I put three coats of zaino on my truck in mid december when it was in the upper 40's. I used the zfx (? the add in accelerator) and did the wash, clay, wash, dry treatment before hand. After 3 months it seems like the zaino is worn off. Water does not really bead on the paint anymore and forms more of a sheet of water. I have washed about 3 times with the zaino wash and used the detailing spray (#7 I think) after I wash. I was under the impression that the zaino should last a lot longer than this. I was wondering if it could be that I applied it when it was kind of cold out or if this is how long it typically lasts. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!

 

I have been using Zaino for the about 2 years now. My last truck was the same color you have, silver.

With 3 – 5 coats on it would last about 6 months and that was through winter with the road salt and grime and about 15 – 20 car washes (touchless) not hand wash because it was to cold.

I am not real sure how synthetic polishes like Zaino work as far as temperature and if that affects how they bond to the paint. However I do recall reading that Zaino can be applied in temperatures as low as 45 degrees F.

Now before you first used Zaino did you use Dawn dishwashing soap for the first wash? If you didn’t use Dawn then you may have not got all the “possible” wax and oils off the paint for the Zaino to bond properly. You can’t use Zaino car wash for the first wash because it won’t strip old wax off the paint. Claying will not remove all the old wax either so about the only way to guarantee that the paint is free of any old wax is to use Dawn dishwashing soap to insure any old wax is stripped off.

 

Florida-150,

Is your truck garaged some of the time, or outdoors 24/7? I think that will be a factor. My experience with "Z" has been to get 3 to 4 months max. (3 to 5 coats), with my cars/trucks not garaged at all...

John

 

I have two 97 F150's..... one for work and one for "riding the lady around".... The work truck got 2 coats of Zaino last October, sits outside 100% of the time and doesn't get much attention... such as washes..... Just washed it today and it is still showing some Zaino, even on the horizontal areas. Have no idea how long it lasts on my "ride around" truck cause I Zaino it every chance I get!

I applied two coats to my brothers truck (F150 SCrew) last Sept. When we cleaned it up last week, the Zaino was still evident.... his truck also sits outside 100%......

That tells me that I am getting a little over 6 months out of Zaino...... Mild climate and very little winter weather.....

 

Thanks for the replies.

Yes I used the dawn for the first wash and the zaino for the second wash plus it was fairly new and the only wax that would have been on it is from the dealer.

And yes it does sit outside all the time. I had wondered if the elements might decrease the longevity but I do try to park in the shade and I'm down here in florida so the winter wasnt too bad and there has not been a lot of rain yet.

I will be putting another 3 or so coats on shortly so hopefully with the warmer weather it works a little better. 3 months is nice but 6 would be better. Also, I just found a nice 1/8" round chip in my paint to go with a scratch on the passenger door so I guess I might try some paint touchup before I put the zaino on. Thanks again!

 

When I was getting 6 months of Zaino protection it was with the truck outside 24/7. However that is during winter so it is cold, usually anywhere from 0 – 40 degrees F. Maybe the higher temps in FL and much more sun during winter there might make the difference.

As I stated in my last post I got two different winters of 6 months protection from Zaino with approx. 5 coats on with no problems and very evident that Zaino was still on the surface in spring. Those were two rough winters with a lot of snow and thus a lot of road salt.

Sounds like you did everything correctly as far as prep using the Dawn wash so I am not sure what to tell you about your experience. Like you I have always used the Zaino with the ZFX. I was using Z2 on my silver but now I have a sonic blue Lightning so I am using the Z5. I might try a few coats of Z2 on top of the Z5 but I want to see how the 5 coats of Z5 look first.

This one is kept in the garage until good weather so I won’t be able to say how long the Zaino last on the darker color.

Well hopefully this next application of 3 coats will last you longer. Let us know how it works out…