Full Detail (in steps)...

[MrElussive]

Hey,

So I decided to do all the things to my car's paint, today. I washed the car with Dawn dish soap. At first, I had some sheeting action on the paint, but then the Zaino came back and made the water bead like crazy...I don't think the Dawn affected the Zaino at all. In any case, I dried the car (water blade and MF towels) and then let it sit for about an hour and then I clay bar-ed it, using the Zaino Z-18 Clay Bar Kit and a bottle of Zaino Z-6 as the lubricant. At first, the claying process was weird and I wasn't happy, but then I got the hang of it and it became real easy. I'm going to take a break (I have a tennis lesson), but now should I wash the car and apply the 3M Rubbing Compound, or should I just apply the 3M Rubbing Compound and then wash the car? I have to wash the car at least once more anyways because the polish I'm going to use (CrystalGuard) requires you to wash the car and on the final rinse, you have to apply the stuff while wiping the car dry. I'll post another update soon and when I'm finished I'll post pictures (before and after).

Thanks,
MrElussive

 

[waynestowels]

I would polish the car then a final wash before applying "CG" to remove any oils, silicones, waxes, etc that could prevent the "CG" from bonding properly...,

Sounds like you had a big day today

 

[MrElussive]

Hahaha, yeah so far I did have quite a day, but I have a lot more left to do! I haven't done anything so far...the last thing I did was clay bar. I am going to wash the car again and then I will use the 3M Rubbing Compound. After the rubbing compound, I'll wash the car again and I'll apply the CrystalGuard when drying off. I have a feeling I'm going to end up sticking with Zaino, but I am definitely keeping an open mind for the CrystalGuard. Either way, I don't really care about the swirl marks too much anymore, I just wanna get rid of those pesky hairline scratches and etched-in water spots !!!!

 

[waynestowels]

I tried "CG" on a test panel and it was "labor and time intensive" to say the least...,
Let us know your results and thoughts when finished

 

[MrElussive]

Wayne, I'm only using CrystalGuard Quick, so all I have to do is spray it on the wet car and wipe it off. When using CG Quick alone, you're supposed to apply one coat every 2 months (of course you can apply more often for a deeper shine and better protection).

I just washed my car with Dawn dish soap again and I was surprised to see that the Zaino is still there. The shine is there and the water is still beading well...I thought the clay bar gets rid of the Zaino?? Anyways, I just dried it off and I'm going to apply the 3M Rubbing Compound. I'm assuming that will strip the Zaino away and hopefully my car's surface will look really clean, and then I will seal it with CG Quick.

 

[waynestowels]

WHOA!!!
It just hit me..., "rubbing compound"...,
Be carefull!

Seriously, if your paint is in good condition a rubbing compound is not needed and if applying by hand could cause more damage(depending on the aggressiveness of the compound).

A heavy compound contains abrasives that break down under heat and friction and best used with a polisher or rotary.

I may be "Waaaayyy" out of line here..., but thought i should add the warning "in case" someone else see's the post and grabs a bottle of compound and goes to work on the car...,

I am sure you have the experience to use it..., just wanted to throw out a "caution" for others though

Post some pics when finished...., it is always rewarding for a "job well done"

 

[MrElussive]

I think I wanna shoot myself right now. I have done the hood of my car, the left side, and the rear and so far it has only created new swirl marks! It's un-f*cking-believable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My car looks worse than before! I think it's because I was using my regular cotton towels to buff the stuff off (I always use these towels for waxing my car) and then I just tried buffing off with a MF towel and I was getting much better results...still swirl marks, but the MF towel made the stuff a lot easier to buff off and when I am buffing off with these cotton towels, it's as if it's HURTING the clearcoat instead of helping it.
I think my clearcoat's damage is due to using these shitty cotton towels that I bought at KMart for like $5 for a pack of 17 of them.
I'm going to finish the job and then these cotton towels will never be used on my car's paint again.

 

[MrElussive]

Okay, I just finished. I finished EVERYTHING. Finished the rubbing compound crap, then immediately I took it outside (like 1:15AM) and did ANOTHER Dawn wash. The Rubbing Compound + Dawn wash killed the Zaino and I had a fresh start with the CG Quick. While the car was still wet, I sprayed the stuff...at first I felt like an idiot doing this, but when I rinsed again, the water was beading extremely strong. I took the CG tag off the bottle so I could see how much I had left...I still had most of it left so I decided to do the whole process all over again, but making sure to finish the bottle. The bottle lasts for 2-4 applications, but I wanted to make sure I didn't miss any spots on my car and I wanted the best shine, so I just used the whole bottle. I rinsed the whole car down again (after spreading the CG Quick with a microfiber towel) and the stuff made the water bead incredibly well. Unfortunately, the condensation owned me while I was drying off the car, so there are water spots on the car, but the shine looked very healthy. I am going to wash the car tomorrow with Meguiar's Gold Class car soap and then I will dry it properly and see how my baby looks in the sun.
I'm really disappointed with the Rubbing Compound...it didn't remove the water spots at all and it didn't remove the swirl marks, either (even when using the MF towel). The only thing it did was remove the Zaino. I probably should have just left the car alone, lol....at least I learned a few things.

