rav6370

I have had the s4 for a week now and was looking into what products to use. I just received the Zaino kit I ordered and wanted to see what folks recommended. Do I need to wash the car with dawn to remove any wax on the car? Do I need to use the clay bar ? Or can I just wash it good and start with zfx and then z2/z5 ? The car is monsoon grey so was planning to use the z5.

Any input from folks that use Zaino or have in the past?

riegerman

If you can return the zaino and get your money back then do it. I have the product and have used it and it for some reason doesn't give the Audi paint the same results the guys with the corvette are gettting. I think it has to do with something about the German paint.
Anyways much better results with a good quality polish like the Menzerna products, clay bar, and a good quality wax like Victoria Wax, P21S Carnuba wax or any of the high quality waxes.
Here is a link to Victoria wax which I find to be one of the best.
http://victoriawax.com/

anleS4

i used zaino for the first time back in 2001 on my bmw after trying zymol and mcguiars. it worked great. in 2004 i used it on my A4 and it also worked great. i like it better than wax. great for winter condition because it's more durable than wax. definitely use a dawn and then clay bar. Make sure use a good lubricant when using the clay bar. soapy water will do. DO NOT rub the clay on dry surface. you always want to prep the paint before covering it with a wax or sealing.

riegerman

It protects better but doesn't give a deep glossy shine like carnuaba wax does. So it depends on what you are looking for, longer protection or deeper glossy shine.
Unless you were using the very very expensive Zymol rather than the regular stuff then you can't compare Zaino to the cheap meguiars and zymol. High quality carnuaba can't be beat, that is why concour cars use carnuaba and very good quality polish.
The Zaino polish uses a filler or bonding agent to fill imperfections in the paint but a polish smooths out paint perfections, this is highly prefered for the deep wet look while a high quality carnuaba provides the gloss and wet look. I have used zaino on half a car and carnuaba on the other half and the look of carnuaba with a good polish kills the zaino while the zaino lasts about 6months and the wax about 4months. That is in Canada not sure how well each will do in the Arizona heat.

LeadToRome

I disagree with the poster above, my Deep Sea Blue car looks crazy good, so deep and wet it's unreal. Plus it stays that way for a long while. I'm a true believer.

To the OP, I would wash it with either Dawn or the Zaino wash (which is excellent btw) and then proceed. A couple/three coats of Z-CS at the end will give that wet depth you want, plus that stuff is the easiest thing in the world to apply once you get used to it.

audifan22

I used to be one of those hardcore zaino users, but really its not worth the money or time to be spent on a grey car. Zaino durability is fantastic I'd say 6 months. However, these days on my ibis white I just use Mothers FX synwax polymer. It lasts 3-4 months, and it literally is the easiest wax to put on and buff out. I'm not kidding I wax the whole car in about 5 minutes, let it sit for 5 minutes, and then buff it out in about 5 minutes. 15 minutes total. It leaves no residue and its streak free and has UV protection.

Sure if you had a black car or another color that really shines, you might want to use carnuba etc...but why waste the time with zaino and the price for a grey car?

sducotey

I've used Zaino for many years and it works great and is very easy to put on and take off. The key is to use it sparingly as instructed. If used sparingly, the cost of Zaino is basically equal to the cost of other waxes and sealants.

Zaino wash will not remove the existing wax or sealant like Dawn will. There are other car washes that will remove the existing wax or sealant if used at the correct concentration but my understanding is Zaino wash will not.

On a new car I would not use Z-5 but would use Z-2 or Z-CS. I've used all three and I prefer Z-2 over the other products. I would also buy some Z-6 which works great.

There are so many great waxes and sealants out in the market these days that will all do a great job and everybody will have their own opinion. In general sealants (which Zaino is) will last much longer than a wax. Visit some Car Detailing Forums and you can read about them for hours. You just need to decide what you want to use and use it.

xxShadowxx

I use a clay bar, then follow up with my orbital and some Klasse all-in-one polish, then finish it off with Wolfgang Deep Paint Sealant 3.0

CharlieG

I've been using Zaino on my Audi's for well over 10 years. Fantastic stuff. You just can't beat the durability. As for the shine, after three or four coats (I usually alternate Z5 & Z2), you can't beat that either. The stuff (all of them) go on and come off very easily if used sparingly (as directed). You don't need to glob it on ... just enough to cover the paint and you're good to go. You also need to give it time to dry before trying to wipe it down and that depends on the conditions when you apply. I usually give it 15 - 30 minutes. I always do my cars in the garage, out of the sun on days without high humidity or very high temperatures. I last did my S4 back in the Spring and it's sitting outside my office in the rain right now and looks like I just waxed it yesterday ... tiny beads of water all over the car.

I remember an independent publication (no advertising, supported only by the subscribers) several years ago called Guru Reports (not sure if it's still available or not) that did an in depth analysis of several dozen waxes. Zaino beat them all in terms of shine and durability. They did run into trouble applying too much (and therefore not drying up for removal) their first time around but after they figure out the right way to use it, it was their number one choice.

helix139

Zaino is great but you MUST follow the directions for best results. It will absolutely give a shine as deep and wet as carnauba, but will offer significantly longer-lasting protection. My detailer does it on mine, and yes, it is necessary to wash with dawn first.

Wash with dawn
Clay the entire car
Layer Z-5 and/or Z-2 (depending on the condition of your paint and the color. Can also use Z-PC with a dual action orbital followed by Z-2), spraying down with Z-6 in between. Use the Z-FX accelerator to speed up the cure time. My detailer layers 3 coats on mine, and time to complete is roughly 5 hours with Z-FX in a climate controlled bay.
finish with Z-CS followed by Z-8 grand finale.

A couple pictures of mine following Zaino: