Interior Exterior
Q:
If you want to clay and wax the car do you stay away from the starshield? Mine has what looks like a few scratch marks on it. Looks like someone has rubbed a spot on it when it was dirty.
A:
If you want to clay and wax the car do you stay away from the starshield? Mine has what looks like a few scratch marks on it. Looks like someone has rubbed a spot on it when it was dirty.
I sent an email to Sal Zaino (of Zaino Bros products) asking the exact same question. His response was that all Zaino products can be applied to the Starshield areas and that it is not necessary to make any effort to avoid these areas. Claybar and wax are fine.
A:
I sent an email to Sal Zaino (of Zaino Bros products) asking the exact same question. His response was that all Zaino products can be applied to the Starshield areas and that it is not necessary to make any effort to avoid these areas. Claybar and wax are fine.
I never really believed the hype about Zaino, but that stuff is so cool! I just clayed my car, used Detailer's Paradise swirl mark remover, two coats of Z2, one coat of Z5, and finished off with Z8 (I think). The wax is so easy to put on and take off that it's a piece of cake (with a PC random orbit buffer) to do so many layers. It would've taken me that long to do one coat of Zymol by hand and take it off.
It is also great because there are absolutely no white marks on black plastic like most other waxes. In fact, it removed white marks from previous wax and from the swirl mark remover. Time will tell how durable it is, but I really don't mind doing this routine every few months. My wife may feel otherwise, though.
A:
Prior to claying, polishing (paint-cleaners, swirl removers, compounds, etc'...), and waxing (ie. Zaino, Zymol, McGuiers, etc'...) , be sure to use Dawn dishwashing liquid soap ('blue') to strip off the old wax and other residual products from the past!
Zaino being a synthetic polymer-based sealant, has anyone ever used a carbuba-based wax underneath a sealant-type wax? Carnuba-based waxes at times have greater depth, gloss, and other reflective characteristics than just a synthetic polymer wax (Zaino, NXT, etc'...) when used on a particular colour...
A:
Before I wax, I clean my car with Simple Green poured into the bucket. Great fast way to get it all clean.
I stick with Carnuba waxes. Don't like space age wackopolymers. 3m products are good.
A:
Simple green? I could be wrong, but isn't that stuff caustic to aluminium.
soulman
A:
Dilute it in water. Works great! I've been using it forever. I wash my cast aluminum wheels on my GN with it, dirt bikes, motorcycles, my boat, on and on. I don't see any corrosion. You get a "battery" affect with aluminum and other metals. Add some salt and water and there you go. Plenty of corrosion.
A:
Simple green? I could be wrong, but isn't that stuff caustic to aluminium.
soulman
Yes, it is caustic to Aluminum. A note came out on the AOPA website to stay away from using it on aircraft because of this. Dilluted or not, it will cause problems with aluminum over time.
A:
Ok thanks. Scratch that idea for such an expensive toy.
A:
I have waxed my Elise once a month using carnauba (Meguiars), a total of only three months. Dealer said wax over the starshield, just like paint. Takes some knack to remove dried wax from the edges.
Since I keep the finish relatively clean in between--washing with water and using quick detailer--I do not feel a need to remove the old wax. In fact, I like the effect of a slight build up of multiple coats.
Polish seems completely inappropriate, given our cars are fairly new. Never have seen a need for clay.
Regarding aluminum (or aluminium, across the pond) I would be concerned about Simple Green finding its way behind the body panels.
A:
There are several all purpose cleaners that are paint safe, made by various automotive detailing brands. Basically these are used when something a little stronger than regular automotive car wash is needed (extra grime, grease, etc.). These seem to make more sense to get things squeeky clean and removing film build up. Or cleaning off dirty parts. Most of the time a car wash, like Detailer's Paradise's Mystique, works just fine for paint.
For deeper cleansing, a chemically cleaning polish (e.g. Klasse AIO) and/or light physically abrasive polish will do more to improve the surface quality.
As for claying, it is quite useful for grinding off large physical particulates that can be felt by hand. If the starshield feels smooth, it's not really necessary and you might simply use a polish that cleans chemically. The starshield seems more porous than the paint, so I will be more careful about using clay on it. It seems like you can get away with more when working on clear bra films with clear coats (3M) than those without.
These are just my opinions of course. You should always use what works well for you.
- Justin
A:
My Elise sat outside for almost a month during its recent repair episode.
After I got the car back, I noticed that the whole front end was very gritty, both the Star Shield and the regular painted surfaces.
Regular cleaning and waxing didn't remove the grittiness, so I figured it was time to clay the front end. BTW, the doors and rear of the car were fine because they had been repainted as part of the repair, so they look and feel like glass.
I used Mother's "Clay Bar Paint Saving System" to do the job. Product is very easy to use and worked to perfection. It took two applications of the cleaner/clay bar to finally remove all the grit, but it was very easy to do. The clay bar is fairly soft and you can hear and feel the grit coming off the car surface.
It worked equally well on the Star Shield and paint.
I highly recommend this product. Kit was $16 at AutoZone.
Wayne