Opinions on Zaino Products

ember1205 · September 13, 2015

You are putting it on too thick then. You should use a dab the size of a dime for half the hood. A very light haze is perfect. My C5 Coupe has at least 150 coats applied, at least 60 on my Z06, probably another 60 on the wife's MDX, only 3 on the truck so far and I have never had an issue unless I was using too much. You need to forget what you do with other products. Hope this helps.

Based on the total amount of AIO that I used to do the Traverse today, I could do the whole car at least 20 times from the bottle that I bought. I was not using a lot at all - smaller amounts at a time on the applicator pad than what you are describing. It goes on extremely blotchy unless you swirl it. There's just no way that I could wipe it from one end of the panel to the other and have it go on evenly (or at least close to evenly).

I was able to produce a nice, light haze and it buffed off very cleanly. But it was a gigantic pain overall to use. I will skip it altogether on the truck (when I get a chance to do it) and go straight from the Z-7 to the Z-CS and then hit it the next day with the Z-8.

I spent over three hours on the Traverse today, and never got to the Z-CS. It ended up raining tonight, so I won't have a chance to try the Z-CS until I do my truck next weekend. I REALLY hope that doesn't go on like the AIO.

RonC5 · September 14, 2015

The only time I have had those kind of issues is when the humidity is very high, which happens here in central FL. Hard to imagine that in CT, but?

ember1205 · September 14, 2015

It was a bit to the humid side on Saturday when I did this, but it wasn't "awful" like you would experience in FL.

ember1205 · September 21, 2015

I washed the truck today with Dawn, wiped everything down, and dried it up really well. Checked all of the surfaces and made sure it was clean.

Misted the application with Z-CS, sprayed an edge of each panel, and wiped it on along the full length of the panel. Overlapped the swipes and left it alone.

Almost half an hour after wiping down the first panel (the hood), it still looks like somebody sprayed my truck with WD-40. I'm really not happy with how this stuff looks right now, and it had better dry up and make those rainbow streaks go away or Sal (Zaino) will be getting a call from me for a refund.

Every aspect of the products that I've used so far leave a LOT to be desired.

PhilB · September 21, 2015

I washed the truck today with Dawn, wiped everything down, and dried it up really well. Checked all of the surfaces and made sure it was clean.

Misted the application with Z-CS, sprayed an edge of each panel, and wiped it on along the full length of the panel. Overlapped the swipes and left it alone.

Almost half an hour after wiping down the first panel (the hood), it still looks like somebody sprayed my truck with WD-40. I'm really not happy with how this stuff looks right now, and it had better dry up and make those rainbow streaks go away or Sal (Zaino) will be getting a call from me for a refund.

Every aspect of the products that I've used so far leave a LOT to be desired.

This is from Zaino's web site in the FAQs for Z-CS:

When I apply Z-CS, it looks very strange. Like, psychedelic. Is this normal?

Yes. This is normal, allow the product to dry. As Z-CS is applied and begins to dry, the optical effects may make the surface areas appear prismatic or rainbow like. This is normal. Do not remove, please allow Z-CS to dry and do it's work.

ember1205 · September 21, 2015

This is from Zaino's web site in the FAQs for Z-CS:

When I apply Z-CS, it looks very strange. Like, psychedelic. Is this normal?

Yes. This is normal, allow the product to dry. As Z-CS is applied and begins to dry, the optical effects may make the surface areas appear prismatic or rainbow like. This is normal. Do not remove, please allow Z-CS to dry and do it's work.

We shall see... If it dries correctly, I will spray on the detailing spray and wipe it down. If it doesn't, it's getting stripped off with the cleaning stripper that I have (will take off everything on the clear coat, but won't damage the clear unless you don't wipe it off) and I will send the truck to have it detailed properly. And the Zaino stuff will go back.

ember1205 · September 21, 2015

Checked it again after having about an hour to potentially dry (web site says 15-30 minutes). Still spotty and had that oil slick look in many places (better than previously, but still not right). Given that I don't garage my truck, there is NO WAY for me to apply this stuff and let the truck sit for any appreciable amount of time before coming back to put the Z-8 on it.

I grabbed a microfiber towel and wiped out the film that was still there. Then sprayed the Z-8 directly on top of it and it appears to have at least gotten rid of the rainbow look.

I am very much unimpressed with Zaino products. They are NOT easy to use, they are VERY expensive, and they require a TON of work to get the results that everyone claims to be able to achieve in "minutes" and with little or no effort.

