My first post here on Autopia described my plan of attack . Well, yesterday I put that plan into action, and thought I would just share my experience with the rest of you. My car is less than a month old and is a 2003 Silver Satin Mettalic Acura TL Type S. This entire detailing session occurred outside in the shade (no garage). 
So as my plan described:
1) I first washed with Dawn to strip any existing wax the dealer may have applied.
2) Then I went with the Mother's Claybar system. I only clayed painted surfaces, and used the supplied Mother's Showtime (QD?) as lubricant. I thought I would hear a difference as I clayed or feel a difference in the amount of friction as I clayed, but I didn't for the most part. I was looking for some sign that claying was working. I even got some of the actual claybar on my paint and had to buff it off by hand w/ a MF towel. Maybe that area wasn't lubed enough? Granted this was a new car, and was relatively smooth to begin with, but my car is smooth as heck now! I got a little frustrated claying because I found a scratch on the passenger side sill(low), and I'm not sure if I clayed it into the car or not. I think not because I cut the claybar into 4 pieces before I started (I'm clumsy and drop things), and I didn't find any other scratches on the car as I clayed. Plus, tree particles were blowing onto my car as I did this. Had to keep dusting it off to make sure I wouldn't clay some scratches into my car.
3) Dawn Wash again.
4) Application of Z1. I've read all over this board that you should apply very thin coats of Zaino, and that people often make the mistake of putting too much on. Well I put on a very thin coat, and maybe because the car was silver, but I couldn't really tell if I was putting enough Z1 on the car. It was really very difficult to tell. I just did sections at a time to ensure I wouldn't forget to do a section.
5) Applied the Z2 over the Z1, and found that I could get enough of the Z2 onto the car to get a slight haze on the paint if you examined the car at the right angle. Then I let it sit (or cure) for about 70 minutes. Hand buffed it off in a circular motion. Looks freaking great now! I couldn't take pics as I don't have a camera...yet. Take my word for it for now. This thing was glowing at night.
So basic questions:
A) Do I apply the Zaino in a circular motion (I did)? Does it matter how it's applied?
B) Did I put enough Z1 on? How can one tell how much is enough?
C) How do you know when to buff off the Z1 and Z2? I just guessed after 70 minutes it would be ok. Plus I was running out of light.
D) Most importantly: what do I do next time to wash car? i.e. I would wash with special car soap (maybe some Z7 if I can), not Dawn, but what next? Do I apply more Z2? Do I need to get Z5? My current QD is Final Inspection. I know Zaino is a layering system, but I just don't know what my next steps are.
Thanks for reading my post, it was long winded, but I wanted to share my first ever detailing experience with you all.
So as my plan described:1) I first washed with Dawn to strip any existing wax the dealer may have applied.
2) Then I went with the Mother's Claybar system. I only clayed painted surfaces, and used the supplied Mother's Showtime (QD?) as lubricant. I thought I would hear a difference as I clayed or feel a difference in the amount of friction as I clayed, but I didn't for the most part. I was looking for some sign that claying was working. I even got some of the actual claybar on my paint and had to buff it off by hand w/ a MF towel. Maybe that area wasn't lubed enough? Granted this was a new car, and was relatively smooth to begin with, but my car is smooth as heck now! I got a little frustrated claying because I found a scratch on the passenger side sill(low), and I'm not sure if I clayed it into the car or not. I think not because I cut the claybar into 4 pieces before I started (I'm clumsy and drop things), and I didn't find any other scratches on the car as I clayed. Plus, tree particles were blowing onto my car as I did this. Had to keep dusting it off to make sure I wouldn't clay some scratches into my car.
3) Dawn Wash again.
4) Application of Z1. I've read all over this board that you should apply very thin coats of Zaino, and that people often make the mistake of putting too much on. Well I put on a very thin coat, and maybe because the car was silver, but I couldn't really tell if I was putting enough Z1 on the car. It was really very difficult to tell. I just did sections at a time to ensure I wouldn't forget to do a section.
5) Applied the Z2 over the Z1, and found that I could get enough of the Z2 onto the car to get a slight haze on the paint if you examined the car at the right angle. Then I let it sit (or cure) for about 70 minutes. Hand buffed it off in a circular motion. Looks freaking great now! I couldn't take pics as I don't have a camera...yet. Take my word for it for now. This thing was glowing at night.
So basic questions:
A) Do I apply the Zaino in a circular motion (I did)? Does it matter how it's applied?
B) Did I put enough Z1 on? How can one tell how much is enough?
C) How do you know when to buff off the Z1 and Z2? I just guessed after 70 minutes it would be ok. Plus I was running out of light.
D) Most importantly: what do I do next time to wash car? i.e. I would wash with special car soap (maybe some Z7 if I can), not Dawn, but what next? Do I apply more Z2? Do I need to get Z5? My current QD is Final Inspection. I know Zaino is a layering system, but I just don't know what my next steps are.
Thanks for reading my post, it was long winded, but I wanted to share my first ever detailing experience with you all.
