07LXgs350

wash with meguiars gold class (2 bucket)
meguiars nxt 2.0 (once every few months)
meguiars quik detailer and Quik wax every week (spray)


the quik wax is like liquid gold...so easy to apply every week and it looks really good

Boron

XxGoKoUxX, are you re-washing the car after claying it?
If not, you should, to give the Klasse as clean and bare paintwork to adhere to.
Alternatively, from any bodyshop or supplier, get a slow flash panel wipe, and do each panel with it prior to the Klasse.
Extra step I know, but will extend the longevity of the sealant.
3-4 layers is about as much as will layer up - beyond that you start removing some of the underlying layer as you apply the next one, so law of diminishing returns sets in at that point.

Boron

Just be sure to rinse very thoroughly when using household washing-up liquid - contains a lot of salts.
A good way to remove old wax (those less detergent resistant than Collinite!), and give yourself a fresh base to layer up new wax/sealant.

XxGoKoUxX

I've tried sovereign stuff, they compare pretty nicely to the zaino stuff, you should give ALL products a chance! I know I did, unfortunately I haven't given zaino a chance yet hehe (I will).

You're doing fine [I haven't washed the car after a wax, but make sure you use lots of clay lube because you can damage the clear of the car]. Although I do reccomend a really nice sealant, sealant lasts a long longer than wax for #1, and #2, try to brand out from over the counter wax. Other than that you're A-Okay! Once again this is just my personal preference hehe.

Why do you say clay bar only 3-5 years? IMO clay bar doesn't do anything to take off layers of clear off of your vehicle, the less abrasive the clay bar the better. I've done 2 clay bars in the last 3 month-period. I actually clay everytime I get ready to do sealant/wax

Your car looks great!

I also use a gallon of optimum spray wax, on and off very fast and extremely easy.

I don't wash the car after claying, but it seems fine so far I make sure the surface is extra clean, but next time I decide to 2-3-layer it, i'll make sure i wash it again (my routine is wash around 4-5, let it sit n dry, then start claybarrign at around 10pm and I won't finish until 3-4AM, due to time constraints and a overjealous other half lol).

I agree, but with a good sealant, u won't really need to wash with dawn at all IMO. I've layered up my car 3x with klasse (and I CAN'T wait to show you guys the video of the water just falling off the car) that the car pretty much repels water off of the car.

Bushwack

Respectfully, you're not getting all that Zaino has to offer if the steps above took you only six hours. No matter how thin you apply Z2 or Z5, it takes a couple hours to dry minimum (if it's a hot August day) before you can wipe off then re-apply. Applying ZCS serves no purpose immediately after the final Z2 coat. I applaud the efforts and your car looks good (but should look much better). Read the Zaino instructions. Shoot an e-mail to Sal. Per your process, it should be a 2 day job (allowing the product to properly dry, wait a couple hours then re-apply).

And...I wouldn't apply the Z5 at all unless you have bad swirls. And if that's the case, look first at MeGuiar's Ultimate Compound. As much as I like Z5, UC is much more effective. Use UC after you clay then go w/ ZFX (or AIO) as the base.

energie8

Is there anything better than Meguiar's Ultimate Compound to remove swirls?(by hand) my swirls are pretty tense, it's been parked outside,gone through 4 seasons for years lol

Boron

Due to how aggressively household detergent works, it's a good way to strip everything off on a new car (brand new or pre-owned) to give you a clean base from which to start.
No-one's suggesting using it every other weekend - in the case of most carnauba-based waxes, the base layer will have deteriorated within 3-4 months, if not sooner (even with continued reapplication every so often).
I also wouldn't let the car dry naturally, unless you're rinsing with deionised/mineral-free water, otherwise the calcium carbonate will be deposited as spots. Dry with a good heavyweight microfiber, blotting rather than rubbing.

XxGoKoUxX

aaaand this is why I don't like Zaino products, basically it's a TWO day job, lol. It does yield good results but IMO I got the simular or probably same results when sitting next to a zaino'd car of my friend's on only a few hours work

Yes there is actually, you have to be very good at polishing though, it is not an easy job on heavy swirls. If you're interested, you TRULY TRULY need a buffer(if you're already equipped with one, GREAT!) about 3 POLISHING pads minimum, one for ROUGH polishing, one for medium polishing, and one for finishing polish for a final gloss pretty much. THEN you need a pad for sealing/glaze, and finally you need a pad for waxing. (unless you use some hand pads for waxing, which is a PITA because since you already have a buffer, waxing is a 5 minute job).

