I use a pressure washer for:

I use a pressure washer for:

  • Wheels, tires, wheel wells, undercarriage

    Votes: 12 20.3%

  • Entire vehicle every time I wash

    Votes: 17 28.8%

  • In the spring to get the road salt off

    Votes: 2 3.4%

  • Never use one... always wash by hand

    Votes: 12 20.3%

  • Clean the undercarriage a couple times a year

    Votes: 3 5.1%

  • I think pressurized water is too hard on paint

    Votes: 3 5.1%

  • Other........

    Votes: 10 16.9%
  • Total voters
    59
A

Alan

New member
Car is 10 months old, black paint looks scratchy..

I have always used Zaino products. Once I have tried 3M to compare, and went back to Zaino. But now my car has all these fine scratches that really show in the direct sun or under florecent lights. It looks terrible. What can I do to fix this? I have tried 3m swirl remover (makes it worse), zaino seems to fix it. Mequires I have used there red bottles steps, still no go. I am sick of seeing these, its not bad, but its irritating to see. Any ideas would be helpful!!



Black car..



2001 Maxima SE. Thanks.
 
Here's my 2 cents. First off let me say that perfection is nearly impossible to obtain with a black car. Little flaws are particularly glaring under flourescent lights.



3M SMR helped me out. I finished over it with a pure polish with no abrasives. After that I applied multiple coats of paste wax. From what I understand the wax helps to round off the corners of the light sratches so that light won't refract as badly from the scratches.



My black car still isn't perfect but the combination of polishes and multiple coats of paste wax has helped out considerably. Next I'm going to try a PC I've read here that these really help the polish to do its job better.
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by Short Cut [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>...3M SMR helped me out. I finished over it with a pure polish with no abrasives...[/b]</blockquote>
What do you mean by this? I take the term polish to mean an abrasive product that removes imperfections by creating even smaller imperfections. It sounds to me like you used a glaze? Just curious because I too have a black car..
 
AIO is a "chemical abrasive", it has no physical abrasives in it. It does clean as an abrasive, just chemically.



IMO, I think even non abrasives can be abrasive by applicator.



You can kick AIO up a notch if you use a MF applicator and really work it in, thus increasing it's abrasivity (haha new word!)



If you notice that you use AIO a few times the paint becomes smoother and slicker, that's the polishing/depositing part going on.



:)
 
Thanks for the welcome. I have been fighting these scratches for a while and can't figure out how to get rid of them. I used the 3M SMR and it was hard to get off, but it left more marks than anything removing. I used mequires gold class over it to help remove it, and it did, but it also showed fine swirls still!!

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by Short Cut [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>Here's my 2 cents. First off let me say that perfection is nearly impossible to obtain with a black car. Little flaws are particularly glaring under flourescent lights.

3M SMR helped me out. I finished over it with a pure polish with no abrasives. After that I applied multiple coats of paste wax. From what I understand the wax helps to round off the corners of the light sratches so that light won't refract as badly from the scratches.

My black car still isn't perfect but the combination of polishes and multiple coats of paste wax has helped out considerably. Next I'm going to try a PC I've read here that these really help the polish to do its job better. [/b]</blockquote>
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by puterbum [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>

I take the term polish to mean an abrasive product that removes imperfections by creating even smaller imperfections. It sounds to me like you used a glaze? Just curious because I too have a black car.. [/b]</blockquote>
Yes it was a glaze which some manufacturers like Meguiars also call a polish. I think that they call anything with abrasives a compound. I only used the glaze over the SMR on the hood. Everywhere else I just waxed over the SMR. I think it made a slight difference.
 
Russ, you say the 3M SMR makes it worse. What I infer from this is these fine scratches you are seeing is the haze left by the abrasive polishes(SMR included) you are using. Have you tried using multiple coats of Z5? It should fill in the fine lines you are seeing. I know some other zaino users with hazing issues have used Z5 to successfully remove the "fine scratches" you are seeing.
 
