Take the safe approach (glaze), or polish and seal?

[SuperBee364]

One thing I`d consider changing in the above- that Meguiar`s #7Show Car Glaze recommendation. I`ve been around that stuff all my life and have used it on-and-off since the `70s, and it can be a tricky product to use on black. If there`s any chance of getting their #5 New Car Glaze, I`d go that route. Not quite as impressive looking but about the most user-friendly product ever. Autobody/paint supply places often have it, check the ol` Yellow Pages.







That one I *don`t* agree with as it has not been my experience. The only environmental factors that swirl my paint are the clueless creatures who physically contact against my vehicles. Nobody should touch the paint, ever, period, so it oughta stay nice even if it gets dirty. Of course that particular car will probably attract a lot of people, some of whom won`t know how to act around (any) cars.





Just can`t touch the paint while they`re dirty "

Great idea on the glaze change. So far, on clear coated cars, the #7 hasn`t been a total PITA like it was on SS paints, but it`s not worth the chance, especially since #5 is always easy to use.



I have never seen "driving induced swirling or marring", either. If a particle hits the paint while driving, it bounces off, causing a pit or chip, but it doesn`t hang around and dance on the paint and swirl it up.



The last bolded point should be in *everyone`s* sig, and a required daily chant.

[spumoni]

Well I spent the last 3 hours finally washing the car. Starting with the wheels, I decided that I definitely need some help with a cleaning product that is safe enough if some accidentally got on the paint. I ended up doing the wheels with a microfiber glove (with fingers). It allowed me to get behind the spokes of the wheel.



For the carI hosed off as much dust and dirt as possible, the sprayed it down with the DP rinseless (not sure if that was necessary), then foamed the car down. I sprayed the foam gun inside the mitt as much as possible as I washed the car, using two grit guard buckets of course. I dried with a leave blower. The annoying thing about the clear bonnet on the Gallardo is that the water comes right in the engine compartment. I stuffed towels in there first, but it`s still a nightmare come dry time.



The leaf blower is an absolute must with this car. There are too many crevices to even think about using a microfiber towel.



The little bit of drying that was necessary, I sprayed a light mist of the DP on the towel first.



The car looks good so far. Now I will tape off the flat black panels using the green automotive 3M tape, and glaze with a blue pad using the PC. I don`t think claying will be necessary.



Stay tuned!

[GS4_Fiend]

Poorboy`s Black Hole is good for the black lambo ?

[mikenap]

Hey, will you look at that! Yet another Turtle Wax post from Goudy! Will wonders never cease? Those are always so helpful and informative, I look forward to them every time. Instead of getting any kind of OBJECTIVE answer from someone who has actually tried multiple products, just rely on our local TW rep for his product suggestions.

[SuperBee364]

Well I spent the last 3 hours finally washing the car. Starting with the wheels, I decided that I definitely need some help with a cleaning product that is safe enough if some accidentally got on the paint. I ended up doing the wheels with a microfiber glove (with fingers). It allowed me to get behind the spokes of the wheel.



For the carI hosed off as much dust and dirt as possible, the sprayed it down with the DP rinseless (not sure if that was necessary), then foamed the car down. I sprayed the foam gun inside the mitt as much as possible as I washed the car, using two grit guard buckets of course. I dried with a leave blower. The annoying thing about the clear bonnet on the Gallardo is that the water comes right in the engine compartment. I stuffed towels in there first, but it`s still a nightmare come dry time.



The leaf blower is an absolute must with this car. There are too many crevices to even think about using a microfiber towel.



The little bit of drying that was necessary, I sprayed a light mist of the DP on the towel first.



The car looks good so far. Now I will tape off the flat black panels using the green automotive 3M tape, and glaze with a blue pad using the PC. I don`t think claying will be necessary.



Stay tuned!

Look forward to updates.



I hate drying almost as much as I hate water spots. Check out what NSXtasy made all of Autopia aware of: Costco - CR SPOTLESS De-ionized Water Filtration System I have one and it is amazing. Thoroughly rinse your car with this, and you don`t need to dry if you don`t want to.



I still think you should use the DP Rinseless per the directions, though. I just can`t see any benefit of applying it and then spraying the car down with foam...



Edit: I`ve been reading autogeek`s information about DP rinseless. They do say that it`s a polymer based wash. Further down the page, they do say you can add it to a regular bucket with regular car wash soap, but I *really* don`t think they`ve done their research on this correctly. If you read up on polymer encapsulation cleaning (as I mentioned, it`s very popular among pro carpet cleaners), diluting it too much or adding other chemicals to it drastically reduces the ability of the polymers to do their magic. I think autogeek may have come up with this "adding it to the shampoo bucket" thing on their own, and *in my opinion* I think they`re wrong about it. I`d be willing to bet if they checked with their formulator, they`d find this out. You don`t see Dr. G (head guy and chemist at Optimum) recommending that you add ONR to Optimum Car Wash soap for good reason.



