ACR going to be in a photo shoot - need to make it look nice :)

[Martin]

I'm not the type that goes over the top to keep my cars spotless, but I do like to keep them clean and looking good. Recently, I was offered the opportunity to have my '09 ACR (GTS Blue w/ black centerband) featured in a photo shoot, and I'd like to get it looking as good as possible without doing a full mega-buck detail job that I'll just ruin in a few months. The paint is virtually new in appearance, with no scratches, etching, or chips.

I've been using Zaino stuff on my cars for years, but it just doesn't seem to do as good a job on the paint of this '09 ACR as it has done on older cars. Something about this paint makes it really prone to swirl marks, haze, etc., and the Zaino just doesn't do the kind of magic that it does on my other cars. When I've Zaino'd my GTS, for example, the thing literally gets eye-poppingly shiny. The ACR, not so much (especially the black center band areas)...

What I'm looking for is something that a lazy guy like myself can apply in a day (without a power buffer, etc.) and get reasonably good results. The photo shoot is going to be a combo of studio and site shots, in varying lighting conditions.

I've heard Turbo Wax is good, but I haven't tried it out myself yet. I've also heard various people rave about various other products.

What would you recommend for someone with a 'new' car that has really minor spider-web and just doesn't "pop out" and reflect light the way you'd think it should. Also keep in mind that this guy is kind of lazy and isn't prone to waxing/buffing a car for hours on end in the summer heat.

 

[RobZilla]

I am sure you breezed through a bunch of the detailing/buffing threads; there have been a ton lately.

Simplest suggestion I have is wash, clay, wax. The reason for this is the wash will remove most of the surface dirt. The clay process will remove the stubborn bedded dirt from the clear coat so that when you move on to the wax you will not create more damage (swirl marks).

All of that can be done in a day and will yield the result you are looking for without the painstaking hours of effort to be ruined on your next track outing.

TurboWax is great. I recommend it highly and if you contact TitoTw I know he can get it to you quickly.

 

[Martin]

I am sure you breezed through a bunch of the detailing/buffing threads; there have been a ton lately.

Simplest suggestion I have is wash, clay, wax. The reason for this is the wash will remove most of the surface dirt. The clay process will remove the stubborn bedded dirt from the clear coat so that when you move on to the wax you will not create more damage (swirl marks).

All of that can be done in a day and will yield the result you are looking for without the painstaking hours of effort to be ruined on your next track outing.

TurboWax is great. I recommend it highly and if you contact TitoTw I know he can get it to you quickly.

Yeah, I read a lot of the posts on detailing When I bought the car, I made sure the dealer didn't touch it - the first thing I did when getting it home was to wash it twice (once with Dawn, once with Zaino car wash), clayed the whole thing, and then applied a few coats of Zaino Z-2. I only buff with a true 100% US made cotton towel. That's always been the ticket to a great finish in the past, but for whatever reason this car doesn't seem to behave itself when it comes to working with that particular product. It looks 'good' but I just couldn't get that same ultra-slick ultra-shiny finish that I got on my other cars. I might just try Turbo Wax and see if I get better results.

 

[RobZilla]

Yeah, I read a lot of the posts on detailing When I bought the car, I made sure the dealer didn't touch it - the first thing I did when getting it home was to wash it twice (once with Dawn, once with Zaino car wash), clayed the whole thing, and then applied a few coats of Zaino Z-2. I only buff with a true 100% US made cotton towel. That's always been the ticket to a great finish in the past, but for whatever reason this car doesn't seem to behave itself when it comes to working with that particular product. It looks 'good' but I just couldn't get that same ultra-slick ultra-shiny finish that I got on my other cars. I might just try Turbo Wax and see if I get better results.

Dont use anything but auto wash on your car!

To bring out the shine you are talking about you really would need to get down with an orbital at least with a swirl remover if not a cut compound also. That process could cost you either time or money.

There is no other way to remove the imperfections (spider webs, swirls, minor scratches).

You simply cannot beat the ease of TurboWax with polycharger. It applies and removes VERY easily with just a micro fiber towel and wont stain the rubber/plastic trip white.

 

[Martin]

Dont use anything but auto wash on your car!

I don't use Dawn more than once on a car - and only to make sure the old wax and any greasy contaminants are off of it before I put a fresh polish on. Definitely not in my semi-yearly wash/wax habit

 

[thompsonracing]

I have been using Adam's products for 8 years. We use so much of it, we became a dealer. Very easy to use and you get fantastic results.

