Full Zaino detail on Midnight Blue Lotus (polished and Zainoed to perfection)

[Todd Helme]

Process Wash

Wheels cleaned with P21s Wheel Gel
Wash with Meguiars Hyperwash, 2 bucket method
Clayed with Meguiars Pro Line mild clay
Dried with Cobra Guzzler

Process Interior

Lightwipe down with Meguiars APC 10:1
Meguiars Natural Shine on dash, rubber
Zaino AIO followed by Zaino Z2pro on painted interior surfaces/carbonfiber
Meguiars Pro Line windown cleaner on windows, mirrors, ect..
Zaino AIO on door jambs
Zaino Z9/Zaino Z10 on the leather

Process Paint

Polished with
Menzerna SIP with Lake Country purple foamed wool @ 1500 rpm
Menzerna 106ff with Lake Country white CCS pad @ 1200 rpm
50/50 wipedown
2 x Zaino Z5pro (ZFX'd)
Zaino Z2pro

Process Misc

Zaino AIO followed by Z2pro on rims/glass/trim
2x Zaino Z16 on tires
Eagle One NeverDull on exhaust and underpan
Meguiars Hyperdressing in wheelwells, engine


Some before pics











I sprayed the wheels with P21s and let it dwell for about 5 minutes before scubbing the barrels and using the P21s sponge to clean the rims...



Then I washed the car and snapped one more before picture before it was time to start...



Detailing, is (suprise!) about the details. Because the lip of the door jambs is visible, they also needed to be polished.



I snapped some photos after I polished with the wool pad. You can see the swirls where greatly reduced, but there was slight hologramming that would be dealt with on the final step.





After 106ff....







I finished up, applied 3 coats of Zaino, dressed tires. ect.. then pulled it outside...



Opps, forgot to wipe the Zaino off the glass :O

[Todd Helme]

The glass looks better now!

[fitfan]

i zaino'd my car too - and i have to say.... i was very impressed with the results!

[MattG]

Excellent work! My car has similar swirl marks; seeing your results is inspiring me to tackle that project.

[loanshark]

Looks great.

Do you have any more interior pics? I am really looking at the CF center console, and wondering how it will go with the my biscuit interior. Appreciate it.

[Needspeed]

Looks awesome! Zaino is the crank!

[SweetDaddyD]

Man that is awesome. Another Zaino fanboy here, but looks like you took it to the next level! I love the "starbursts" in the photos. They are so perfect in their gleaming Zaino glory that they look photoshopped in (not accusing, I know they aren't)

I just might be inspired to toss on a couple coats on Thurs now that I have part of the day off.

How do you like the Zaino tire dressing? I'm sure it's phenomenal like all their other products but can you give some feedback on it. Been thinking of including on my next order. Getting low on wash as spray detail so another Zaino order is coming...

I love that you send an E-mail and Sal Zaino will e-mail or call you right back. Flat out awesome company.

[slope]

this is my car that todd worked on and I can tell you that I was definitely impressed with the job that he did, looks better than when i first got the car. seeing his pics i'm kinda of ashamed about the swirl marks but i was definitely impressed with his ability to get them off i'd gladly recommend him if you want to get your car detailed.

[Vantage]

Great job Todd! Looks better than factory from what I can tell. I also use the Menzerna ceramic polishes and love them.

Just a general observation for everyone: Zaino is definitely icing on the cake, but it's really the Menzerna polishing that made this car look as good as it does. That's easily the most important step.

[Z-dculus]

[thegunguy]

Awesome work!

I'm a HUGE fan of Zaino. I can't recall a product that is easier to use with such great results. I haven't applied it to the Lotus yet, but it's a must on my other cars. Z-PC is a must for anyone with dark colors. It works miracles on swirls and spider webs. Follow up with several coats of Z-2, Z-5, and Z-6 after every step.

It's a little pricey, but it's pretty tough stuff.

Originally Posted by SweetDaddyD

How do you like the Zaino tire dressing? I'm sure it's phenomenal like all their other products but can you give some feedback on it. Been thinking of including on my next order. Getting low on wash as spray detail so another Zaino order is coming....

Z-16 (the tire dressing) is great in my opinion. It's a little oily, but it penetrates quickly without dripping on the wheels or on the ground. It gives your tires a nice sheen, but it's not an overly wet look. Personally, I don't like the really wet dressings - they're just too much for me. Basically, it gives them the look of new rubber, but with a tad bit more shine.

Like all of the Zaino products it lasts quite a while and wears well with use.

If you're going to an order, add Z-16. I bet you'll love it!

[qball]

Yep! Todd is da man!

He's the fellow that did my car!

[James007]

Zaino-rrific!!
Looks awesome!!

[SweetDaddyD]

Originally Posted by thegunguy

Z-16 (the tire dressing) is great in my opinion. It's a little oily, but it penetrates quickly without dripping on the wheels or on the ground. It gives your tires a nice sheen, but it's not an overly wet look. Personally, I don't like the really wet dressings - they're just too much for me. Basically, it gives them the look of new rubber, but with a tad bit more shine.

Like all of the Zaino products it lasts quite a while and wears well with use.

If you're going to an order, add Z-16. I bet you'll love it!

Thanks for the answer. Sounds exactly what I'm looking for. I don't like too greasy tire shine. I just want clean looking rubber, not oil slicked rubber. Like the look of Meguires natural shine or armor all low gloss but with more durability. I'll give it a try on the next order (gonna be an expensive one- around $100 prolly. But they have that good deal on the 4 bottles wash/2 spray detail. Z2 and Z5 go so far I'm set on both for a while)

[uclacyc]

Wow, I really like that picture of the front of the car in the garage. It's like your Lotus is made of mirrors... I can see everything!

[Exigesss]

I use Zaino Z2.
That's awesome.

[raggedy1]

great job. another Zaino fan right here!

question: did you use an orbital polisher in the past on that car? I'm wondering why your paint had such obvious swirling before you started the job.

[ajp33]

I've the same colour car and wished mine looked that good

A couple of questions I hope you guys could help with:
Would this sort of treatment ged rid of stains as a result of bird poop?
My car is pretty stone chipped, would getting it detailed, a) help to hide them, or b) make them stand out more.
Ar there any tricks on getting rid of stone chips jsut in front of the rear wheels without having to resort to a respray?

Thanks guys

[JoshS]

Great job. But, I think I need a few more pics to be certain.

[Audiophile]

Dayuuuuuuuuuuuuuum, Nice job!