Detailing Part 2: Sprinklers vs. 5-month-old LX
08-30-10, 06:26 PM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
Detailing Part 2: Sprinklers vs. 5-month-old LX
So as I mentioned in ggebhardt's "I am back!" thread on the posts where we were talking about car care products, about two weeks ago the sprinklers were turned on mid-afternoon at my wife's company. She drives the LX every day (I take an express bus to work), and I found out what happened a bit late. The truck was filthy, so I was hoping that the damage would not be too bad.
No luck... The Spots Were Stubborn...
Two Monday nights ago, I got home and washed the front of the truck, and the picture on the hood was dire. I was beyond mad. I tried all my usual tricks: Zaino Z-5 (which usually works well on superficial water spots even though it is not abrasive), hand polish and even the acid bath with vinegar, and NOTHING worked. It was getting late, and since I had stripped the paint of all protection, I applied a couple of coats of Z-5 to the hood and a final one of Z-CS. I decided to hold off until I had more time during the weekend to properly attack this and hope for the best.
Around that same time, I had been reading about Ultima products and found some very positive reviews. One set of reviews, which was extremely detailed and gave high marks to Ultima's Paint Prep (Glaze), Paint Sealant and Car Wash Soap was written by an LS owner. Other products like their clay and quick detail spray did not get great reviews.
The paint sealant requires no buffing - just apply and let dry, like Zaino Z-CS - and the makers claim they spent years developing a product that could beat Zaino, a product line that they praise heavily and for good reason. I decided to order some Ultima products. More on this later...
Take 2...
Fast forward to this past weekend... I cleaned the hood and promptly got reacquainted with the water spot damage. There were a handful of medium water spots that were hard to miss, but the worst part was looking at all the tiny marks - likely a hundred of them - from all the droplets that had dried on the paint. The paint had this permanent haze on it. I clayed the hood, and it made no difference.
At this point, I wanted the person who turned the sprinklers on in front of me so that we could have a little conversation, but I digress...
Ultima's glaze claimed to help with water spots and swirls and is non-abrasive. I went over the hood once with the random orbital and saw minimal changes. I tried a second time, and the big spots came off, almost fully. The small ones, though, were marginally better but still there.
Finally, after Griot's Machine Polishes #3 and #4 and a final round of Ultima Paint Prep, I could see a difference. There are some small spots still there, but I did not want to continue polishing... Something like this will happen again eventually, and only I know what's on there at this point.
The Shine
It was time to protect the paint, and I tried Ultima's paint sealant. I will let the pictures (after two coats) speak for themselves and will say one other thing: if this product lasts as long as Zaino Z-2, it has won me over. I love Zaino products and will at a bare minimum continue to use Gloss Enhancer and their leather care products, but if I can protect the paint in less time and with less effort, I am all for it! We'll see how it goes...
The pictures only show the affected area, since the rest of the truck is dirty!
I wish this wouldn't have been necessary and was not happy at all with the situation, but given that it happened, I'm glad the products worked like they did, even if the paint is no longer "perfect". In the grand scheme of things, though, this is far from a big deal, and I just wanted to share the story and pictures of the finished product.
No luck... The Spots Were Stubborn...
Two Monday nights ago, I got home and washed the front of the truck, and the picture on the hood was dire. I was beyond mad. I tried all my usual tricks: Zaino Z-5 (which usually works well on superficial water spots even though it is not abrasive), hand polish and even the acid bath with vinegar, and NOTHING worked. It was getting late, and since I had stripped the paint of all protection, I applied a couple of coats of Z-5 to the hood and a final one of Z-CS. I decided to hold off until I had more time during the weekend to properly attack this and hope for the best.
Around that same time, I had been reading about Ultima products and found some very positive reviews. One set of reviews, which was extremely detailed and gave high marks to Ultima's Paint Prep (Glaze), Paint Sealant and Car Wash Soap was written by an LS owner. Other products like their clay and quick detail spray did not get great reviews.
The paint sealant requires no buffing - just apply and let dry, like Zaino Z-CS - and the makers claim they spent years developing a product that could beat Zaino, a product line that they praise heavily and for good reason. I decided to order some Ultima products. More on this later...
Take 2...
Fast forward to this past weekend... I cleaned the hood and promptly got reacquainted with the water spot damage. There were a handful of medium water spots that were hard to miss, but the worst part was looking at all the tiny marks - likely a hundred of them - from all the droplets that had dried on the paint. The paint had this permanent haze on it. I clayed the hood, and it made no difference.
At this point, I wanted the person who turned the sprinklers on in front of me so that we could have a little conversation, but I digress...
Ultima's glaze claimed to help with water spots and swirls and is non-abrasive. I went over the hood once with the random orbital and saw minimal changes. I tried a second time, and the big spots came off, almost fully. The small ones, though, were marginally better but still there.
Finally, after Griot's Machine Polishes #3 and #4 and a final round of Ultima Paint Prep, I could see a difference. There are some small spots still there, but I did not want to continue polishing... Something like this will happen again eventually, and only I know what's on there at this point.
The Shine
It was time to protect the paint, and I tried Ultima's paint sealant. I will let the pictures (after two coats) speak for themselves and will say one other thing: if this product lasts as long as Zaino Z-2, it has won me over. I love Zaino products and will at a bare minimum continue to use Gloss Enhancer and their leather care products, but if I can protect the paint in less time and with less effort, I am all for it! We'll see how it goes...
The pictures only show the affected area, since the rest of the truck is dirty!
I wish this wouldn't have been necessary and was not happy at all with the situation, but given that it happened, I'm glad the products worked like they did, even if the paint is no longer "perfect". In the grand scheme of things, though, this is far from a big deal, and I just wanted to share the story and pictures of the finished product.
Last edited by caha14; 09-18-10 at 03:23 PM.
08-31-10, 04:08 AM
#2
Pole Position
She looks good as new! Glad you found something that helped.
I would have had to had a conversation with the sprinkler operator!
I would have had to had a conversation with the sprinkler operator!
08-31-10, 05:43 AM
#3
Racer
Thread Starter
I was telling my wife that she should find the building administrator, describe what happened and politely ask them not to do this mid-afternoon. She thought I was insane to ask (she knew that already, anyway) and that she would look like a fool in love with her car if she said anything.
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UptownGS
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10-25-04 01:34 AM
