I've had good luck with 3M Swirl Remover for dark cars. If the spots you are worried about are small, you should be able to work them out by hand with this or one of the other mild abrasive polishes mentioned.

So, the question you haven't answered is, how's it looking? As for the time spent, remember that a lot of it is independent of Zaino - good cleaning and clay bar are necessary for any complete detailing. And you could have settled for one coat of Z5 or Z2. But you are now a welcome member of the "just a few more coats will be great" club.

Tony

 

Sounds like a perfectly good reason/excuse to have a tall one!!!!!!!!!!!!! This works for me anyway!!!!!!!

 

I used to own a 3 series that I cleaned using Zaino. Here's what I would do if I were you. Start from scratch, but just on the problem panel, the hood, right? Wash with Dawn. To prevent removing the Zaino product from other panels that look fine, don't use a spray nozzle on the water hose when rinsing off the soap. Lift the hood. Set the water hose on low to medium pressure, then hold the end of the hose an inch or two away from the hood with the hose 'parallel' to the hood, in other words, so that the water falls out over the panel instead of directly down onto the panel. This will gently sheet all the soapy water off the panel, and with the hood raised, down into the gutters in the windshield. (Holding a water hose this way when rinsing a car in general - parallel to whatever panel you're rinsing and real close to the surface - will sheet almost all the water off the car making drying much easier. You just have to be careful to hold the hose in your hand in such a way that you don't risk scratching your paint.)

Close your hood and towel dry if needed.

Next, mix a small amount of Z7 wash concentrate filled with water into a spray mister, and mist down the entire hood. Then, clay bar the surface. Don't swirl, be sure to add spray as you go, and just rub the clay bar back and forth, front to back, checking the bar often, re-folding it to keep it clean.

Next, wash the hood with Z7 wash concentrate mixed properly in a buck of lukewarm water. You can even do this step between Dawn and prior to clay bar if you really want to be anal and then again after the clay bar, but definitely do it now, after the clay bar step. Rinse as before, although this time you need not worry about getting other parts of the car wet or even soapy... the Zaino on those sections will not come off as they would with the Dawn.

Next, Z2 polish, mixed with the right amount of ZFX to accelerate curing time between coats. 3 coats of polish applied within any 24 hour period is the most recommended. Make sure that you do not towel off the Z2 from your hood until it's 'dry', which means that when you slide your finger tip across a tiny section, what you see underneath is pure clean car, no smudge mark or else it needs more time. Wipe off with a clean dry (soft 100% cotton of course) towel.

In between coats of Z2, spray Z6 Gloss Enhancer... lightly... but enough to cover the panel and then wipe completely dry with a new dry towel.

In one hour, not including waiting between coats time, your bonnet will look better than new.

If you want to save 55 minutes, try just spraying down with Z6... nothing else... assuming the car is clean. That might help even out the spots on the hood.

 

Sparta it sounds like his problem is beyond anything that Zaino can cover up. You mention Z2. Z2 surely won't help. It is a pure synthetic that contains no fillers or abrasives. He's already used Z5 which is Zaino's swirl filler. Zaino is fine for a topper but it won't repair damage that has been done.

 

Uh, ok sir... but it's certainly worth an hour of time, and does absolutely no harm, for someone who seems to care about his car as much as the original poster does, to try and clean his car properly, before going through the hassle and expense of having it fixed professionaly.

 

Claying has been around a long time, and it is a fad right now, but actually, I only use it for very specfic uses, such as removing rail dust. Clay can also do things you do not want it to do.

I only use clay when all else fails - and that includes cutting compounds with my orbital cleaner, and 30 years of experience with it.

I do not recommend claying as a routine prep for waxing.

If you search the Net, and look beyond those who have a vested interest in selling clays, you will find others who recommend caution. Claying is a skilled detailing procedure - it takes epxerience to do it right and safely. A couple of facts and hints:

1) Clay is abrasive - it has very fine abrasives in it, and must be used with a lubricant like soapy water or detailing spray.
2) Clay removes things - that is good. But it also removes things - that can be bad. It will remove high paints in the finish, so it does remove some paint or clear - overusing it has risks.
3) Clays got their latest "born again" start in Japan, where this is lots of air pollution, and many white cars - embedded brake or rail material is very obvious on a white car - so the modern clay was developed
4) The clays are patented and only a few companies make them - the rest is bought by outfits like Zaino and re-packaged (and marked up) for sale to us.
5) Clay must be clean - drop it on the ground and it is toast - and how can you be sure that the used clay is clean enough to be re-used? All it takes is one embedded bit of sand and you can be scratching your finish. The reason i prefer cleaners is that they are "clean" to begin with, and the mild abrasives become non-damaging quickly, even with an orbital. You have to be really out of it to scratch your paint with today's polishes and foam pads. And with polishes, there is a great variety of compounds - you pick the lightest one first, then move up to medium, then heavy cut, only using what is needed to correct the paint flaw. With clay, it is 100% what it is - there are various grades of clay, but have you ever seen them advertised? Of course not, each company has the best: Zaino, Meguiar's, Clay Magic, etc.
6) Yes, clay has its merits - and the big selling point is the feel of a PROPERLY clayed area - but did it get that smooth by just pulling stuff out of the paint? - no way, it has worn the surface a tiny bit, smoothing the asperities (hi and lo points of the paint or metal).
7) Clay is very effectve on glass on water spots - it can literally pull them off - now that is hardly a mild procedure if you think about it. It is like your girlfriend waxing her 'stache. Ouch! Or, imagine leaving duct tape on your hand for a week, then yanking it off. Does this seem like a benign, risk-free procedure? Neither is claying.

So, RR uses clay, but RR respects clay. I always start working on a paint defect by the polishing route, using clay only where nothing else will work, and even then, with a great deal of experience and practice on cheap cars over the years.

This guy has got it right (a good site for car care stuff, by the way). I found them looking for 3M Imperial Machine Glaze, which is the best polishing material I have ever used.

http://www.carcareonline.com/viewarticle.aspx?art=0