This stuff really works - WOW!!

rhampshire · Post by **rhampshire** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 8:59 am

If you think so, fine, but be assured that being "preachy" was not my intent... my only intent was to inform you of a product that you haven't tried.

And I don't think that Zaino is the "best", just the best that I have tried.

Could you possibly explain why you think carnuba waxes are better than polymers? Perhaps if I had asked this simple question earlier this whole dog-and-pony show could have been avoided.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 9:32 am

Personal experience. From about 1967, when I first started using Thompson's products to restore old faded paint finishes, until the early '80s when Thompson's The Treatment became unavailable, I used a two-step method to restore paint. The first was a material they made called "Slax", which was a finish restorer that came in a bottle and looked awful, but cleaned off dry, chalky pigment and removed tar, stains, and minor abrasions. It was a conditioner, not a rubbing compound, and contained a petroleum distillate. It did a heck of a job but took a lot of handwork. The second part of this system was "The Treatment", a water-soluble paste wax in a tube that

and here is the key word

FED

the paint, penetrating into the paint's pores to fill spaces and scratches, actually filling in around the paint particles and supporting them while keeping the whole film supple and protected.

Then The Treatment became unavailable and I switched to Klasse, which is a polymer. I used it twice a week (!) on my black lacquer fuel-injected 1957 Chevrolet Nomad wagon to keep it show-worthy and sparkling. The car was kept in a garage under a cover, but would "halo" within days. But Klasse gave the best gloss.

Then I was turned onto Zymol by my car paint supplier who had sold me paint for all seven of my cars (at that time). He tossed a bottle at me and asked me to try it on my dark blue English luxury car. It did an amazing job. It, too "fed" the paint, penetrating, allowing me to build layers, and keeping the paint like new.

I've been using it since, ten years now. On my guitars there has been nothing better, and my discovery of Scratch-X has completed the system, allowing me to restore nice but hazy finishes and removing light swirls.

Maybe you were looking for chemical explanations. I am not a chemist. But I know what works for me.

BTW, I'm down to 3 cars now. My antique woodie and my old Maserati get Zymol, applied by me. My daily driver--a dark blue SAAB 93 convertible, was waxed--by someone else--last weekend, with Klasse polymer coating. I don't have time to baby it, it isn't garage-kept and Klasse is good enough.

rhampshire · Post by **rhampshire** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 9:52 am

No, I wasn't looking for chemical explanations - I'm not a chemist, either. Just a meager mechanical engineer / space flight hardware stress analyst with a contractor for NASA.

I read somewhere that anytime you apply a carnuba-based wax to a finish, you effectively "erase" any that were already there, but you say that it "builds" with each layer like Zaino does. Interesting...

What kind of Maserati do you have? Besides my Formula WS6, I've got a '71 Chevelle SS454, but I'm still working on it...

By the way, If you still have friends in the show car circuit, maybe you could ask them if they heard of Zaino - I'm just curious.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 10:10 am

You're an engineer. Common sense should tell you that wax builds as a matter of course. It's the solvent--xylene, toluene, and sometimes jet fuel (kerosene)--that 99% of waxes use, that strip the old coating of wax off while you're applying the new, then evaporate and let you buff off the residue and leave a new coating of wax.

Change the solvent to water, and you can build coats. Where you read that is in Zaino's own literature and on their website, I believe. They mention being able to build three coats a day, though their products use petrochemical solvents. So I believe that they are selling a paint sealant, not a wax. That catalyst stuff they sell to add to their coating reinforces that belief. So, in effect, Zaino becomes a sealed layer of glossy polymer on top of your car's paint. Paint does need to "breathe" or it will check and chalk.

I stopped going to the Pebble Beach Concours when an old friend (a GM VP) retired and stopped sending me passes. But when I went in the '80s and '90s, more cars there used Zymol than any other wax.

Pardon my saying so, but since no one else is saying anything on this topic of Zaino vs. Zymol, I would be glad to continue this privately as time permits, but I would really like to get on with things here and involve our members a good deal more!

So, I consider this closed unless anyone wishes to ask Rob about his Zaino experiences. Let's open another thread for those posts, please.

jwilli · Post by **jwilli** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 4:37 pm

So yer saying basically that polymer waxes = wire hangers, right?

;-0

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 5:47 pm

Har. Correct. But you'll notice I say "polymer coatings". Most of them don't have ANY wax in 'em.

kcole4001 · Post by **kcole4001** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 3:38 pm

QUESTION:
Has anyone used the Gerber diapers? They're 100% cotton, but have what they call "flatfold birdseye weave".
It's a raised, weavey design that feels fairly rough.
Will this be acceptable for polishing?

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 3:45 pm

I get these once in awhile in my recycled diaper service orders. They work fine. The cotton is still softer than the paint, so they don't scratch.

Wash them first in very hot water and don't use fabric softener in either the wash or dry cycles.

kcole4001 · Post by **kcole4001** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 3:51 pm

Thank you ever so much, O Capital One!
It's gonna be hard to get used to your new look.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 6:20 pm

Yeah, it feels so...initial...

melibreits · Post by **melibreits** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 1:51 pm

Just bought my Scratch-X and Zymol....we are traveling in freezing temperatures, so would it be wise to bring them indoors (as opposed to leaving them out in the car) so they don't freeze, or will it matter?

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 1:55 pm

Keep 'em from freezing if at all possible.

bassman · Post by **bassman** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 3:57 pm

"Keep 'em from freezing if at all possible."

Oh oh, I had better bring my Scretch-X in from the freezing garage. Maybe i'll just buy a new tube.

Can you buy a 6-pack of diapers?

wayang · Post by **wayang** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 4:39 pm

Only the adult-sized '40 ouncers'...

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 5:28 pm

Anyone whose guitar or bass I refin, gets a nice new diaper packed in with it when it's sent back...