mine is in the garage at home and at work, but just driving when all the crap was melting....

 

I disagree. I know light colored cars are hard to get the paint to pop but it can be done.

 

Silver cars don't shine???????????? Check out mine.

 

Cool thanks for the info. I really have to get my car cleaned. I've been itching to give it a good deep wash but the with the weather it wouldn't make sense.

Last time I spent a long time washing my car was a year ago and it took me 6 hours with wash, claybar, polish and wax w/ a rotary tool. I just wasn't sure how often to go about it.

And I actually don't drum anymore lol. I was in my school drumline in HS so that's why it's in my username. I played quads in the marching band (lol I had a good time trying to fit those in the Z) and then did concert percussion stuff like timpani, snare, and marimba for my concert band.

 

Amen guys..

My "silver" car shines .. and everywhere I go since I've detailed it I get people talking to me about it.

The few pictures I took were with a cell phone, and it didn't handle the sunset light well (and I'm no prof. photographer ).

Still,.. if you know car finishes, you should be able to tell to some degree the way the car looks even in the pictures I posted.. especially if you go to the full stream of them.. (like 4 total pics)... here:

/
Then zoom in ..

This picture, while not the most flattering angle of the car.. shows the rotary work much better than the others... Take a look at the reflection.. and definite "Shine" on the driver side here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/111739693@N04/11415430745/

But , yes.. Lighter colored cars (the lighter you go).. are harder to get to shine and have a "mirror" finish like say on the opposite end of the spectrum a Jet black car. But, I absolutely LOVE the color of the one I have -- It almost looks different than some of the other Z's.

The ones I see rolling around here look a darker grey .. mine looks to be a little lighter and more "silver"... but maybe they are all the same,.. what do I know!

I invite you (whoever said don't bother with a silver car they don't shine) -- to come see my car in person any time you want.. for real! We can talk shop too.

I'm STILL not done with my car .. I'm about 98% there.. but I do the stuff many people don't even bother, or think about.

Like earlier today I took of the windshield wipers (the whole assembly) from the motor housing.. because this car had a bunch of mud and grit all around that circular area at the base of the wipers..

Then I got a flat head screw driver.. put a little cut piece of microfiber cloth taped around it.. and got to work.. Loosen, vacuum.. loosen.. vacuum.

And I found a random screw down in there.. didn't go to the wiper blades or motor.. just had fallen in there from someone doing something on the car. So I was blessed to be doing that,.. had that screw moved 1mm it would have binded the window motor and burned it up,.. so got that thing out by sheer luck.

Then I got out the clay bar, then used a hand buffing bad (as a rotary can't get in there..) and polished around it, and topped it off with a touch of wax.

I also hand washed the under side of my hood. You wouldn't believe how much grease/dirt gets along the line of where the hood meets edges of the engine bay. And, in the future I'll hand clay it, hand polish, and yup.. even put some wax on it. -- I still have to get the rubber seals around the windows, tail lights, and small stuff like that.

Interior is about 50 percent done.. it's vacuumed,.. wiped down.. but I see some things that are needed.

Interior:

1) The back mat for some reason looks like a cat jumped on it and started picking at it .. so I am going to pull it out and use a razor blade and lighter to get all the little nibs of cloth sticking out back flat.

2) I still haven't gone over the plastic/rubber interior with my Aerospace protectant I like to use (armorall , I love the shine.. but I learned my lesson with it over the years.. )

3) I have a glass attachment for my rotary, that has special glass buffing compounds and you better believe I'm going to get all those little specks out of it, and even more annoying the prev. owner had service stickers in 4 diff. spots. (Normal oil change.. (that's fine) ) -- but the tires were filled with Nitrogen and it has that sticker.. and two more down low by the dash.. So I'll have to do some Razorblade work to get them off carefully.. then I can't use the rotary inside the car (AND it's tinted.. so I'll have to use my "Tint Safe" Cleaner on that... really have to be careful with tint.

4) And finally.. the driver side grip/window finisher piece (where the power window buttons are) is scratched up like many Z's are. That piece is $80 EVERYWHERE I look.. and I have to replace it. The Carbon Fiber piece comes in a set only.. and is $150 (which is a little cheaper considering it's both doors) -- BUT, the passenger door has zero scratches. So , I'll likely spend the 80 bucks and just pop off the old one and pop on the new one (no screw in the 2008 Z's)


But yeah guys, and ladies -- Any questions you have about detailing inside or out.. I will be more than happy to answer them.. I've been doing this 7 years now.. spent over a year just researching before I felt confident enough to buy a rotary. --

I actually recommend now-adays to go with a DA (Dual Action) Polisher.. It's a million times safer than a true Rotary,.. it's much harder to do damage to your paint/finish with a dual action, and a dual action , imo, does JUST as good of a job as a Rotary.

You can get one from $69-169 -- Which will last a lifetime usually.. and I've been using the same bottles of XMT polishes for 4 years now.. and still have plenty left. It's a $150-200 upfront investment if you are serious about polishing your car with a machine and NOT by hand.. but you get your money back after ONE use.

Why? Because, the kind of detail job you get from using a DA with polish costs you minimum $200 and really a true GOOD detailer who will spent 4-5 hours on your car or more will be more like $400-500. Cause there is a lot of skill involved, and it's , frankly.. a ton of time on very particular "details" -- very manual/labor intensive work. And the real proof is IN the details.

