blacktl06

I have a month-old NBP 06 TL.
What should I do to protect the paint job?

I did not get the dealer offered paint protection nonsense.

I have heard about "paint hardeners", polymers, etc.
I'd love to be able to Zaino the car, but I'm not sure I have the time to do that...

What are your recommendations?!

RockBlocker

Get a clear bra for it to prevent chipping on the front end. Other than that hang back in traffic and wax teh vehicle often. try to wash it as little as you can. I personally wash mine every two weeks or more, but dust daily. We just dont get a lot of rain so I can get away with it

AcuraTL06

I totally agree with the clear bra. Right before I had the chance to get the clear bra, I found a deep nick on my front bumper...

lembowski

iTrader: (1)

No time? You don't have 4hrs on a Saturday afternoon to clean your car?

1) Your first line of action is never take you car to an automatic carwash.....repeat NEVER
2) When drying the vehicle use a nice waffleweave towel that is non abrassive.........terry cloth isn't soft enough
3) Use a hardshell wax like zaino is your best bet for not getting a spiderweb coat on your car.
4) Invest in a PorterCable to keep the car looking pristine

Black is a hard color to maintain, after having 3 previous black vehicles I made the change to a low maintaince Silver

laidback93

I try to hold off washing my NBP, but I can't stand to look at it when it's dirty. Of course I think I've put more swirls in since I usually wash it once a week.

Definitely do wax regularly! Be sure to hand wash it at home with decent products. I went out and bought myself a new cotton chenille mit(although I wish I would have bought a wool one now), and a new micro fiber waffle weave drying towel. I also bought a big pack of MF towels from Costco. I use Meg's Gold Class car wash which I really like.

Never ever take it to an automated wash!

Those are all things you can do to prevent scratches and swirls, but you have a black car and no matter how hard you try they will be inevitable. Those thing will just slow down the process.

RockBlocker

I hear and see that all the time

Inaccurate

BEST ADVICE !!!!! Except #4. NO PorterCable for a beginner. A non-experienced could possiblily SCREWUP their paint within seconds with a PorterCable. And, you don't want to gain experience using the PorterCable on your TL.
.
Other than the PorterCable, "lembowski" has spoken the Gospel !!!!!

Here is a "wash/wax" forum from which you can learn how to properly wash and care for your black car. I will give you some motivation to learn - Black car show paint damage the easiest of all colors. Seriously, I recommend that you don't even wash your car (not even by hand - just leave it dirty) UNTIL YOU LEARN PROPER WASH TECHNIQUES from the web site linked below.

And Zaino is not hard to use. Poeple just go overboard with it. Just use Zaino like you would any other wax, and you will be okay (hell a lot better than any other wax brands)

http://autopia.org/forum/

Inaccurate

Some followup thoughts...

For now until you learn more, just order two bottles of Zaino "Z2" from
http://www.zainostore.com/

Order some "microfiber" towels from
http://www.autogeek.net/mitoco.html

Do not wash or apply wax with other cloths or anything else. YOU MUST BUY MICROFIBERS. And, NOT microfibers from walmart, Target, etc.

tidus888

this will be total bs... but anyways....


just clean the car... put a cover on it.... and dun drive it =)

that sure will protect the paint

Inaccurate

I will let the orginal poster decide who is full of it.

Back to my lecture (darn timeout)...

Some followup thoughts...

For now until you learn more, just order two bottles of Zaino "Z2" from
http://www.zainostore.com/

Order some "microfiber" towels from
http://www.autogeek.net/mitoco.html

Do not wash or apply wax with other cloths or anything else. YOU MUST BUY MICROFIBERS. And, NOT microfibers from walmart, Target, etc.

This advice is the bare minimium. YOU MUST learn proper wash technique (search "two bucket method" at linked provided for Autopia.org) AND you MUST use Microfibers.

To wash my TL, I use 40 (yes, forty) 100% USA Cotton baby dipiars (can purchase this from Walmart). Dampen the diaper in car shampoo, take one light swipe and then fold over diaper before taking another swipe. One diaper per panel (these are seperate panels: left hood, right hood, front door, back door, front left fender, front right fender, etc.). Never re-dunk the diaper into the wash solution..only a clean diper gets dunk into shampoo before using. If you drop it, throw it in the dirty pile.

