Need Help With The Basic Detailing Question For Ls430

[ls430dude]

My car is a moonlight pearl white. I have seen a lot of discussions about Zainos. Can any one help me with the basic step by step instructions and what kind of materials and tools I need to have to finish the job. Please help

Detailing the body - I understand that you need clay bar, z-3, z-5 etc., but I am not sure which order you need to apply them. Do I need towels or buffer machine to do this?

For example I found this in another place regarding Zaino.

1. Dawn wash

2. Clay bar

3. Z-7 wash

4. Z-5+ZFX coat, wait, remove

5. Z-6 spritz and remove

6. Z-2+ZFX coat, wait, remove

7. Z-6 spritz and remove

How about detailing the leather seat - Lexol or Maguires? I need the specific name of the Lexol product

How about Vinyl detailing? Maguires?

How about tires detailing? Armorall? or Maguires? I used the Armorall foam and it was OK.

Thanks a lot for the help

Mike

[05silverls430]

Zaino makes a very good leather cleaner and conditioner as well. I've been using them for several years and love them.

I'd love to find a good local detailer (LA area) that uses Zaino products. I e-mailed Zaino to find out if they could give me any references, but apparently they don't keep track of that stuff...

[rickatups]

Hey Mike .......

The instructions you have read about Zaino sound complicated ... but work very nice ... if you have time to really do all those steps ...... meanwhile, here is my story:

I started using Zaino last year ..... I love it! I have used sooooooo many products over the years. I am that guy in the neighborhood who, it seems, is always out washing and detailing his car .... like almost every weekend ... so all my neighbors think I am crazy ... know what I mean? (^-^) I also have the feeling they would rather drive my car most times .... if they only could ..... (^-^) Hmmmmm .....

Anyway .... you were asking about clay bar??? I know you can use clay bar ... and I have some from Zaino, but have yet to actually use it. From what I have read, you have to wash the car with Dawn first, then use the clay on a VERY WET surface ... and as you use the clay you must keep the car surface WET. I also understand that if you drop the clay bar on the ground just once ... it is toast.

Did you know there is a guy in the LA area who is a distributor for Zaino? Try doing a Google search and simply search for LAZAINO.COM. He is easy to talk to and he knows everything. He turned me on to something new from Zaino called ZAINO PC FUSION. It is an 8 oz bottle of light green product ... and it kicks butt on water spots, paint over-spray, imbedded dirt, and oxidation like you can not believe! I swear this stuff is a miracle!!! So ... if I were going to detail a car that had not been done in a long time .... or if it had never had ZAINO on it .... I would wash it with Dawn (if you wish) ... dry it ... then start with FUSION .... then go Zaino All In One .. then go to Z-2 ... then finish with Z-6 Spray, and that is it. Finished. Zaino goes on so quickly and comes off so quickly ... and is so effective ( !!!!! ) it does not take forever to do your car with it. Sounds like a ton of work, and with any other product it might be ... but with Zaino, you can fly.

I think they suggest going over your car with layered coats of Z-2 and Z-6, and all the others, because ... again ... they are assuming you are working on a dark color and need total perfection. "Layering" fills those really small light scratches and eliminates them ...... but it takes some time for that process, of course.

I had some over-spray on my car real bad that had been there for a long time that I could never quite remove. I was trying so hard to NOT use too much abrasive [compounds]. I ended up using 3M rubbing compound very carefully ..... it works ... but it is real slow going and takes a lot of care and elbow grease. The problem is totally solved when you use FUSION. FUSION totally removed all the over-spray with so little effort.

FUSION has no abrasives at all .... so it is completely safe. I have used it on glass and did not scratch it. I used FUSION with a Porter Cable 7424 Polisher on an orange pad ... and it worked GREAT to get off oxidation .... then I followed up with Zaino "All In One", then Z-2 ... and then I used Z-6 spray as a last step. My Lexus totally glows now. Do you really need to include "All In One"? No .... not really .... I just thought I would give it a shot ...... (layering concept).

I have the light champagne color on my car ... it is not a dark color, so I can probably get away with not being as fastidious as I would probably need to be if the car were black, lets say. I have never done a black or red car yet.

Anyways .... one thing I have figured out is ... the instructions Zaino gives you probably come with the assumption you are doing a $150,000 vehicle with black or red paint .... and you are taking your vehicle to an International Car Show ... hence their highly detailed procedures. I got to thinking .... heck ... my LS 400 is about 13 years old and is far from perfect today ..... so what the heck? I do not adhere to all of the advise in the instructions perfectly ...... and like I said ... I am working on clear coat and a light color as well ....... pretty easy stuff.

I do use the Zaino Car Wash solution ...... and after I dry the car, I use the finishing spray (Z-6) as they suggest. I love it! The car looks and feels as if you just detailed it all over again ... yet the spray (Z-6) only takes a few minutes to do the whole car with.

IMPORTANT: Zaino makes a big deal about the towels you should use ... right? It is true. Those towels DO make a big difference .... and the Zaino guy in L.A has them. They are worth it ... ohhhh man! Those towels are AWESOME .... I will never detail a car ever again with out those towels. They save so much time!! My wife figured out how hot the towels are also ... so now she is ripping off with mine! Oh man!!

The small little, soft hand applicators Zaino gives you are great also .... although I will use my Porter Cable Polisher to save time ... and with Zaino products, it is totally safe.

FOR LEATHER .... I have used the Zaino Leather Cleaner and Zaino Leather In A Bottle (Z-10) and I really like them a lot ..... they have worked great, as far as I am concerned. I think you will like them. I have found that Z-10 can go on very well with one of the hand applicators. See what you think ......

FOR VINYL ... yes .. I have used Maguires .... most recently with the Zaino hand applicator ... really goes on nice that way. I spray the product on to the hand applicator first ... that is how I get the Maguires on to the surface I am working on ......

If you are interested in a Porter Cable 7424 Polisher and you want to see one ... check out AUTOGEEK.NET ..... by the way ... you will have to hunt for it, but they do offer a 7424 with an extra long electric cord .... I got that model and have no regrets .... the extra long cord REALLY helps and is well worth the extra coin. AutoGeek is a good learning resource as well .......

Hmmmmm ... looks like I wrote a book! hehehehe!!

Hope this helps ........ !!