When is your shoot?

 

[Steve-Indy]

Martin, I'm a bit curious...as I noted that you said "the first thing I did when getting it home was to wash it twice (once with Dawn, once with Zaino car wash), clayed the whole thing, and then applied a few coats of Zaino Z-2". In the past, when I cared to spend more time on the Vipers' finish, I always used Z-5 applied in several coats (3-5 coats) to hide the swirl marks...and, it worked quite effectively when then followed by a coat of Z-2. Did I misunderstand your steps?

 

[Dom426h]

What I'm looking for is something that a lazy guy like myself can apply in a day (without a power buffer, etc.) and get reasonably good results.

Also keep in mind that this guy is kind of lazy and isn't prone to waxing/buffing a car for hours on end in the summer heat.

I hear ya bro. I too like spending minimal time and effort on keeping my Viper looking showroom clean since i drive it so much. However with the regular use of quick detailer and quickwax she always looks

Any quickwax will work great for you. By a few, try em and stick with whicheverone you like the best. If any haze is left behind you either A. used to much product, or B. didnt rub it long enough. Use a light spritz of Quick detailer or water or 50/50 to easily remove any haze with a MF.


I personaly like:

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and

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[Viperbass]

I would agree whole heartedly with using an orbital buffer with the Zaino micro polishing compound Z-PC. While a clay bar works wonders, it only removes imperfections on top of the finish. If you have swirls, a clay bar will not help them. Another thing is the cotton towels. They were good in their day, but a good quality microfiber towel is far softer. Make sure you buy a good quality one though, cheap ones often have a poly thread around the edges that can surface scratch.

My advice would be to use a random orbital buffer like the one Griot's Garage sells which is actually a Porter Cable variety and a foam pad like Griot's orange pad to apply the Z-PC. Work this down until the Zaino is barely a haze on the finish. Now use the Z-6 spray with a microfiber cloth to remove any last bits of the compound. This will remove any swirls. I used to use 3M products for swirls, but did an A/B test against Zaino's Z-PC on a black hood and was far more impressed with the Zaino. The Zaino removes easier and is less pressure sensitive than the 3M swirl remover. After you have buffed the finish, then feel free to apply whatever product you like. It will adhere better to a clean smooth finish and look much better in the long run. I do not work for Griot's or have any stock in their company, but I have tried many many products over the years and their pads and towels have worked the best for me without scratching.

Hope this helps!

 

[Junkman2008]

I would agree whole heartedly with using an orbital buffer with the Zaino micro polishing compound Z-PC. While a clay bar works wonders, it only removes imperfections on top of the finish. If you have swirls, a clay bar will not help them. Another thing is the cotton towels. They were good in their day, but a good quality microfiber towel is far softer. Make sure you buy a good quality one though, cheap ones often have a poly thread around the edges that can surface scratch.

I think you meant to say "impurities", as the word imperfections makes people think that you can remove some type of paint flaws.

My advice would be to use a random orbital buffer like the one Griot's Garage sells which is actually a Porter Cable variety and a foam pad like Griot's orange pad to apply the Z-PC. Work this down until the Zaino is barely a haze on the finish. Now use the Z-6 spray with a microfiber cloth to remove any last bits of the compound. This will remove any swirls. I used to use 3M products for swirls, but did an A/B test against Zaino's Z-PC on a black hood and was far more impressed with the Zaino. The Zaino removes easier and is less pressure sensitive than the 3M swirl remover. After you have buffed the finish, then feel free to apply whatever product you like. It will adhere better to a clean smooth finish and look much better in the long run. I do not work for Griot's or have any stock in their company, but I have tried many many products over the years and their pads and towels have worked the best for me without scratching.

Hope this helps!

Although the suggestion that he should go the orbital route is going to yield the best results, I don't think the OP wants to get that involved. He would probably be more happy going with a over the counter product that he can find locally. The results may not be as good, but it would be a lot less work.

One note about ZPC. It, like a lot of swirl and scratch removing compounds leaves the finish pretty beat up looking and dull when compared to a completed finish. However, when you use a swirl and scratch removing compound, you have to follow it with a "jeweling" polish. Meguiar's has the M105/M205 combination, with M205 being the jeweling polish. Other companies follow that same technique. The jeweling polish is what brings the finish back to that showroom shine after you have used something as abrasive as ZPC. When I use to use ZPC, I always followed it with Meguiar's #9 as my jeweling polish, which did a excellent job of bringing back the shine (there was no M205 then). On the OP's color car, this will be mandatory as my car is of a similar color.

