DaGonz

I have dedicated microfibers just for removing waxes and sealants, drying and quick detailing. I also have micrfibers I use for cleaning interior surfaces, and as they age they get relegated to doing "grunge work", like cleaning the engine bay, etc.

rocket7888

I have an '09 GO, it looks like someone rubbed a box or something along the upper front fender lip. It did not scar the paint but can't just rub it off. Being the first car I get really picky over, what would work best without damaging the clear coat. I swear I can park 300 feet away from a biz and come out and there'll be some beat up POS parked as close to me as they can. ARGH!

CCTking

Use some compound and a polisher if you got one. If not itll take a bit longer but hand application will work as well. The abrasives should take care of it
I would wash the area first and then clay bar (not necessary but will help)
After compounding do a round of polish and wax and sheʻll be all good to go!

MarcHarris

^agreed.

GrnT

Ditto

rocket7888

Thanks, tried as you suggested, looks great. Wasn't hard at all. Thanks.

southern stang

Hi, my black 07gt has spider like swirls on the top portions of the car. I do not have a buffer and would like to try and polish them out by hand. Is there any special method for doing this? Thanks

CCTking

Its gonna take alot more effort but it can be done. Small short circular motions with a slight amount of pressure from your hand will do the trick. I usually do half of a panel at a time (i.e. One side of the hood, then the other) with overlapping circles as well as overlapping rows up and doen the panel.
Also what i do (but not necessary) is once i make vertical passes (up and down the hood) i do horizontal passes going back and forth over it just to really make sure i get the best results i can

southern stang

Thanks for the reply I will let you know how It turns out..

eromzek

Hello all,
I'm a 05 Gt owner that is behind in my car care by about a year.. However it's stored and well taken care of.

Previous research (years ago) got me to try zaino, and I liked the results and just continued using it blindly. I now am refreshing my detailing research, and am feverishly reading up in this thread and looking through the various sites that Mark and others have recommended. A lot of fantastic and useful information.. However what I'm finding is that there isn't many mentions of zaino.. And I'm assuming this is for a reason

Long story short- is anyone still using zaino products or is this not a good line of products for me to be using? Again, I'm not a loyalist to anything, I just thought it was highly regarded, worked well, and liked the ability to easily order clay, shampoo, compound, polish, detailed, etc from the same spot.

Looking to place a new order of products to try as I get my baby ready for summer, and want to purchase the best products I can find.

Any thoughts?

MarcHarris

Zaino is still used and loved by a lot of folks. You have to remember what was happening with detailing in general when they were at their peak.

First, they came out with not just some good products, but a good system. They told people to use specific products in specific ways to get results. You follow the system: you got good results. They were also out before a lot of boutique detailing brands; getting a hand on the market before things got flooded. Professionals and enthusiasts a like loved their Zaino, and a lot of guys still do. So what's changed?

1. Zaino never expanded. You want Zaino you have to go directly to Zaino as they have no distributors. Of course this made Zaino very profitable as Sal was getting all the money from each sell. With so many online merchants around now, many pros and enthusiasts would rather limit their purchases to one location as to not pay more money in shipping.

2. Other products caught up. Suddenly Z2/Z3 wasn't king. Blackfire hit the market hard backed by many pros headed by Todd Helme (who Palm Beach Motoring Accessories now recruited with the demise of Truthindetailing - original owners of blackfire). The super slickness of a fresh application was hard to argue against. Soon it's sister product, Powerlock, hit from Menzerna USA (not the real Menzerna but a company licensed to use the name) right after Menzerna polishes were dominate in the market. You didn't need a system with these products; you only had to wash your car first. Optimum came out and soon released Opti-Seal for super ease of use. Zaino FOLLOWED by dropping Z/CS. It's clear they were no longer the leaders of innovation.

3. The market got flooded. There are more brands than ever, and I feel there are more good products than ever. Everyone's market share has shrunk.

4. King of durability now belongs to alternative products: coatings. No sealant can come close to what they offer. "What's the most durable product?" used to be answered many times with "multiple layers of Zaino, but now you'll hear more things like "Opti-coat."

