Diesel11

I did a search already and came up with useful info on detailing my 2001 LS430, midnight pine. There are a lot of swirls and spiders as well as scratches. The car has to have some body work on it this week to fix something that the dealer should have taken care of in the first place (see earlier postings arg!)
I am a follower of the Zaino cult.

My questions are:
1. I should wait about 2 weeks after the body shop work to start the process, correct?
2. At Dan's suggestion, I have bought 3M swirl remover and rubbing compund. I should Dawn wash first, then clay-bar, then use rubbing compund with my pc 7424 on the worst areas, then use the pc 7424 for the swirl remover over the enitre paint surface, correct?
3. Then I can begin my Zaino process which I am familiar with, correct?

Any steps I'm leaving out? How many layers of swirl remover can I put on?

Thanks Fred

Guitarman

My questions are:
1. I should wait about 2 weeks after the body shop work to start the process, correct?

You will have to wait a bit on sealing it with the Zaino, but not the polishing phase. You can use body shop safe polishes as soon as you get the car back. By that i mean any abrasives that contain NO wax or silicones (silicones wouldn't bother you per se, just the paint shop if they were going to do more paintwork etc.) and the 3M stuff mentioned is body shop safe.

2. At Dan's suggestion, I have bought 3M swirl remover and rubbing compund.

Hmmm Fred...I'm hoping I didn't confuse you there...I can't locate the post to see what I said but...I think you or I may have missed 1 product in the mix, that being ( either/or) 3M Finesse-It II Finishing Material, or 3M Perfect it III Machine Glaze. They are both capable of leveling spider webbing and swirls, and aren't as aggressive as the rubbing compound. You never want to start with a rubbing compound unless you feel you have no choice, because they are meant to cut paint well and they bite deeper, causing haze and swirls in the process. Not seeing the extent of your problem it's impossible to say which is the best approach, but I can say that you should leave the rubbing compound for last, and only use it if the others don't help. Going from a rubbing compound to a swirl remover *may* work on light colors, but on medium to darker colors you usually need a fine -cut ( the Finesse-It) to remove the larger micro marring the rubbing compound causes. The particle size of the grits in a strict "swirl remover" is generally too fine to remove compounding marring ( that's asking a lot). You need 3 steps to be better assured

I should Dawn wash first, then clay-bar, then use rubbing compund with my pc 7424 on the worst areas, then use the pc 7424 for the swirl remover over the enitre paint surface, correct?

The Dawn wash isn't necesary since you're going to polish the whole car with abrasives anyway. Claying it is good though, since it will pull out a lot of thngs even the polish might not get out. Now...I generally don't like using a rubbing compound with a P/C, but that's me. They have a hard time breaking down a heavy grit polish because they can't generate the heat a rotary does. I would rather you try the light -cut compound I mentioned first. You have a big abrasive-gap between a rubbing compound (very gritty) and a swirl remover (very fine). So you need something in the middle, and the Machine Glaze or Finishing material is that. Work a small area with it and when you see success, then move to the even finer polish over the whole car.

3. Then I can begin my Zaino process which I am familiar with, correct?

I would just wash the car with car shampoo first, to remove the polish residue, or an isopropyl alcohol & water mix will suffice.

Any steps I'm leaving out? How many layers of swirl remover can I put on?

It isn't so much that we're counting "layers" Fred, it's different than the Zaino. You just polish with the swirl remover until you get results. It may be 1x, it may be 4x. Work on a 1ft X 2ft part of the hood or trunk, Have a couple extra foam pads on hand. Once it's loaded with polish it won't be as effective. You will have to ferry the car in and out of the sun to see if you're really removing the swirls. Start with moderate pressure, and as you polish lighten up. The last pass or 2 should be very light pressure.

Hope this makes sense, let us know.

Diesel11

Again, glad to hear Dan is ok after the hurricane. I went ahead on the start of my detailing project on my newly aquired 2001 LS430. The dealer had to repaint some areas (see previous threads), so I did not do anything on the side panels yet.

1. I first washed with Zaino soap.
2. Then I polished using my pc 7424. Had 3 different polishes...all 3M. Rubbing compund (fine cut), hand glaze and Swirl remover. I found that starting with the glaze and then going over with the swirl remover several times was the best. Still some swirls, but a major improvement. I did the hood, front, roof and trunk only.
3. Zaino Clay-bar (which is the exact same as the cheaper Mcguire's bar).
4. washed with Zaino soap again.
5. Zaino Z2, then Z5, then Z2.

I'm very happy with results so far and I will post pics later.

Any thoughts on my strategy....ie any major gaffs? lol

Also, can I polish the side panels and then Zaino in about 2 weeks after the paint cures, or is it better to polish right before the Zaino?

Fred

Guitarman

Fred, is that "hand glaze" you mentioned the 3M Imperial Hand Glaze? Or is it the 3M Perfect-It III Machine Glaze I mentioned in my other previous post? They are quite different products and that factors into my reply. Thanks.

Diesel11

It's the hand glaze

Fred

Guitarman

K, well...you might want to change your approach, here's why...

Imperial Hand Glaze is a super fine polish with oils and fillers, designed to bring clarity to the paint and hide swirls via fillers. Now, when you apply the hand glaze, then use the swirl remover AFTER it, you're removing the hand glaze (and the oils and fillers) due to the light abrasives in the swirl remover. So, ostensibly you're shooting yourself in the foot and making extra work for no gain. I suspect you're liking the results because the swirl remover is doing good things, not because it works well over the glaze.

The hand glaze is something you want to apply after you polish, IF ( this is an important "if" ) you are going to apply a natural wax on the car. The fact that you're going to be working with Zaino means you don't want anyhing with an oily composition on the car when you apply the Zaino. Hand glaze is oily. So...hand glaze + Zaino = Bad karma.

If you were going to apply a carnauba wax, the glaze would be perfect under that, because it also has oils in it and bonds differently to your paint. The Zaino needs a contaminant-free surface, with nothing slick on it, to bond to. For best results and durability of the Zaino, you should use the swirl remover, give the car a light wash with regular car wash shampoo, dry it, and start your Zaino-ing.


Hope this makes sense.