newbie detailing a black car

[johnnzen]

Hi! I`m new to this forum and I just got a spankin new BMW 325i....it was beautifully waxed by the dealer but when I began to wash off the wax there were swirls everywhere (My towels and mitts were brand new)



After reading around this forum and sites, i`ve concluded to this:

1. I will wash my car with...1Z Perls gloss shampoo with 100% cotton towels then drying with chamois towel

2. After drying my car i`ll polish my car with the 1Z Paint polish with a handi-grip applicator (or a buffing towel?)

3. After polishing it i`ll wax it with Z-2 Show Car Polish



I had an issue with Zymol, it left clouds on my car no matter how much I rubbed it in.

4. After waxing my car i`ll apply the Sonus Acrylic Spritz with....? can I apply this with a terry towel?



http://www.johnnzen.com/bmw/1.jpg

http://www.johnnzen.com/bmw/2.jpg

http://www.johnnzen.com/bmw/3.jpg

Zymol is HORRIBLE

http://www.johnnzen.com/bmw/4.jpg

http://www.johnnzen.com/bmw/5.jpg



Will the 1Z Paint polish be abrasive enough to remove these swirls?

Will the Z-2 Show car polish apply on perfectly onto my black bmw? (After applying Zymol i`m paranoid of putting on waxes...check picture 3 to see what I mean)

Would these be the best products to use on my car (I`m looking for around a $10-$15 price tag to each bottle)?



Sorry for all these questions, there`s just so many companies yada yada...:wavey

[NickMach1]

ok I had these same problems with marring after I screwed up applying NXT



What towels did you use? how was the applicator pad? how much pressure did you use? what method do you use to wash the car? did you drive the car then apply wax? was the car completely clean?



As for the other questions, in my experience with 1Z Paint polish it`ll be good enough to remove alot of your marring, I`d use a cutting pad though.. I`ve had good results using it on a cutting pad. However I`ve found that you normally need a follow up polish after using the cutting pad. In which case you could use 1Z Metallic on the normal polishing pad. That should eliminate most of your problem. Then you should be able to apply Z2 pretty easily by hand, I`ve never used it but my boss who is a zaino freak and says it comes on and off very easily.



oh one thing I noticed, you want to apply 1Z Paint polish by hand.. you won`t get the results your looking for to be honest. I`d defintley invest in a PC, it`s the best 100 bucks I`ve ever spent.. I apply all my sealants/synthetic waxes with and all polishes.. cuts my work time in half with better results.



I`d invest in some microfiber towels as well

[svanderbilt]

Here`s what I`d suggest.



Get yourself a Porter Cable 7424. You can get them pretty close to $100 at Loewe`s, or check out coastaltool.com. Get yourself some polishing and finishing pads from Autopia or like web retailer.



The reason why I suggest this is that you just laid down a good chunk of change for that fine automobile. And it`s black. Nothing looks better than an immaculately detailed black car. Especially a Bimmer! Conversely, poorly kept black cars look like ****. So you laid down around $40k for your car, I figure you have $100+ to spend on a Porter Cable. It`d be a good investment.



Wash the car with a sheepskin wash mitt, two buckets, soap of your choice, and dry off with a waffle weave microfiber towel.



Menzerna Intensive or Final Polish.



Follow up with Klasse All-In-One



Protect with Klasse Sealant Glaze.



For additional depth layer your favourite Carnauba. P21S perhaps?



All products above are German made, which would seem like a good match to your German paint.



Zymol Cleaner Wax that you`ve been using, is not bad, it`s okay, but there`s much better.



Good luck.

[johnnzen]

Thanks for all the info guys!
What towels did you use? how was the applicator pad? how much pressure did you use? what method do you use to wash the car? did you drive the car then apply wax? was the car completely clean?



I used 100% clean cotton terry towels to dry and wax



I actually just use the Mr. Clean Autodry to wash my car...i`m planning to switch soaps in that or to completly stop using that.



The car was completly clean when I tried to wax a section, i`m guessing that the Zymol i`m using either doesn`t work on a black car or because I should have used a buffing towel.



