scratches and swirls!

If you're up for it,

Go with Zaino on the whole car, and USE CERTAIN TOWELS ONLY!

By that I mean you need to use towels that are 100% made in the USA, 100% Cotton, and clean. If you drop one on the ground, it goes in the wash, not on the car. Same with cleaning sponges, and basically anything else. If in doubt, put cardboard under your car area.

With a Zaino Claybar, a scratch/swirl remover coat, and a final coat of polish, your red will be RED.

I had a 2000 Celica GTS Absolute Red, and Zaino made a massive difference. Enjoy.
 
i recommend not using turtle wax. if you're looking for OTC waxes, which i'm assuming you are, try mothers or meguiers. clay bar won't remove scratches, it will not add scratches either if used correctly. to REMOVE swirls, you're most likely going to need to use an orbital or a ton of elbow grease and some cleaner wax. meguiers NXT fills in the swirls very nicely as does MOTHERS reflections and they both contain cleaners. to prevent swirls in the future, just use care when washing your car. don't use bath towels. i use a microfiber mit or a wool mit and a blue viking microfiber towel.

i don't know what else to say... haha.

autopia.org is good and so is waxforum.com

good luck man!
 
By that I mean you need to use towels that are 100% made in the USA, 100% Cotton, and clean. .

I love to buy USA whenever I can. But when it comes to towels for my car...no dice. Terry cotton is a not the best choice. It can actually induce swirls of its own. I just demonstrated that to my wife the other day on my practice piece. The best towels are microfiber. A 70/30 blend of polyester/polyamide. The better quality towels come from Korea. Cheaper MF towels come from China and area usually 80/20 or 90/10. The lower the polyester number the better. Dual pile are a great choice for versatility.
 
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I second ThrillRide's comments regarding the microfiber towels from Korea. They work great. I even wipe my eyeglasses and CD's with them. Hand wash with something like DP Rejuvenator and hang dry afterwards.

Aside, drying blades used in conjunction with microfiber "guzzler" towels speed up drying big time. Use light pressure so as not to scratch your nice clear coat.

BTW, I finally purchased a Porter DA polisher with a variety of Lake pads and Cobra microfiber bonnets, for use with my Menz stuff.

I got Popeye arms from trying to polish and compound by hand.
 
I second ThrillRide's comments regarding the microfiber towels from Korea. They work great. I even wipe my eyeglasses and CD's with them. Hand wash with something like DP Rejuvenator and hang dry afterwards.

Aside, drying blades used in conjunction with microfiber "guzzler" towels speed up drying big time. Use light pressure so as not to scratch your nice clear coat.

BTW, I finally purchased a Porter DA polisher with a variety of Lake pads and Cobra microfiber bonnets, for use with my Menz stuff.

I got Popeye arms from trying to polish and compound by hand.


Using CDs is a great way to test towels too. Take a cd (one you don't care about ;) ) and wipe your towel over it. If it shows small scratches/swirls it is doing the same thing to your paint. blades are ok but you need to be careful. if you trap a piece of dirt of something under it you are going to have one long and nasty scratch to deal with.

you will love the PC. It will make you wonder why you waited so long. One thing about Menz though...it does work fine with the PC, but used on a high speed rotary it is like a whole other world. Just something about how they made it really responds.
 
im going to order some meguiars scracth x.im going to use it on the car and im going to use the meguiars paste wax, im going to order some today after i finish reassembling my dash. will mixing the turtale wax ice clay bar and liquid polish with meguiars cause any harm? they are full and i dont want to jsut toss them.
 
im going to order some meguiars scracth x.im going to use it on the car and im going to use the meguiars paste wax, im going to order some today after i finish reassembling my dash. will mixing the turtale wax ice clay bar and liquid polish with meguiars cause any harm? they are full and i dont want to jsut toss them.

sell the turtle to someone that likes it.
 
thats gona be hard, i figure i can do the steps like this, turtle liquid clay bar, meguiars scratch x, liquid polish then meguiars paste wax. does that seem like good way to use the products i have?
 
It is interesting that you mention that towels scratch, because I've not had this result at all.

Following Zaino Bros' suggestions, I use Cannondale or Fieldcrest Towels, and I cut off the ends where there is some nylon and polyester threading. I use far better towels to wash, wax, and detail my car then I do for my own skin. Then I wash them twice in ALL or some other dye-free detergent, and stick them in the dryer without a dryer sheet. From there, using Zaino polishes I've seen nothing but SHINE and deep color from all the cars I've used it on.

