Zaino plastic cleaner

[THE_PRO]

Anyone here used the Zaino plastic cleaner to clean their interior yet? I just wanna know if it makes the plastic shine. If it does, I'm not buying.

[mafisto]

I personally don't like it. It's useless in my TT (rubberized console) and almost as useless in my Celica. It's only good on hard, very flat surfaces. Even modestly pebbled surfaces like on my 7th gen Celica collects dried white paste.

I found a bottle of STP plastic stuff -- probably from Target 100 years ago -- and that works. In other words, anything else.

BTW, I'm a Zaino fanatic. I'm just not impressed with the plastic cleaner.

[Blue Bomber]

Is it a cleaner or a polish (slightly abrasive)? From the sound of it ( "Even modestly pebbled surfaces like on my 7th gen Celica collects dried white paste" ), I think it might be a polish. I just bought some polish to fix up my headlights, and you rub it into the plastic, let it haze to a chalky color, then just wipe it off. What are the instructions on the Zaino bottle?

[Blue Bomber]

OK, just answered my own question:From the Zaino website:
Z-14 PLASTIC-MAGIC CLEANER & POLISH
Z-14 is designed to clean and protect all types of plastic surfaces without scratching. It can be used on clear or colored plastics from very thin films to very thick acrylics, lexan, abs, plexiglass, etc. Z-14 deep cleans as it polishes and restores dull plastic to like new condition. It penetrates and seals, tiny scratches and pores in plastic to increase surface clarity and reduce distortion. Z-14 is fast drying and leaves no sticky, oily or greasy residue. It creates an ultra-slick, anti-static, smudge free surface. Great for restoring old plastic lenses and other hard plastic parts. Not for use on vinyl, textured or porous surfaces.So it's just to restore hazy or scratched plastic. It shouldn'tbe used on any part of the Celica except maybe the outside of the moonroof (the inside is tinted), the plastic lens over the gauges, headlights/taillights/sidemarkers, and possibly the display on the stock stereo.

[mafisto]

"... and you rub it into the plastic, let it haze to a chalky color, then just wipe it off ..."

Exactly. It's supposed to be both a cleaner and polish, it's a mild abrasive. It looks and acts like Zaino's excellent glass cleaner. But unless I have a weird or defective dash, the plastic will trap tiny grains of the paste. You can spend a good long time trying to 'polish' away that gritty aftertaste, but it's hardly worth it as there is no shine to be had.

I'm not terribly pleased with this, and am a bit suprised considering how good all of Sal's other products are. Perhaps I just don't have the right applications for the product?

[Blue Bomber]

Originally posted by mafisto
"... and you rub it into the plastic, let it haze to a chalky color, then just wipe it off ..."

Exactly. It's supposed to be both a cleaner and polish, it's a mild abrasive. It looks and acts like Zaino's excellent glass cleaner. But unless I have a weird or defective dash, the plastic will trap tiny grains of the paste. You can spend a good long time trying to 'polish' away that gritty aftertaste, but it's hardly worth it as there is no shine to be had.

I'm not terribly pleased with this, and am a bit suprised considering how good all of Sal's other products are. Perhaps I just don't have the right applications for the product? It's NOT supposed to be used on the dash. Like I quoted from the Zaino site before, "Not for use on vinyl, textured or porous surfaces." The dash is more of a matte texture to minimize dash reflection on the windshield, and to keep the sun out of your eyes. My plastic polish works fine on smooth surfaces, where it was meant to be used.

[mafisto]

Si. I was writing my post as you wrote yours, otherwise I would have saved us both the trouble. I suppose my guess was correct... I DON'T have the right applications for the product.

In any case, just trying to help. Hope you got what you needed.

[THE_PRO]

thank you all for your replies, does it by any chance make the headlight shine when you wipe with it?

[Blue Bomber]

Originally posted by THE_PRO
thank you all for your replies, does it by any chance make the headlight shine when you wipe with it? Yeah, it should help with the headlights. They have a plastic film over them that I'm pretty sure can be polished to be shinier.