Perfection on a black car is diffucult to acheive, and hard to maintain. If 3M SMR isn't removing the swirl marks you may want to try Finesse-it, and use Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion to help remove the haze that the 3M causes. Afterwards follow up with your Zaino routine. Its all in the surface prep, if you want your 10 month old car looking good in 10 years, make sure you take time and care to prepare your surface, you'll be thankful you did.
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by BillNorth [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>Russ, you say the 3M SMR makes it worse. What I infer from this is these fine scratches you are seeing is the haze left by the abrasive polishes(SMR included) you are using. Have you tried using multiple coats of Z5? It should fill in the fine lines you are seeing. I know some other zaino users with hazing issues have used Z5 to successfully remove the "fine scratches" you are seeing. [/b]</blockquote>
I just got done doing half my car, meaning the hood, front fenders and bumper, it looks good again, but with florecent light, I can see the fine scratches in the paint, not easily but you see them. If I ever plan on putting the car into a car show, i don't want those to show up under lights. Anyways, dunno what else to do.
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by Steve9185 [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>Perfection on a black car is diffucult to acheive, and hard to maintain. If 3M SMR isn't removing the swirl marks you may want to try Finesse-it, and use Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion to help remove the haze that the 3M causes. Afterwards follow up with your Zaino routine. Its all in the surface prep, if you want your 10 month old car looking good in 10 years, make sure you take time and care to prepare your surface, you'll be thankful you did. [/b]</blockquote>
Where can I buy these products that you recommend?
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by Steve9185 [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>Perfection on a black car is diffucult to acheive, and hard to maintain. If 3M SMR isn't removing the swirl marks you may want to try Finesse-it, and use Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion to help remove the haze that the 3M causes. Afterwards follow up with your Zaino routine. Its all in the surface prep, if you want your 10 month old car looking good in 10 years, make sure you take time and care to prepare your surface, you'll be thankful you did. [/b]</blockquote>

Finesse-it

I don't see this product on that site that is mentioend above, anyone know?
 
3M Finesse It II Finishing Material is the full name of 3M Finesse It. Its PN # is 39003.

Its should be available at www.carcareonline.com

If there is a NAPA around you, look there, if you don't see it, ask a sales person, they can get it in quickly.

Jason
 
What kind of towels are you using? Was the car perfect before you started zainoing?



The swirls are probably due to improper washing techniques or using substandard towels. The swirls could be in the polish layer.....



If the car is not really clean I would clay it, if it is really clean, apply a z1/Z5 layer and then an additional Z5 layer and see what happens. If this does not help, then use 3M SMR to remove the deeper swirls. This might leave a haze or micro marring on your paint. Use some paint cleansing lotion after that to reduce the marring even further, dawn wash, and then follow up with a few coats of Z5. Good luck. Black is tough!
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by RussMaxManiac [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>


Finesse-it

I don't see this product on that site that is mentioend above, anyone know? [/b]</blockquote>
Here is a link for 3M's Car Care Online Store.
 
DK is right (as usual). What types of wash mitts, detailing towels, poor technique are all contributing factors to swirl marks on your car.

Id say start over and spend some extra time on the preparation of the surface, and take step to further prevent this from happening. As always post any questions you may have, and we'll help you out!
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by Steve9185 [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>DK is right (as usual). What types of wash mitts, detailing towels, poor technique are all contributing factors to swirl marks on your car.
Id say start over and spend some extra time on the preparation of the surface, and take step to further prevent this from happening. As always post any questions you may have, and we'll help you out! [/b]</blockquote>
I use a mitt, and zainos soap to wash teh car, or I use high pressure spray at the car wash. No brushes. I use a sythetic shammy for drying and the CWB. I use cotton pads to apply wax, and use 100% cotton fieldcrets white bath towels..... :) I am trying to do it right! I washt eh car from top to bottom then the wheels last.
 
Hi, welcome to the board. I'm going to offer some counterpoint here - in the spirit of giving you the most to think about.

1) I own a black Porsche. Black cars are definitely a love/hate relationship. Welcome to my obsession! Pics at http://996tt.com/greg

2) I have tested Zaino - it does a LOUSY job of hiding swirls. Z5 doesn't seem much better than Z2, but NEITHER is abrasive, so best you can hope for is hiding - not removing, and it doesn't do a great job at that. It does have a nice shine, but works best over a really good finish to start with. I did a fairly extensive and reasonably scientific review of Zaino to satisfy my own curiosity. You can see it at http://pages.sbcglobal.net/gheumann/zaino_test/

3) I have had good luck with 3M SMR but started out with your experience. The difference between a hazy finish and having it work well is technique. Check out http://autopia-carport.com/forum/showthread.php3?s=&threadid=3969&highlight=technique+AND+matters for a description of technique for this product.

4) Finesse-IT is a line of products. White Finesse-IT II is a cleaner/polish/abrasive that is MORE aggressive than SMR. It WILL leave a haze, but it will get out deeper scratches than SMR. You must follow it with SMR to bring back the gloss.

5) There are some newer products that combine mild abrasives with polishes and fillers. They really do a great job of hiding swirls. I've started playing with Meguiar's "Scratch-X" and am very impressed. I finally found a bottle of their new "Swirl Remover 2.0" but I haven't used it yet. I will post results when I do.

6) I totally agree with earlier comments - the swirls in your car are from your washing/drying technique. If you're going to go to the work of removing them, make sure you don't reintroduce them! Suggest you read http://autopia-carport.com/forum/showthread.php3?s=&threadid=4309&highlight=simple+but+effective+drying+technique

Cheers -


/Greg
 
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