A familiar thread, but I'm a novice with clay bars, perhaps someone can help?

i'm no guru but

clay magic from autozone is a good bar. and easily picked up. avoid the mother's clay. when you get the bar. cut it into four pieces. use the provided lube or left over soapy water from the wash to lube. run the piece of clay over the surface til you feel no more grit (should glide smooth) be sure to keep the area well lubricated. periodically rework the clay to push the dirty parts into the clay and have a fresh surface. if you drop the clay, if you can cut off the part that touched the ground good, but as a rule anything that touched the ground shouldnt touch your car again. so clay on ground = clay in trash. once the clay runs smooth, move on to the next spot. if you are using a QD for lube, then buff off as you go. if you are using the soapy water, then wash again. personally no matter what i use to lube i rewash.

as for zaino. the key is THIN coats. THIN THIN THIN. the first time is always hard. but it gets easier and easier. and z6, the QD, apply in small sections and buff well. it seems like it comes off hard, but if you only apply it to a small section and buff quickly, it's great. also z6 in the hot sun isnt good. you have to buff super quick in that case. 31st330i apparently talked to sal z and found that z2 and z5 are identical with z5 having fillers for swirls. although the site does say z2 is "optically" perfect or wahtever.

by the way, zaino has no true paint prep stage.
so if i were you and were going to do the whole deal, i'd dawn wash, clay, wash with quality wash, polish of some sort (p21s gepc, ppcl) or any other surface prep (scratch, swirl removal), then wash again to get rid of any oils left, then start the zaino

Re: i'm no guru but

eugeneDC/TX said:

by the way, zaino has no true paint prep stage.
so if i were you and were going to do the whole deal, i'd dawn wash, clay, wash with quality wash, polish of some sort (p21s gepc, ppcl) or any other surface prep (scratch, swirl removal), then wash again to get rid of any oils left, then start the zaino

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The advice normally given is to use Dawn to wash after the polish stage, to remove the oils, etc. I just wanted to clarify that it's a Dawn wash and not a regular wash. Otherwise the surface won't be properly prepped for the Zaino.

--gary

Dishwashing Soap

Dishwashing soap has a high PH level, so it's rather harsh to your clear coat. It will strip wax and do bad things to your finish if you leave it on. However, like many care care products that are naturally harsh and abrasive, dishwashing soap can serve a purpose.

Dishwashing soap is excellent at stripping wax and removing polish residues. Since polymer systems need a clean surface, you can use the soap to remove any sort of polish or wax residue. You always want to wash the car right afterwards though with PH balanced car wash soap.

Note that car wash soaps at actual car washes have a high PH level, somewhere between the balanced PH of store bought car wash soap and dishwashing detergent. It's one more reason never to take your car to a car wash.

--gary

Re: i'm no guru but

eugeneDC/TX said:

by the way, zaino has no true paint prep stage.
so if i were you and were going to do the whole deal, i'd dawn wash, clay, wash with quality wash, polish of some sort (p21s gepc, ppcl) or any other surface prep (scratch, swirl removal), then wash again to get rid of any oils left, then start the zaino

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That sounds like 3 washes to me! Yikes. I want my car to look good, but geez that's a lot of work!

I've picked up a bunch of information from 20 different sources here and have adopted the ones I think will work best (or easiest) for me. Let me see if I've finally got a grasp of this (please offer advise if I've got something screwed up)...

1. Dawn Wash
2. Clay Bar (Autozone Clay Magic? there's one right down the street from me)
3. Quality Wash (Zaino Z7?)
4. Polish (P21S Paintwork Cleanser?)
5. Dawn Wash Again
6. Zaino Z1 Pre-Cleaner
7. Zaino Z2 Polish
8. Zaino Z6 Gloss Enhancer

I'm also planning to pick up:

1 - California Water Blade
2 - "NeatItems" Microfiber Towels, 24 x 24
5 - "NeatItems" Microfiber Towels, 12 x 12
1 - "NeatItems" Microfiber Suede, 15 x 15

For the tires:

Eagle One Tire Cleaner
Meguiars Endurance Gel

For the interior: I haven't gotten this far. Any suggestions on the dash (which is like no other material I've seen in any other car) and seats?