And I dry with approx 20 microfibers. One microfiber rag per panel.

By the way, I have been reading about Detailing for 11 months (side hobby). That is, I have been religously reading Autopia.org for the past 11 months, and practicing the techniques learned from Autopia.org. Other regular poeple (non detailers) just do not realize how easy it is to damage a fine paint job. I am just trying to help you so that you don't damage your paint, then learn later the mistake that you made after you learned the proper techniques.

By the way, when I say "damage", I don't mine destroy. I mine that you will produce small tiny scratches that will appear under bright sunlight at certain angles. And overall, the paint will loss luster (shine) over time due to these micro-scratches.

sleeplessinny78

Damn.. I should have read this before taking mine to the car wash..
After an automatic carwash I see small scratches all over my car...

Inaccurate

Thank you for backing me up... but, I am sorry to hear that you had to suffer this faith. But, WITH PROPER KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE (Not on your TL), these microswirls / microscratches can be removed. But, do not attempt this yourself on your TL. Ask your parents/neigbor, girlfriend if you can detail their car for them. There is your ginnypig to expereiment on. Or, GET REFERENCES of a good detailer in your area.

tidus888

okay.. fine.. something useful now..
remember if you use anykind of towels to wash the car...that towel shouldn't be reused if you drop it on the ground... itz really hard to clear out the sand/sediment on the towel, thus causing light scratch mark on your car. =)
itz ok to go to auto car wash,, ,but make sure you use touchless.

Inaccurate

Well, I agree to an extent. But, if a person is really anal about their paint (and with a blackcar, you better be super anal), then a "touchless" is not good either. The high pressure will slam the film of grime/dirt/grit that is attached to your paint. The high pressure will very lightly scrap the grime/grit against your paint for a fraction of a second as it dislodges. And, light scraps mean very light swirls over time. Plus, some poeple say that the car wash system will recycle the water. So, it might not be clean water that gets sprayed against your fine paint job.. but gritty water (somewhat similair to bead blasting / sand blasting).

jetblakTL

I'm in the same boat as blacktl06. This car is so beautiful, I've got to find a way to protect it. 1 NYC winter could do irreparable damage. ClearBra is just too expensive. This is my 4th black car - I swore I would never do it again after #3 - so I'm familiar with cleaning techniques, but how the hell am I going to save the front end from highway debris. I was actually thinking of the dreaded regular bra, but I have the full underbody kit and I don't think a regular bra will fit. Gotta figure out something, quick. That 1st NYC snow storm is probably right around the corner.

Xpditor

The Porter Cable is a random orbiter polisher; not a high-speed rotary.

It is fairly idiot proof. It can't cause a "burn" like a rotary and is simple to use by a novice.

The worst thing you could do would be to have a dirty pad or drop the thing on the hood. Not likely, though.

The most common mistake people make with Zaino is using too much of it. Less than an ounce will do the whole car. You just spread it on lightly. There is no rubbing or polishing (Z2 has no abrasive). It is a polymer sealant, not a wax.

Hawhyen51

Visit the AZ Wash & Wax Forum and view the Car Care FAQ. I do agree Autopia probably has the best "How To" Library available online as most of the articles were written by detail guru David Bynum.

As far as surface protection - I would recommend a polymer for durability and longevity and there are a number of products available on the market. For front end protection, nothing beats PPF. I've had mine on for two years and no chips on the bumper and leading edge of the hood.

Choosing a product comes down to a personal choice. Take into consideration ease of use and satisfaction of results. For some, cost may be a factor and may consider OTC rather than online botique items. For products and accessories, see this thread for a list of manufacturers. The referred thread also has a listing of Online Detail sites and forums. A lot of info can be obtained from those sites. The Wash & Wax forum has a number of people (Exceldetail, TOGWT, JackieO, JoeRocket, to name a few) who are knowledgeable and experienced dedailers.

