WaltM

Guys;

Spring is almost upon us and I need a good non-abrasive polish that will leave the surface clean and ready for wax. Any suggestions?

Thanks

Walt

xtoolmaker

I would use a clay bar first. That should leave the car ready for wax.

WaltM

Clay? That would do the job?

officespace56

At the beginning of every year I use Dawn soap, clay bar, and then Meguiar's 3 step polish

05GT-O.C.D.

Dawn soap then Meguiar's clay bar. If you want a 'polish' then go w/ Zaino and you're done.

StangMahn

use meguair's clay bar, then wax

kh765

If you want a cheap, easy OTC paint cleaner, look at Meguiar's Color X. You could clay before or after (I would clay before), then hit it with a wax/sealant. I would get the Mother's clay bar, I don't like the Meg's myself. So, I would go Mother's clay, Color X, wax of choice (Meg's #26 for me).

adrenalin

I use Dawn soap (blue stuff) to wash the car. Then use 3M Ultrafina SE to polish the car. That gets rid of any swirl marks, etc before I apply Zaino. This year I picked up Zaino A-I-O. I will try that instead of the 3M to see how well it works. If you don't have any swirl marks then yes, just washing with dawn and using aclaybar should do the trick.

WaltM

I was hoping to lay down a polished finish between clay and wax. Which product would work best?

kh765

Edit: If you are looking for correction, ZAIO probably will do less than the UF.

I'm not sure what you're trying to get from a non-abrasive polish. I already mentioned you are really looking for something like a paint cleaner if you aren't doing any correction. (like Color X) If you are trying to hide swirls or scratches, you could go with some sort of glaze (like Meg's #7 or #5). What exactly are you trying to do?

WaltM

Get an amazing shine before I apply any wax.

kh765

Then you probably want some sort of glaze. Meg's 5 or 7 should be pretty easy to get. There are plenty of options out there when it comes to glazes. Clearkote's Red Moose Glaze would be awesome if you wanted to order something.

05GT-O.C.D.

I've always done the glaze after wax... am I missing something?

kh765

Yeah, glaze should go down before the wax. Wax or sealant should be the last step.

adrenalin

This really isn't hijacking since WaltM is trying to find out the best way to get a nice shine.

kh765 - I have a question for you. Before using Zaino this is what I would do to get the best shine I could possibly get.
Porter Cable polisher with 3M pad and Ultrafina SE.
Then hand glazed using Farecla Black Top Hand Glaze (or 3M Glaze for dark finishes, whichever I had available). Then used Nxt wax.

Last summer I started using Zaino instead. Was not happy with Z5 results for filling in swirls so went back to using the 3M Ultrafina SE for that, then used Z2 (bunch of coats).

So now for my question. This year I plan on using the ZAIO, Z5Pro (since it is new I thought I would give it a try) and Z-CS (the new clear stuff). Should I bother using glaze still? I was thinking I might because last year I twice I had bird crap on my car, washed it off the same day but the clearcoat was damaged and had to use 3M fine grade polish to remove the blemish.

WaltM

Well, before I saw your post, I ordered Poor Boy's Polish w/blue carnuba and the blue carnuba wax. (I saw a couple of cars and they looked really good.) If I'm in a hurry, a polish with wax will get the job done. When I can bust my butt on a full day of detailing, I'll put on a couple of coats of the wax.

Btw, is it a bad thing to mix products? I'd like to use a paint cleaner like Meguiars first before I polish and wax, What do you think?

citizen arcane

No not a bad thing to mix products. Go w/ whatever products give you the best results. Some guys stick w/ product lines like Megs (easily available OTC) or Zaino's (just because.) I prefer to mix and match (right now Menzerna and Blackfire polishes, Duragloss sealant and Duragloss Aqua Wax as a booster) and sometimes layer S100 for that "pop".

Btw a cleaner polish is a waste in steps if using a light cut polish then wax/sealant.

WaltM

Thanks. It's good to know mixing products isn't bad. But how do you know what works, just trial and error? I was thinking Meg's Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner (because I have it). Followed by the Poor Boy's Polish w/blue carnuba, then a couple of coats of Poor Boys blue carnuba.

citizen arcane

edited: never mind ;-)

kh765

I think if your finish is pretty close to perfect, the ZAIO will do some very minor correction (and I would apply it with something like a white Lake County pad light polishing pad). I haven't really used anything but Z2p, so I don't know much about the Zaino line in general. Their site does say it is a minor abrasive, so you should be able to get some correction. I think if the paint has some moderate defects, you would probably need some sort of glaze to fill the swirls because ZAIO has no oils or fillers.

The Zaino site does say this-
"Z-AIO is an excellent solution for daily driven vehicles. Exposure to environmental elements as well as surface contaminants affect the look and life of your paint. Contaminants like tree sap, tar, bird droppings, bug remains, road grime, and many other pollutants can be easily removed with Z-AIO. Z-AIO includes our most advanced sunscreen and UV protection."

Hope that helps a little bit.

Pretty much the best way to go about detailing. Something may work for you that doesn't work for other people. Hopefully you won't have too many errors before you find the right way.

Good luck, let us know how it turns out!