Dsoto87 mentioned in another thread that DP Rinseless is every bit as good as ONR when used as a rinseless wash. Might want to give it a shot. I would trust using DP Rinseless according to it`s directions as a true rinseless wash much more than I would trust adding it to a soap and bucket.

[GoudyL]

If you read up on polymer encapsulation cleaning (as I mentioned, it`s very popular among pro carpet cleaners), diluting it too much or adding other chemicals to it drastically reduces the ability of the polymers to do their magic.

It`s co-emulsification, and the polymers have been tuned to work with the surfactants, I wouldn`t mix it.

[spumoni]

I really would like to get to the bottom of this. So then, at the very worst, it`s just a waste to add it to the wash, correct? If I have nothing to lose, then I`ll add it like they say until we hear otherwise.



I ended up glazing the entire car with the PC using a a combination of gray and blue pads with the xmt finishing glaze. There were a couple areas that were driving my crazy, so I went after them with an orange pad and used wolfgang total swirl remove 3.0. This worked remarkably well. I then waxed (by hand) the entire car with the pinnacle souveran paste wax. Although I haven`t taken the car out of the garage yet, I`m amazed at how well everything worked out. Talk about satisfaction! I`m hoping to take out outside tomorrow and take some pics.



Can anyone tell me what the safest wheel tire spray would be?



Also, the wheels on the car are matte black. I used a wheel wax on the two front wheels, but it was very difficult to remove. My fear is too much rubbing will cause the matte black to turn shiny. I ended up using a spray wax on the rear wheels. Do you think this will work?



Thanks!

[scary bill]

A clean car always makes me smile. I`ll bet your black looks awesome with the combo you used.



To clean wheels I use car wash soap, my trucks never get that bad as I clean the wheels at least every few weeks. On wheels I would say use the spray wax and see how it goes. I use AW on wheels as it is easy and it makes cleaning the wheels very easy.



If that isn`t enough cleaning power then I would use a APC diluted per directions. For megs APC I use it at 10:1 on my stuff, and 4:1 if its nasty.

[GoudyL]

[quote=spumoni]I really would like to get to the bottom of this. So then, at the very worst, it`s just a waste to add it to the wash, correct? If I have nothing to lose, then I`ll add it like they say until we hear otherwise. [QUOTE]



It`s probably harmless to mix it, unless the surfactant chemistries are very different. Which you could tell because waxy stuff would start to plate out of the mixture.

Although I haven`t taken the car out of the garage yet, I`m amazed at how well everything worked out. Talk about satisfaction! I`m hoping to take out outside tomorrow and take some pics.

See, these things are much more durable than they look.

Can anyone tell me what the safest wheel tire spray would be?

You want something to clean wheel`s with? Or something to clean tires with?



For tires, I`d use a soft plastic brush and some car wash soap in water. You could further clean them with some protectant spray like Armor All or F21 etc,

Also, the wheels on the car are matte black. I used a wheel wax on the two front wheels, but it was very difficult to remove. My fear is too much rubbing will cause the matte black to turn shiny. I ended up using a spray wax on the rear wheels. Do you think this will work?



Thanks!

The black wheels could be due to painted metal, (which may or may not be clear coated) or to black chrome plating.



I`d just clean them with car wash soap and water, and if you need anything stronger use a PH balanced wheel cleaner like Eagle 1 Aluminum Wash

, or Black Magic Titanium Wheel Cleaner



If you apply spray wax to the wheels after every wash, it will keep them from becoming very dirty in the future.



If it`s matte black paint which is uncoated, then the best way to clean it is with glass cleaner.

[black03mach]

I really would like to get to the bottom of this. So then, at the very worst, it`s just a waste to add it to the wash, correct? If I have nothing to lose, then I`ll add it like they say until we hear otherwise.



I ended up glazing the entire car with the PC using a a combination of gray and blue pads with the xmt finishing glaze. There were a couple areas that were driving my crazy, so I went after them with an orange pad and used wolfgang total swirl remove 3.0. This worked remarkably well. I then waxed (by hand) the entire car with the pinnacle souveran paste wax. Although I haven`t taken the car out of the garage yet, I`m amazed at how well everything worked out. Talk about satisfaction! I`m hoping to take out outside tomorrow and take some pics.



Can anyone tell me what the safest wheel tire spray would be?



