Scott P
New member
I set aside today to get my car ready for winter. Snow is coming tonight and tomorrow (finally), so I thought it was time for me to get my black Grand Prix ready. I got her int eh garage and jacked up to put the snow tires and wheels on. Each wheel was cleaned with Spray and Wipe and then got a coat of AIO and SG. Tires got a good coating of Bold N Bright.
This is where the fun begins. I haven't done a whole lot to my car since two coats of EX on top of SSR1 a few months ago. I tossed on an occasional coat of Souveran, but even that hadn't happened in a while.
I pulled out some SSR2.5, SSR1 and my Z-5, Z-2 and Zfx that I've had for two years or so. I put an Edge yellow pad on the Makita and hit the trunk with SSR2.5. I got the swirls removed for the most part, but the hazing was tough. I followed up with SSR25. and then SSR1 on white pads and the PC. After that, I came to the realization that winter was coming and swirl removal really wasn't a priority since the car would be seeing snow and salt in less than 24 hours.
At that point, I switched to AIO and a white pad on the PC to prep for Zaino. It worked quite well and I got ready to mix up some Z-2 and Zfx. Both bottles are probably two years old and haven't been used in probably eighteen months.
My Z-2 had turned to a vanilla color and the Zfx had hardened in it's little vial. That was kink number one. At least I had some of my original Z-1 left, right? Well, it had been over three years since that bottle was used. It too had become a weird gelatinous material that had a very unpleasant smell. So, I'm stuck with bottles of Z-2 and Z-5, but no Zfx or Z-1. On to Plan B.
I have the Klasse Twins, they'll work right? AIO is already on the car, so I just need to apply SG. I started with my hood and one front fender. That didn't work out so well. I applied thin coats with a Viking Handi-Grip applicator. Removal was terrible. I never had issues with SG before, but this stuff just wasn't coming off. Since I had decreasing time left, I switched to Plan C.
Vanilla Moose was applied to the whole car with my PC and a polishing pad. Removal was refreshingly easy. I then applied a thin coat of Carnauba Moose Wax with my PC and a black finishing pad. I've never used CMW with a finishing pad before. Man, that made things easy. The car looks great and has a pretty protective product on it.
I would've liked it to have Zaino or Klasse, but fate wasn't with me. I got the wheels mounted and tourqed down. The interior got a much needed vacuuming and cleaning. The windows even got a nice cleaning. By the way, the small waffle weave (SMP Supreme Towel) makes a wonderful towel for cleaning the interior windows. It absorbs Invisible Glass nicely, cleaned off haze and left a streak free finish. Nothing like finding out something new in an otherwise disappointing day.
At least I get to see how CMW stands up to a Rochester Winter.
This is where the fun begins. I haven't done a whole lot to my car since two coats of EX on top of SSR1 a few months ago. I tossed on an occasional coat of Souveran, but even that hadn't happened in a while.
I pulled out some SSR2.5, SSR1 and my Z-5, Z-2 and Zfx that I've had for two years or so. I put an Edge yellow pad on the Makita and hit the trunk with SSR2.5. I got the swirls removed for the most part, but the hazing was tough. I followed up with SSR25. and then SSR1 on white pads and the PC. After that, I came to the realization that winter was coming and swirl removal really wasn't a priority since the car would be seeing snow and salt in less than 24 hours.
At that point, I switched to AIO and a white pad on the PC to prep for Zaino. It worked quite well and I got ready to mix up some Z-2 and Zfx. Both bottles are probably two years old and haven't been used in probably eighteen months.
My Z-2 had turned to a vanilla color and the Zfx had hardened in it's little vial. That was kink number one. At least I had some of my original Z-1 left, right? Well, it had been over three years since that bottle was used. It too had become a weird gelatinous material that had a very unpleasant smell. So, I'm stuck with bottles of Z-2 and Z-5, but no Zfx or Z-1. On to Plan B.
I have the Klasse Twins, they'll work right? AIO is already on the car, so I just need to apply SG. I started with my hood and one front fender. That didn't work out so well. I applied thin coats with a Viking Handi-Grip applicator. Removal was terrible. I never had issues with SG before, but this stuff just wasn't coming off. Since I had decreasing time left, I switched to Plan C.
Vanilla Moose was applied to the whole car with my PC and a polishing pad. Removal was refreshingly easy. I then applied a thin coat of Carnauba Moose Wax with my PC and a black finishing pad. I've never used CMW with a finishing pad before. Man, that made things easy. The car looks great and has a pretty protective product on it.
I would've liked it to have Zaino or Klasse, but fate wasn't with me. I got the wheels mounted and tourqed down. The interior got a much needed vacuuming and cleaning. The windows even got a nice cleaning. By the way, the small waffle weave (SMP Supreme Towel) makes a wonderful towel for cleaning the interior windows. It absorbs Invisible Glass nicely, cleaned off haze and left a streak free finish. Nothing like finding out something new in an otherwise disappointing day.
At least I get to see how CMW stands up to a Rochester Winter.
AIO was more finicky that the UPP at that temp!
