clayed, 3 coats of Zaino Z2, and 6 hours later...

Originally Posted by bmwrocks

The pictures don't do it justice. The paint is smooth as glass. Looks better than showroom condition. I am very impressed with Zaino. Worth every penny.

That's magnificent desire & dedication.

Me? Cheater's wax + gas station car wash. Blow dry. Excellent.

Nice work & it's all about the clay job

Originally Posted by HypnoticS

How long would you give a brand new car, before claying, polishing and waxing?

some need it right when picked up at dealership with zero miles driven by you, the owner.

I got my 2007 335 HTC 2 weeks ago and it had a lot of minor scratches in the paint for the obivious reasons, of the previous owner not washing the car very well and rubbing the dirt into the pant, so I got my DA sander and my buffing pads, I also have 3 different grades of buffing compound, so started with the most agressive and worked up to the finest grade and after 5 hours I got all the micro scratches out. I purchased all my compounds from auto geek, the only thing I did different was after buffing I clayed the whole car, and I was really impressed on how the clay bar gets all those things you cant see but can feel with your hand as you rub it across the paint off, then I finished up with Wolfgang sealant. goes on nice and comes off easy too. I did a search on Clay bar and I think its equivalant to 10,000 grit sand paper. I see no reason why you couldnt clay bar your car every time you wash. Only thing I would get a new clay bar after maybe 5 times of use? because every thing you get off the car sticks to the clay, and if you drop it, toss it!

Hondo

Originally Posted by the kidd

some need it right when picked up at dealership with zero miles driven by you, the owner.

I can confirm that. A factory new car often has lots of particles and such from the transportation. More if it has sat on a lot. The dealer will power wash it, but probably won't clay nor machine polish.

Thus, it's a REALLY good idea to clay a brand new car.

Zaino is perfectly good stuff. I use it and like it.

But since people get a little crazy about this stuff, it's always good to remember that the exact brand is usually not the limiting factor.

Most brands (not counting super cheap Walmart crap) will make a car shine as well as you could wish, most of the time. Most of the time, the limiting factor is time, skill, and dedication of the detailer.

Which is a way of saying I like Zaino today, but would also happily use something else if Zaino went out of business.

I would try Zanino, but I have the wolfgang stuff and like it so you are right its personal preference I can tell you one brand I dont like is Kass paint sealant, got a new bottle after I ran out of my wolfgang and its hard as crap to get off. also I stand corrected on clay bars, they are non abrasive and can be used evey time you wash your car and I probably will

Hondo