Here is a less in-depth polishing kit, it's got everything you need (the compounds anyway) and it's a two-step process with polishing instead of 3-step.

http://www.autogeek.net/3m-paint-restoration-kit.html

My friend's bought a gallon of the rough polish and I have a quarter gallon of the very fine polish, so we trade off pretty much, give this a go and you should come back with AWESOME results. There's also a video on that link (these guys are great!) that shows you how to polish all those years of abuse out. *note* please don't forget to PROTECT your paint job, polishing means you've stripped your car of any form of protection on it, so you need to either wax every two weeks (I haven't met a good wax that lasts past two-three weeks MAX) or sealant it a few times. You'll have a lasting shine and the car will have to be detailed about once a year on a good sealant.

XxGoKoUxX

You made a very critical point with the rinsing part, I forgot to mention (and this was my mistake with 2 years of doing this and ending up with a lot of water spots) that you must must MUST wipe your car off clean with a drying item (some people use cow hide's and whatnot, I use those water absorbant towels). the calcium deposits will show, and not only that, they'll stick to your car's finish like in the bathroom of your house if you leave the spots there. You're also right about sparingly doing the dawn car soap wash. I went to this total stranger's house, where his friend was washing his car with a half bottle of dawn car soap. I asked him what the hell he's doing, and he says he's been washing his car like this for the past half year or so with dawn soap because he heard it washes the car down really well, so i'd rather everyone be clarified that this method should be used sparingly, just like you said Boron

NickL

I agree. I did rush the process but it was good enough for me. ZFX stated 30minutes of waiting time for it to haze. Keep in mind that my car is silver so getting the mirror look like on the darker color vehicle is almost impossible. Or at least I haven't seen any silver vehicle with a mirror-look shine. I'll apply more Z2 as the weather gets better.

L8Apex

The Megs UC should do the trick unless your talking scratches. Buy a Flex along with a 2 pack of surebuf pads, get a White and black foam pad as well. Fastest correction I've ever done was with my flex and surbuf. Follow the compound with a good polish then seal and wax.

johnnunez2

o.k car looks great! the silver one. im sorry for the thread jack! lol. my car is black and has a TON! of swirls on the paint. ive never waxed it i only wash it! can you please post step by step what i need to do and what products to use(prefferibly things bought at the auto part store) and HOW to do it. like wash first i got that. but i have no idea how to wax or clay and dont know what clay lubricant is! lol im sorry about the dumb question but would like to make my baby shine again! thanks

XxGoKoUxX

Any particular reason why you want it from an auto parts store? Online is where EVERYTHING is at, like top notch quality stuff. Your average auto parts store doesn't have anything that remote would have quality for your vehicle.

You have to really have a heart to tackle this project as, IMO it isn't easy as 1, 2, 3. Just a basic detail on my car exhausts me by the end of the day. If you are interested, PM me and I can show you what products to buy and procedures as in step-by-step process. You'll still need to learn techniques on how these people apply and work things like polish, wax, and sealant. As for some instructions, here is a forum as to how to tackle this project.

Two forums I'd check out are Autopia.org and autogeek.com, they show you everything you need to know about removing those swirls.

Also, if you haven't done this, please use a two-bucket method when washing the car. It keeps 90% of the dirt in the water bucket and ~10% of the dirt in the soapy bucket. That way you have less chance of creating SWIRLS. Note also that the materials you use and how hard you push down to wash your car will cause swirls also, so find a microfiber sponge, or like the above, lamb wool mitt I believe? to wash your car. Use a microfiber towel or something MADE to dry your car (not a house towel like most people use).

06ausiecar

Wash it once a week. The first week I buy a car I buff it and use a sealant. Then from then on I wash it once a week inside, clay bar if needed and use meguiars gold. I've been doing this method for 7 years to my cars. All have been black besides my BMW and the Lexus. My GTO I had wet sanded when i got it and I'm on year three with her and the black paint looks better then a brand new one. I do clean my carpets with my wet vac (meant for cars not a house one) every three months because I can not because I'm dirty lol my uncle used leather cleaner and conditioner from rolls Royce on his old BMW and 23 years later and 101000 miles it still looks pretty good. Real leather and a vert!

drewdogg80

If you guys want to be really **** with detailing your cars, hang out at the autopia forums for awhile. I have waayy too many detailing supplies now. Been through 2 UDM polishers and now using GG (griot's garage polisher). But between work and 3 young kids, I haven't been able to detail myself as much over the last few years. I hire a mobile detail guy to come to the house every 1-2 months.

Polishing out swirls with a random orbital polisher is pretty safe and easy. Using a rotary is more challenging.