need some advice

H

hambonez711

New member
Hello Everybody..great forum-



I have a few problems. I have a new 2001 Cobra. Unfortunately, my dealers preping department did a number on the paint before I bought it back in September, and put alot of swirls and light scratches in the paint. It didnt bother me too much, but Ive become obsessed with keeping this black beauty perfect.



Ive tried the Zaino line of products, but they just didnt do it for me in getting rid of the light scratches that i see when im a few inches from the surface (great shine though..5 coats) and some of the swirls.



What should my next line of attack be in getting her paint PERFECT!!!!!



Thanks again-

-Nick
 
which Zaino did you use?? Z2 or Z5 - only the Z5 will fill swirls/scratches.



Also what you might want to try in order to aide the Zaino in cleaning up is using 3M Swirl Mark Remover for Dark Colored Cars, followed by some paint cleaner such as 3M Imperial Hand Glaze. After using these you can apply the Z5 and after a few coats, you should be close to having an optically perfect surface.



I know how hard it is to take care of black paint, I have two of 'em (an 02 F150 Lightning and an 00 Pontiac Trans Am Firehawk)



hope this helps!:D
 
what he said. You have to use some form of abrasive first to help the Z5 do its job. The way you were going, it would have taken atleast 15 coats (guestimating) of Z5 to make a big difference. ;)
 
I have to disagree with SLP a little bit. Z5 doesn't do a very good job of filling swirls. I mean, its better than Z2 but that's not saying much. I have 3 coats of Z5 on my car with no prep to judge how well it filled swirls and it only filled the most micro minor ones.



I think you are better off using a swirl mark remover like 3M or Meguiar's #9. If you can use an orbital buffer like a Porter Cable, it will make the job much much much easier. Removing swirls by hand is mind-bendingly tedious.



Depending on the depth of the swirls you may need a product with a little more "bite", like 3M Finesse-It II machine polish. IT's hard for any of us to say because we're not looking at the car.



Try a swirl mark remover (SMR) first and evaluate. Once you get out the majority of swirls you can lay on the Z5.
 
SLPCar Luvr said:
<snip>... followed by some paint cleaner such as 3M Imperial Hand Glaze. <snip>
Click to expand...



isn't IHG a glaze/filler, and not a polish/cleaner? I know it's wasted if you use it and then use AIO or another cleaner type product...



SMR for dark cars is good, I like the Fine-Cut rubbing compound better...but it depends on the depth of the marring (RC is more abrasive) and if you have a machine or not (SMR is harder by hand).



Blue Skies,

Andy
 
Thanks for the advice thus far-



I have the Zaino Z5 and the z2 and all the other zaino products....as much as i love the shine..it does stink when it comes to removing some of the swirls and light scratches that i can see.



From what I understand thus far..i should redo my car starting with meguiars swirl remover and maybe their scratch x for the minor scratches that my eye sees. After that..then go to the zaino system...how does that sound???



ANother question..the zaino products claim to be polishes..not waxes..should i use some form of wax after i zaino????
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top