jonathank2000

It's been few months since I got front of my car repainted so I'm assuming the curing process is complete. Now, do I use polish and/or wax? I ordered the complete detail kit from Zaino Bros but they only included the polish. Any help will be greatly appreciated....

garychios

Polish

akolodesh

Zaino products work very well and you won't need anything else for your car. Normally, I like to use wax on dark colors (p21s is trhe best IMO) over a layer of polish ( such as Klasse All-In-One), but with Zaino it won't be necassary. This really is a preference issue if you apply correctly - as your paint will look amazing either way. Go to www.detailcity.com for the best info on detailing.

mrsullivan

chances are pretty good that your paint was "cured"/"baked" immediately following the paint job. If it has been over 30 days, you will be fine to do whatever you want with the paint. Going with a great wax like p21s would work fine, so would Zaino. The biggest difference is longevity. There are those who would maybe disagree with me, but I think a great wax like p21s looks even deeper and richer than Zaino. However, it will only last a few weeks/maybe a couple mounths. If you spend some time putting on multiple coats of Z5/Z2, all you will have to do is wash with Z7 for months and months. Zaino is an amazing product. Just remember it is synthetic....never mix zaino with wax or vice versa....they dont work well together.

Flying Finn

Nope, Wax.

Since it's a new paint, there won't be any scratch marks and if it was done by really good shop, they've polished it already (to get "orange peel) out.

You need to protect the new paint from the elements, not get scratches etc. out of it, that's why wax, not polish.

garychios

My detailer always polishes new paint jobs for the first year. As long as the car is clean and garage kept. Something about letting the paint breathe for the first year. This is for car that dont hav baked on paint jobs. Most cars I know dont have paint jobs baked on. Because unless you strip the car down, you cant put it in an oven.

BradB

The difference between polishing and waxing is largely overused and misunderstood. Technically, polishing is using an abrasive compound to flatten the surface in an attempt to reduce swirls and/or scratches. Waxing is applying a coating to the surface. In the real world it is often a combination of the two since most waxes contain some mechanical abrasive elements even if they "advertise" none. Polishing can also be done chemically with solvent cleaners which are very common in waxes.

Modern paints do not need to breathe after they cure. This is a huge myth. They cure very quickly. Another myth is that polymer sealants "seal" and carnaubas "breathe". Not true. Carnauba is actually one of the hardest waxes available, in its natural state it is like a brick. It is broken down and made spreadable by use of solvents which make it soft. Most sealants breathe better than carnaubas.

I didn't fully understand all this until I had many interesting conversations with Sal Zaino who started out as a painter by trade before he got into the wax business. He knows his stuff. He also has professional chemists on staff. If your ever looking for an earful give him a call.

I agree that for a new paint job you want to protect it with a wax job...not polish it. Save the polishing...use of abrasives...for when you have swirls or others reasons to remove material from the surface.

Now, to add to the confusion, Zaino calls their polymer sealant Z2 and Z5 "polish". Neither one contains ANY abrasives at all. In fact it's one of the few products on the market that can make that claim. Ironic. Even Sal admits that the name wasn't the brightest idea.

I'm also a big Zaino fan. Here's some tips.

24FPS

>>like most everyone else has responded...<<
wax it..... if it has some mocos... you may want to clay first.... then i'd give it several nice coats of (quality) wax. this will really protect & let it s h i n e...

but imho.... i kinda' like carnuba... really works for 'clarity' on my black finish immho.

akolodesh

You bring up a good point about synthetics and natural sunstances. I am not sure on how Zaino would react with a Carnuba but many professional detailers (as I read on www.detailcity.com) combine Klasse AIO (also a synthetic) with P21s. At first I was skeptical but after using this combination many times I am very happy with the results (don't look at my avatar as an example of the shine ). Again, I am not sure how a product like Zaino would react with the carnuba.

BradB

You can use Zaino (a polymer) as a base and take advantage of it's superior durability and then add a carnauba on top if you want to experiment with different looks. But you will have to be sure that you remove all traces of that carnauba before you make any attempt to add any extra layers of Zaino because subsequent layers of Zaino will not bond properly to the carnauba.

The same philosophy is true with Klasse.

jonathank2000

This is great information. Thanks everyone!! I did some more checking and there is a this report called Guru Report that recently tested all of the waxes. It put P21S as the best overall. I also read all the positive and negative threads on Rejex. I've used Zymol in the past and also bought off the shelf stuff. I think they all work well. I will give P21S a shot this time around and will post some pics...

Thanks!

Chaos

Rejex !