Wow... it didn't take that long (well, it took a while, but not as long as I thought it might) and all I can say is WOW!

I didn't think the clay bar would do much since the car is only 2yr old, but it picked up a surprising amount of dirt in the paint. Now it is so smooth. And the PC really helped get rid of the swirls (not that there were that many to start with).

Highly recommend both tools for those of you who like to have a top-class shine on their cars.

 

did you clay bar (who's?), and then polish with the Porter Cable?

 

Zaino clay bar and Zaino wax with the PC

 

What did everyone do after taking delivery? Immediate Clay-bar? Insert favorite car wash here, followed by favorite wax?

My plans: Zymol Clear, followed by Wizards Clay Mate, then another round of Clear. Onward with either Zymol Carbon, or Japon (opinions please) and finishing with Wizards Mist-n-Shine.

What to do with wheels and rubber/trim?

Cheers,
Ryan

 

You can wax the wheels. They have a clear coat on them. Makes it much easier to clean brake dust. Use 303 Protectant or Lexol for the trim.

 

dookie- did you use the pc to clay the car? i have a clay attachment, but have never used it (it is a pad with an indentation to hold the clay).

ryephile- no need to clay the car when you first get it as long as you are the first owner.
my first app was finish first- about 4 coats... since then i have switched to zaino (applied and removed by porter cable)- now probably about 20 coats in all of the z2!
i use many different car shampoos- i like them all, so no real tips here (i make sure that they have good "sheeting action").
my wheels have had several products also... a mild wheel cleaner gets brushed on the wheels and tires each time.
and i use lexol on the leather and lexol vinylex on all vinyl.
one of my fav product sites is:
http://properautocare.com/
lots of good product ideas there.

 

Thanks wanabe

I just saw some pictures of a S2k fresh off the truck from delivery, with all shipping materials intact. The white protective plastic used to cover the paint was only on the upper half of the car. This would put a good point to clay bar the contaminants off the lower half, where the paint has not been protected all the way from Japan to the dealership (salt water/air, brake dust, diesel soot, et cetera).

 

I should have been more clear. I did the claybar (using the Mother's Kit) by hand. Thanks to whoever said to cut the bar into pieces and save them for later... having dropped the first piece within 1 minute, I was able to finish the car without buying another bar. I've seen the claybar "pad" for the PC, but I think you need the manual "feedback" with the bar to know what it is doing. Just my opinion.

I'm a Meguiar's fan, so I did the No. 9 Swirl Remover with the PC... worked great and took out the swirls left behind by the dealership detailer... morons. I did the remaining ShowCar Glaze and High Tech Yellow Wax steps by hand as they don't take much effort.

The car looks FANTASTIC. I'm getting all kinds of comments from people on the streets about how nice the paint looks. You do get a noticable difference when it's done right.

Dookie