towel. It didn't help though. Maybe I applied it too thickly?



So you suggest using cotton towels (non-mf) to remove zaino sealants? And mfs for QD and other such tasks?
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I think we are getting somewhere. You stated that you used a "hand towel" :nono. Toooo small. You need a Large towel as mentioned by DK. Did you also use small MF's ?
 
The MFs were YoSteve's 12x12 I believe. The hand towel was bigger that 12x12, probably something like 18x10. The kind you use to dry your hands with, not a small washcloth towel. How could the size of the towel make a difference?
 
Good question. It just seems that Zaino saturates the fibers of a towel very quickly. Yes wax does not do this. Why? because as you remove most waxes it dries to a white powder and can be shakened out of the towel. Try this with Zaino and shake as you may no residual powder. That means it is still on the fibers. More fibers more virgin areas to remove Zaino. Larger fibers (plush cotton towel) also mean larger surface area/ sq ft to use before saturation.

I have 3 12x12 MF's( use for interior detailing ) and I know they would never be able to remove 3 coats of Zaino polish.
 
Just as an aside to my start of this thread, I use only Canon Fieldcrest Charisma towels to remove Zaino and I ended up with about 1/2oz of Z5/ZFX left after 3 applications, so I'm pretty sure it was applied thin enough, probably thinner that I normally apply without ZFX. I talked with one of my friends that's also a Z addict and he's had the same problem with ZFX if left on more than a couple hours. Again, this is not a huge problem, more of an observation, as I don't intend to use ZFX that much. As far as getting the Viking foam applicators clean after ZFX, I've given up on that, had this one soaking in a heavy Dawn/water mix now for 2 days and the ZFX is still not budging. Without the ZFX, I found that after washing with Dawn and drying, the white powder left in the applicator blows out very well using my air compressor so no powder is left to get on the car the next use. I was really reluctant to use the foam applicators at first, but I've been using them now for about 6-7 months and haven't seen any marring on the dark red Vette and Cherokee, or on the black Prelude. I apply Z so often that the cotton applicators were starting to cost a fortune it seemed and up till now, I was using the same Viking foam applicator for the full 6-7 months.

Jeep_top.jpg
 
dlw,



I have a couple of ZFXed Vikings that I didn't clean right away, and of course the Z has set up quite well in the applicator. I also haven't had luck getting Dawn to break down the dried Z, so this morning I tried mixing up about a 1/3 EF-HI and 2/3 water solution, and left the applicator to soak. I'll let you know how it turns out . . .



I figure either the Z will dissolve, or the applicator will. :D



Tort
 
TortoiseAWD, I was able to salvage my Viking foam applicator by rinsing it out with denatured alcohol. I figured the alcohol would probably ruin it, but it came out good as new. BTW, I was Z-6ing the black Prelude last night and game across a couple spots of dried Z-5/ZFX that I had missed around the bottom of the front fenders. I actually had to use the alcohol to soak the stuff off, Z-6 wouldn't touch it. Boy, I am really gonna make sure that the next time I use ZFX I get the stuff off pronto!
 
i would imagine that zfxed z2/5 shouldnt be left on very long. i've only used it once. and i didnt let it sit any longer than i had to, but i'm just hypothesizing. if you arent supposed to leave zfxed z2/5 in the bottles for longer than a few hours, i would not leave it on my car for more than i'm not supposed to leave it in the bottle
 
egad,



makes me wonder about all the hazy spots of Klasse SG that are still on my car.. I never buffed them off because my arm nearly fell off trying the first time.. I figured it would get easier if it 'dried' thuroughly.. and then I never got around to it.. OOPS



I havn't hand washed my car in many months.. I'm a bad person
 
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