jinxedz

iTrader: (5)

Hello all.

After reading various threads in this forum (Here, Here, and Here) as well as surfing those over at autopia, I think I am reading to start detailing. I have never done this before.

I used to own a cavalier and bi-weekly $5 gas station washes were good enough for her. My T/A will never see one of those. I have already purchased the Zaino Total Protection Show Car Kit as well as some Large cotton towels (100% US made cotton), buckets, a wash mit, and some Meguir's interior cleaning products. I am just unsure how to go about dealing with certain paint imperfections before applying the Zaino.

Here are the Pics of my Paint Problems:

HOOD




HOOD 2



HEAD LIGHT



MIRROR



DOOR



DOOR 2



QUARTER



FOG LIGHT




The car is very dirty as it has not been washed yet.

I have bought GM Touch up paint (#01052907, Code 41, WA 8555) and 2000 grit sand paper as well.

Here is what I believe I should do.


- Wash with Dawn Dishwashing Soap to remove current wax
- Apply Touch up paint to above areas with pin needle and let dry several hours
- Wet Sand until smooth
- Wash again with Z7 Car Wash
- Use Z18 Claybar
- Wash again with Z7 Car Wash
- Apply ZPC Abbrasive Swirl remover to remove minor scratches, blemishes, and imperfections.
- Wash again
- Apply ZFX accelerator and Z2 Car polish
- Final coat of Z6 gloss spray

Good? Bad? Totally wrong? Again, I have never done this before and this is all very new to me.

Any help would be appreciated. I have seen some very nice cars on this forum as well as read posts by some very knowledgable people... your input in valued.

Thanks,
- J

ZaneO

Sounds pretty good, but where are the after pictures?

jinxedz

iTrader: (5)

I haven't done it yet... I was asking if it was a good plan...

I took those pics about 1hr ago... I plan on doing this over the period of today/tomorrow as I hear the 'Zaino Process' takes awhile.

Thanks.

ZaneO

Ahh...I see.

You may have to fill chips and sand several times to get enough paint built up. I also recommend taping off the areas you will be filling and sanding. This will make it easier to polish out the sanding scratches. It may be difficult to remove some of those marks by hand...use a really fine grit sandpaper.

jinxedz

iTrader: (5)

I just finished removing the old wax and applied my first coat of paint to all the chips/scratches. God damn did that take awhile.

Going to let them dry for several hours before applying the next coat. Should I be sanding between coats? How many coats do you think will be necessary? 3-4?

Thanks again

chupr0kabra

iTrader: (10)

Zane is correct about layering the touch-up paint. When you have bare metal showing like that, it will take several layers of touch-up to even it out. The trick is to make really thin layers. If you let it "glob", it won't look as good. It will be like putting a big arrow on the hood that says "HEY! I USED TOUCH-UP PAINT HERE!"

Also, I don't really see a need to wash again after using Z-PC. As long as you buff it off, you shouldn't need to worry about washing it.

Be sure to post up pics of the during/after!


-Mike

chupr0kabra

iTrader: (10)

Don't bother sanding between coats. As for how many coats, it varies, but I kept layering until it was just BARELY higher than the area around it, then knocked it down to level with the wet sand.


-Mike

jinxedz

iTrader: (5)

Thanks for the input so far guys.

I have been applying paint over the past 2 days... I plan on wet sanding it tomorrow morning and applying my first coat of Zaino products.

I'll do the rest when I get back from work.