Zaino CS or Griots Paint Sealant? & is washing chassis with highpower hose okay?

[alohabailey]

Hello, I looked and didn't see the answer to this so if anyone can help.
I've been looking at the Zaino products and was recommended the Griots Paint Sealant as well. I just want something that will offer better protection or harden the paint. It seems like the paint is "soft"- I'm beginning to see little nicks in the paint from stuff flying at the car when driving. I've been washing the car by hand but I was wondering how do I wash the chassis? Can I use a high powered hose, will it ruin anything in the undercarriage? Thanks for any help you can give.

[claridiva]

Originally Posted by alohabailey

Hello, I looked and didn't see the answer to this so if anyone can help.
I've been looking at the Zaino products and was recommended the Griots Paint Sealant as well. I just want something that will offer better protection or harden the paint. It seems like the paint is "soft"- I'm beginning to see little nicks in the paint from stuff flying at the car when driving. I've been washing the car by hand but I was wondering how do I wash the chassis? Can I use a high powered hose, will it ruin anything in the undercarriage? Thanks for any help you can give.

FYI, I highly recommend Zaino's for many reasons, but that being said, it is not going to stop rocks flying at you at highway speed from nicking your paint. For that kind of protection, you will need to look into the 3M product protection shields or the like. I will defer to someone else about washing the chassis.

[alohabailey]

Thank you Claridiva! I know it's not going to offer armor protection. I just wish the paint was stronger. Maybe with time, it will harden. Thanks so much for offering your advice!

[spiderman]

Originally Posted by alohabailey

I just wish the paint was stronger. Maybe with time, it will harden.

I don't know... all four of my previous Toys have had "soft" paint and chip very easy. I got real good with the touch up paint.
With that said, the 3M clear stuff seems like a good option however I have no idea what the durablility of this stuff is. Guess I will find out (with the factory stuff that is on my car now).

[MaggieMay]

Washing this weekend and found more little tiny dings from flying stuff. No way to avoid that I suppose. There's some good advise for using touch up paint around here somewhere. Someone suggested using a toothpick to fill the divot and (like nail polish ) use several thin coats for best results.

[chrisj428]

While I haven't any experience with Griot's paint shield, I do have experience with Zaino's Z-2 and Z5. They've been outstanding on both light and dark paint colors. I fully intent to Zaino the Prius after taking delivery.

As for touchup technique, using a toothpick is probably the easiest and cleanest way to perform touchups. The brush which typically comes with the tube of paint has a nasty way of globbing excess paint on & causing a right mess.

[tumbleweed]

Originally Posted by MaggieMay

Washing this weekend and found more little tiny dings from flying stuff. No way to avoid that I suppose. There's some good advise for using touch up paint around here somewhere. Someone suggested using a toothpick to fill the divot and (like nail polish ) use several thin coats for best results.

I just did some touch up painting on mine last weekend. It might have been me that recommended the tooth pick but I think I found a better way. I went to a hobby shop and bought the littlest brush I could find and just put on several very thin coats. After it dried for a day or so I used some scratch remover and rubbed it out a little. You can still tell where they are but at least now you would have to look harder.

[Jayhawker]

Washing down the chasis won't hurt anything. I definitely advise that for you since your car will see a lot of salt in the winter if it's your daily driver.

I can't say anything bad about Zaino or Griots but you might consider Meguiars Synthetic 2.0. It's a great sealer as well and it doesn't consist of all the steps that Zaino requires and it won't be as expensive as the two you are considering.

[Holbrook22]

I followed recommendations from a number of people who advised using Rejex (a polymer that bonds with the paint to form a hard, super slippery and shinny finish).
I clay bared the car first. As I did that I saw all the nicks and dings in the paint. I couldn't believe that a car less than two months old could have so many pits, scratches and chips already. Now after reading this thread I see that I am not alone.
The clay bar and Rejex were a lot of work, but I ended up with an extremely slick and glossy finish. It is supposed to hold up for six months......we'll see.

[PriusRos]

Originally Posted by alohabailey

It seems like the paint is "soft"- I'm beginning to see little nicks in the paint from stuff flying at the car when driving.

Out of curiosity -- what color do you have? I had a Gen II in Silver and felt that the paint was terribly thin. Within a few months of buying the car, after a long road trip, my hood and bumper were covered in dings -- even though I had used Zaino to seal it before embarking on the trip.