[Neon21db]

I'm getting my car in about a week and will Zaino it. Some questions:

1. Do most people do the roof? I don't have the car yet so I don't know how easy it is to reach the center portion.
2. Any tips when doing the edges near cracks/openings like the sides of the hood and doors?

[soma4u]

are you gonna zaino it right off the bat? If so you think clay bar is neccesssary?

[Neon21db]

If the weather is good, I think I'm gonna Zaino it when I get it. I'm not using the clay bar as I already ordered the stuff and am not that anal about the car being in 110% showroom condition.

Also, does anyone know if all dealers are required to wax the cars before their customers take delivery?

[nmulax]

Definetely clay bar the car. New cars are still covered in contaminents like rail-dust, brake-dust, sap, etc. Good prep. is key to getting the best outcome.

Dealers aren't required to wax the car. They typically will, but you can ask that they don't. I told them to clean off the cosmoline (protective coating applied at the factory), but leave it otherwise.

Yes, you Zaino/wax the whole car; including the roof. The roof and hood are probably the two most abused panels.. you want to make sure they're protected. I guess it all depends on your height and your arms, but it's fairly easy to reach the center of these cars.

Don't worry about edges. Since Zaino is not a cheap wax (or wax for that matter) it won't leave a white residue on plastic or around door edges, etc.

[Ninjaneer]

I think everyone does the roof cos I've never heard of anyone avoiding it! Plus you're protecting your car's paint and surface, and the top side of your car, which includes the roof, gets the most sun so I don't see why anyone would want to skip it.

It's not that hard to reach the center... just work from both sides till you've overlapped and covered the center.

Not sure there's anything special about the sides really. The only thing that comes to mind is that during your wash you're likely to find some water on the door sills so dry that up. Try to dry your mirrors and license plate area good too because it's easy for water to get trapped in there (people with leaf blowers do a good job here) and then when you drive off it'll drip on your car and leave soap marks or water marks that'll need to be cleaned up again later.

As for Zaino itself, just remember to buff the edges of the doors and hoods to ensure that no excess polish is left behind in these areas after applying pressure to it since they're not on the surface and as visible as the other areas.

The dealers prep your car and part of the process involves some sort of surface detail or wax... gives it a slick look from what I've seen. You could probably tell them that you'd like them to skip this process since you want to do it yourself... you'd have to try to discuss this before the car comes in though since they do other prep stuff as well then they go ahead and wash / detail.

edit: nmulax replied before me so it's good to know the Zaino won't leave excess. I just got my kit recently and will be doing it this weekend or next.

[pander5]

I can't add anything really new in addition to what Ninj and nmulax mentioned but being a long time Z user I can confirm one of the the best characteristics of sealants is they are not like carnaubas and won't leave a white chalky look anywhere on the vehicle - hood seams, badges etc. Definitely do the roof and you shouldn't have any problems reaching all parts of it. I'm 5' 9" and have detailed an E90 no problem. Even if your more vertically challenged than me you can find something to stand on to get that small 1 foot by 4 foot section you can't reach. I apply Z polish to just about everything on the exterior anyway - glass, trim etc.

I would also encourage you to clay as there are lots of things that are on your paint that may not be apparent. Removing them with clay allows a better polish process and really makes the paint sparkle and gleam. I have found it doesn't take too long and you get immediate feedback to the fruits of your labor and what you're doing by seeing what's picked up by the clay. If you don't, you run the risk of breaking off a piece of imbedded crap and it can cause micromaring or "swirls". You can usually find clay at your local auto parts store if you don't have any.

Congrats on the new ride and enjoy the heck out of the whole delivery experience. What color is it?

[Neon21db]

Originally Posted by pander5

I can't add anything really new in addition to what Ninj and nmulax mentioned but being a long time Z user I can confirm one of the the best characteristics of sealants is they are not like carnaubas and won't leave a white chalky look anywhere on the vehicle - hood seams, badges etc. Definitely do the roof and you shouldn't have any problems reaching all parts of it. I'm 5' 9" and have detailed an E90 no problem. Even if your more vertically challenged than me you can find something to stand on to get that small 1 foot by 4 foot section you can't reach. I apply Z polish to just about everything on the exterior anyway - glass, trim etc.

I would also encourage you to clay as there are lots of things that are on your paint that may not be apparent. Removing them with clay allows a better polish process and really makes the paint sparkle and gleam. I have found it doesn't take too long and you get immediate feedback to the fruits of your labor and what you're doing by seeing what's picked up by the clay. If you don't, you run the risk of breaking off a piece of imbedded crap and it can cause micromaring or "swirls". You can usually find clay at your local auto parts store if you don't have any.

Congrats on the new ride and enjoy the heck out of the whole delivery experience. What color is it?

Thank you everyone for your tips. I already bought the stuff from the website and arrived yesterday; I don't want to reorder just the clay and pay overly priced shipping for one small item. Anyway, the color is Monaco Blue.

[BK]

Originally Posted by Neon21db

Thank you everyone for your tips. I already bought the stuff from the website and arrived yesterday; I don't want to reorder just the clay and pay overly priced shipping for one small item. Anyway, the color is Monaco Blue.