These carwash places (like here we have a "Car wash HQ".. and "Mr. Carwash".. and "Anthony's".. which have like a dozen or more guys who will hand vacuum,.. and prep your car.. (unfortunately.. run it through a standard machine wash).. then bring it out and hand QUICKLY detail it.. which entails just throwing on tire shine.. wiping down the dash and interior.. cleaning the carpets with some generic cleaner for about 2-3 minutes (which is not near enough time).. and wiping the brake dust off your rims.

These places are much better than any pay wash you drive through for sure.. but it's not even close to a "detail".. even though they call it that.


But you get the idea.. I'm telling most of you what you already know.. I apologize... but for some odd reason, like someone said earlier,..

BEWARE of getting into detailing/polishing your car.. it becomes addictive, seriously. I went from knowing how to wash and put a coat of wax on my car.. to having Dual actions, rotaries.. two specialized bags to hold my polishing compounds, finishing glazes, all different types of pads to put on machines.. hand pads.. etc. You look in my garage and I have one shelf along a wall that runs about 15-20ft long with ALL car products.. 3 deep. You will end up getting hooked on trying new products, - BUT, it's great exercise and your car will NEVER look better, and people around you will always ask you how the heck your car looks like it does. ie: "Where did you get that washed?"..

I've never found another place that will detail your OWN car like the owner will.. for obvious reasons.

 

Pleasure.. Well,.. even with the weather you can get it done. Just try to watch the forecast.. and if you get a 2-3 day gap without rain/snow.. regardless of temp you can get it done. I've borrowed friends garages before -- All polishes, waxes, etc.. work fine in anything above 45-50 degrees F.. which is the minimum it will get in a garage closed even if it's 25-30 degree's outside.

It rained all week prior to getting my Z,.. then it stopped the day I bought it.. and I had the weekend to do the work.. It's been good this week.. but we are expecting 3 inches of a 2 day soaker this weekend ;( -- Wish I could keep the car in the garage (get rides from friends lol) while it's raining.. but I'll just have to deal with it. Once it's cleaned, polished, clayed, waxed etc.. Even after being in rain/snow etc.. You can get it back to top shine in about 15-30mins when it stops with a good quick detailer spray and a microfiber towel. All that work you did wasn't for nothing, the car is protected.. and will clean and shine right back up like the day you did it with just a bit of wiping.

That's the way to do it! I admire people who spend that kind of time on a car.. The 6-8hour deals are like once a year at most for me.. It's not like I spend 8 hours on a car every month or something.

After you wash, claybar, polish and wax.. all you need to do from then on is hand wash every time it needs it (will vary with what weather/roads it's exposed to).. and then throw a coat of wax on twice a year. That's it my friend. No need to re clay, re-polish or any of that long backbreaking labor for the rest of the year.. and if you are lucky enough to be able to garage the car at home.. you can get away with just wash and wax for 2-3 years minimum after a solid claybar/polish job. If it's left outside all the time, you will need to at least clay it once a year to 18months to keep the paint in good shape (imho).

But, if you have already done the wash, claybar, rotary (probably a Dual action type.. (I prefer those).., and hand wax.. you know what you are doing! Cool chick hehe..

So to break it down.

Wash = At your discretion.. could be once a week if in bad weather/outside/dirt roads whatever. Or as long as a month or more if it's not raining/sleeting/snowing etc on you, and possibly garaged at night.

Claybar = 12-24 months.. at your discretion.. claying a car can easily be determined by taking the back of your bare hand and rubbing the hood, top of car.. door etc.. If it's smooth, no need,.. if you feel grit, it's time.

Wax = Technically.. the good stuff lasts a solid 12 months.. and it really does. But, I recommend twice a year.. every 6-8 months as you get the time.

Rotary = This is the least often thing you really have to do imo. I'd say once every year to four years.. this depends a lot on the elements the car is subjected to. If it's garaged your polish job will hang in there (protected by the wax layer) for years.

The Rotary part of the car is to remove swirl marks, fine scratches.. and such that are often invisible to the naked eye,.. but a car will often have literally millions of these all in the paint and these together diffract (bend) the light hitting the car making the shine dull. When you polish with a DA/Rotary and compound it removes a great percentage of these .. and the car's paint comes to life! -- Even brand new cars from the factory need a quick claying and polish.. they are often transported by train, truck, etc.. sit in lots a long time.. and a car with 50 miles on it may look fantastic, but that paint needs some loving,.. But nothing like a 5+ year old paint job that hasn't been adequately protected, like, sadly.. most vehicles you'll find and buy.


Hey , once a drummer always a drummer! I gaurantee you could get back on a snare/quads etc and in an hour be jamming. I've always played a drum kit in a band (just local gigs.. nothing big).. And I've had 2-3 years where I didn't have time for it before,.. and you do get rusty but like a bike.. musician"ship" never goes away.. it comes right back with a little practice.

 

i like that,, maybe i can own also that kind of car,,, love it

 

You already own a Z don't you? Or are you being sarcastic?

 

That looks super clean.

What products do you use on it?

It looks a bit darker than mine? Is it the same paint scheme? Maybe different lighting, better camera?

 

My Z is Siverstone. I suspect your car is Silver Alloy Metallic. You can check for the paint code on the firewall to be certain of your color. For the most part, I use Adams Polishes products. I have a Griot's Garage 6" d/a buffer and a 3" d/a buffer. Try using some Adam's Americana wax. Outstanding shine.

 

I'll check for the color code.. thanks.

Also, I'll look into those products, I'm always looking at new products to try. Much appreciated! Your Z looks super sharp,.. good job on it!

 

Definitely Silver Alloy, Color code: K23

 

Looks like my '08 Touring model, except (a) mine doesn't have the spoiler, (b) mine does have the mud guards front and rear.