I've used "over-the-counter" car care products for many years. I have been generally quite content with Meguiars products, but I've probably tried just about everything that the local mega-auto parts store carries. Some if it good, some not. Last year I discovered P2S (hanging around Audi forums...), and fell in love with their wash, carnauba wax, & tire dressing. Good stuff, but the wax never seems to last very long.
This year, I decided to pull the trigger and and try Zaino. I've read about it over the years on various forums, but this thread convinced me that I should give it a shot. Bought the "Total Protection Kit" and some new good towels and did my wife's dark blue Subaru Outback last weekend, with her help.
Dawned, claybarred, re-washed with Z7, then did two Z5's and one Z2 last Saturday. With my wife's help, it took about 6 hours, but that includes a "full" detail of wheels, tires, trim, glass, & interior. Then I put on another two coats of Z2 the following morning. Z6 between the coats.
I've got to say, at first I wasn't overly impressed. I put the first coat of Z5 on too thick, and it was a PITA to remove. Once removed, I actually wasn't all that impressed with the shine & "slickness" factor. It was ok, but not blow-me-away. Nowhere near what I'm used to with a coat of Meguiar's Gold Class or P2S carnauba, for instance. But I kept at it. After the second coat of Z5, it was looking better, but still not amazing. Easier though, because we applied it as thin as possible (almost to the point where it was hard to tell if we were putting anything on the paint). Then I put on the first coat of Z2. Uh, wow! Now it had the shine & slickness I was expecting. Really nice. After two more coats of Z2, the finish is astounding. The paint looks (and feels) absolutely incredible. Deep & rich with an amazing amount of metal-flake 'pop' in the paint. The light spider-web scratches completely gone. It looks better than it did when it rolled off the showroom floor, 50k miles ago. The only drawback is that my neighbors probably think we're nuts for 'waxing' the car 5 times last weekend.
A couple days ago, when my wife left work she discovered that the Outback had been severely bird-bombed all across the hood. Not sure what sort of bird it was, but it was something big. This had been in the sun all day + been blasted dry by a 45 mile commute at 70mph. I hit it with the hose and the mess lifted off the paint like an egg in a teflon pan. I've never seen anything like that before. Simply incredible. Hit it with some Z7 & Z6, and 5 minutes later it's perfect again. Impressive.
While the Zaino process is a bit of a workout (much Advil was consumed that evening), I can attest that the results are pretty amazing. If this level of shine & protection really lasts 6+ months, I'll be a Zaino convert for life.
We'll be doing the Z this weekend.
Thanks goes to this thread for convincing me to try it! Thanks!!
