ok i have a black Z and i live in texas. No matter what i do everytime i clean the son of a b*tch it still has a lot of water spots. The sun just kills me and the car. I have even gotten up at 9 to do my cleaning of the car. Would it be worth it to drive to the Do it yourself car wash? Like the car washs were you drive in and pay dollars to use there water gun and soap. Is that worth it? Since it does have shade in the little drive in.

 

Always wash it in the shade or at around 6 - 7 pm (in the summer). Worse thing to do is to wash yoru car in the direct sunlight and when your car is hot.

1. Wash your car when it has cooled down.
2. Soup and rinse one area at a time.
3. Start from the top down.
4. If you take too long to clean your car, remember to spray the whole car with water once in a while to keep it from drying.

But go to this link:
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-wash.html

Taught me how to clean the car the correct way.

 

I use a Mr. Clean car wash sprayer to de-ionize the hard water as well as washing in the shade and using a leaf blower for a quick dry.

 

I usually use a quarter spray wash place accross the way from my apartment complex. I use the pre-rinse, then soap it down with the soap spray, and then wipe it down (top to bottom) with a microfiber mitt while spraying it with the other hand (be careful with this unless you are a zen master with the spray wand. It's easy to hit the paint with the tip if you aren't carefull). Then, I rinse it from top to bottom and rinse it with the spot-free rinse with my remianing time. I can normally wash the whole car in under 8 minutes and $4 in quarters. Then, I use the absorber to dry off the major areas of the car and then wipe down any remaining spots with microfiber towell and quick detailer spray. I use quick detail spray and a microfiber towel to wipe down the wheels.

It sucks not having a driveway/garage to detail your own car but it can be done.

Also, just be thankful you don't live in Florida. It rains here EVERY DAY. I'm lucky enough to have a big parking garage at work, or else my car would never be clean.

 

A couple of cardinal rules to follow when detailing a car.

1. Never wash your car in direct sun-light and when it is too hot outside.
2. Park in the garage or shade to dry off using a quality leather chamois.
3. Buy quality detail items from Griot's garage. http://www.griotsgarage.com/index.jsp.

My last car which was a 1997 Eclipse GST looks like brand new with 100K miles on it. My Z will be detailed in the same manner. I have about $500 worth of detail items from Griots and they work great. Make sure to clay your car before applying any polish or wax to your car.

Their speedshine is great in between washing if you just need to clean a certain spot and don't want to wash the whole car again.

Hope this helps.

 

There's no need to clay your car with EVERY coat of wax. Not only would that take forever, but it's tough on your clearcoat.

 

Get a waffle-weave microfiber towel for drying. Absorbs a lot, won't harm your paint. Also, try the leaf blower suggestion. Nothing gets water out of all the little cracks and crevices better than a good blow job. If you don't the first time you drive the car after drying it, water will run out of all sorts or places and leave you some nice water spot trails.

 

First thing you need to do is find a spot with lots of shade.

Wash your car with Dawn dish soap.

Then you need to claybar your car to get out the minerals from the water spots.

Then you need to wash your car with Zaino Z-7.
Then apply a layer of Z-5.
Then use Z-6.

Now your water spots are gone and you are all set for your next coat of Zaino, whenever you have time.

www.zainostore.com

 

using a good polymer wax is your best defense against washing the car. I never clay the whole car at one time since it is hard on the clear coat. Usually just get up close when the car is clean and look for dark spots/sandy spots. Meguirs NXT wax is a great wax if you arent into spending all the money that zaino requires. During the month of july my outside car was subject to about 10 rainstorms and over 100 heat atleast 4 times and the wax held strong in austin tx.

 

awesome yall thank you so much for the input

 

the water dries on the surface before you have a chance to wipe it off. Check the weather, and wash the car when the humidity is 50 percent plus. That will help prevent water droplets from “air drying,” and leaving calcium deposits.

 

Most of us here are wash/dry/clean/wax fanatics..like some other posters have said..."there is no need whatsoever to claybar your Z" because you've kept up with your normal cleaning routine. Claybar bar is for cars that have lost their lustre finish!

 

Youv never had to claybar your car? Maybe its because i have yellow but i get little black specks in my paint that sometimes make it through the wax also. Its like hot tar specks or something. I park my car right off a freeway so that may be why its happening but i find myself claybaring my car in small spots every 2 months or so. Always in the few flat spots of the car where dust can/will settle.

 

Claybar is not for the luster of the paint.......it is to remove contaminants that settle on the surface and make it feel bumpy. Abrasive polishes are what bring out more shine or luster in paint.

 

I said and I will say again...cars that have LOST their lustre! Not that it's for the lustre!!!!!!