Good luck with the Zaino-ing. You'll love the results. If you want to clay but don't want to pay shipping for a single claybar, you can get a claybar from any auto supply store, like Pep Boys. The Zaino brand claybar is no different than any other claybar. Pretty much everything else they make is great, though -- their wash, polish, sealant, QD, tire shine, leather cleaner and leather conditioner.

[dmboone25]

Isn't clay pretty abrasive though? I would be afraid to clay my E92, considering that it is jet black. I have always heard that the clay can actually produce more scratches, so it must be used sparingly. Is this not correct?

Also, on a side note--I have been considering getting some Zaino products, but I am not sure which polishes I actually need. Can anyone break it down in plain english (the Zaino website was not very helpful)?

[335I talian Stallion NJ]

Originally Posted by dmboone25

Isn't clay pretty abrasive though? I would be afraid to clay my E92, considering that it is jet black. I have always heard that the clay can actually produce more scratches, so it must be used sparingly. Is this not correct?

Also, on a side note--I have been considering getting some Zaino products, but I am not sure which polishes I actually need. Can anyone break it down in plain english (the Zaino website was not very helpful)?

I also have a jet black e92 and I'm afraid of clay.... as far as the Zaino check out the sticky posted in this forum and scroll down to the how to apply zaino section :rocks:

[pander5]

Clay is not abrasive if used properly. It can be abrasive usually because of 2 reasons.

One, you need to keep the section you're working WELL lubricated . Don't be stingy with the QD spray or wash solution when you clay.

Two, keep exposing a fresh surface of clay and if you need to grab another fresh piece if the previous one loads up with debris from the surface do it.

On a new car it shouldn't load up too much but keep checking the clay and make sure to use plenty of lube.

[dmboone25]

Originally Posted by pander5

Clay is not abrasive if used properly. It can be abrasive usually because of 2 reasons.

One, you need to keep the section you're working WELL lubricated . Don't be stingy with the QD spray or wash solution when you clay.

Two, keep exposing a fresh surface of clay and if you need to grab another fresh piece if the previous one loads up with debris from the surface do it.

On a new car it shouldn't load up too much but keep checking the clay and make sure to use plenty of lube.

Thanks for the tip--obviously if you make a stupid mistake on jet black EVERYONE is going to notice!

Is the main purpose of the clay to get rid of scratches and swirls, or just dirt and other particles that build up over time on the paint? I had always thought that high speed buffing was the only way to get rid of these annoying problems.....

[BK]

Clay doesn't do anything for swirls. It picks up everything embedded in your clearcoat. It leaves the swirls as they were.

Once your car is clayed, the surface will feel like glass.

[cal99_99]

ok, after a whole detail polish using zaino. how often do u guys keep the car clean from dust? do u wash the car with z-7 and spray z-6 afterward? or just spray z-6 and wipe off the dust for the whole car?

[Ninjaneer]

Originally Posted by cal99_99

ok, after a whole detail polish using zaino. how often do u guys keep the car clean from dust? do u wash the car with z-7 and spray z-6 afterward? or just spray z-6 and wipe off the dust for the whole car?

I recently Zaino'd, so I'm planning to wash with Z7 every 2 weeks (3 max, hey life happens) and use Z6 afterwards.

I'm curious to know whether Z6 can be used similar to Meguiar's QD Mist & Wipe, anyone know? Is that what QD is by design? Or do I strictly need to wash the car and use Z6 after a fresh wash?

[espo]

Originally Posted by Ninjaneer

I'm curious to know whether Z6 can be used similar to Meguiar's QD Mist & Wipe, anyone know? Is that what QD is by design? Or do I strictly need to wash the car and use Z6 after a fresh wash?

Short answer is yes... but only in the case where the car has light dust on it and it hasn't been rained on. That's pretty much the rule for any QD. If the car is dirtier your going to want to wash it.

[Ninjaneer]

Originally Posted by espo

Short answer is yes... but only in the case where the car has light dust on it and it hasn't been rained on. That's pretty much the rule for any QD. If the car is dirtier your going to want to wash it.

Thx

[picus]

RE: Clay.

Clay is an abrasive, however it is not an abrasive in the same sense as a compound. It will not remove paint, but it will abrade anything above the lowest level of the paint; so it won't remove scratches, but it will remove anything on top of the paint, in this case bonded contaminants. It doesn't "suck up" contaminants like a lot of people think, it actually abrades them away. You can clay as much as you like, though it's rarely needed more than once a year. Claying a new car is a great idea; any car shipped via rails will have rail dust on it, in fact as a part of more "new car preps" detailers will clay rather than polish. So clay away, but as Pander5 mentioned use a lot of lube, and the right kind (not water), use a qd or soap and water. Cheers.

[pander5]

Let me add that pressure is not necessary with clay. I seem to glide it on the lubricated surface and let it do it's thing - same as my wash mitt - light pressure is all you need. If it takes 2 passes on a section with light pressure so be it - 1 pass with heavy pressure is inviting scratches so go easy and take your time.

[picus]

Originally Posted by pander5

Let me add that pressure is not necessary with clay. I seem to glide it on the lubricated surface and let it do it's thing - same as my wash mitt - light pressure is all you need. If it takes 2 passes on a section with light pressure so be it - 1 pass with heavy pressure is inviting scratches so go easy and take your time.

[dmboone25]

Thanks for the tips guys!