I have a 95 camaro, ever since i have had it the paint has ALWAYS been as smooth as a baby's butt.....this weekend i stayed at a friends house, where my car was outside...this neighborhood is brand new, so they are still building houses on his street=LOTS of dirt! Anyways now after this weekend my car feels like sand paper!

what do i need to do?...wax a couple of times?...or clay bar?

thanks in advance!



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Johnny M.
Black 95 3.8l CAMARO A4
Enough mods.....for now, hehehe!
My RIDE
"I promise, it IS a v6!"

 

Contamination build-up is inevitable. I clayed both of my SS's right off the truck, even on a brand new car it makes a big difference in the smoothness. I'd clay it.

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Kevin Villier, 2002 SS #186 - 6M with Hurst and "short-stick", TT, navy blue, chrome SS wheels, Bilstein suspension, SS grill, STB, SLP loudmouth, Direct-Flo lid with Holley filter and Mallory polished MAF ends.

Louisville, KY

 

Yep, sounds like a buildup of dust, dirt, and/or contamination. A clay bar will for sure clean it up, but what type wax or polish are you using? Carnauba based waxes dont help at repelling dust or dirst very much and in fact may attract it. Consider a synthetic like Zaino or similar and you'll get much much better protection from the sun and the elements, plus a superior shine.

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**Mike's 92 RS 25th**
92 RS 25th Anniv. Dark Red Metallic (Brillant Red)/ Flame Red
Flowmaster Crossflow, K&N
JL Audio 3 10", PPI PC2100, Kenwood eXcelon KRC-953 H/U, Kenwood 4x6 Dash, Pioneer 4 way 6x9's
20% 3M Panther Black Tint
Zaino, Zaino, Zaino!

I also love playin' guitar! My Guitar Site!

 

I'm going to have to disagree here. You may or may not know this but clay bars are abrasive The less often I have to hit my car with an abrasive the better. If you're not using zaino (I don't) then keep a bottle of meguiars #34 final inspection in the back of your car at all times. If your car gets dusty then dust it off real good and spray it down with the gloss/wax enhancer and it will prevent contaminants from bonding to your paint you won't need to clay bar it. Also, carnuba waxes (which are diluted forms of a product that is, in it's natural state, harder than concrete - I don't think zaino can claim this one) do protect against sun and contaminants just as well as zaino. Then if you use some acrylic polymers (sealants) in conjunction with your carnuba wax you'll get a shine just as good as zaino and great protection also. Just keep your car well waxed and when it gets dirty or rained on then spray it down with some #34. And don't clay bar it unless you absolutely must. People go way to overboard with that stuff.


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~Will
96 Z28
"fastanuff!"

 

Actually, no, clay is NON-abrasive. An abrasive is something that removes a thin layer of paint to achieve results. Clay will NOT remove clear coated paint or even thin the layers down. This is taken directly from Meguiar's site: The system includes a specially formulated non-abrasive clay bar that safely lifts off the contaminants as the surface is lubricated with Quik Detailer.

And, here's Zaino's clay bar info: Z-18 is non-abrasive and works like no cleaner, compound or chemical can and is safe for use on all paint finishes.

Clay works totally differently than just a "Final Inspection" spray. Sprays are great IF your finish is already smooth and contaminant free. But, once those contaminants bond to the surface, a simple spray will not take them off. I've only fully clayed my car once, years ago, and have never needed to since. If any paint, new or old, has never been clayed, it's a MUST for ultra smooth, contaminant-free paint.

While carnauba may or may not be harder than concrete, it is not optically perfect, or even close for that matter. So, carnauba will distort the true color of a finish, especially dark colors. I know this is true from first hand experience using Meguiar's product for years. After going to Zaino, it was like my paint changed colors, it's true color. And, while carnauba may be a hard wax, it's protection generally doesn't last longer than 1 month. Again, I know this from first hand experience. You'll find youself waxing much more often and expending much more effort trying to keep carnuaba on the paint, versus 1 or 2 coats of Zaino lasting several months before another coat is actually needed. And hard isn't always better. Carnauba is also very brittle. It will literally melt off your paint is the summer months. How's that for protection? Zaino is not brittle and will not melt. So, who needs "hardness?"

Why go to all the effort of applying multiple Meguiar's products and a sealant when you can simply apply one coat of Zaino and have superior shine, superior protection, superior application and removal, and long lasting results. I've come from using Meguiar's as my main product for years, but now there's just absolutely no comparison to Zaino. It's like night and day really. When I think of how much effort it took to get just average results with Meguiar's, I dont honestly know how I put up with it that long.

But hey, use what works best and easiest for you...