Also, the wheels on the car are matte black. I used a wheel wax on the two front wheels, but it was very difficult to remove. My fear is too much rubbing will cause the matte black to turn shiny. I ended up using a spray wax on the rear wheels. Do you think this will work?



Thanks!

Congrats, it sounds like your left the car looking nice, be sure to take it out in the sun and inspect the areas you polished with the orange pad to make sure you didnt leave any marks, if you did, just follow up with a white pad and swirl remover then your glaze.



as for the spray wheel cleaner everyone swears by the p21s wheel gel.



like others said enjoy the car! On my corvette I spend countless hours washing and perfecting the paint, but I never take her out and it makes me sad....but at least it looks good right?



oh and quick edit...don`t get caught up in the wax collecting hobby either, stick with something you like and use it often!

[Accumulator]

.. Talk about satisfaction!

Glad to hear that :xyxthumbs

Can anyone tell me what the safest wheel tire spray would be?

Not getting such stuff on the surrounding bodywork will be a must no matter what you use, so the answer to this one is probably in sorting out your technique.



Using good sprayers (controlled pattern and output), putting your free hand between the wheel/tire and the bodywork as a barrier, jacking the vehicle up a bit to change the situation a little...there are all sorts of tricks.



I dress my tires with non-spray products (specifically, I use Zaino Z16 exclusively these days, very good stuff). I wipe it on, let it sit for a moment, then buff it off with an old MF towel.



For the wheels, I`d either use regular shampoo (mixed a little strong) for waxed/sealed wheels or Griot`s or P21S Wheel Cleaner (if you don`t wax/seal them). The same will work on the tires when they`re not too dirty but I use Griot`s Rubber Cleaner on mine when they really need cleaning; diluted for gentle work and full-strength (which isn`t too strong anyhow) when I don`t mind cleaning aggressively enough that I`ll have to redo my tire dressing.

Also, the wheels on the car are matte black. I used a wheel wax on the two front wheels, but it was very difficult to remove. My fear is too much rubbing will cause the matte black to turn shiny. I ended up using a spray wax on the rear wheels. Do you think this will work?

Yeah, that`ll work but is probably not the optimal solution; it won`t last long and might retain brake dust/etc. more than a "better" product. Even just a good synthetic QD (e.g., FK146 or FK425) might be a good step up.



Or, wax/seal them; depending on their actual finish you might not mess up their finish by rubbing; some matte/satin finishes just get a (cool-looking, IMO) low level sheen to them when they`re gently polished. I can`t help but wonder how something like Klasse AIO topped with FK1000P would look, I bet *I* would like that, but that`s just me.



If the wheel wax was hard to remove, you either didn`t use it right or the wheels needed some kind of prep/cleaning first (or a combo of those two reasons). Or maybe it`s just a crappy product. The sealants I use on my wheels always go on/off easily.



Hmmm..I think my recommendation is to a) find out the finish on the wheels and what is/isn`t safe to do, b) use a spray product in the meantime, cleaning with Wheel Cleaner at each wash (once they`re sealed you`d wash with shampoo mix). I`m sure *somebody* here has done those wheels and can tell you what`s the best course of action.

[SuperBee364]

I dress my tires with non-spray products (specifically, I use Zaino Z16 exclusively these days, very good stuff). I wipe it on, let it sit for a moment, then buff it off with an old MF towel.

That`s the only one I use, as well. I love the clean, black, satin-y look it gives. I really don`t care for glossy tires at all. Z16 makes tires "disappear" into the wheel wells, like in these shots...











I do use it a bit differently, though. I put on two coats with a tire swipe, then let it dry without wiping.



Seeing these shots makes me miss my yellow `bee.



For sealing the wheels, it`s hard to beat fk 1000p.

[spumoni]

Thanks to all - it`s amazing how much great advice I`ve gotten from everyone here. Finally I have some pictures to share.



I`m sure I`ll have more questions soon...



Thanks again!!!!

[getcha]

The car looks fantastic Tony! What was your final process and product list?

[JSFM35X]

Al - what do you think of this approach?



Clay with either Zaino or Pinnacle - the finest I can get.



Apply Wolfgang Paintwork Polish Enhancer with a gray pad using the PC.



Apply Wolfgang 3.0 sealant using a blue pad with the PC.



Wait 12 hours for curing.



Apply Pinnacle Souveran by hand.



Of course I am going to wear diapers during this entire process.



Although this approach may not remove all the swirls, it seems to be a VERY safe approach that would be hard for me to screw up. Right?

I would add Poorboys black hole as a step before the LSP step. it will fill in anythng you cannt remove and make the car look awesome. When you move up to polishing (or get it done professionally) you can have the same effect without the filling.



Just my 2 cents.