Just starting out

[schneider325]

ok Im new to this and I wanta see if im getting everything i need! I am 15 years old and im looking to fix up my moms old 1987 BMW for when its mine.



I am going to buy the Porter Cable 7424 Ultimate Polisher so i can get everthing done with ease.



The car was neglected for 17 years and looks like crap. Swirl markd with lota scratches! I wanta get %95 of all this gone! and the rest the shop can do.



There are so many products to get and im not sure what to do! Would this work??



1) start of with Z1 ultra pant polish... the paint will look hazy after i do this but that is normal right?



2) ScratchX.....to get rid of the remaining scratches..... now would this be to agressive with the Z1? or should i give it ago with it??



3) Zainos Z5 polish.... I have heard only good things about this product and i think a couple coats of this would work fine.



4) Should i just put multiple coats of just the zainos or not?



5) What wax would u recomend to top it off?



6) and after i wax it I cant put more polish or any other cleaner/compound on right?



thanks!



i might think of some more questions later but these are the main ones

[Prometheus]

Im not too familiar with the 1Z products, so im not sure on that one, but SCratch x definately works. For another step, you may want to use some Megs #9 swirl remover just to remove the really fine stuff, as it will work really well with a PC. Zaino is kind of a personal thing. Most people either love it or hate it. Try it an see. Wax topper, everybody has an opinion. My favorite is Meg`s #16, but #26 is also good, as well as Poorboys EX-P (scottwax has some awesome pics of EX-P). You could stick with Zaino as a topper, or use some 1Z stuff. Pretty much, try some different things and see what you like. I like #16, kind of finiky to put on, but it looks awesome.



Can you polish over a wax? Yes and no. Sure you can do it, but it will just strip off the wax anyway. You`d probably be better off if you just gave the car a Dawn wash and stripped it off that way instead of stripping off the wax with the polish. Good luck! Hope this helps.

[schneider325]

ya it did help man!



I think instead of getting the 1Z im going to get the Megs #9 swirl remover and the scratch x for prepping the car before zainos.



1)OK does it matter witch one I put on first? #9 or scratch x?



2) would i use this stuff for the whole car or just were i see swirls/scratches? I belive the car is 100% swirly and its pretty hard not to find scratch, there everywere



3) does anyone know if i should use the Z1 with the #9 and scratch x?



4) what pads would u use for each product? cause i have heard a couple differnt ones to use, especially for zainos



thanks again!



one step closer to buying everthing

[Accumulator]

schneider325 - While I would recommend you use the 1Z stuff (or 3M) instead, if you want to go with Meg`s polishes, you`d better plan on something stronger than the #9 to use by PC. I dunno if you`re gonna need the Scratch-X in this case.



I`d probably use at least #80 on the swirls. If they`re really bad you`ll need #83 or #84 (following with something milder like the #80 or #9 or #82).



But if you`re really determined to use Zaino (I`d probably use something else on that vehicle, myself- Zaino, IMO, looks best on cars with virtually perfect paint and your older Bimmer might not turn out quite *that* well), maybe look into the Menzerna line of polishes. They don`t have fillers. With the Meg`s polishes, you`re probably gonna have to use an alcohol wipe-down to remove the fillers and oils before using Zaino.



Use a cutting pad to remove the worst marring, then a polishing pad. You *might* be able to get by with just the polishing, but I doubt it. Plan on one cutting pad and at least two polishing pads. And it sure wouldn`t hurt to have spares on hand.



Can`t help you with the Zaino, but there are plenty of Autopians who can.

[schneider325]

thanks accumulator.... Im not sure what those numbers mean tho? are they meg products? I typed them in the search engine on there website and didnt find anything



I think u might be right about the zainos cause i usually see it on "newer" cars so i might wanta use it when my paint looks pretty flauless



pretty much i think i im gonna have to do trial and error.... start out with something (Z1 maybe??) and see how the paint looks when im done with it and prodeed with the next step



one major question that wasnt answerd.... would I use the compounds for the whole car ( like z1, scratch x, #9) or just were i see scratches/swirl marks?

[schneider325]

under further review i have come to the conclution to get both of the Menzerna polishes. This seams like the easiest route to take now since im the bigginer.. I will aslo pick up Scratch x for the scratches





would i want to apply scrach x inbetween the menzerna polishes? right after i use the fist one??



and after im done with the final merzerna would i want to go on with a sealent/wax or more polish?