So I have been over to this side of CF a few times. Mostly for info on the correct way to wash, and wax my car. I have followed most of the instructions and things are looking better. With all of the great things said about ZAINO, I have used there product and loved it. A few weeks ago, I clayed my car, used Z5 and Z2, and keep it up with the mist detailer.
Let me say this, becuase of the advice you guys have given me, my car looks the best it has ever looked before. Im starting to care about my car some more, and want to bring things up to the next level. I have quite a bit of swirl marks on my car, and most likely most of them are from me washing it before I read on the proper way to wash a car (who knew I was doing it wrong for so long). After using ZAINO my car, it does have nice deep shine to it, my only problem is that I now have shiny swirls. I do realize that black is the most difficult color to detail, but I am willing to do whatever is neccesary and take my time for it to look right.
I am prepared to buy a PC, and whatever paste and pads I need. I just dont want to spend unneeded money on things that I dont need. I dont want to hide my swirls I want to get rid of them. Im just looking for some direction, and maybe a list of products that I need to purchase to get my car to look right.
Or would I just be better off finding a qualified detailer to do it for me? My only thought process here is that I probably wont need swirls taken off more than once every few years...right?
Swirls on a Vette are not good, typically, if deep, they will not come out with a PC with even the most harsh compounds with the most harsh pads..........trust me. You will end up compounding it 3-4 times and still not be satified.......
You will need a rotary, but I wouldnt' buy one if you've never used a PC.
Honest opinion, take it to a pro. detailer who's got a good rep. have him deswirl it and then you just maintain the like new condition with the PC.
Get the PC, an orange pad, a couple white pads, and a couple black pads.
3M or Menzerna Compounds (orange or yellow pads) and Polishs (white pad)
Zaino sealent you already have (white or black pads)
And like you, I had obsessed over the swirls. Bottom line, you'll spend more time and effort trying to get rid of them to no avail. I've tried a PC with Menzerna Intense and Finishing Polish and had very good results. However, with a PC it takes a LONG time and you still get minimal results. I never trusted myself with a rotary and figure I'd just make matters worse.
I recommend this.
Find a professional detailer in your area. I found a hell of a good detailer locally using the regional section of Autopia's forums. Lots of very skilled pro and semi-pros over there who know what they are doing.
What I do is maintain the car as best/carefully as I can with Zaino and whatnot, and I plan on letting him fully detail my car once a year. I just had him do it this past November, which was a year after I got the car. It didn't look bad, but in direct sun the swirls drove me nuts. He was able to get out about 90% of the swirls, maybe more.
However, they are back already. Not to the degree they were before, because I'm a lot more careful with the surface than I was the first year I had the car, but they are back.
Learn to live with it. Learn to accept it and understand that 90% of people out there don't even notice them like you do on your own car. And realize that even though the swirls show up in sunlight, the car still looks gorgeous.
It's just not worth obsessing over and spending your time trying to eliminate them. It's impossible. You'll spend hours getting rid of them just to have them show up a week later.
Just use Zaino, keep it as clean as you can and enjoy driving it. Let a pro fully detail it once or even twice a year and don't burden yourself with trying to win an unwinnable battle.
And with that, here's some pics after different treatments:
Menzerna IP & FP with a PC:
Zaino:
After the Pro detailed it:
Last edited by ShockwaveGT; 02-23-2007 at 01:25 AM.
Sounds like a lot of great advice. I believe what Im going to do is put a few coast of Z5 on and see if Im happy with it. If it doesnt look better I'M going to go with have a professional detailer do it.
I guess only you can decide.
But my impression is that you are kind of itching to to this yourself, willing to buy the right products, and just need a nudge in the right direction. If so, don't abandon this as something only a pro can do...
take the plunge, get the pC7424, orange pad, white pad, Menzerna Intensive Polish and Zaino PC fusion. Read all you can in here and other forums, and get out there and do it.
If you're willing to try, you will find just what others have said
you WILL make an impact on your swirls, and this will be very rewarding to know that you can fix them yourself anytime you want to.
progress will be slow - so don't hesitate to use the orange pad and MIP at 5.5 or 6.
the swirls will come right back - so give up on the idea that you can make it perfect. Instead, rely on Z5Pro or similar product to FILL the minute swirls to 95% perfection, and don't lose sleep over the rest
Not a bad idea to limit yourself to polishing twice a year with the PC. You really cannot remove any measurable clearcoat with the PC, but still if you're doing it every month, it's just too much.
The pro's are always there if you have a major league problem (like a heart attack), but learn to treat the 95% of common problems yourself (common cold) without their help - you'll feel confident knowing that you can do it rather than being dependent.
I would hate to steer you one way or the other, there are advantages to both doing it yourself and taking it to a pro. Since I have a black car (which is the worst) and am a typical Type A personality, swirls, blemishes and scratches used to drive me nuts. I have had fair success w/ some of the products mentioned above so my paint is far from a disaster (still learning) but hardly perfect. Something happened to me last summer that really puts this in perspective though. Our club was helping w/ a charitable event and one of the other members asked me "How do you keep a black car looking so nice, it is always shiny and clean". Of course I'm standing there thinking "if only you knew what it
really looked like up close and under the halogens". The point is, if you don't have a real train wreck and make an honest effort at keeping it nice, 90-95% of the people aren't going to notice all those areas that drive us nuts. With that said, I wouldn't be afraid to tackle doing it yourself. Bugman hit on the products I use, orange pads, Menzerna IP and FP to remove blemishes, but there are many more that work well too. There is a sense of satisfaction doing it yourself. Also, plenty of people on here can give you good advice. If you just can't stand the idea of blemishes, take it to the pro! Good luck whichever way you go.
Corvette Store
Black with Swirls...HELP!
