hi I'm new to the forum and have been researching alot of products. It seems the more I read the more and more I get confused as, to what product I should buy. So my question is What kit should I buy? I ways looking at Zaino's Ultimate Protection Show Car Kit also, was looking at some pinnacle car kits as well. So should I buy one of these kits, are should I put one together myself? Are should I just buy my stuff off the store on the forum? Thanks for any advice.
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Need some advice
- Thread starter njs619
- Start date
It depends on what you want to do. Things like the kind of car, color paint, daily driver, garaged or parked outside, etc. make a difference as to what would be best for you. For example, the Pinnacle kit will not have anything like the durability of Zaino. Most people, however, would say that the Pinnacle finish is slightly better looking (may depend on the car). There are a lot of good products out there and everyone has thier favorite. Give us a better idea of what you want and the time you can realistically put into it and you'll get a ton of recommendations.
Thank you for the response. I have a 2001 lexus gs 300 and it's my daily driver. I would be applying all products by hand , cause I don't know how to use a PC are any other polishers for that matter. My car has alot of scratches on it and would like to get them all out. Also my headlamps are oxydiz so, I would like to clear them up. The color of my car is platinum and it is not garaged. Thank you.
Accumulator
Well-known member
tre619- Welcome to Autopia!
Besides the usual "get good wash/dry stuff and learn how to use it so you don't scratch your paint" advice, I'll give you my *other* usual recommendation for people working by hand:
Get some 1Z brand polish and some Collinite wax (sources: Welcome to Exceldetail! or Aloha & Welcome to Our Oasis for All Your Auto Detailing Supplies & Accessories ).
Those products are effective and incredibly user-friendly. I often mention a lady friend of mine (silver/platinum Lexus in her case) and my niece-in-law, who have *ZERO* interest in detailing...they get great results with these products. IMO it's a no-brainer way to start getting serious about detailing.
Besides the usual "get good wash/dry stuff and learn how to use it so you don't scratch your paint" advice, I'll give you my *other* usual recommendation for people working by hand:
Get some 1Z brand polish and some Collinite wax (sources: Welcome to Exceldetail! or Aloha & Welcome to Our Oasis for All Your Auto Detailing Supplies & Accessories ).
Those products are effective and incredibly user-friendly. I often mention a lady friend of mine (silver/platinum Lexus in her case) and my niece-in-law, who have *ZERO* interest in detailing...they get great results with these products. IMO it's a no-brainer way to start getting serious about detailing.
tre619 said:Thank you for the response. I have a 2001 lexus gs 300 and it's my daily driver. I would be applying all products by hand , cause I don't know how to use a PC are any other polishers for that matter. My car has alot of scratches on it and would like to get them all out. Also my headlamps are oxydiz so, I would like to clear them up. The color of my car is platinum and it is not garaged. Thank you.
The Zaino kit would be really good for you since it can all be applied by hand. Their Z2Pro and Z5Pro sealants last nearly 6 months and are great for daily drivers. Like someone else here said, 1Z Paint polish (green container) is good for removing light scratches/swirls by hand...just make sure to work it good & use some elbow grease. That 1Z MIGHT work on your headlights also.
Accumulator
Well-known member
tre619 said:... has any tried the Diamondite clear plastic kit for there headlamps?
Not me...I just use the same polishes that I use on paint.
Oh, note that as the 1Z polishes leave wax behind they're not really compatible with the Zaino approach. Just wanted to give you a heads-up that it's sorta an either/or situation with those two.
If it's not garaged, I recommend a sealant like Klasse, Zaino, or Menzerna just for endurance. I think in your case, Menzerna makes a lot of sense because if you have scratches (assuming these are actually light "swirls"), you'll need something abrasive and Menzerna is the best for this IMO. Thier FMJ is also a good product and is easy to use by hand. I'd personally recommend the following:
Intensive Polish
Final Polish 2
FMJ
Hish Gloss Acrylic Sealant (spray)
You may want to start with the FP2 to see if it is enough to polish out the swirls before moving up to the IP. Using abrasives by hand is pretty aweful, but at least you only need to do it once. You'll want to get a polisher once you do this. The Zaino kit is also a very good choice, but IMO it is best suited for paint that is already in very good condition.
Good luck.
Intensive Polish
Final Polish 2
FMJ
Hish Gloss Acrylic Sealant (spray)
You may want to start with the FP2 to see if it is enough to polish out the swirls before moving up to the IP. Using abrasives by hand is pretty aweful, but at least you only need to do it once. You'll want to get a polisher once you do this. The Zaino kit is also a very good choice, but IMO it is best suited for paint that is already in very good condition.
Good luck.
Accumulator
Well-known member
wfedwar said:If it's not garaged, I recommend a sealant like Klasse, Zaino, or Menzerna just for endurance..
Oddly enough, when I had outside-24/7 vehicles they did best with Collinite wax :nixweiss Not sure why, but it seemed to do better than sealants for me.
Accumulator said:Oddly enough, when I had outside-24/7 vehicles they did best with Collinite wax :nixweiss Not sure why, but it seemed to do better than sealants for me.
Yeah, certainly there are some waxes that can outperform some sealants. I've never used Collinite personally, so I can't say anything about that. I've used some waxes that were completely gone after a few days of nasty weather, but I've never seen a sealant perform as poorly.