Too High Of Expectations??

E

evor1

New member
I just recently bought a new black Mustang.



I started out washing it with a cotton wash mit and Meguire Gold Wash (something like that) and drying with Fieldcrest towels. After about the third or forth washing I started to notice scratches in many locations. Linear along my wash and dry lines, but also in places I am sure I didn't drag a towel, etc...



I am sure these are all super light surface scratches.



I then decided to try Zaino. I did the Dawn wash and then two coats of Z5 followed by one of Z2 (All with ZFX).



This made it so that the scratches are only visible if you look right at the reflectiob of the sun or a lightbulb in the garage.



I have since put about 5 coats of Z5 and Z2 on the hood trying to eliminate the scratches. Many of the lighter scratches have pretty much disappeared, but the little deeper are still visible in a light bulbs reflection.



This is pretty much confined to the hood, as the required angles to see on the side, do not exist.



Am I being too picky? Is it "normal" for a black car to show some surface scratches, or is there a reasonable way to eliminate.



If surface scratches are a way of life, I don't want to do anything abrasive, as this is a 3K mile per year type of car and I plan on keeping it a real long time. I wash it aqbout once per week, and I don't want to start a weekly cycle of wash, dry (adding minor scratchs), abrasive removal of scratches, cover, wash, etc... I am afraid that cycle would ultimately kill the paint!



The only way to see them outside it to look right at the sun,



Should I just be leaving well enough alone, or will they unlimately disapear with Z5, or do I start over with SMR and restart Zaino, etc????
 
If those imperfections are annoying you , I should take them out first with SMR, because Z kind of magnifies the imperfections.



The most wonderfull thing about Z is that it's not abrasive, meaning : once you start with a (in your eyes)perfect finish, Z seals it.And with every layer of Z you add more protection , not like a real polish where you take a bit of paint away with each application.

Z5 does fill in swirls,

but,

only the verry minor ones,



What I'm trying to say is : invest time in a verry good surface prep,

then Z

maintain the best washing-drying techniques possible in order to have the least chance in introducing swirls.



Happy detailing

Christiaan



edit: verry welcome to this board , read all you can and may I suggest you buy Davids guide to detailing , it's worth every penny.

:wavey
 
One thing I would do to eliminate the cycle of adding scratches every time you wash or wax the car is to invest in Micro Fiber towels and wash mits. I too have used Fieldcrest towels, towels from Zymol and Meguiars. These are what I thought were the best towels out there and they ALL left scratches. I heard about MF here and ordered some from www.pakshak.com and was amazed at how gentle they are to the paint. I purchased 20 16x16 terry MF towels for removing wax and cleaning windows and 2 24x24 terry MF towels for drying the car. I still apply wax with either zymol or meguiars foam applicators but, I think I am going to switch to a MF applicator.



After trying the MF towels I gave all my Fieldcrest towels to the wife and the zymol and meguiars towels now are used for interior and engine detailing. I had over $150 invested in those towels :(



I would also suggest with a black car that you might want to invest in a Meguiars/Porter Cable Dual Action Polisher. Makes maintaning that black paint much easier. You would definitely want to use a PC with SMR to remove those scratches as best you can as others have already said Z is not going to remove them.



Congrats on the 'Stang ;)
 
One comment I have is that I do not see the need for weekly washing when the car is being driven only 3000 a year. The car simply isn't getting dirty enough for a full wash. If all the car has collected is a little dust and a few spots from road grime, use Z6 or any QD and clean the car that way.



I agree that the cotton terry towels are probably adding to the micro marring. Use microfiber, especially the big blue MF towels. Buy a couple of those and use them for drying.



Swirl marks are a fact of life with a black car. I've owned several and never got them perfect. Do a search for Carguy's washing techniques and read his posts. He has a black Porsche and has developed some very effective ways to minimize swirls.
 
bretfraz said:
I've owned several and never got them perfect. Do a search for Carguy's washing techniques and read his posts. He has a black Porsche and has developed some very effective ways to minimize swirls.
Click to expand...



I think that this is so true, I try my hardest to not put in new Swirls but it is a losing battle... I also drive my car less than 3K mi a year. But it still gets dirtyy, Z6 is my friend:xyxthumbs
 
Read my Sig.

If you can detail a black car to near perfection any other color is a walk in the amusement park.

Do not lower your standards or expectation but be realitistic about what is perfection on a black finish. I only drive my black Z28 about 1500- 2000 miles max a year presently and wash her maybe every 5-6 weeks. If it is not dirty but just dusty a clear water rinse and gentle drying is all she gets. The least amount that you manipulate the finish the less chance of creating problems. You might want to invest in a Cali duster. They are great for garage queens. :xyxthumbs
 
I don't understand why Zaino is so insistent on only using cotton towels when so many people find that MF is better.
 
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