I'm currently about to wash my new s2k for the first time (took delivery last weekend), I'm really getting pretty anal about treating it like a baby. my question, is what should I clean her with? I'm currently waiting for my Zaino pack to come in, so that's out of the question for this wash. Are there some other pretty decent products out there that I could pick up and take care of business? Thanks.

 

I use Prestone car wash and Bullet wax. Works great!

 

Only let two type of cloth touch your car. One is the absorber (chamois like towel to dry). It comes in a tube and is synthetically produced and will not put small scratches in your car. For washing use only microfiber towels. Also synthetically produced so they don't put small scratches on the car. If you use cotton or terry cloth, etc, it WILL put small surface scratches on the car.

both microfiber and absorber should be easy to find at a local auto store.

 

The only products that I let touch my cars are Griot's Garage products. Their synthetic drying cloth is phenomenal.

I recognize that you need a quick interim solution to get you through just this car wash. And for that I would recommend McGuire's liquid soap. A microfiber drying towel (like the one Wisconson is recommending). And if you must get that last bit of shine: 3M Hand Glaze. I would NOT recommend waxing for at least 30 days given that it's hard to know how much time the paint had to cure.

Enjoy your bonding time with your Stook.

And please remember NOT to overdry. Barely remove excess water and beads, and let nature do the rest.

 

Did you order a clay bar with your zaino? If not, this is a good opportunity for you to prep your car for zaino polish. Go buy a mother's clay bar from an auto parts store, then wash your car using dawn liquid soap (reccomended by zaino) and use the clay bar. This will remove any contaminants from your paint. remember, though: do NOT use dawn after zainoing your car because it strips off wax and polish, but it will never hurt the finish of your car.

 

Wow...
aren't 3M Hand Glaze and clay bar a little harsh for new paint. I don't think I'd ever use those on a new car.

 

Another thing you might want to use is a good old trust worthy hand held leaf blower. It gets a lot of the water off the car before you finish off with a synthetic towel. I have never used Zaino, but millions here swear by it. I believe a clay bar is good though for removing any contaminants left on the surface.

 

moving to wash and wax forum

 

this question has sooo many possible answers . . .

one - factory paint is hard and cured by the time you get it . . .

two - it is a good time to clay it - gentle is the key to claying, and lots of lubricant . . .

three - if you dont want to be dawn washing again - get a soap that does not contain wax - many labels state it protects (a hint there is wax)

four - 100% cotton towels (Royal Velvet , Charisma) from Fieldcrest will not cause any marks or swirls - others may . . leaf blowers are great, absorber or other synthetic cloth are fine (if you like them) - dont use a regular chamois.

five - Dawn wont remove Zaino.

six - your zaino cant be more than a week away . . . why not wait it out and do it all at once - and avoid the confusion . .

seven - some testing has revealed not all micro-fibre are created equal , even among same brand names . yes, generally they are fine, but not fool-proof.

 

My understanding was that Dawn removed everything this side of the clear coat (i.e. Wax, Zaino, etc). I mean, that is the whole point of using Dawn, isn't it? (I dunno about the rest of you, but I sure wouldn't use dishwashing soap on my car unless there I knew of a real good reason to do so) .

Basically, as I undertstood it, if you wanted to wash the car but not remove the coat of Zaino that was already there, you should used a pH-neutral product like Z-7.

Why would one ever use Dawn post-Zainoing if it won't remove Zaino???

Anyways- Re: Cotton Towels. Sal Zaino does not recommend micro fiber towels as their quality control is a crapshoot. Some are great, and some scratch, and alas, there is only one way to find out what you got (even buying the same brand you had good luck with in the past doesn't guarantee you anything).

-Joe