tobinr

The weekend will be here soon enough, and with all of the nice weather this time of year, the car has got to look good.

What do you use to give your car that perfect look? Personally I like the results from modern car wash liquids. My current favorite is Turtle Wax Zip wash. You have to shake it up before using it, but it gives an almost wet paint shine. I have tried some waxes but when the water beads up, it often leaves spots.

Question 2
Do you prefer a product that beads up the water (like a carnuba wax), or makes it sheet-off of the car (like a poly wax)?

If you don't own a California Blade, car squeegee, then RUN, don't walk, to the store and buy one! I can dry my car literally with a shop towel and the blade in 5 minutes. The mostly flat surfaces leave a perfect streak free shine every time. It does however not work nearly as well on my GTP which has mostly curved surfaces.



<img src="http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/mirrorshine.jpg" alt=" - " />

Randy V

Lookin' good Tobin!

The key to a great shine is enhancing the inherent 'definition' of the paint job. I highly recommend the use of clay as the first step (sorry, no shiny 928 pics):

<img src="http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshots/MomentOfFame/l33454.jpg" alt=" - " />

<img src="http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshots/MomentOfFame/l33455.jpg" alt=" - " />

<img src="http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshots/MomentOfFame/l33456.jpg" alt=" - " />

RJT

I've heard alot of guys using and liking Zaino, but I personally haven't tried it yet. Doesn't seem to be real easy to get. Zymol is a ripoff in my opinion, way over priced and does not last very long. I am really impressed with Griot's Garage products. Their Best of Show wax is the easiest and longest lasting wax I've ever used. I really feel strongly about NOT using any product with petroleum distilates. They just remove oils from the paint and make it look dried out over time. The cleaner/wax all in one bottle is another marketing ripoff. You need to clean your paint and then wax your paint in two separate steps. Griot's clay with speedshine do absolute miracles to tired and dull paint. I have no affiliation with Griot's, just a happy customer!
Cheers, Robert <img border="0" alt="[cheers]" title="" src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" />

ErnestSw

Randy,
Tell me about clay. Is that what produced the 12 foot deep shine on your bimmer? I NEED something to spruce up the paint on my GT. Regular wax just aint cuttin' it.

kaamacat

tobinr. I've most recently been using all of the Zumol products. Wax, wash and quick detailer. The wax doesn't like to go on/off if theres much humidity around..........but so far is nice!

Bob

Lagavulin

Here's lots of car detailing info:

<a href="http://www.autopia-carcare.com/detailingtips1.html" target="_blank">http://www.autopia-carcare.com/detailingtips1.html</a>

The basics are:

#1. The first time, wash car with Dawn as it's very alkaline and will strip off all previous wax. Next time, always use a car wash soap as it won't remove the wax you carefully applied earlier.

#2. Clay-bar entire car; this is a key step for max shine.

#2.5 Thoroughly wash car again.

#3. Glaze car with 3M Imperial Hand Glaze; it's the best.

#4. Wax, and wipe off with lots of %100 pure cotton towels or micro-fiber towels.

Carnuba wax favorites of professional detailers include One Grand Blitz and PS2, and for synthetics, Zaino. A good cheap wax is the blue Zymol you can buy at Wal-Mart.

Zaino properly applied is all that and more as it's very glossy, but not as wet and deep looking as a carnuba. Zaino is much more durable and will outlast any carnuba.

Dave H.

Griot's hand polish, Best Of Show wax and Speed Shine. their interior cleaner on a toothbrush works great for wax on seals and bumper beading...

Ed Ruiz

The liquid Zymol one finds in discount stores is nothing more than old fashioned Turtle wax with a fruity smell added. The real Zymol is the paste.

Having said that, and having been a PCA concours judge, the best shines I've seen on Porsches were done by hand (no buffers) using Zymol, P2, and Biltz. Basically, the waxes with Carnuba seem to look best. Synthetic or waxes with petroleum distilates don't seem to look as deep on the paints used by Porsche. YMMV.

hoffman912

one word zymöl!! by hand, just like ed says. dry soft cotton cloth too. sorry if these pics arent good enough..they just dont do it justice
<img src="http://members.aol.com/woodstk699/images/mein912sparkle.jpg" alt=" - " />
(not really a waxy kinda pic.. but had to show off the star filter i used when i took this pic <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" /> )
<img src="http://members.aol.com/woodstk699/images/bad%20ass%201.jpg" alt=" - " />
yes.. thats me when i was 19..

tobinr

Ok, I give up. The shine on the Bimmer looks so good that I am going to invest in a clay bar. Where do you get one, and what is the recommended procedure for use?

I sounds like a very specialized product, are there any problems in using a clay bar? Like rubbing your paint off... Inquiring minds want to know...

Also, am I the only one that does not like Armorall or other "shine enhancers" on tires? I think that shiny tires make your car look like a pimpmobile, no matter what kind of car it is. Good oldfashioned flat black rubber looks the best!

