Need some advice on what to do with my car

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ozziegt

New member
Hey,



Ok so I have a 1994 Toyota MR2. The paint is metallic blue. It's a very dynamic color. In bright light it will be bright blue and at night it will be dark blue or even purple looking under halogen lighting.



The paint has always been in great shape. I've been using zaino on it about twice a year for the past 4 years...water has always beaded great. But unfortunately I don't think I follow the best methods when washing and waxing because it seems to have swirl marks on it when you look at it from sharp angles and the light is reflecting off the surface. It doesn't seem as "deep" as it used to...I haven't waxed in a few months and I'm thinking it's time for some wax / polish before winter gets here. But I've moved and all my zaino stuff is at my parents' house. So I'm thinking this is a good time to try something else.



What should I do? Everyone says the quality is in the pre-wax treatment. Would it be easier for me to take it to a professional to get the paint looking brand new again? Kind of like maintenence. What do you guys think?



Here are a couple pictures:

firestation2-600.jpg


firestation3-600.jpg
 
ozziegt said:


Would it be easier for me to take it to a professional to get the paint looking brand new again? Kind of like maintenence. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...





of course it would be easier but where would the fun be in that eh.... it all depends on what you want to do with it... you can always look around the site to get some ideas and go on and do it yourself and if it still dosnt suit your needs you can have it taken to a profesional.........
 
First of all nice looking car. I like the color of it. I guess I would have to ask if you want to invest the time and money into doing it yourself? If you dont then yeah I would take it to a professional to have the swirls removed and protected before you get a chance to zaino it again.

If you dont mind putting the time and money into it I would suggest getting some 1Z Upp & PP and go at the swirls if you are doing this by hand. If you have a machine (PC ect.) There are many great polishes out there that can get the job done. As for a LSP *I* would suggest something like TS or PB's Ex-P. I like the looks of those on blues, but there are MANY choices/opinions out there.

For the winter months I would use the PB's EX-P or another sealant. Hope this helps you out a little.
 
scottabir said:
First of all nice looking car. I like the color of it. I guess I would have to ask if you want to invest the time and money into doing it yourself? If you dont then yeah I would take it to a professional to have the swirls removed and protected before you get a chance to zaino it again.

If you dont mind putting the time and money into it I would suggest getting some 1Z Upp & PP and go at the swirls if you are doing this by hand. If you have a machine (PC ect.) There are many great polishes out there that can get the job done. As for a LSP *I* would suggest something like TS or PB's Ex-P. I like the looks of those on blues, but there are MANY choices/opinions out there.

For the winter months I would use the PB's EX-P or another sealant. Hope this helps you out a little.
Click to expand...

Dang that's some alphabet soup. I'm going to have to do some searching to find out what all that means. :o Can you help me out? upp? pp? lsp? ts? ex-p? I've always enjoyed working on my car, but this summer I moved from GA to VA (much harsher winters), have gotten married and started a full time job (much less free time). So I don't know if I am going to have time to do it myself.
 
All you need is about 4-6 hours on a Sunday morning to do it, that's all. Your car looks like its in great shape, so if all you need to do is a little polishing, it shouldn't be bad at all.



On the home page, top left, there is a link labeled Acronyms. This will help you understand the *alphabet soup*, lol.



I would recommend pretty much the same as everyone else. First, buy a PC (Porter Cable 7424) with some good pads. Right now, I think the Sonus kit is the best from the Autopia store. It comes with everything you need for your buffer. As far as products, I would use 1ZPP (Einszett Paint Polish) to actually polish the swirls and light marring out, then 1ZMP (Metallic Polish) to bring back the depth and shine you are looking for, the AIO (Klasse All In One) to prep the surface and remove more swirls, and finally SG (Klasse Sealant Glaze) to protect it. This would be a stunning combo on that blue.
 
Sorry bout the alphabet soup... Heres a little help:

TS-Trade Secret (from topoftheline.com)

Ex-p is Poorboys sealant

Upp- 1z(Einszett) Ultra paint polish

PP- 1z Paint polish

LSP - Last step product

Give it some time and you'll get the lingo down
 
I know it's been over a month but thanks for the tips guys...still trying to decide whether I should get it professionally done or invest in the equipment myself. I think I might get some quotes first. :)
 
Sure, you could pay someone and never have to worry about but for the price you would pay to have a *professional* do it, you could buy the material and do it yourself and have enough product to do your car at *least* ten times. You already have and like Zaino, so just stick with that. All you need to buy is a Porter Cable polisher, the necessary pads, and some polish. I still recommend the Sonus kit which now comes with the polisher and everything, and for the polish I would also still recommend Einszett Paint Polish and Klasse All In One. You can go right on top of these with your Zaino and your car will look like new!
 
First, I appreciate you coming back to my thread after such a long hiatus. :) Yeah I was looking and it's pretty steep for a good detailer...so you are saying I can use 1ZPP followed by 1ZMP and then AIO, and then I can put Zaino right on top without any problems? I head heard that Zaino isn't compatible with lots of products so I just wanna make sure.



Thanks a bunch.
 
Exactly. Klasse AIO, is designed to prep the surface for a polymer sealant topper, like SG, but in your case this will be Zaino. You won't have any problems using AIO. Actually, if you want to skip two steps, skip 1ZMP and AIO and just do Sonus Paintwork Cleanser. I find it polishes just as good as MP and preps just like AIO all in one step.
 
the only difference is the 7336 comes with a 6" counterweight and the 7424 comes with a 5" counterweight. The backing plate size determines the counterweight size, they must match to minimize vibrations. You can use either one. Autopia has a kit that comes with the polisher, backing plate, pads, and mf bonnets all in one. If you type in SONUS in the coupon code box you should receive 15% off too. I'm not positive about this, but you can try it to use it before you place your order.
 
You guessed right. The PC mimicks your hand movements and unless your hand can move 6000 times per minute, the PC will save you a LOT of time. Even without thinking about time, using a machine will allow you to achieve results you just can't get by hand.
 
Yes, you will eventually use all of them. For instance, you will use the green pad for most or all of your polishing efforts (1Z PP), next you will use the blue pad for paint cleaning and/or light polishing (Sonus Paintwork Cleanser), and last you will apply your waxes and/or sealants with the grey pad (Zaino). The only pad you probably won't use at first is the cutting pad, the orange one. Unless you have any scratches or swirls to get rid of which you can use 1Z PP again and the tougher pad on those bad spots before going over the whole car with the green pad.
 
Any suggestions on where to get a backing plate and pads for the 7336? The reason I ask is because I can get the 7336 for $100 locally...about $30 less than the 7424. Is there any reason to go with the 7424 over the 7336?
 
nope, no reason. I ended up buying the 6" counterweight to have on hand anyway. I would still go with the Sonus pads. Autopia sells a kit with just the pads and it comes with the backingplate and everything which is all compatible with either the 7336 or 7424.
 
So I can get a 6" backing plate for the 7336 and then use the Sonus pads from Autopia? The description says that the pads are meant to be used with a 5" backing plate.
 
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