Cleaner Polish

Scramble · March 5, 2008

What's everyone's opinion on a good cleaner polish. The white paint on my truck has seen better days, and needs a nice clean up. Lotta little marks and stains.

Lookin' for a good cleaner/polish that goes on and off easy. What say you, GM lovers?

Also, what do you guys recommend as far as a cleaner/protectant for rubber trim. I've heard armor all is bad for it.

ws6_guy · March 5, 2008

Meguiars 303 does a good job on black trim, I haven't tried anything else but theres other good products out there i'm going to try.

As far as your paint goes, if you have marks and stuff in it, I would first suggest you clay bar it. Meguiars offers a good, easy, & simple clay bar kit that gives great results. http://www.meguiars.com/?auto-detailing-cl...urface-Clay-Kit Dont forget to wax it once or twice afterwards, Clay Baring removes wax. And if you notice there are scuffy swirls on your paint, that means its time for new wax. Then polish it good.

I use Zaino's Z-5 Polish on my truck. Zaino is pretty much all I use outside, just not on trim.

My results..

cambo · March 5, 2008

What is the difference in polishing and waxing? I need to do exactly what this guy is wanting to do to this truck. But paint has seen plenty of better days.

Scramble · March 5, 2008

What is the difference in polishing and waxing? I need to do exactly what this guy is wanting to do to this truck. But paint has seen plenty of better days.

Same thing except polishes generally contain no wax, so no build up I guess. If your paint is heavily oxidized you might need to buff it out with a compound.

@ Darren, thanks for the reply. The clay bar sounds like the way to go. Looked into it and it seems pretty straight forward. MAN, that Zaino really gleems!

ws6_guy · March 6, 2008

yeah it can really bring out the shine & beauty in paint.

Cambo, waxing is protecting the clear coat, polishing is cleaning it from any haze or minor swirls and making it shine up. When I do a full detail it goes,

wash

old wax removal

wash

new multiple layers of wax

polish

Bruce03Silverado · March 6, 2008

Zaino All In One - works great for daily drivers - I use it on my Silverado and top it off with the Zaino Clear Seal - it sits outside 24x7 and is a daily driver. The Zaino polishes are the best I've used - especially when it comes to durability.

http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/mercha...duct_Code=Z-AIO

Here's a few shots of my Firehawk - Adams Fine Cut Polish, Zaino Z5 Pro, Zaino Clear Seal and a touch of detail spray!! Almost forgot - did it all with a porter cable too!! Zaino is a synthetic and is the most durable product I've ever used.

Here's a picture of my wife's 06 Explorer - daily driver. This was taken about a month or so ago - just wash and detail spray - had no tbeen polished since Sept of last year - Zaino Z5 Pro topped with the Zaino Clear Seal last Sept - a wash and detail spray and smooth as can be!!

I'll throw one in of my Silverado too just for good measure

cambo · March 7, 2008

What is the difference in polishing and waxing? I need to do exactly what this guy is wanting to do to this truck. But paint has seen plenty of better days.

Same thing except polishes generally contain no wax, so no build up I guess. If your paint is heavily oxidized you might need to buff it out with a compound.

@ Darren, thanks for the reply. The clay bar sounds like the way to go. Looked into it and it seems pretty straight forward. MAN, that Zaino really gleems!

yeah it can really bring out the shine & beauty in paint.

Cambo, waxing is protecting the clear coat, polishing is cleaning it from any haze or minor swirls and making it shine up. When I do a full detail it goes,

wash

old wax removal

wash

new multiple layers of wax

polish

So should I still clay bar it? I am thinking I should.

clay bar

wash

remove old wax

wash again

new layers of wax

polish

Is it possible to do this all by hand (wax/polish)? I know I can do it by hand, but will I get the results I am looking for?

Bruce03Silverado · March 7, 2008

What is the difference in polishing and waxing? I need to do exactly what this guy is wanting to do to this truck. But paint has seen plenty of better days.

Same thing except polishes generally contain no wax, so no build up I guess. If your paint is heavily oxidized you might need to buff it out with a compound.

@ Darren, thanks for the reply. The clay bar sounds like the way to go. Looked into it and it seems pretty straight forward. MAN, that Zaino really gleems!

yeah it can really bring out the shine & beauty in paint.

Cambo, waxing is protecting the clear coat, polishing is cleaning it from any haze or minor swirls and making it shine up. When I do a full detail it goes,

wash

old wax removal

wash

new multiple layers of wax

polish

So should I still clay bar it? I am thinking I should.

clay bar

wash

remove old wax

wash again

new layers of wax

polish

Is it possible to do this all by hand (wax/polish)? I know I can do it by hand, but will I get the results I am looking for?