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**Mike's 1992 RS 25th**
'92 Camaro RS 25th Anniv. Dark Red Metallic (Brillant Red)/ Flame Red
Flowmaster Crossflow, K&N
JL Audio 3 10", PPI PC2100, Kenwood eXcelon KRC-953 H/U, Kenwood 4x6 Dash, Pioneer 4 way 6x9's
20% 3M Panther Black Tint
Zaino, Zaino, Zaino!

I also love pickin' guitar! My Guitar Site!

[This message has been edited by MikeLS (edited October 31, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by MikeLS (edited October 31, 2001).]

 

I'm no big advocate of meguiars. I just use what products work. Meguiars has some good, some bad. Look, I don't think clay is abrasive like rubbing compound but it is still abrasive, it smooths out the hills of your paint (on a microscopic level) and you have to use A LOT of lubricant for it to work correctly. If you don't lubricate your paint enough it can be damaging. All this is in complete disregard to manufacturer's claims, I know but I don't always believe what is on the bottle. I do agree with you that you only need to clay/clean your paint once and then keep a good coat of wax on it to keep it protected. That's exactly what I do, whenever the paint is not as smooth as glass then I wax it again. I was just suggesting that in the future black v6 should save himself the time and the trouble of claying or cleaning and just keep a good protective layer on his car in the first place and then spray it down when it needs it (this is what you're suggesting also ). We're in agreement on that one I think. Now, I'm going to have to agree with you on carnuba wax "melting" off your car, it can and will in the hot summer months (I live in FL!) that just means you re-apply it. But, it will not distort your car's color if you have a high grade wax - go try some pinnacle for $8 and ounce that stuff costs $80 per bottle! It will not distort your cars color. I find that much cheaper one grand blitz wax $15 per can doesn't distort my car's color either (but my car is black). As far as protection, I use acrylic polymers - meguiar's selant and klasse sealant glaze, then I follow up with a coat or two of carnuba wax for shine. The acrylic polymers will last six months or more with ease! I call that long lasting protection. Then I follow up with a good carnuba waxing at least once per month. This process protects well against the elements and the sun and it shines beautifully. Look, I don't mean to flame any zaino users here, I think zaino is great stuff I just think old fashioned waxing has awesome potential too. Too many people here are lemmings and just use zaino or clay or whatever 'cause everybody else does and they don't research what all is out there at all.

edit: Zaino is not as convenient as it seems either. You have to buy the whole damn kit, including the car wash. This means you throw out what ever car care stuff you have laying around because it's not compatible with zaino. You also have to put on multiple coats of zaino (just like I do with wax): one or more coats of-----> Z1 Z2 Z5 Z6 Z7. Doesn't sound like it's vastly easier and more convenient than waxing to me.
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~Will
96 Z28
"fastanuff!"

[This message has been edited by Lost (edited October 31, 2001).]

 

I certainly see where you're coming from. I've used enough carnauba over the years to know it's ins and outs. It was just my observation that my paint did in fact change a deeper and richer shade of red after stripping the Meguiar's and puttting on the first coat of Zaino.

I'd say that Zaino is actually more conveinent once you're fimilar with it. You dont even have to buy the whole kit to get stunning results. When I started with Z, I just got Z1/2/ and 5, because I was as skeptic as the next person coming from carnauba. I even washed my car for a while with Meguiar's soap, with no adverse effects. After I saw that the results were amazing I ordered Z7 and Z6 etc... And, you really dont have to apply multiple coats of Z to get outstanding results. One application of Z1 and Z2 or Z5 will last for months, literally. The reason you may hear that we apply so many coats is because it simply looks sweeter after every coat. But, multiple coats are not necessary, just a benefit. I always found that I had to literally scrub Meguiar's on and off and I was dead tired after ONE coat. I did find Mediallion to be about the easiest Meg product to apply/remove though, although still harder than Z. So, it took me the whole day to go through the entire Meguiar's process i.e. cleaner/swirl remover/polish/wax. With Zaino, I can coat the whole car in about 15 minutes, let it dry about 30 depending on the temp, and remove (the whole car) in about 5 minutes. To me, that's vastly easier and conveinent. No scrubbing to remove it either, just a quick wipe, and that makes all the difference...

I do agree that people should do research on any product, be it wax, new cars, guns, or whatever really. I always do research before I make a significant purchase and I'd hope others do as well. So far my research has led me to Zaino as being the best for the buck, until something better comes along. Everyone should use what they like and what works best for them though...

 

Okay. Agreed

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~Will
96 Z28
"fastanuff!"

 

One day when I was Zainoing my car, a guy who was interested in Zaino came by and we ended up completely doing his car too, dawn, clay, polish and Z-6. He pretty much bought the entire line of products from me on the spot.

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Kevin Villier, 2002 SS #186 - 6M with Hurst and "short-stick", TT, navy blue, chrome SS wheels, Bilstein suspension, SS grill, STB, SLP loudmouth, Direct-Flo lid with Holley filter and Mallory polished MAF ends.

Louisville, KY