Do you Zaino?
#11
12-01-2007, 07:33 AM
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Rhode Island
Posts: 322
Re: Do you Zaino?
Only poking fun... I'm no physicist. I have a feeling washing a jumbo jet saves fuel because it reduces the weight of the aircraft, the same reason why NASA stopped painting the Space Shuttle system's external tank (used to be white painted over the orange foam that now always falls off... hehe) to save weight--that much paint weighs, literally, tons--and thus, in their case, increase Orbiter payload capabilities (they're not worried about fuel economy, per se, just getting to orbit safely and reliably with the maximum possible payload.)
So, the bigger the vehicle, the more likely that washing (especially if the vehicle's REALLY dirty) would provide fuel savings... another example is, if you've ever watched Discovery's show "Dangerous Catch" about the Alaskan crab fishing fleet, when a storm moves in and the boats start icing over, the crew stop what they're doing to chip off all the ice before the boat capsizes (most likely result) or goes dead in the water from the excess weight.
So, the bigger the vehicle, the more likely that washing (especially if the vehicle's REALLY dirty) would provide fuel savings... another example is, if you've ever watched Discovery's show "Dangerous Catch" about the Alaskan crab fishing fleet, when a storm moves in and the boats start icing over, the crew stop what they're doing to chip off all the ice before the boat capsizes (most likely result) or goes dead in the water from the excess weight.
Yea, I'd imagine that one could go overboard with ways to save gas.
I guess that at the very least, with continual waxing (2-4 times per year), you'll have a paint job that will look the same as when you drove it off the lot.
#12
12-01-2007, 07:38 AM
Re: Do you Zaino?
Absolutely--when we sold my 1992 Toyota Corolla, the new buyer commented that it had a better paintjob than his other (2001) vehicle! It'd been waxed at least twice yearly, garaged and parked under cover when feasible, and just before sale, it got a thorough wash, claybar and wax application. You could walk around it caressing it without realizing that's what you were doing... heheh Helped immensely with the sale (that, and the near-pristine interior.)
I'd be embarrassed if anyone saw what my FEH looks like right now, though. I let my local car wash club membership expire (dunno about elsewhere, but they're expensive here) and so with a little one and just me (hubby's not big into car care), car washes just aren't happening... When my daughter's bigger, I hope she likes to wash the running boards and tires.
I'd be embarrassed if anyone saw what my FEH looks like right now, though. I let my local car wash club membership expire (dunno about elsewhere, but they're expensive here) and so with a little one and just me (hubby's not big into car care), car washes just aren't happening... When my daughter's bigger, I hope she likes to wash the running boards and tires.
Last edited by GeekGal; 12-01-2007 at 07:41 AM.
#13
12-01-2007, 09:00 AM
Hybrid and Ethanol Expert
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: All over the Central U.S.
Posts: 3,616
Re: Do you Zaino?
Call me crazy, but this is a 100% true story.
I own a bright red, 1988 Dodge Dakota.
I have owned it for 19 years.
It has never been in a garage a day in it's life.
When it was 1-2 years old I would wash it.
In the last 16 years or so, the only washes it gets are from mother nature.
For 5 years it was in the sunny Calif. L.A. sun.
The past 14 years it has been in the Denver CO area.
Strong summer sun and UV due to mile high elevation.
Icy cold, sub-zero winters with snow, ice, sand, and salt.
Never did a thing to it, and it was always parked outside.
It does have some sand pits, and rock chips in the front from winter driving in denver, but none deep enough to cause rust.
I have a chrome step bumper on the back, still shiny as a mirror... and this has casued the most trouble. That mirror shine on the bumper has faded the color on my rear tailgate, in about the same shape as the shape of the step bumper. I attribiute this to the fact that I normally park with the rear bumper facing west, and for years it got afternoon sun, amplified by that chrome mirror.
I'm just starting to see rust, but not on the bottom where it gets road salt, but around the TOP of the windshield of all places.
I must say that the quality if the majority of the paint is still excellent.
After a good rain and a good natural wash, it is still shiny as a new button, and still fire engine red, and still looks almost like new... really.
I'd vote the exterior paint an 8 out of 10 after 19 years of doing nothing to it and aways parking outside.
I used to joke, but now I think it must be true, that layers of dust and dirt actually helped form a barrier to all that sun and UV around Denver, and my paint has held up very, very well.
It floors my parents when they stop by and I still have that truck.
