pwalker

I would like to hear from the "New Formula Red" owners that also use Zaino products for their paint. Which do you use for your paint, Z-2 for clearcoats or Z-3 for non-clearcoats? I am placing an order with Zaino as soon as I can figure out which one I should use. Other colors are welcome to comment as well...

I realize this is kind of a trick question because there have been many posts on this subject of whether or not the "New Formula Red" has a clearcoat or not. I have read all of the posts and both camps have solid information supporting thier beliefs/facts. However, I still go back to this.... when I use polish (very light hand pressure w/ultra fine polish) on my car I get a small amount of residue on my applicator (my paint is clean and was built 12/00, always garage kept, paint is very smooth). I have a few very slight scratches that I was removing with the ultra fine polish.

This NEVER happened on my other 2 Hondas. I had a 94 Prelude (Granada Black Pearl) for 6 years and polished it many times (mostly with an orbital polisher) and there was NEVER any black residue on the applicators (because it had a clearcoat). I also owned a 99 White Prelude SH but never polished this so I am not sure, but I assumed it had a clearcoat. I do think it is strange for a car nowadays to not come with a clearcoat and always assumed the my S2k had one. I was really amazed to find residue on the applicator after applying polish to my S2k.

I know it's easy to say that all cars have clearcoats. I have seen the information from the Helm's manual thanks to Utah S2K in previous posts. But others have reported that the White and Red are unique and do not have clearcoats.

Help!

TrojanHorse

I just came in from the garage after another coat of Z-2 on my Red. Works great. Go with Z-2.

pwalker

Sal from Zaino is helping me with this issue. He asked me to try polishing again and report the results. Here is what I sent him after trying again tonight.
----------------------------------------

Sal,

I tried the following tonight on my Red Honda S2k.

I cleaned a spot on my hood. I first tried Malm's
"Polish/Glaze #10" on my hood (the polish is pink in
color and is a finer polish than Malm's "Ultra Fine").
I put the polish on a clean white Fieldcrest 100%
cotton handcloth and rubbed gently on a 6"x3" spot on
my hood. I didn't notice any red residue on the towel
but I wasn't really sure because the polish is pink in
color so it could have been hiding the paint on the
towel if there was any. Also it is a finer polish
than Malm's "Ultra Fine". I did have a fine scratch
where I tested and the scratch was gone when I
finished.

Then I used Malm's "Ultra Fine" polish (greenish
color) in the same area. With gentle rubbing, there
WAS red on the cloth when I finished polishing. The
polish is greenish in color so it has to be paint.

Any thoughts??

Here is Malm's website if you have any questions about
the products I used. http://www.malms.com

William

I'm in the same boat with you, and not to happy about it. Last 5 or 6 cars I had all were clearcoat, assumed n.f. red was clearcoat. Not so sure now. I have 5 coats of Z2 on my car and it looks great though. Please post if Zanio says there is any problem with Z2 on non clearcoat finish. Wish we could find out for sure on the clearcoat issue. Are all colors except n.f. red clearcoat. The sad part is red will fade faster than any color except silver.

pwalker

Here is Sal's response (from Zaino) to my post above. I gave him some additional information from this board (like the Helm manual info) and even links to previous threads. Here is what he said --

"According to Honda.. your paint is clearcoat..."
"I would definetly go with Z-2...."
"Give me a call if you'd like and I'll explain... otherwise just go with the Z-2 and you'll be fine..."

So, I will be ordering the Z-2 for my car (New Formula Red). I plan on calling Sal later this week and will post any new information that I get.

nova s2k

I know this debate has been going on and on and on ... but I find it very difficult to believe that any car would be coming from Honda w/o a clearcoat ...

I believe the following explanations about the contradiction of clearcoat vs. color appearing on polishing cloth hold true for the red NSX ... and it certainly seems that two cars made at the same factory might share painting techniques ...

http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Detailing/cleanpolish.htm

"The Red color NSX has a tinted clear, that means that the clear coat over the color also has color in it. When polishing the car you will remove some clear coat and it will look red/purple/pink on your polish cloth."

http://integra.vtec.net/tips/detailing.html

"Third generation Integras use three coats of base coat paint, followed by a clearcoat finish. Strangely, the color "Milano Red" or R81 uses a different painting process. The base coat consists of an unflattering orange red paint. The clear coat is a deep transparent purple gloss. The combination of the two results in a deep red color. Other Honda paints that use this process can be found on the NSX.

Because of the pigmentation in the clearcoat, polishes and cleaners may cause the buffing rag to turn to a light shade of red."

As with anything ... simply being written down on the internet certainly doesn't make something true ... but ... it seems a very valid explanation to me ... and if I owned a red I might look into it some more ...

TrojanHorse

I have 5 coats of Z-2 on my New Formula red and I have never noticed any pigmentation or discoloration of any of my polishing cloths. Many careful rubdowns with a white cotton towel and Z-6 also and never and discoloration of the towel. Wonder if you got a lemon paint job or something?