Wash it with dawn dish detergent and that will remove any old wax you may have. Then I would clay bar the vehicle, wash it again with a good car wash like Adams, Zaino, etc..then start your polishing process. You can do it all by hand and it will work just fine. Zaino makes layering the polish very easy by hand, but if you're inclined to buy a porter cable and it makes the job 10x easier. a porter cable is VERY easy to use and can't hurt your paint - it doesn't generate heat and that is what cause swirls with orbitals. The thing about carnuba's is that you cannot layer a carnuba like you can synthetic

www.zainostore.com

www.adamspolishes.com

Both sites provide some good steps, etc - the adams site even has some nice videos.

ws6_guy · March 7, 2008

Yeah Cambo wash it down with some dishsoap ( or buy wax remover if you dont wanna waste the dawn ) and then wash again, clay bar, dry, wax once or twice, polish. I do everything by hand, best results imo, just tires ya out lol

Bruce03Silverado · March 8, 2008

Yeah Cambo wash it down with some dishsoap ( or buy wax remover if you dont wanna waste the dawn ) and then wash again, clay bar, dry, wax once or twice, polish. I do everything by hand, best results imo, just tires ya out lol

Once you use a porter cable you'll wonder why you waited so long to get one I used to be the MD distributor for zaino and up until last year I did everything by hand. Last year I gave the porter cable a shot and it works a lot better at getting out swirls and fine scratches than you can by hand - different varities of pads with varied speeds is something you can't duplicate by hand. I got my Firehawk to look like that with the porter cable. Not to mention using one knocks your polishing time in half!! With three vehicles and a new baby girl I need all the time I can get and the porter cable makes life a whole lot easier even with Zaino. I wish I would have gotten one a long time ago. Try getting fine swirls and scratches out of a corvette clearcoat by hand - will take you days!!

cambo · March 8, 2008

Thanks guys. I wash my truck by hand once a week at my work, so I will have to start this process soon. Just a quick question....about how long does this take ya'll?

Bruce03Silverado · March 9, 2008

Thanks guys. I wash my truck by hand once a week at my work, so I will have to start this process soon. Just a quick question....about how long does this take ya'll?

The clay could take a while depending on how bad your truck needs to be clayed. Polishing could take an hour or two on and off if you do it by hand. Polish with a porter cable will cut that in half. The key to keeping your vehicle looking good is the proper preparation. Take care of the surface stuff now and it will be easy to maintain. Good luck and don't hesitate to ask anymore questions!!

cambo · March 9, 2008

Thanks guys. I wash my truck by hand once a week at my work, so I will have to start this process soon. Just a quick question....about how long does this take ya'll?

The clay could take a while depending on how bad your truck needs to be clayed. Polishing could take an hour or two on and off if you do it by hand. Polish with a porter cable will cut that in half. The key to keeping your vehicle looking good is the proper preparation. Take care of the surface stuff now and it will be easy to maintain. Good luck and don't hesitate to ask anymore questions!!

Trust me I will be asking plenty of questions!!! Thanks again guys. I appreciate ya'll. But here's the biggest question....Zaino or Meguiars?

Bruce03Silverado · March 10, 2008

Thanks guys. I wash my truck by hand once a week at my work, so I will have to start this process soon. Just a quick question....about how long does this take ya'll?

The clay could take a while depending on how bad your truck needs to be clayed. Polishing could take an hour or two on and off if you do it by hand. Polish with a porter cable will cut that in half. The key to keeping your vehicle looking good is the proper preparation. Take care of the surface stuff now and it will be easy to maintain. Good luck and don't hesitate to ask anymore questions!!

Trust me I will be asking plenty of questions!!! Thanks again guys. I appreciate ya'll. But here's the biggest question....Zaino or Meguiars?

LOL - oh you might have opened a can of worms there!! I've used both and I have sold Zaino for many years (I don't anymore but I used to) and in MY opinion you can't beat the durability of Zaino - there are some products out there that look awesome and Meguiars is one of them, but for me keeping that look over the long haul is important especially since I don't have the time to polish all three of mine every weekend. As you can see by my pictures above the Zaino holds up and for me that's the kep that gives it the edge in my opinion. Please note this is NOT a Meguiars bashing session nor a comparison - just my experience and my opinion - LOL. In the end it's what makes you happy and works best for you