I've been reading through the old posts like crazy. I have a brand new Mustang GT in Vista Blue with white racing stripes on order. I'm trying to plan ahead and get the items I'll need before it arrives.

A few years ago I owned a Jaguar X-Type, and dabbled in some detailing. I used quite a few Zaino products (Z2 w/ZFX, Z6, Z7, and their leather products) with great success. I'll likely stick with their products just out of familiarity, but I'm continuing to research what's available these days. I've never clayed or done any actual polishing, just washing/waxing/detail spray. Right now I'm thinking Z5p, ZFX, Z6, Z16...maybe Z2p as well.

My questions:

1) This will be a brand new car that I'll receive roughly 1-2 weeks after it's built at the factory. Factory is close to where I'll be taking delivery, so I don't expect the car to see any railroad time; I'm sure it'll just be trucked directly to the deliverly location. Is a new car like this going to need to be clayed at all?

2) Our winters in Michigan are nasty, salt-filled messes, where it's incredibly tempting to just run through the local automatic car wash. Obviously that's a bad thing...which has me considering this new (to me) Optimum No-Rinse stuff. I'm thinking I could heat the garage up to where it's bearable, and just wash the car in the not-too-freezing-cold garage. Does this stuff "play nice" with Zaino, or will I have to worry that it'll strip it, or that Zaino won't bond well if I'm putting a new coat on after an ONR wash?

I'm sure I'll have a ton more questions, but thanks in advance.

 

It can't hurt to clay it just in case. It won't take long if it's not very bad, so I'd plan on doing it anyway. Make sure you tell your detailer NOT to wash your car though. That is unless you wanted the free dealer installed swirl marks option. For a first wash I'd plan on doing the whole thing. The only thing it probably won't need very badly if you have them not wash it is polishing, however, I'd still run over it with a final polish to restore the paint to a great luster.

And ONR should be just fine on your wax. Plenty of people wax directly after an ONR wash without doing anything, but if you were worried you could always do an alcohol wipe down to ensure that there is no film left on the car. I've found ONR to be great though and have no problems with it.

 

Winters with salt/sand are tough. In New England it's the pot holes and cold patch that add to the fun. [:@]

My convertible is storaged but I try to keep my winter car clean by going through a no-brush car wash. Does a good job on the undercarriage. The one near me is called the Typhoon and is basically a robotic pressure washer. I have run it through the car wash then brought it into the garage to wipe down with no-rinse.

 

I find when a vehicle is brand new is the BEST time to do a FULL detail. Wash, Clay, Paint Correction, Pure Polish, Sealant, Wax. Clay takes next to no time on these cars and especially when it's brand new. I'd highly advise it. I'm not familiar with the Zaino line because I simply don't care for it or the people who make it so I won't offer any advice there because I simply don't have the correct answers. I've heard Zaino is one of the main companies that need the iso-alc. wipe down before applications.

 

Thanks for that info. I'm thinking I'd initially follow the Zaino recommendation (Dawn, then Zaino products), then use ONR for regular washes, with Z6 afterward. Occassionally, I'll throw an extra coat of Z5p or Z2p on it as well. Will a quick alcohol wipedown strip the old coats of Z5p? Perhaps I should just Z6 it after ONR if I'm going to drop another coat of Z5p on...

That's a good suggestion. Would a no-touch car wash tend to use detergent that would strip the Zaino products? I also would like to detail my wife's crossover lease vehicle, but she runs it through an auto-wash fairly often. I'm thinking I could convince her to use a touchless one if I find one nearby, but I'd hate to zaino it up just to have her strip it all off a week later...

Thanks for the responses so far.

 

Perhaps I should look into some other products. I've been happy with Zaino in the past, but I'm not married to it (and other than a bottle of Z6, I'd need to buy all new product as all my old stuff was used up). It's a lot of work to initially apply, but on that Jag I had it looked great and seemed to last all winter. I'm not opposed to something that doesn't last quite as long if it's significantly easier to apply.

I'll have to do some searches to find out why people don't like those that make it...interesting.

 

Try autogeek.net for product reviews.

 

 

Was that a mistake quoting that? ... or you agreed? I'm confused. LOL

 

Whoops, I quoted that wrong.

My reply was hard to see because it was all jumbled with the rest of the quote.

Here is what I put: Fjc-checkout my line of products. They are very easy to apply and you will get excellent results. There are a ton of people on this forum that use my line and are completely happy with their purchase!