My car is getting repaired on monday for damage to the rear right quarter panel, and bumper, and the rear valance. It doesn't look too bad, but my question is how long will I have to wait before I can use zaino again? I just ordered a bunchload of Zaino, and was about to go all out! Thanks for the help.

 

With Zaino wait 1-2 weeks.

 

Is anything being repainted? According to the body shop that I had my car fixed at. (Front 2/3s of the car was repainted.) I've got to wait 90 days until any sort of wax or polish. So... Yep, I've got until may yet!

 

Correct me if I'm wrong...but isn't Sal Zaino himself quoted somewhere on this board as saying 1-2 weeks (or something like that) after painting? MikeLS, I'm sure you can chime in here. I'm curious as well, as my car is undergoing a full re-paint as we speak!!!

Thanks,
Mike

 

Yup, Kevin V and Mike (sparc) are correct. Sal is a custom show car painter by trade with many many years of experience. He has stated that you can use Zaino on paint as fresh as 2 weeks. This does not apply to most other types of waxes or abrasives though. If you're using something else, you sould probably wait at least 30 days.....

According to Sal, if the paint isn't fully dried after 1 to 2 weeks, it'll probably never dry.....

 

That's what I thought I heard. Interesting. Does that include claying and everything? Would you need to clay a car that had been freshly painted? Would there be benefits? Drawbacks, if any?

TIA,
Mike

 

IMO, no, you don't need to clay brand new paint, other than possibly removing overspray. By "brand new paint" I'm refering to a fresh repaint or a new custom paint job. I do think there is a big benefit to claying new factory paint as there will likely be contaminants from the transport process, like rail dust particles, etc... There should be no contaminants in fresh paint, so claying it wouldn't make much sense to me, other than removing overspray. I don't think clay would necessarily harm or damage fresh paint if you were to clay it, it would just be a waste of time IMO.... Most consumer grade clays are nonabrasive anyhow, but there is at least one commercial variety that IS abrasive.

 

Of course...if I drive the car some in the first couple weeks before I were to 'zaino' it, I might want to consider claying, I would think. Just to get the contaminants off that I gained on the road in that short time. Am I right, or just ****?

-Mike

 

Both actually.....welcome to the club!


Yeah, if you drive in some rough/dirty conditions you might want to consider lightly claying it. Otherwise, I'd probably go straight to the Zaino and wait a few more months before claying. It's really up to you.....no harm done either way. For the perfectionist, a claying before the Zaino would be appropriate.