Don't get me wrong - I understand there are no shortcuts in life. But ALL of the materials out there claim that this is a low-energy product to use and will help make ongoing maintenance easier. I don't see it. My truck doesn't look great because of Zaino products - it looks great because it's CLEAN.

bdbake01 · September 21, 2015

Dude. I'm telling you. You're. Doing. Something. Wrong.

I've used Z products for >15 years. Won't touch my vehicles with anything else. Super easy to use, GREAT results.

ember1205 · September 22, 2015

Dude. I'm telling you. You're. Doing. Something. Wrong.

I've used Z products for >15 years. Won't touch my vehicles with anything else. Super easy to use, GREAT results.

Maybe so. But, here's the issue:

"Wax" (polish, too) has been around a pretty long time. It basically all goes on the same way, you wait until it hazes, then you wipe it off. That's it. That's how it works.

Zaino claims to be very different. Ok, great. Tell me about it.

The web site is not well-written (grammar issues, spelling mistakes, incomplete thoughts, etc.), and it comes across as having been put together by someone that was not raised as natively speaking English. Normally, I would never in a million years DREAM of buying products from a company like that because it tells me they aren't a serious company. If they were, they'd hire a marketing company of some sort to straighten out the content and ensure that it is coherent.

Half of the products are difficult to even FIND on that web site - it's poorly organized. It's hard to find specific tips and tricks per product: the page that's there is much more general. The products themselves come with little to no useful application / use instructions on the packages. The "this is how to use our products" references products that you can't even find on the web site.

There are no instructional videos anywhere of how to use the individual products. There are no truly detailed instructions available for any of the individual products.

In short, Zaino is doing just about -nothing- to teach those of us that are familiar with waxes how to use their non-wax product. If their product is so different, and they're going to charge a premium for it, they owe us some excellent instructions on the application and use of them. And, it just isn't there.

I don't have the time, patience, or money to learn how their products work through trial and error, and I certainly don't feel it's right to ask people like you and Luster, because of your extensive familiarity with the products, to educate people like myself.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying the products don't produce quality results. I'm saying that the information provided by the manufacturer does not educate the consumer on how to use their products properly. And, without that education, it performs no better than Rain Dance car wax (which was always my favorite). I could do a car with that faster than with any of this stuff, and it only required one application every six months with no "touch up" in between.

My time is extremely valuable to me. If I need to invest four hours into my truck to set the base and I can then "maintain it" with 30 minutes of effort every six months, I'm all for it. For now, I've invested a lot of time into my truck and my wife's Traverse (much more into the Traverse because I double-washed it, clayed it, and applied the AIO) and I don't see any "results" from my work.

Luster · September 30, 2015

I've narrowed my list of Zaino products to two. Z6 for road splash, bug guts, bird bombs... And Z8 once a month for shine, paint protection and slickness.

Time is of the essence. A complete application of Z8 on my truck takes 10 minutes. Spray, wipe, done.

bdbake01 · September 30, 2015

I've narrowed my list of Zaino products to two. Z6 for road splash, bug guts, bird bombs... And Z8 once a month for shine, paint protection and slickness.

Time is of the essence. A complete application of Z8 on my truck takes 10 minutes. Spray, wipe, done.

While that's impressive, seriously nice truck, neither of those products are designed to provide long term protection.

From the looks of it, you may not need such protection. If so, awesome and I'm jealous.

Luster · September 30, 2015

While that's impressive, seriously nice truck, neither of those products are designed to provide long term protection.

From the looks of it, you may not need such protection. If so, awesome and I'm jealous.

True. I kind of baby my vehicles. They spend much of their lives in the garage. Whenever driven in winter, they are washed immediately... even if that means hooking up a hose in the garage when it's 25 degrees outside!

Therefore you are correct... I don't really need long term paint protection. Z6/Z8 do the job for me!

ember1205 · September 30, 2015

What I would like to understand is how long it takes you to get to the point where you're READY for the Z-8. I can do my truck in 10 minutes, too. But, it takes me an hour to wash and dry it so that it's ready to accept a coat of Z-8.

Tattooo · September 30, 2015

They are good products for the money.....no complaints here

Luster · October 7, 2015

What I would like to understand is how long it takes you to get to the point where you're READY for the Z-8. I can do my truck in 10 minutes, too. But, it takes me an hour to wash and dry it so that it's ready to accept a coat of Z-8.

I have the daily "Wash-Pass" Automatic carwash. Drive thru... blow dry... Z8... done. I usually do the drive-thru 2-3 times a week.