What a beautiful day- thanks Greg for the advice

MEnthusiast · 10th September 2001, 06:45

I had a fun car care day and I was able to put Greg's advice on car detailing to use.

Ultimately, I decided against using the buffer- I did it by hand. wash, then 3M swirl remover, then 3M hand polish, then Zymol wax. It felt like my arms would come off by the end! but the results are what counts and I have to say this combination basically took out all the visible marks in the clear coat (there are a few marks still visible to floursecent light- but not in sun light).

Maybe next time Ill try the Maguires products- Greg, any suggestions?

here is a pic and a link to more if anyone's interested:

http://homepage.mac.com/menthusiast/PhotoAlbum6.html

kgk · 10th September 2001, 07:00

Even though I don't really like the Z8, I must confess that your car looks beautiful!

Greg does seem to be the Master of Detail!

greg · 10th September 2001, 07:08

Looks Great, M!

Congratulations. I think the 3M products are fine. So is Zymol, though 3M and Meguiar's are (in my opinion) just as good and cost a lot less. I'm still experimenting with products, but so far, for polishing/cleaning I like the Meguiar's Medallion Premium Paint Cleaner (preceeded by a clay bar if there is much above-the-surface contaminants). For bringing out the luster, 3M Imperial Hand Glaze or Meguiar's Show Car glaze. I think the 3M is a bit easier to apply, and maybe has a better luster, but unless you can get in on in a nice cool place and work extra hard at being even, it can result in a slightly uneven finish. As for waxes, the Meguiar's guy educated me that waxes are tradeoffs - if you want longer lasting protection you trade away some gloss. With a black car, you'll probably wax it fairly frequently - I end up doing the Porsche at least once every 3 months. So I use Meguiar's Gold Class Clear Coat Liquid wax. (Liquid 'cuz its a little easier to apply with the orbital - but it comes in paste too.) It is supposed to be their highest gloss wax and I'm very happy with it. It leaves a minimum of white resiude on the trim bits.

greg · 10th September 2001, 07:10

By the way, "I ain't no master of detail!" Anyone who has seen my cars up close can attest to this! I don't like to spend THAT much time. But I enjoy the process, and it has been fun experiementing with a lot of different products. I've learned a lot. You guys having the Meguiar's rep put on a car care clinic for you are going to be pleased with the results.

EBMCS03 · 10th September 2001, 08:20

MEnthusiast: That is a very beautiful Z8... WOW!!

VanCooper · 10th September 2001, 08:30

Black cars MUST be really taken care of and that picture shows the reward of a long day of cleaning, polishing and waxing! The end result is worth it

DrRob · 10th September 2001, 13:12

ME,

Great pics, and web site! Black is certainly beautiful. Good job!

KRM · 10th September 2001, 15:55

ME, it's beautiful! great job on the detailing

Chris Foote · 10th September 2001, 16:11

Absolutely beautiful...black cars always look beautiful when clean, but to top it off...a Z8

MEnthusiast · 11th September 2001, 13:13

thanks for the compliments guys.

yeah- when I made the choice for a black car I knew it would have its highs (translation: the minute after its done being cleaned) and its lows (translation: 10 minutes after being cleaned

, j/k) actually its still looking good and it got rained on quite a bit yesterday. my guess is the zymol will last in some form until dec-jan as this wont be an every day car much past this month.

kgk,
have you been able to take one for a drive? you might end up changing your mind a little bit...

Dr. Rob,
did you notice I put up the plate holder pics for you?