So to the OP, if easy is what you want, go over the counter with your selection. You won't get as good of a result as you would if you were to use one of the professional polishes and a polisher that is mentioned in this thread but it will be a lot faster and easier.

 

[Nader]

From what I have heard and read is the the zaino swirl remover has diminishing abrasives which breakdown as it is used so it is doing the same thing as a jeweling polish as you work it longer. I did my entire car with a porter cable and the zaino zpc and it came out great.

I think you meant to say "impurities", as the word imperfections makes people think that you can remove some type of paint flaws.




Although the suggestion that he should go the orbital route is going to yield the best results, I don't think the OP wants to get that involved. He would probably be more happy going with a over the counter product that he can find locally. The results may not be as good, but it would be a lot less work.

One note about ZPC. It, like a lot of swirl and scratch removing compounds leaves the finish pretty beat up looking and dull when compared to a completed finish. However, when you use a swirl and scratch removing compound, you have to follow it with a "jeweling" polish. Meguiar's has the M105/M205 combination, with M205 being the jeweling polish. Other companies follow that same technique. The jeweling polish is what brings the finish back to that showroom shine after you have used something as abrasive as ZPC. When I use to use ZPC, I always followed it with Meguiar's #9 as my jeweling polish, which did a excellent job of bringing back the shine (there was no M205 then). On the OP's color car, this will be mandatory as my car is of a similar color.

So to the OP, if easy is what you want, go over the counter with your selection. You won't get as good of a result as you would if you were to use one of the professional polishes and a polisher that is mentioned in this thread but it will be a lot faster and easier.

 

[viper k]

can you burn the paint with the orbital buffer or porter cable

 

[RTTTTed]

I'm converted to Turbowax. Pre-wax cleaner first.

 

[Martin]

I tried Turbo-Wax over the weekend, and it did a really good job. The GTS Blue paint looks fantastic, and the black hood, roof, and decklid look very good, too. The black paint on these cars really shows any and all imperfections, and if you get up close in bright sun, you can definitely see some microscopic spiderwebbing. It was there the day the car was delivered - which I accepted because I told everyone to keep their hands off the car and do no prep whatsoever. I had a bad experience with another high-end car that had thin/burnt paint in spots because some monkey used too much pressure with an orbital buffer, and I didn't want anyone touching this one. The spiderwebbing is so slight that it wouldn't make any sense to try and buff them out - and I know that they'll just keep coming back, so I figure I'll do a paint restoration/repair a few years from now when they're really noticeable.

One thing that I noticed with the Turbo Wax was that it is much clearer and more shiny on the black surfaces than the Z-2. The Z-2 seemed to leave a haze that nobody else noticed, but I could tell it was there. The Turbo Wax is bright and shiny and you can see the pure black paint. The micro fiber cloth made a world of difference compared to cotton towels - that was a huge surprise for me. It took the Turbo Wax off without much effort and was easy to work with.

I'm also going to try the Adams detail spray and wheel shine this week.

I don't know how well these products work together, so I'm always a bit concerned about mixing and matching them. I'd like to see if a few coats of Z-5 might get rid of the light spiderwebbing - it did wonders on my GTS that suffered from the occasional cat sliding down the hood... But, I don't know how the chemistry of these products work together. I know when I always used Zaino stuff, I stuck to just one brand all the time. If I knew that I could mix and match, I'd do it.

 

[Junkman2008]

From what I have heard and read is the the zaino swirl remover has diminishing abrasives which breakdown as it is used so it is doing the same thing as a jeweling polish as you work it longer. I did my entire car with a porter cable and the zaino zpc and it came out great.

That has definitely not been my experience. I have only used it on dark colored cars and it definitely left the paint beat up and dull looking, just as any seriously abrasive compound has done that I have used.

can you burn the paint with the orbital buffer or porter cable

Check out this thread. It will answer your question.

 

[agentf1]

From what I have heard and read is the the zaino swirl remover has diminishing abrasives which breakdown as it is used so it is doing the same thing as a jeweling polish as you work it longer. I did my entire car with a porter cable and the zaino zpc and it came out great.

You are 100% correct Nader. ZPC is diminishing abrasives and work great for removing minor swirls and for jeweling your paint. It will also leave your finish perfect for Zaino to bond to it.