 

[MrElussive]

So it's now Tuesday, two days after I did everything. It has been raining like crazy ever since and it's supposed to this whole week so I haven't been able to wash the car, but so far the paint looks f*cked. The Rubbing Compound totally ruined my paint and I don't even know what to do.

 

[BMW_FaNaTiC]

what color paint do you got? [unsure]

I have silver-grey and i neversee swirl marks/ scratches even when i try to look for them.

God, im assuming you have black paint from the trouble. My sister had a black honda civic she traded for a jetta. Her car looked liek shit all the time, but it was just a honda civic so why even bother cleaning/taking care of it... ya hear.

 

[Tom]

Man that sucks Emile. Sounds like that 3M rubbing compound is terrible product.

 

[MrElussive]

BMW_Fanatic, yeah my car is black. I love it so much and I don't mind the work required to keep it clean, but I hate those damn swirl marks and hairline scratches !!

So I did quite a bit of research and I think I'm going to get an orbital polisher and try using the 3M Rubbing Compound with that stuff. And I also found out that I f*cked up majorly on one part. After the rubbing compound you're supposed to use a polish (such as 3M Swirl Mark Remover), and that the 3M Rubbing Compound is supposed to make your paint look hazy and basically shitty after you use it, and the 3M Swirl Mark Remover makes your paint shiny and clean again. I never used the 3M Swirl Mark Remover so that was another mistake. I should also stick to microfiber towels. I'm going to let the CrystalGuard work for its 2 months and then I'm going to start the process over again: Dawn wash, 3M Rubbing Compound, 3M Swirl Mark Remover, and then Zaino (with an orbital buffer and only MF towels).
It's not sunny today but it's not raining either, so I'm going to wash my car and see how it looks.

 

[waynestowels]

Let me make a recommendation to repair the damage
1- Einszett Paint Polish
2- Einszett Metallic Polish
3- Einszett Waxpolish Soft
4- Einszett Glanz
All polishes(not Glanz)applied with a polisher such as the Dewalt DW443
It will make a world of difference

Hope this helps and gets your paint "back in shape"

 

[MrElussive]

Wayne, is the DeWalt a circular polisher that will abrade away the defected layer of paint? Because I have NO experience with buffers/polishers and I figured I should start with something like a Porter Cable 7424 that is a lot safer for my paint. What is your view on this?

Also, are you recommending I apply all four polishes in that order? Will those polishes get rid of the swirl marks and etched-in water spots, applying it with the polisher?

Oh and by the way, I started to wash my car today. I cleaned my wheels and then I started spray water all over the body to do the initial rinse and the water was barely beading. There was no beading action AT ALL on my hood and my trunk lid, but the side panels were beading up decently, but it was slow. Zaino was much stronger in this area....I just don't understand why the CrystalGuard is acting like it's dead after only 2-3 days. The night I applied it, it was beading the water like crazy, but now after driving for a day or two through hard rain, it's as if the stuff wore down or something.

 

[waynestowels]

The Dewalt, IMO, is a better polisher, (more available power, faster too!!) although it is adjustable speed if you want to go slower.
It is an orbital like the PC, just an upgrade

The polishes applied and worked in in the order I mentioned should completely clear up the problem and give you a new, swirl free finish.

You will not harm the paint with the DW443 as it is not a rotary...

Hope this helps

 

[MrElussive]

Wayne, will the polishes (with the Dewalt buffer) get rid of the water spots and hairline scratches? On the Einszett web site product description, the polishes all state to reduce swirls, but they don't state they they remove/eliminate swirls and there's no mention of what it will do for water spots. Also, do you sell the Einszett polishes in the smaller 250ml sizes??

 

[waynestowels]

I have the Glanz and Paint Polish in 250ml.
The Metallic Polish, 1,000ml is on sale

Paint Polish will remove swirls and light - moderate blemishes, Metallic Polish will smooth out and give a nice shine, Waxpolish Soft will put a perfect final polish on and Glanz will protect all the hard work

Waterspots are not mentioned because "some" spots can be etched "into" the paint and are not removable using any polish, but will either need to be wet-sanded or repainted..., however, Paint Polish will remove all but the etched spots using the DW443