oldbuckster Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 The real trick is to own a Black vehicle and Polish with Meguiars No.7, then wax with whatever brand you choose, and not have swirl marks, can't be done by hand. Polishing, and waxing are two different steps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boom3 Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 I know this is not esoteric stuff...but I have good results with NuFinish. I tried EagleOne carnuba wax at the suggestion of a friend. Hs car is garaged, mine is not. I think the subtropical sunlight breaks down the carnuba too fast. The NuFinish holds up much better. Speaking of glass, there used to be a product called Glass Wax that was very effective, but not sold as a rain repellent. I have not seen it lately, though. What do yall use on exterior black rubber and plastic? Seems like all the black exterior plastic I've seen turns gray after a few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted June 3, 2006 Author Share Posted June 3, 2006 Glass Wax......haven't heard of that one. The Chrome/Glass polish does something to the glass so rain beads up real small and makes for a clearer view during a rain. Mothers also makes some stuff called "Back to Black" that makes flat colored trim just as black and new as can be. Just a little goes a long way and it is a little harder to buff than the the auto wax/polish. I'd think at least an annual maintenance of the trim is needed to keep it looking nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 There are products just for the black area, you should do black areas before you wax your vehicle, then the wax won't stain the black areas with white. Black Chrome cleaner, I think that's what Mothers calls it. Invisible Glass by Stoner products is great window cleaner, any of their products are good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 Several things... Speedball: On most products, I would agree with you. You do get quite a workout. With Zaino, the secret is: "LET IT DRY!" At least one hour or more. It then comes off without any elbow grease. The inital coat process in the Spring can be a bit lengthy (1 to 3 hours). But none of it is hard work. Subsequent coats for the remainder of the year can be done in short time: 15 minutes to apply / 10 minutes to remove along with the one hour wait in-between whenyou can go do something else...like watch the grass grow. [] oldbuckster: Zaino makes a hand-applied swirl and scratch remover called Z-5. I use it all the time and yes, it really does work. No buffer required (or desired). boom3: I used NuFinish, too back in the late 80's. It was amazing stuff. You just spread it on, let it dry and when you wiped it off it really seemed to restore good color and leave a reasonable shine. My issue with it is that it did not age well on my car. To maintain the shine after 2 or 3 washes (at least one hand wash per week) I would find myself re-applying more than once a month. For the money, I consider NuFinish an excellent product and fairly easy to find in stores. It seemed to work best on darker colors. Not so good on silver, gold, white, etc. The Glass Wax I remember was for cleaning windows. To get water to bead up small, I used to use RainX. Now, I spray Zaino Z-6 Gloss Enhancer on the glass. Both work well. But, RainX can tear up your wipers and wiper motor as it increases the wiper friction on the glass. Black areas: "Avoid Armor at all costs. It attacks plastic". That comes directly from automotive testing performed by General Electric (GE) Plastics back in the late 1980's and early 1990's. I use Extang Tonno Tonnic (based in Ann Arbor, Michigan) on most black areas and the I spray Eagle One Tire Wet on my tires and wipe them off with the foam pad that now comes with it so the tires don't sling the stuff all over the car's body. Zaino also makes a plastic dressing but I do not care for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSport Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 I was big into Meguiar's and Mothers about 5 years back...very good products and results can be gotten by these and others...I tried Zaino and thought it might be another hype product that couldn't deliver...at the time I had a Pontiac Bonneville SSE and a Corvette...both the same paint code (Pontiac called it Galaxy Silver Metallic and Corvette was QuickSilver)...I tried Zaino on the 'Vette and my beloved Meguiar's (Medallion products but the tan bottle #7 and Pure Carnuba as well...the synthetic Medallion just held up better to me) After finishing...clay bar, clean, polish wax-Meguiar's and clay bar, Z-1 (before ZFX) Z-5 and Z-2 topped with Z-6-Zaino Bros...they looked surprizingly similar...within a few weeks the Meguiar's was weak at PROTECTION...6 months later, the Zaino was still near new... My conclusion...I have not been able to find ANY product that PROTECTS better than Zaino Bros but it you don't mind waxing (some find it therapuetic) try some of the others and you will get nice results...for me, Zaino...Sal is easy to talk to...like some of you all here...he gets right back to you and is CONSTANTLY upgrading and updating his product... ...as for price...well I spent over a Hundred dollars for all the products I bought...car wash, polish (Z-2, Z-5), spritz, clay bar, leather cleaner, leather conditioner, rubber protectant BUT...my supplyhas lasted almost 5 years (and I still have some of it)...time for me to re-order! I usually get mine from Carl http://hcvind.com and it arrives in a couple of days. I don't find Zaino any harder to apply than anything else if you are doing all the prep steps and all...the ONLY problem I have with Zaino is my silver cars and Zaino doesn't really "haze" over so it can be difficult to actually see where I have applied it and where I might have missed...smells GREAT too! Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted June 3, 2006 Author Share Posted June 3, 2006 OldBuckster, The mothers stuff for black trim is called "Back to Black" and for chrome and black chrome it's "Chrome Polish" that does glass too. It's all good exercise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 last of the tech wax. It looks good to me. Is your friend thought about hand modeling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 I have been using Mcguires and that invisible glass stuff is great too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 Can't forget Elle, for her I use Zanio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 I guess the real point is to have a vehicle that's nice enough to deserve all the attention, not matter what products you use.My only real question ; Do you have a hard time putting those crossovers in your speaker cabinets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 last of the tech wax. It looks good to me. Is your friend thought about hand modeling? that's my hand btw, but thanks haha some girls have told me I had beautiful hands for real..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 Picky, I to use RainX rainwash fluid and find it great to be driving at 70 mph in the rain with no windshield wipers. I just hate the fact that you need to drive 70 mph for it to be effective enough to stop using the windshield wipers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 I've not tried the RainX washer fluid, but a buddy of mine uses it religiously and swears by it. He owns a Mustang GT convertible and rarely drives BELOW 70 MPH so I would imagine it works really well for him! [] BTW: The buddy I mentioned is Dan Kmiecik, the guy who took all the photos for our Home Theater magazine article. He really is a "lead-foot"! [] He uses Zaino products, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 Oh you use the rain x application that you apply to the window manually? I just buy the windshiled wash which is about a dollar more than regular blue ones (rain x is pink or green for bug remover). But I prefer that over the hand application because when you apply the hand applicator like my brother did once, it does cause a chatter and more friction to the windshield blade. The blade we had lasted two month!!! There was in the earlier versions of rain x something that actually ate the rubber. The new formula though does not hurt the rubber blades. Also with your frind and the Mustang GT, does he use the wipers when it rains? I mean sometimes when I am on the highway and it rains but does not pour to turn the window wipers off and let the rain x bead the windshield and let the air blow it right off. You need to drive atleast 60 mph for it to work effective enough to see. But then again I guess it could be how angled the glass is since my glass is quite angled, I can see less aerodynamic cars to have more of an advantage ( I am not saying the Mustang is not aerodynamic). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 Jay: You are correct: I USED to use the application-type RainX, but stopped for the reasons that you mention, plus that friction made the wiper motor burn-out on my Bronco, back when I had it. I just spray Zaino Z-6 on the glass now. But, I don't mind using my wipers. The Z-6 allows me to see while using the wipers on intermittent settings instead of constant. The wipers seems to work more efficient and just glide over the glass, hopefully leaving fewer scratches. I'll have to talk to my friend. I don't know much about how fast he must go in the Mustang before the RainX washer solvent works. I'll ask him. Bringing back the discussion about Glass Wax for a moment; back when I was in the Corvette club (NCRS), one of our detailing tips was to use Glass Wax because it really made the glass shine and then to rub bunched-up newsprint from your daily newspaper to buff the glass. I guess it had to do with the ink residue in the newsprint that would make the glass appear even shinier. I haven't used that method in years, nor to I buy Glass Wax any more. I don't believe it is available any longer. As a kid, my folks would buy Christmas window stencils at the grocery store for the front windows of our house. And it was a big deal back then to stencil the Christmas shapes (Christmas Trees, Presents, Holly, Snowmen, etc.) onto the inside of the glass by taping the stencil to the glass and then using a sponge to dab Glass Wax on the holes of the stencil. When dry, Glass Wax dries to a thick, white-clouded haze. Remove the stencil and the Christmas shape would appear on the glass. It was a cheap way of decorating for the holidays and fun for us kids. -Oops! My age is showing! [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 Here's an old photo of my 1991 Ford Bronco the day I sold it in 2000. It was 9 years old and that shine is from Zaino! Tires were done with Eagle One Tire Wet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 With the Newspaper thing, its not really bad to clean glass with the newspapers. In NYC the homeless would used to do that until Guiliani cracked down on it. I remember once we ran out of Paper towels and was cleaning, so my mother got a newspaper and resumed. I was like ummmm..... Ink! surprisingly it makes a clean swipe, I guess something with the type of paper that matts when its wet and forms lots of fluff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSport Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 I believe it is the black ink that acts like a fine pumice to polish the glass... Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted June 4, 2006 Author Share Posted June 4, 2006 Newspaper and vinegar cleans hydraulic fluid off glass very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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