MarcHarris

What to use? Do your research. You can ask 4 quality pros and get 4 quality answers that are different.
Find what you like, and use it. There's lot of good stuff out there more than ever. There's crazy stuff out there now that I really do believe can change how you look at detailing. Two quick examples when it comes to protection:

1. HydrO2
Spray on your wet car and rinse off. Result? crazy protection. It's sci-fi type stuff. Expensive, but will blow your mind. Greg Gellas did a great article on it: http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-P...r-pro-hydro-2/

2. Red Mist Tropical Edition
Spray sealant to use after washing and drying your car. Adds lots of gloss and slickness, doesn't take much time to use. It'll give a month of durability by itself, so if use after every wash, you'll technically never have to wax/seal your car. I use it and love it and wrote an article on it: http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-P...mist-tropical/

These are just two quick examples of non-typical sealants. Imagine all the other good stuff out there now. So read some reviews / articles, keep asking good questions in places like this, and I look forward to hearing what choices you make.

http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/

eromzek

Appreciate the reply, Marc.

I'm not opposed to change, so I may as well try something different than zaino if I'm needing to purchase some new product (although I really got to appreciate and expect the results of zaino)

I'm guessing the recommended products in the detailing guide section of detailedimage.com are all high quality products; typically if I stray from zaino I went with meguires product (as it's easy to obtain), however in this case there are others I obviously need to research that have come into the fray since I've last researched the subject. Poorboy, menzerna, etc are currently foreign to me... Not to over-simplify (as I realize there's a million choices), but if there was one product to choose for quality of results and ease for frequent use, what are your preferences?

I'm looking for a wash, fine polish, and sealant.

MarcHarris

Shampoo:
Dodo Juice Born to be Mild or Dodo Juice Supernatural. In either case, use as directed! Most shampoo's you've likely tried in the past dilute 128:1 AKA you use one ounce per gallon on water. BtbM dilutes something like 1000:1 while Supernatural dilutes 1500:1
For both, the cost per use is likely cheaper than a product you'd buy in a gallon size. BtbM is wonderful in everyway while SN shampoo lacks a pleasant scent (the Supernatural line of products are always scent/dye-free).
Born to be Mild:
http://www.detailedimage.com/Dodo-Ju...250/250-ml-S1/

Supernatural:
http://www.detailedimage.com/Dodo-Ju...579/250-ml-S1/

MarcHarris

Fine Polish:
3M Ultrafine http://www.detailedimage.com/3M-M64/...P792/16-oz-S1/

HD Polish http://www.hdcarcare.com/detailing-c...rls-holograms/

MarcHarris

Sealant... oh boy.

HydrO2: http://www.detailedimage.com/CarPro-...901/100-ml-S1/

Red Mist Tropical: http://www.detailedimage.com/Dodo-Ju...329/500-ml-S2/

Blackfire: http://www.detailedimage.com/Blackfi...P205/16-oz-S1/

Ameriseal: (new product, I just got it and haven't used it) http://www.americanacarcare.com/#!pr...-paint-sealant

eromzek

Thanks again! Looks like I have a nice Spring shopping spree in front of me.
While I'm at it, do you have any recommendations on a good cutting polish? Note also that my paint is sonic blue... I have some wicked swirl marks on my back bumper I need to get out.

Thanks again
Erik

eromzek

Also- I have not had much experience polishing, and want to learn and do well for my beauty's paint. As previously said, it's an 05 that's been garage stored and a summer car with exception to its first winter...and in my opinion the paint is in good condition with light to no visible swirls,but some areas do have some vertical scratches, the worst being my rear bumper.

Seeing as though I have never polished (only clayed then jumped right to seal), do you recommend I apply a cutter polish across the entire car, followed by a finishing polish? Or should I only apply the cutter in the areas I described as being lightly scratched, and use the mild polish in the remaining areas? Honestly I've never polished because I hate the idea of an abrasive being applied to my paint, but thru research I'm coming to grips with that being healthy for the shine... I just don't want to use a cutter where I don't need to.

Thanks again

CCTking

That HydrO2 just seems too good to be true
I have to give it a try

CCTking

A polish with diminishing abrasives (polishing gets finer as you go along) so you dont have to do the cutting and finishing polishing seperately.