Is my process ok?

[gchristopher9]

Hey guys, new to the forum and trying to plan out my first major detail of the year. Been reading autopia for few days now trying to do my homework. I do still have some questions, but I think I have a good starting point. Wanted to run it by the pro's and see what everyone though. Feedback is greatly appreciated.



First step would be to clay with z-18. Used this last year with great results. Next I'm going to use the UDM I'm going to order with some Zaino AIO. I dont have tons of swirls that i can see, with the car being silver, so i figure that this will be fine to use with a white foam pad. Next I think I should use a black pad to apply the mothers glaze that i bought at the end of the last year and never had a chance to use. Not 100% sure if this is the correct second step, but i think i'm on the right track. Lastly i have some mothers carnuba cleaner wax, but i dont think this is what i what to finish up with. it seems people like the mequiars nxt 2.0, so i'm gonna try this and apply with a red pad.



now for my questions. do i want to be using glaze between the aio and wax? are the glaze and wax both removed with microfiber towles? or will i get better results with w MF bonnet on the UDM? am i correct in stating that the cleaner wax is not the right choice here? from what i gather this would be more of a one step job, when i dont have time to do the AIO and glaze first.



i'm a newb to serious detailing so please be gentle, but provide any useful feedback. product recommendations are also good, but please dont bombard me with an endless list of acronyms that i might not be familiar with just yet.



Also, i am looking for some products to clean/dress my engine bay and wheel weels. I am leaning towards mequiars hyper dressing, after cleaning with simple green and a variety of brushes. What do you guys think?

 

[Accumulator]

Hey guys, new to the forum and trying to plan out my first major detail of the year...

First step would be to clay with z-18. Used this last year with great results. Next I'm going to use the UDM I'm going to order with some Zaino AIO. I dont have tons of swirls that i can see, with the car being silver, so i figure that this will be fine to use with a white foam pad....

IMO you oughta examine the paint in some unforgiving light. Silver can hide marring that'd be obvious on black, but clearcoat is clearcoat and marring makes light refract instead of reflect. I'd give it a true polishing with the appropriate abrasive polish(es).



But if you're OK with it looking ~80% then yeah, the ZAIO/white combo oughta provide that.

Next I think I should use a black pad to apply the mothers glaze that i bought at the end of the last year and never had a chance to use. Not 100% sure if this is the correct second step, but i think i'm on the right track. Lastly i have some mothers carnuba cleaner wax, but i dont think this is what i what to finish up with. it seems people like the mequiars nxt 2.0, so i'm gonna try this and apply with a red pad.



now for my questions. do i want to be using glaze between the aio and wax?

are the glaze and wax both removed with microfiber towles? or will i get better results with w MF bonnet on the UDM?

I like buffing products off with MF bonnets, but I find I still need to do a follow-up by hand to get the last ~5% off. OR you can do it by hand first and then do a final buff via machine/bonnets.



But don't expect to see any real diff between the two methods.

am i correct in stating that the cleaner wax is not the right choice here?

Yeah. It'd clean off whatever's been applied previously (the glaze or the stuff ZAIO leaves behind).

from what i gather this would be more of a one step job, when i dont have time to do the AIO and glaze first.

I'd *MUCH* rather use the ZAIO for a one-step anyhow.

but please dont bombard me with an endless list of acronyms that i might not be familiar with just yet.

If any of the preceding wasn't clear just ask for clarification.

Also, i am looking for some products to clean/dress my engine bay and wheel weels. I am leaning towards mequiars hyper dressing, after cleaning with simple green and a variety of brushes. What do you guys think?

Be careful with Simple Green, I keep it away from my vehicles. Clean with some kind of APC (All Purpose Cleaner), or a degreaser, or a solvent. Polish painted areas and/or use the ZAIO on them (which might be good on bare metal too).



I've never used the Hyper dressing, but most such products work OK and it boils down to personal preference.

 

[gchristopher9]

would i be correct in doing ZAIO, then glaze, then a carnuba wax/nxt 2.0?

 

[Accumulator]

would i be correct in doing ZAIO, then glaze, then a carnuba wax/nxt 2.0?

The only thing I'm not sure about is using the glaze :think:



It oughta work OK but that's assuming it can adhere to the stuff the ZAIO leaves behind. Maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't expect it to be of much benefit in this case. I'd just do the ZAIO then the wax.

 

[gchristopher9]

ok. in what situation would a glaze be beneficial. i guess i'm confused about what a glaze actually does. from what i was able to gather it treats the paint to reduce scratches. i figured this would work to take some care of whatever the AIO missed.

 

[gchristopher9]

bump for more input

 

[Bostonsfavson]

ok. in what situation would a glaze be beneficial. i guess i'm confused about what a glaze actually does. from what i was able to gather it treats the paint to reduce scratches. i figured this would work to take some care of whatever the AIO missed.

People much more knowledgeable than myself will chime in here, I'm sure, but here's my two cents:



I'm not a fan of glazes. I've tried a few, and have quite a bit of experience with Menzerna's FTG on my black vehicle. In my opinion, they don't do much. Maybe I'm just not doing it right, but the glazes never seem to make much of an improvement--at least not enough to justify their use. Better to spend the extra time getting the finish in better shape so you don't have to use a glaze to hide the imperfections. I'm not saying that glazes don't have their place, because they do. But for myself, and perhaps someone in your position, I don't think it's worth it. For now, focus on your cleaning, correction and LSPs.

 

[Accumulator]

ok. in what situation would a glaze be beneficial. i guess i'm confused about what a glaze actually does. from what i was able to gather it treats the paint to reduce scratches. i figured this would work to take some care of whatever the AIO missed.

Glazes generally provide some minor cosmetic improvement. There area newer-tech glazes *that I'm not familiar with* that might make for a "wetter" or "glossier" appearance on silver, but older-tech glazes such as the Mother's (and Meguiar's Pure Polishes) primarily add oils (which might not bond to previously applied products and/or might cause issues with subsequently applied ones) and fillers, which might do a little concealing of existing marring. I simply don't see any improvement on properly-prepped silver paint when I apply such products so I don't use them.



No, they don't "treat the paint" in a way that would preclude subsequent marring. I have the Meguiar's equivalents of your Mother's glaze on the shelf and I simply never use them except on still-curing repaints that can't be waxed yet.



IMO you simply won't see much of a benefit, but hey...that's just IMO so maybe you oughta go ahead and try it on one panel and see if you like it.