I need to wash my car already! Any reccomendations

I was glad to see this topic had changed to weather as I could not imagine how it got to 8 pages just on washing the car. You wash it every year, right??

I was just thinking of my last snow trip this morning. I had picked up my mom in Vermont for her move here in California. Someone decided that I would lead the last of a few brave souls down the freeway near Santa Rosa New Mexico in a blinding storm. I was so happy to finally see the police block where they were closing the road and being in front of everyone made it easy to get the last hotel room! That was with her 91 Corolla.

It still amazes me at how foolish Southern California drivers are in both fog and rain!

 

Thanks Priusenvy... those are excellent comments....
my first thought was to just use less dawn?.. but when you brought in the alkalinity issues it made more sense... and I suppose using less would just not clean as well. It makes sense that they want to strip absolutely everything to clean dishes.

OK.. here is your next chance to blow away my old habits....

What do you think about nu-finish? and is there a similiar product you would rather use?....I tend to avoid waxes since there is so much maintenance to keep it up... although they are really nice is you don't mind the time.

thanks again....

 

I mean the non-touchless washes. The ones that either have brushes, or the heavy cloth that moves back and forth while it's draged across your car. They collect dirt, and the fibers themselves are hard enough to scratch your paint.

Even the touchless washes can scratch your paint before the first stage where the attendants are soaping and sponging down your car.

At least 95% of the cars I see every day (at work, at the mall, wherever I might see a parked car) have swirls. If you haven't noticed the same, then it just doesn't matter to you and you've never noticed, or you don't know what to look for.

 

I would never use a combination cleaner. Well, that's not entirely true, because I use Klasse All-In-One, but it has very mild cleaning abilities. I don't know much about Nu-Finish. Don't they advertise as being able to restore a badly weathered finish? You don't remove lots of oxidation without some pretty powerful chemical cleaners and abrasives. And those are absolutely not what you want in a product that you apply regularly to protect your paint. You want something that is pure wax or sealant, with no cleaning properties. So as I've said before, I think I'd rather drink it than let it touch the paint on my car.

The one thing Zaino has going for it is it's longevity. It outlasts every other sealant I've tried, including Klasse, Blackfire, and Four Star. It's also really hard to get a rich, deep gloss on light colors, so Zaino's main weakness is basically neutralized on light colors. So I don't have a problem recommending Zaino if it's longevity you care most about, or you are applying it on a light color (white, silver, driftwood pearl). On a darker color, there are better products if you care about appearance, and a rich, deep gloss, as opposed to a shiny surface with high reflectivity. Blackfire gives some of the richness of a carnauba on dark colors, while maintaining the longevity of a synthetic sealant.

Before I could recommend a product, I'd need to know:

1) what color is your vehicle?
2) how much do you care about a show-car finish?
3) how much work are you willing to put into it?
4) where do you park your car, at home and at work?

Every product is a compromise, the trick is to select the product whose strengths and weaknesses are the best match for what's important and not important to you.

These premium products may cost considerably more than what you'd pay Nu Finish, but if you calculate the cost per application, it's hardly worth counting. It takes about 1/2 oz of Zaino or Klasse to cover a Prius. That's like $1 per coat of Zaino.

The other thing I'll add is that over 95% of all cars look like crap, and the products you can buy at the local Pep Boys or Kragen are designed for the 95% of people who either don't care or don't know any better. If you're one of them, don't listen to me. You'll save money, and have a lot more free time on your hands. When you find out how good you can make a car appear, it becomes an addiction. Every car you own has to be spotless and have a perfect, swirl-free finish. Then the appearance of the cars of your friends and other family members starts to bother you, and you wind up detailing their cars too.

 

I would LOVE a recommendation. I'm so confused!

1) I have a brand spankin' new Barcelona RED
2) I would love to keep car looking like it did when I picked it up a day ago
3) As much as necessary and as little as possible
4) I mostly park in the garage - live in Northern NJ

 

All I know is you can put nu-finish one with "very" little effort and it bonds and when you wipe it off.. its nice and shiney underneath. I'm not sure about the abrasive qualities because it does really remove stuff well like tar, oxidation, and grime that won't wash off.... but it must doing it chemically?.. I don't know?