Thanks for all the help from all of you. This forum is great. I don't want my Orient Blue to fall victim to the same pitfalls of my previous cars ... midnight blue 64 1/2 Mustang, Black '85 GTI, and Black '90 Integra. After a few years they just lose their luster.

I'm sure a big part of that was growing up thinking dishwashing soap was good for washing cars! Apparently that's bad.

Why do I torture myself with dark colored cars??? :dunno:

Re: Re: i'm no guru but

DSinSoCal said:

For the interior: I haven't gotten this far. Any suggestions on the dash (which is like no other material I've seen in any other car) and seats?

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303 Aerospace Protectant is my favorite dash dressing. It should also do well on your leatherette seats. Vinylex and Meguiar's #40 Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner/Conditioner are also good choices. Do you prefer a matte (low sheen) finish, or do you like shinier results? 303 is matte. Vinylex is shiny. #40 is in between.

Re: Re: i'm no guru but

DSinSoCal said:

1. Dawn Wash
2. Clay Bar (Autozone Clay Magic? there's one right down the street from me)
3. Quality Wash (Zaino Z7?)
4. Polish (P21S Paintwork Cleanser?)
5. Dawn Wash Again
6. Zaino Z1 Pre-Cleaner
7. Zaino Z2 Polish
8. Zaino Z6 Gloss Enhancer

Click to expand...

I don't think you need to do a Dawn wash after claying IF you plan to polish/clean afterwards. Only do a wash after claying if you plan to go straight to the Zaino polish. The cleaners in P21S GEPC will remove any clay residue left on your paint. If it doesn't, you can be sure that a dawn wash won't either.

Re: Re: Re: i'm no guru but

Intermezzo said:

I don't think you need to do a Dawn wash after claying IF you plan to polish/clean afterwards. Only do a wash after claying if you plan to go straight to the Zaino polish. The cleaners in P21S GEPC will remove any clay residue left on your paint. If it doesn't, you can be sure that a dawn wash won't either.

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Yep, although I would Z7 after the Dawn wash, so I'm not using the clay for an hour while the nasty detergent is sitting on my car:

1A. Dawn Wash
1B. Quality Wash (Zaino Z7?)
2. Clay Bar (Autozone Clay Magic? there's one right down the street from me)
3. Quality Wash (Zaino Z7?)
4. Polish (P21S Paintwork Cleanser?)
6. Zaino Z1 Pre-Cleaner
7. Zaino Z2 Polish
8. Zaino Z6 Gloss Enhancer

Also, you might find you don't need step 4, because you used clay. You'll be able to determine that when you get there.

--gary

Re: Re: Re: Re: i'm no guru but

Nat Brown said:

4. Polish (P21S Paintwork Cleanser?)
6. Zaino Z1 Pre-Cleaner
7. Zaino Z2 Polish
8. Zaino Z6 Gloss Enhancer

Also, you might find you don't need step 4, because you used clay. You'll be able to determine that when you get there.

--gary

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From what I was reading, I thought the P21S Cleanser was as much for the purpose of "feeding the paint" as it is for cleaning it. That's the main reason I included it in there.

Is this not the case?

Re: Re: Re: Re: i'm no guru but

You omitted step 5...

I thought in an earlier post you said to "Dawn wash" after the polishing step to remove oils and whatnot in order to properly "prep" the surface for Zaino.

:dunno:

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: i'm no guru but

DSinSoCal said:

From what I was reading, I thought the P21S Cleanser was as much for the purpose of "feeding the paint" as it is for cleaning it. That's the main reason I included it in there.

Is this not the case?

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If it does "feed the paint," meaning it adds glaze to the surface, then you don't want to use it with Zaino. Zaino requires a clean surface. You would need to Dawn the car after the cleanser, followed by Z7, so it's probably a waste of time.

--gary

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: i'm no guru but

Nat Brown said:

If it does "feed the paint," meaning it adds glaze to the surface, then you don't want to use it with Zaino. Zaino requires a clean surface. You would need to Dawn the car after the cleanser, followed by Z7, so it's probably a waste of time.