RJT

First of all, I think Armorall is the worst product ever created!! It actually does the opposite of what they advertise it to do. It will dry out vinyl or leather and the sidewalls of your tires. HORRIBLE stuff!!
Several companies sell "clay bars" and they are all basically the same thing. They do not remove any paint, just any surface imperfections like swirlmarks, haze etc. You need to ALWAYS use a wetting agent with the clay to help it move across the paint surface. Follow this procedure with a good carnauba wax. Again I highly recommend Griot's Garage, <a href="http://www.griotsgarage.com" target="_blank">www.griotsgarage.com</a> and again I have no affiliation with them other than a happy customer.
Zymol....zymol HD cleanse is Meguiars #7 poured into zymols bottles! Zymol liquid wax is Turtle Wax, Turtle wax bought zymol out some ten years ago. If you like to wax your car every other time you wash, use Zymol..... I know.... I used to work for them. I'm not a disgruntled exemployee, I just don't think it's the best stuff like it used to be!
Good Luck, Robert

kaamacat

RJT......Interesting info on the Z stuff. I just recently started to use it and it seemed fine. But, like you mentioned it does not seem to say on as long even with wash. I was using the GoldClass which was fine, lasted a few months with soaping.

As for ArmorAll. Yep, same here (plus a big negative in the boating arena). It will dry out the material. I did switch to a 3M product which I do like alot.

Bob

RJT

Hi Bob...
I just bought a new boat two weeks ago
What 3M product do you use?
Thanks , Robert

dr bob

I've tried the Zymol, the stuff you find at Wal-Mart and Costco (not the original premium stuff)and it looks great right after you wax. Easy to use and a godd but not great shine. Biggest gripe is that it is so sensitive to humidity, and barely survives the first car wash. I'm back to Imperial Hand Glaze or Meguiars #7, followed by Meguiars #26 for protection. But I don't have the deep shine that Randy shows off, so I need to adjust some I guess.

The clay product is intended to help remove crud that lands on the paint. You already know from cleaning or waxing that you sometimes get little dots of stuff on there that need extra rubbing to remove. Moght be tree sap, insect droppings, paint overspray from that building project down the street, whatever. Rather thanuse polish to get that off, then have to three-step the polish damage away, the clay will strip off stuff that sticks up without doing serious damage to the paint. But it does rub on the paint if you aren't extra careful, so be extra careful.

Several outfits sell the stuff. Meguiars markets a package with their final detail product to use as a lubricant. They also sell a little jar of the clay through pro paint supply places, called 'detailers overspray clay', that is a better way to buy it if you have a lot of cars to do. About $17 vs the $13 for the mini-pack.

Since the jar doesn't include the final detail bottle, I mix up a thick mixture of Dawn dishwashing liquid, sponge it on a small section, and rub with the clay. Use light finger pressure to skim the clay over the soap film, don't allow it to get dry, and it will grab and remove those little things and leave the paint smooth again. Do your strokes in the same front-to-back direction that you polish and wax. NEVER in a circle, but you knew that already.

BTW, Dawn is not alkaline as a previous poster reports. I never worked for a wax company, but did spend a decade plus with P&G. It does a good job of stripping most old wax, and the clay step is a great chance to do that.

After the clay it's on to whatever polish/glaze/wax steps you like to use.

DoubleNutz

OK, I have read this thread and think it time for me to throw in my .928cents... incidently there is another thread identical to this one on the 996 forum going on simultaneously.

I have personally tried each of these products and a few more with the exception of Zaino and the clay bar (which I am interested in trying ... I think the results will be identical to 3M Hand glaze but I am wondering about the level of effort- more or less).

The Zymol stuff- This is the worst very expensive crap I have ever purchased!

Using Dawn!- Let me just say this- Bad move! Infact, maybe it's a good idea to occasionally use car wash to do dishes in the house. This is not really an interchangable option. The Ph alkalines in dish soap will murder the the finish on your car over time. What is the opposite of an alkaline? An acid, too far in either direction and the further you move away from a neutral Ph the results are caustic, by the way, Sodiuum Hydroxide is an alkaline I guess using diluted small parts of that to strip old wax off your precious is a good idea too ...take my word for this BTDT! Just invest $3 in a bottle of TurtleWax car wash where the alkalines are as close to neutral as possible and milder on your paint. You may have to use more of it to get remove grime from your car but it is much safer for your paint over the long term.

3M hand glaze it- This is not necessary to do each time you wash and wax your car but you can easily tell when it needs to be done after you washed the car. With your hand feel the surface of the car and if it feels like it is not clean or as if debris is imbedded in the wax on the surface- it's time to hand glaze.

Next CARNUBA WAX! There is no question about the shine and protectin that Carnuba wax produces and for those of you that drive your car everyday this is your first level of protection from paint chips from road debris. Hands down as much as a pain in the **** Carnuba is to put on and remove the end-results are hard to beat. I use Mother's Carnuba straight from the can and a body panel at a time.

Meguiers makes a 3 step process of wax products that seem to accomplish the same thing and is no easier a process as just 3M hand glaze & any Carnuba wax. Same amount of effort and forearm and shoulder workout!