That means alot.. I live in a climate that sucks most of the year... as do many.... and I'm not into going out in the mist and rain to keep my car looking good.
If it will work long enough that once I find a decent day, and the time, I can redo it again, then thats good for me.
But the dishwashing detergent I have used "just a little" has probrably shortened the life expectancy of any type of protectant I've used in the past.

Barcelona Red and Silver Pine Mica

Not enough to make it a bondage to keep it looking nice

I don't mind a little work as long as its not every 2 - 3 weeks. It would be really nice to have something that would last at least 3 months surviving hand car washes....I don't like the auto washes... those big felt strips and have residue and dirt from the nasty vehicle before yours, that acts like wet sandpaper.

both outside, although I'm trying to get my garage cleaned out for home. If I really wanted to walk farther I have access to a parking garage at work.

thats sounds good!.... you might have me sold!

Ha!... sounds like me with computers!

I'm sure detailing a car will take much less time than what I spend fixing computers!
I turn them away now all the time.....lifes too short.... enough's anough!

 

Prius envy.. here is a faq page on nu-finish
http://www.nufinish.com/faq.html

NuFinish vs Zaino comparison on cars that aren't garaged;
http://forum.miata.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb....f=9;t=000664;p=

Below are quotes from this discussion:

Here is a negative to Zaino:

Here is a rebuttal to the above comment:

Here is a review:
http://www.miata.net/products/body/nu_finish.html
As stated in the review.. it does tend to turn the rag you use the color of the paint on your car.. expecially if its oxidized.... not sure if thats good or bad, but it does it with very little elbow grease.

http://www.epinions.com/content_4289896580
This guy feels pretty pro about it.

Another interesting discussion about nufinish
http://www.usedcarmart.co.uk/forum/archive...php/t-3583.html

http://www.cartalkcanada.com/forum/index.p....msg204687.html
this states the protection is good and lasts a long time, but the shine is not the best.

http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultima...33;t=000242;p=0
A very good discussion here>....

http://www.autobarn.net/chnf-76.html

My conclusions:
All in all it sounds like Nufinsh is pretty good stuff for the money... I see no need to use something that will take off the top surface of paint if the paint is good. It sounds like and based on my experience, the paint does not really come off on your rag unless its oxidized and needs to come off.
Both Zaino and nufinish seem to share these qualities as a polymers. If both products only remove "old" paint then I could see the benifit of using them both. New paint does not need removing... old dried paint does.

A new car finish probrably needs something that will protect the new paint well. Possibly zaino and nufinish would do well.. however zaino appears to have a beter shine, nufinish may last longer or at least be a toss up "which isn't bad for the money"

All in all, if Zaino is better.. I see it as a wise choice since it takes so little to cover a car.

But what haunts me is that it also only takes a tiny bit of nufinish to cover a car?
Is zaino just nufinish in a different bottle with a few other additives?
Its hard for me to say.

 

yikes, no paint came off our car when we zaino'd it.

 

This is worrisome.

A 1995 car should have a clearcoat. No way the towel should be able to remove paint unless there is no clear coat left. What happened to it?

I'm happy with my car.

As Mike at the Meguiar's Online forum says.....find what works and use it often.

Whatever works will depend on your car, the conditions of it's existence and what you want.

I want my daily driver to look nice. I have a garage. I don't mind washing and waxing often.

I'll probably modify the chart on the bottom of this page for my use. Since the car is new not all of this is needed and I have no chrome. (Thank you!)

Introduction to Car-Detailing

 

I thought that I would add my experiences with Nu Finish. I have used it for 5 years on my white S-10 truck, and many people think it is brand new (which is surprising since it has been replaced by a new model). I use it every 6 months and find it very easy to put on and take off. I'm amazed at how well it seems to work. I plan to use it on my new 06 silver Prius (scheduled to arrive within the next few weeks). I think the return on investment (in dollars and time) are very high. I like a nice looking finish, but don't like the idea of many steps and multi-applications. I guess that I like my HDTV, sports, computers, pets, etc., too much to dedicate a lot of time to car detailing. I personally think that Nu Finish strikes a nice compromise. This is my 2 cents worth on the subject.

Steve

 

Thats good to hear.... then maybe thats because your paint was in good shape?.... it would be disturbing indeed if it removed "good" paint.. but oxidized paint is already toast hiding the good paint underneath and needs to be removed.