--gary

Click to expand...

Well, carcareonline.com says P21S "adds essential emollients back into the paint". I'm certainly no expert and I'm not going to pretend to know what an "emollient" is, but am I correct in assuming, then, that these emollients will just be stripped away by the Dawn?

Anyway, thanks for the info. I was just confused by:

1) EugeneDC/TX's advice of "dawn wash, clay, wash with quality wash, polish of some sort (p21s gepc, ppcl) or any other surface prep (scratch, swirl removal), then wash again to get rid of any oils left, then start the zaino"

2) then your follow-up saying it should actually be a Dawn wash after the polish stage. (indicating that you agreed with using the polish stage between the clay and the Zaino).

Eugene mentioned that since Zaino has no real prep stage that some type of polish was needed prior to using Zaino. But you're saying the clay bar is enough prep on it's own?

I'm all for eliminating needless steps. That's for sure.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: i'm no guru but

DSinSoCal said:

Well, carcareonline.com says P21S "adds essential emollients back into the paint". I'm certainly no expert and I'm not going to pretend to know what an "emollient" is, but am I correct in assuming, then, that these emollients will just be stripped away by the Dawn?

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Emollients are oils. You don't want oils on your paint before you use your polymer. So you should either skip this step, Dawn after you use the cleaner to remove the emollients or find a cleaner that doesn't leave residue of any kind. It's fine to wax over glaze or fillers like this cleaner product, but the Zaino needs a pristine surface.

Clay bar is a cleaner, by the way. I think you'll find your paint in excellent condition after using the clay bar. I clay barred my wife's 6-year old Jetta recently, which rarely gets a wax. It removed pollutants and gunk like you wouldn't imagine. After the clay bar I threw on a coat of Blitz wax and I was done. No need to do anything else.

--gary

Too Many Steps?

This seems like a lot. Maybe we can come to some consensus (I could live with some compromise). I have yet to receive my Zaino products, but I would think the Z2 should take care of the polishing. This should eliminating the need for the P21S polish. I still do not understand the need for a quality wash after the clay. Once clay-ed, shouldn't the surface be in "pristine" condition to begin the Z1?

Would it be wise to eliminate steps 3 & 4?

Quoted:
_______
1A. Dawn Wash
1B. Quality Wash (Zaino Z7?)
2. Clay Bar (Autozone Clay Magic? there's one right down the street from me)
3. Quality Wash (Zaino Z7?)
4. Polish (P21S Paintwork Cleanser?)
6. Zaino Z1 Pre-Cleaner
7. Zaino Z2 Polish
8. Zaino Z6 Gloss Enhancer

Re: Too Many Steps?

Schnitzer said:

This seems like a lot. Maybe we can come to some consensus (I could live with some compromise). I have yet to receive my Zaino products, but I would think the Z2 should take care of the polishing. This should eliminating the need for the P21S polish. I still do not understand the need for a quality wash after the clay. Once clay-ed, shouldn't the surface be in "pristine" condition to begin the Z1?

Would it be wise to eliminate steps 3 & 4?

Quoted:
_______
1A. Dawn Wash
1B. Quality Wash (Zaino Z7?)
2. Clay Bar (Autozone Clay Magic? there's one right down the street from me)
3. Quality Wash (Zaino Z7?)
4. Polish (P21S Paintwork Cleanser?)
6. Zaino Z1 Pre-Cleaner
7. Zaino Z2 Polish
8. Zaino Z6 Gloss Enhancer

Click to expand...

FYI, I simply rinse the car off after a clay, but I use Griots Clay and it hardly leaves any residue, that what is left is easily rinsed off.

Re: Re: Too Many Steps?

Ripsnort said:

FYI, I simply rinse the car off after a clay, but I use Griots Clay and it hardly leaves any residue, that what is left is easily rinsed off.

Click to expand...

Zaino clay can will leave a yellow residue. If you clay an older car, I think you'll find the residue is pretty nasty.

--gary