There's a lot of conflicting information on here, but from my research I've decided to go with the Zaino Ultimate Protection kit. My '07 G35 Coupe is only 9 months old but the paint looks like it's been put under a sand-blaster. I have holograms, swirl marks, spider-webs, you name it! It's garaged 90% of the time (garage at home and work) so it's out of the elements - and no, I've never taken it through a drive-thru wash. I've always had it hand-washed at an auto detailing place in Beverly Hills, but after really watching what my $50 goes to, I realized this was the source of my problem! They just breeze through it and I think they re-use a lot of their towels which are probably cheap crap.

Anyway, it's too expensive I want to get my car looking like liquid-black hotness again, but I just read that using something like Zaino only "covers" the problem. I'm feeling a little intimidated at the prospect of getting a Porter Cable and "cutting" my clearcoat, as I barely even have a proper driveway to wash my car in!

So, plain and simple - will Zaino restore my poor paint and get my G looking black as sin again? Or should I really invest some heavy $, time and knowledge into buffing down the clearcoat?

nope, not a chance. Zaino IMO does a poor job of hiding swirls anyways. It makes for a decent protecting LSP, but compared to other products, its hiding abilities are only average. I don't think you are going to be satisfied with hiding swirls anyways, and you should think about picking up a random orbital and some good pads to really remove them. I wouldn't do it any other way. You also need to either find a new car wash place or start doing it yourself, or your hard work will be wasted the next time the car is washed and the swirls are put right back into the finish

^ WHS, I completely agree.

Meguiars Wax Did This "dam my car shines"

Which one?

^^^ the black G

Definitely - I'm going to start taking care of the car myself which is why I purchased the Zaino kit. I'm going to pick up some buckets, 100% cotton towels, etc and a good duster for inbetween washes.

It looks like I'll be throwin a few bucks at a porter cable! I'll hit up George for details.

Thanks all.

Zaino works very well and is used by detailers for high-end cars as well. However, it will only enhance the paint surface. Unless your paint is well prepped and near-perfect, you won't be happy with Zaino. Prep work is 90% of the entire detail.
The advice I give my customers and other forum members is to have the car fully detailed by a pro with a rotary. Then, maintain it yourself once its well prepped, using your Zaino products.

I use Meguiar's NON-Silicon Wax #26 with 3m Compound & Swirl Remover, Polish

Reflectiions Off My Car

DAAM! That is VERY clean! Looks great!

Since you have scratches, swirls etc give Exclusive Auto Detailing a call
and he will buff out all those problems for you. Then you can follow up with
the Zaino products to keep it perfect. 818-437-3623 He's in the valley.

iuse Zaino but as stated before you need a really clean swirl free base before you apply the zaino otherwise you just wasted your time sealing in the scratches and swirl marks. Zaino also workls great on your rims also. It cuts the cleaning time for my rims in half.

Good choice, I used to use #26 before I switched to #21 synthetic sealant because I didn't need the carnuaba for my metallic finish

If you like Zaino, go with Z-PC (polish) on a Porter Cable. It will do the trick for you.