I rubbed pretty hard to get the wax even with the terry towel to smooth the wax out but I couldn`t (If you look in my 3rd picture I could draw things into the wax with my fingers)



After I bought this car I feel the urge to detail it like no other...(I`m usually not a car fanatic but for some reason...)

[shaf]

Originally posted by johnnzen

Thanks for all the info guys!



I used 100% clean cotton terry towels to dry and wax



I actually just use the Mr. Clean Autodry to wash my car...i`m planning to switch soaps in that or to completly stop using that.



The car was completly clean when I tried to wax a section, i`m guessing that the Zymol i`m using either doesn`t work on a black car or because I should have used a buffing towel.



I rubbed pretty hard to get the wax even with the terry towel to smooth the wax out but I couldn`t (If you look in my 3rd picture I could draw things into the wax with my fingers)



After I bought this car I feel the urge to detail it like no other...(I`m usually not a car fanatic but for some reason...) Welcome to Autopia John. :welcome



How do you know your towels really are 100% cotton? What brand are they or where are they made? If they`re some of the lower quality towels, that could be part of your problem since they sometimes lie about the "100% cotton" part..... Try not to rub too hard either.



Was the Zymol wax you used the more common cleaner wax type? Do you know what kind of wax the dealer applied? A wash (even a Dawn wash) isn`t a great way to de-wax a car, and if the wax they applied is fresh and semi-tough, it could interfere with the Zymol if the Zymol tried to partially clean it off. Maybe a second application would fix it.



If the dealership washed and detailed the car, they may have caused a lot of the damage you see. Still, check to make sure your mitt is okay to use (what is it anyway?).



Check out the Learn! section if you haven`t done so already.

[Accumulator]

johnnzen - Welcome to Autopia!



The marring in the pics looks like classic wash/dry-induced damage. I`d ditch the current toweling for some good MFs and maybe look into my Extreme Wash Technique (http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=35232)



I like your plan to use the 1Z stuff, but I don`t think the Zaino will be compatible with it. I`d use a different last step product ("LSP") like 1Z Glanz or UPP or Meg`s #16. Also note that Zaino will make any residual marring *very* noticeable, not what you want.



The PC is a good investment, especially with a dark colored car. The 1Z stuff works OK by hand, but it`ll be a lot of work. Not sure if the PP will be strong enough, you might need to use their Ultra first. But the PP is a good start. Note that the 1Z polishes leave some good wax behind, so you don`t have to top them immediately. You can do it after the next wash, or polish some more after each wash for a while and *then* top it.

[Bill D]

Get yourself a set of 1000watt halogens and be prepared to lose your mind :o

[imported_kgb]

It`s not the Zymol...trust me. It is your techniques and products you use to apply and wipe off that is doing it. Most likely your dealer used some heavy swirl filling glaze and washing your car just removed some of it and using Zymol removed the rest in return you get to see every swirl the good ole dealer put in it.

[ANB]

You should get Klasse AIO and SG! I use it on mine (the black one) and I love it. I don`t think it needs a topper at all.

Believe it or not, my car had hardly any swirls on it when I got it from the dealer so I haven`t used any swirl remover on it yet. I really don`t know how hard it is to remove swirls from our paint or what works best with it.



Maybe someone can chime in here!

[jason102873]

Careful sith the cotton towels. Never realized how hard it is to find a 100% cotton Made in USA cotton towel. Every towel I pick up is made in PAKISTAN....CRAP! If you insist on using a cotton towel, find one tht is made in USA for quality.

[johnnzen]

Wow. Well..I purchased my terry towels from Autozone, it`s the red towels that come in a big pack...i purchased drying towels and buffing towels so i don`t know if i`ll use my terry towels....if they were pakistani made...would they make swirls?



Other than that i`ve just purchased the PC and many other products from this site and I`ll be following through with everything you guys have here. Mann..I can`t wait till my order comes ;D

[hirosh]

welcome to Autopia.



and congrats on your PC purchase. it`s a great tool to have. while you are waiting for your order of products to arrive, did you start reading up on how to use the PC? if not, this is a pretty good article on using a PC:

http://www.bettercarcare.com/articles.php?articleId=47



this is also another good post to read on using a PC:

http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24209



and did you buy some microfiber (MF) towels? much gentler for your paint than the terry towels.



good luck and have fun! :wavey