From owning a 97 Ram Air T/A that was pure jet Black, to several silver cars, to a red celica, to a Protege ES dark emerald green, and my father's Black vette...Zaino owns, and their suggestions for properly washing, polishing, and detailing a car are FANTASTIC advice.

Edited to add:

clos, I don't recommend mixing compounds that weren't designed for each other. The formulas can interact, causing trouble. Its all chemistry, and its a carefully constructed system.
 
Spot on, ThrillRide. I already have a Dewalt rotary which I use for swordsmithing. I have been reluctant to use it on the MS3 because of "burnout." My technique isn't refined enough to take the plunge. Ironic because I blaze my swords like a champ with the Dewalt...even caught my T-shirt on fire once (the one time I wasn't wearing my welder's apron).
 
Spot on, ThrillRide. I already have a Dewalt rotary which I use for swordsmithing. I have been reluctant to use it on the MS3 because of "burnout." My technique isn't refined enough to take the plunge. Ironic because I blaze my swords like a champ with the Dewalt...even caught my T-shirt on fire once (the one time I wasn't wearing my welder's apron).

That sounds very interesting! Sounds like fun. But yeah it does take some practice to get it right. You don't need any more than about 1500-1800 rpm max. start slow, work up, and then back down.
 
It is interesting that you mention that towels scratch, because I've not had this result at all.

Following Zaino Bros' suggestions, I use Cannondale or Fieldcrest Towels, and I cut off the ends where there is some nylon and polyester threading. I use far better towels to wash, wax, and detail my car then I do for my own skin. Then I wash them twice in ALL or some other dye-free detergent, and stick them in the dryer without a dryer sheet. From there, using Zaino polishes I've seen nothing but SHINE and deep color from all the cars I've used it on.

From owning a 97 Ram Air T/A that was pure jet Black, to several silver cars, to a red celica, to a Protege ES dark emerald green, and my father's Black vette...Zaino owns, and their suggestions for properly washing, polishing, and detailing a car are FANTASTIC advice.

Edited to add:

clos, I don't recommend mixing compounds that weren't designed for each other. The formulas can interact, causing trouble. Its all chemistry, and its a carefully constructed system.


Pretty much sounds like you have drunk the zaino koolaid, so whatever floats your boat. ;)
 
Since purchasing my MS3 several months ago, I've had to cut into my forging time in order to work on the MS3. Too many hobbies, not enough time. Thankfully, one hobby generates some cash flow; with the MS3, cash flows the other way.

Aside, I've been tinkering with the idea of fabricating an air splitter and canards for the MS3, just for fun. Carbon fiber is a great medium. However, I will most likely prototype with G-10 or Nylon 6/6 because I have it on hand.

Tonight, I'll be playing with the Porter. My wife's Mini is in dire straits, with water spotting, pigeon dookie, bug guts, yellow paint from grocery store poles. I told her she should drive a bumper car.
 
Pretty much sounds like you have drunk the zaino koolaid, so whatever floats your boat. ;)

yeah, I hear ya, but after working with about 20 other major products over 11 years of detailing as a hobby, I can safely say its the best system I've used. If this is drinking the koolaid, you can give me the entire bucket:

Motorcyling__In_the_Desert2_by_Fourthmeal.jpg


Doh...I tried to find pics of my Celica and T/A, but forgot they are on the home hard-drive...anywho, to each their own and all but I've been proven the value of their product.

Clos...if its a matter of small scratches and swirls,...you gotta get a micro-fine polish on it pronto. The clay bar was a good start, but thats nothing more then getting down to the bare paint devoid of debris and wax. You have to immediately protect the paint with a polish and wax afterwards. Two brands I'll never touch again is Turtle wax and Blue Coral. **** em both.
 
can someone give me a link to a site that sells a whole kit of either meguiars or zaino.. like clay bar, polish , wax all in one package. i want to get all the same products now after reading some of your posts. i need somethign that is best for handjobs (lol) since i dont have a buffer and i am not going to buy one
 
can someone give me a link to a site that sells a whole kit of either meguiars or zaino.. like clay bar, polish , wax all in one package. i want to get all the same products now after reading some of your posts. i need somethign that is best for handjobs (lol) since i dont have a buffer and i am not going to buy one

haha.

www.autogeek.net
 
yeah, I hear ya, but after working with about 20 other major products over 11 years of detailing as a hobby, I can safely say its the best system I've used.

Just curious which 'major' products? Because I can name several that are far anway better than Zaino.
 

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