 

I'm guessing the boat your in is full!.... Everybody wants a great looking car, but there are "alot" of things that tease our attention!... unless you can get into it so much that it becomes a religious experience for you, then NuFinish is like you say a nice comprimise!

I just wonder since nufinish has been out for so long if there is something better for the same effort?... but maybe not its hard to tell without testimonials
.. the new products get all the hype and marketing and are often no better.

And I really don't mind more effort as long as we don't start going into a multilevel process that takes all day.

I did appreciate your comments.... its by far the easiest to put on that I've ever seen and the results are fantastic!.. but I've never tried the new stuff either.

Welcome to the forum!

 

A lot of whites and blacks are still single-stage paints.

And some red cars have red-tinted clearcoat. So if you're using a polish (not Z2 or Z5, only Zaino ZPC is a polish), you can get some red color on your applicator or buffing towels.

 

Whoever wrote that is clueless.

Don't get your information from a Miata or any other vehicle-specific forum. Go to the detailing forums at roadfly.org, autopia.org, or detailcity.com. Most of those posting in the vehicle forums are as clueless as the ones posting here (sorry, but it's true). The people who really know what they're doing, and really know their products hang out in the detailer forums, not here, or in similar vehicle forums.

 

Relax, Zaino Z-2 and Z-5 are pure sealant. No cleaners, no polishes, no abrasives.

Only the truly clueless believe otherwise.

 

Black is the color that can most benefit from something better than Zaino. And since you've stated you're willing to do the work that's needed, here's my recommendation.

First, I'm going to assume you're starting off with perfect paint. No swirls

and no micro-marring



You should do the baggie test (put you fingers inside a thin plastic sandwich bag and run your fingers lightly over the hood) to determine whether you need to clay first. Then if you do have swirls or marring, you'll have to find a professional detailer who really knows his stuff to remove them.

My recipe for black cars is Blackfire Gloss Enhancing Polish, followed by multiple coats of Pinnacle Souveran. However, I have seen a black Bentley that had Vanilla Moose glaze applied by machine, followed by Pinnacle Souveran applied by hand, and it looked amazing. It had a deep, deep liquid gloss, not the cheap looking surface shine and silvery reflections you get with Zaino.

The bad news here is that Pinnacle Souveran wax only lasts about 1/3 as long as a good sealant. You will have to reapply wax every four weeks, and you'll probably want to supplement that with a quick detail with spray wax every other time you wash your car, which should be at least once a week (you did understand the commitment you were signing up for when you chose a black car, didn't you?).

Every week: hand wash
Every two weeks: quick detail with Pinnacle Crystal Mist spray wax
Every month: Reapply two coats of Pinnacle Souveran
Every six months: Strip the wax off with Dawn and do everything all over again, starting with the Blackfire

This is clearly a lot of work, but you did say you wanted a show car finish, and were willing to put in the time. Oh yeah, Souveran is $70 per can.

 

It sounds like longevity is the overriding concern, especially since your vehicle isn't garaged at all. In that case, even though your car is red, I would recommend Zaino. It's what I put on my SUV. The thing is too damn big and too much work to regularly detail, and I only put a couple hundred miles on it per month, and it sits outside all the time. So I put the longest lasting product I know of on it, and for now, that's Zaino.

 

This is my last input to this thread.

Zaino is by far the best product *I* have ever use, and ive used everything from Meguires, to NuFinish, to 3M etc.

You find me anything that in California more specific, the Central Valley that can take the abuse of the elements like Zaino and I will happily switch.

We have days in the summer where it very easily is 116F (no lie) in the sun. Try putting anything on your paint that wont vaporize in that. Yet my Zaino holds up like a champ.

I find its not hard at all to apply, even if you mix in thr accelerator. I see it as a little extra work is worth a lasting result.

 

You might have some credibility if you said you'd tried Klasse, 4 Star, Blackfire, ClearKote, Pinnacle, P21S or PoorBoy's. As such, all you've done is compared Zaino to some crappy auto parts store brands.

Also, you have a white car. Light colors aren't capable of showing off the differences in depth of gloss and liquidity of different products like a dark color can. Light colors also hide swirls and other defects.