They can't believe how GOOD it looks ( and runs ) after 19 years.
They bought me that truck in 1988, and figured I wear it out in 5 years.
-John
I own a bright red, 1988 Dodge Dakota.
I have owned it for 19 years.
It has never been in a garage a day in it's life.
When it was 1-2 years old I would wash it.
In the last 16 years or so, the only washes it gets are from mother nature.
For 5 years it was in the sunny Calif. L.A. sun.
The past 14 years it has been in the Denver CO area.
Strong summer sun and UV due to mile high elevation.
Icy cold, sub-zero winters with snow, ice, sand, and salt.
Never did a thing to it, and it was always parked outside.
It does have some sand pits, and rock chips in the front from winter driving in denver, but none deep enough to cause rust.
I have a chrome step bumper on the back, still shiny as a mirror... and this has casued the most trouble. That mirror shine on the bumper has faded the color on my rear tailgate, in about the same shape as the shape of the step bumper. I attribiute this to the fact that I normally park with the rear bumper facing west, and for years it got afternoon sun, amplified by that chrome mirror.
I'm just starting to see rust, but not on the bottom where it gets road salt, but around the TOP of the windshield of all places.
I must say that the quality if the majority of the paint is still excellent.
After a good rain and a good natural wash, it is still shiny as a new button, and still fire engine red, and still looks almost like new... really.
I'd vote the exterior paint an 8 out of 10 after 19 years of doing nothing to it and aways parking outside.
I used to joke, but now I think it must be true, that layers of dust and dirt actually helped form a barrier to all that sun and UV around Denver, and my paint has held up very, very well.
It floors my parents when they stop by and I still have that truck.
They can't believe how GOOD it looks ( and runs ) after 19 years.
They bought me that truck in 1988, and figured I wear it out in 5 years.
-John
#15
12-01-2007, 08:58 PM
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Rhode Island
Posts: 322
Re: Do you Zaino?
#16
12-01-2007, 09:04 PM
Re: Do you Zaino?
Zaino is amazing. This is a picture of my (no longer owned) 2005 Pontiac GTO after the following process:
Wash with Dawn
Clay bar
Wash with car washing soap
Z-2
Z-6
Z-5
Z-6
Z-2
Z-6
Z-5
Z-6
Z-2
Z-6
Z-5
Z-6
Z-5
Z-6
Z-8
So all in all that was seven coats of polish and eight coats of finishing spray, all applied and buffed out by hand. I was pretty sore after that but I was pleased with the result.
Wash with Dawn
Clay bar
Wash with car washing soap
Z-2
Z-6
Z-5
Z-6
Z-2
Z-6
Z-5
Z-6
Z-2
Z-6
Z-5
Z-6
Z-5
Z-6
Z-8
So all in all that was seven coats of polish and eight coats of finishing spray, all applied and buffed out by hand. I was pretty sore after that but I was pleased with the result.
Last edited by Brady; 12-02-2007 at 07:41 AM.
#17
12-02-2007, 03:57 AM
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Rhode Island
Posts: 322
Re: Do you Zaino?
Zaino is amazing. This is a picture of my (no longer owned) 2005 Pontiac GTO after the following process:
Wash with Dawn
Clay bar
Wash with car washing soap
Z-2
Z-6
Z-5
Z-6
Z-2
Z-6
Z-5
Z-6
Z-2
Z-6
Z-5
Z-6
Z-5
Z-6
Z-8
So all in all that was seven coats of polish and sixteen coats of finishing spray, all applied and buffed out by hand. I was pretty sore after that but I was pleased with the result.
Wash with Dawn
Clay bar
Wash with car washing soap
Z-2
Z-6
Z-5
Z-6
Z-2
Z-6
Z-5
Z-6
Z-2
Z-6
Z-5
Z-6
Z-5
Z-6
Z-8
So all in all that was seven coats of polish and sixteen coats of finishing spray, all applied and buffed out by hand. I was pretty sore after that but I was pleased with the result.
#18
12-04-2007, 12:42 PM
Re: Do you Zaino?
get my stuff from http://www.griotsgarage.com . i think zymol is the best but it does not last long.
#19
12-04-2007, 12:57 PM
Re: Do you Zaino?
get my stuff from http://www.griotsgarage.com . i think zymol is the best but it does not last long.
I have used Zymol myself, but I really see little difference between that shine & the Zaino look & since Zaino lasts 10 times as long as any carnauba wax that is what I've stuck with.
~John