FWIW, you picked the most head turning exterior color expecially when it's pristine. However, you will have to dedicate a fair amount of time to maintain it. Good Luck with your choices and have fun detailing .......

Before I forget ...... Hi Chad! How's things goin?

geekybiker

Wow.... I mean I appreciate shiny paint and all, but that is just a little OCD....


Honestly the if you buy a real wool wash mitt, to wash, microfiber towels to dry, never let any of it touch the groud, and a descent sealer like NXT you'll do fine.

Hawhyen51

Actually the PC is very user friendly. You won't screw up the paint unless you initiate some sort of action. If you follow the techniques provided in Autopia's "How To" library, your chances of success is 100%. The hardest task is finding and using pad & product combinations for polishing. With use comes experience.

I believe this should have been posted in the Wash & Wax forum and probably got a lot more resposnes .........

LacViet

I too have NBP, and I found that PC is very easy to use and very effective method to remove swirls with minimal time providing that you use correct pads and products. Since I love Meguiar's stuffs, here are some info:
How to article: http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums...splay.php?f=33

Using PC to remove swirls: http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums...ead.php?t=2965

5 steps paint cycle: http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums...&threadid=2409

Inaccurate

See what I mean. We Zaino advocates go OVERBOARD. I used Z for the past year. I love the stuff.

You KNOW that there is NO DANGER or harm in using too much. DON'T MAKE Z SOUND DAMN DIFFICULT TO USE !!!! So what, a person is wasting it... who cares. But, I do care about scaring poeple away from Zaino becuase others make it sound soooo difficult.

Let a first-time Zaino user apply too much. So what. They will learn later. There is no harm in using too much. There is harm in impling that Zaino is hard to use.

And with comments like "It is a polymer sealant, not a wax." Who cares. Don't scare poeple away. You KNOW that a first-time user of Z can think that it is a wax. It is applies the same as a wax. Spread on, let dry, buff off. Stop scaring poeple that may not know the difference between a wax and a sealant. The important thing is to make a beginner feel comfortable with trying Zaino.

Inaccurate

True to an extent. But, what happens as the mit gets dirty from grime. Is all of the grime removed during the rinsing before you take another swipe along the surface. I wonder if a small piece of grit got embedded into the mit fiber and failed to get rinsed off. Hummm.

Inaccurate

Woops.. I painted myself into a corner. One on hand, I complain about someone making Zaino sound difficult to use. Then, on the other hand, I make it sound too difficult to just wash the car.

Sorry.

The advice about the wool mit is great advice. With my comments about the mit holding grit, I was just trying to explain why I use 40 diapers. The 40 diapers is a very advanced (ok, overboard) method to washing. I am not saying that a beginner needs to wash the car using 40 diapers. A wool mit is great.

Xpditor

It's not dangerous, per se, but Zaino is expensive and you have to mix it before use. You can't save the mixed Zaino for very long.

And, when I first used it, I DID use too much and it was a bitch to polish as it left a dull haze. I called Sal Zaino and he said to just Zaino it again but with very little amounts. Now, I am more careful to spread it on thinly.

Zaino is also better for some colors than others. On black, it leaves a glossy, but silvery finish. It is not as "deep" as carnauba wax. But, you can top it with carnauba for the extra depth.

I'm not here to promote Zaino and I don't feel the need to mislead people to try it. Sealants are better than waxes and last longer. They are also easier to apply. If that scares people, oh well......

If it wasn't better than wax products, I wouldn't be using it.

Hawhyen51

My I haven't read anything in this thread that would scare people from using Zaino. Everything said here has pretty much been said on other threads. The idea is to inform, educate and assist individuals on how to use and apply the product. That much I'm pretty sure we can agree on. I think people should be given choices and should be informed of the differences between LSPs whether or not it's natural or synthetic as well as the pros and cons of each. Let them choose the product they desire to use. What you use may not be the ideal product for someone else.

Xpditor

I've let this thread go on too long. It properly belongs in the Wash & Wax section. Since we cannot move it there, I am closing it.

If you want to continue on this topic go to Wash & Wax.