I've had the CX-5 almost 3 weeks now and decided it was time to give the car the full Zaino treatment. For those unfamiliar with http://www.zainostore.com/, they make synthetic car polishes that are amazing. I've been using their products since 2005 on my Mazda RX-8 and love the results I've gotten so figured I'd do the same for the CX-5
The Zaino lineup:
First step was to wash the car to get it ready:
after washing the car, it was time to break out the clay bar. In reality, you could use any clay bar, I just happened to use Zaino's I had ordered one last week when purchasing a few things from them.
For those who haven't clay'd a car before, the idea here is to run the clay bar over the paint and it will pick up grime and contaminants that are on the paint. The trick to doing this is to 'lubricate' the paint as you go, I chose to use soapy water but quick detailer spray also works.
You want to run the clay bar in straight lines over the paint after you've wet that area. Work in 3x3 sections and take your time. Running the bar over the paint should feel a lot like gliding a hockey puck across the ice. If you have more resistance than that, spray more liquid or you could scratch the paint. Once you've clay'd the area, wipe it down with a microfiber and move on to the next section.
Also, you can clay any part of the car, chrome, mirrors, paint, etc.
After claying the hood and driver side doors you can already see the bar has picked up some contaminants off the paint (little black specks)
Once I was done with the entire vehicle, it was time for another quick wash. I say quick because the car is not only clean from the previous wash and clay but it also has a ton of dried soapy water on it so this part goes relatively quickly. No picture needed for this.
Next up is the science project that is Zaino.
Zaino has 2 primary polishes, Z2 and Z5. I chose to go with Z5 for this round as it's a little better for dark colors and can even help fill slight swirl marks. I've always used Z5 as a 'base' for my dark colored cars and future applications are usually always Z2 as it has greater optical characteristics (aka shinier)
The small blue bottle is Zaino's ZFX, which basically helps the Zaino 'cure' (dry) quicker. This is good for areas that are more humid but I've always added a few drops so I don't have to wait too long between coats.
Unlike traditional wax, you can leave Zaino on for extended periods of time before wiping it off.
I mixed up half a bottle (1 ounce) and that should be enough for probably 3 coats. The key to Zaino is to use it sparingly as a little bit goes a LONG way.
This is what I used for about 1/4 of the hood to get started.
The cool thing about Zaino is you can work a small section at a time and then just keep moving your way around the car. It took me about 30 minutes to apply a coat to the entire car and then I left it on while I went inside to take a break and watch some TV.
45 minutes later I went back out to the garage to check on it.
I ran my finger across the hood; if it came cleanly off, it's ready. If it smears it still hasn't fully cured so go back inside and have a cold one.
Fortunately for me it was ready so I took a clean microfiber and started wiping the polish off. It should come off fairly effortlessly.
Once the polish was off, I grabbed the Z6 quick detailer spray and wiped the entire car down. This helps remove any polish you might have missed plus gives you an extra layer to build on before you keep moving on.
At this point, I checked my polish and despite being a little heavy handed with the first coat (which I have a tendency to do), I still had plenty of polish left.
After this, it was time for a 2nd coat of Z5.
Another 45 minute wait which I used to go inside and watch the Yankees game (stupid Astros!)
Wiped the polish off and then wiped it down with more quick detailer.
2 coats of Zaino Z5 and the car was done!
I took a few minutes to wipe down the glass, add a little tire shine and rolled it out of the garage for a quick picture. Unfortunately there was a ton of shade at this point but you get the idea.
The finished results!
Nothing better looking than a freshly polished car.
Next weekend I'll probably get the front windows tinted and a few weeks from now I might even do a few more coats of Zaino Z2 just to give it that super wet gloss look.
The Zaino lineup:
First step was to wash the car to get it ready:
after washing the car, it was time to break out the clay bar. In reality, you could use any clay bar, I just happened to use Zaino's I had ordered one last week when purchasing a few things from them.
For those who haven't clay'd a car before, the idea here is to run the clay bar over the paint and it will pick up grime and contaminants that are on the paint. The trick to doing this is to 'lubricate' the paint as you go, I chose to use soapy water but quick detailer spray also works.
You want to run the clay bar in straight lines over the paint after you've wet that area. Work in 3x3 sections and take your time. Running the bar over the paint should feel a lot like gliding a hockey puck across the ice. If you have more resistance than that, spray more liquid or you could scratch the paint. Once you've clay'd the area, wipe it down with a microfiber and move on to the next section.
Also, you can clay any part of the car, chrome, mirrors, paint, etc.
After claying the hood and driver side doors you can already see the bar has picked up some contaminants off the paint (little black specks)
Once I was done with the entire vehicle, it was time for another quick wash. I say quick because the car is not only clean from the previous wash and clay but it also has a ton of dried soapy water on it so this part goes relatively quickly. No picture needed for this.
Next up is the science project that is Zaino.
Zaino has 2 primary polishes, Z2 and Z5. I chose to go with Z5 for this round as it's a little better for dark colors and can even help fill slight swirl marks. I've always used Z5 as a 'base' for my dark colored cars and future applications are usually always Z2 as it has greater optical characteristics (aka shinier)
The small blue bottle is Zaino's ZFX, which basically helps the Zaino 'cure' (dry) quicker. This is good for areas that are more humid but I've always added a few drops so I don't have to wait too long between coats.
Unlike traditional wax, you can leave Zaino on for extended periods of time before wiping it off.
I mixed up half a bottle (1 ounce) and that should be enough for probably 3 coats. The key to Zaino is to use it sparingly as a little bit goes a LONG way.
This is what I used for about 1/4 of the hood to get started.
The cool thing about Zaino is you can work a small section at a time and then just keep moving your way around the car. It took me about 30 minutes to apply a coat to the entire car and then I left it on while I went inside to take a break and watch some TV.
45 minutes later I went back out to the garage to check on it.
I ran my finger across the hood; if it came cleanly off, it's ready. If it smears it still hasn't fully cured so go back inside and have a cold one.
Fortunately for me it was ready so I took a clean microfiber and started wiping the polish off. It should come off fairly effortlessly.
Once the polish was off, I grabbed the Z6 quick detailer spray and wiped the entire car down. This helps remove any polish you might have missed plus gives you an extra layer to build on before you keep moving on.
At this point, I checked my polish and despite being a little heavy handed with the first coat (which I have a tendency to do), I still had plenty of polish left.
After this, it was time for a 2nd coat of Z5.
Another 45 minute wait which I used to go inside and watch the Yankees game (stupid Astros!)
Wiped the polish off and then wiped it down with more quick detailer.
2 coats of Zaino Z5 and the car was done!
I took a few minutes to wipe down the glass, add a little tire shine and rolled it out of the garage for a quick picture. Unfortunately there was a ton of shade at this point but you get the idea.
The finished results!
Nothing better looking than a freshly polished car.
Next weekend I'll probably get the front windows tinted and a few weeks from now I might even do a few more coats of Zaino Z2 just to give it that super wet gloss look.
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