use micro-fibre towels to wipe the Z2 or Z5 off. I think this is the key not to have swirls.

 

pittpanther,
Sounds like a plan! After the coats of Z5 make an assessment. Maybe another coat of Z5 is appropriate, maybe its OK to go on to Z2. Remimber, thin and in layers!

I think you've got the hang of it!

Post pics when you're done!

 

I washed my car a Saturday and started to add a thin application of Z6. As I started to wipe it off, I noticed new spiderwebbing a swirl marks. These were not there before and were a direct result of my towel. I e-mailed Sal Zaino, and within five minutes(!) I had my answer. I used powdered detergent to wash my towels. This left a fine layer of detergent grit in my towel which made a mess of my finish. I used some Z5 to clear it up. I am now going to wash all my towels in liquid detergent as specified and rinse them many times.

 

That's important to note Nin009 - I did wash mine with liquid but not purposely (i.e.: I didn't do it knowing that powdered could cause problems).

 

I tried Zaino myself and was not impressed. It does give gloss and is durable but it's not the easiest to use and it doesn't work as well for me to remove swirls. Under shoplights, you see EVERY imperfection..

I ended up using 3m Perfect-it for dark cars with a foam pad. You just keep on rubbing in the compound until it disappears and all you are left with is a glossy, swirl free finish.

Another source of scratching appeared to be the towel itself. I was using cotton terry towels but it created swirls again when removing the excess polish. So I switched to a plain white cotton t-shirt. This also works well to buff off the wax.

I either use microfiber or old white t-shirts washed in woolite. The combo works perfect, removes most swirls. Although in reality, it is impossible to remove all swirls on any dark colored car.

 

I have both the 3M Perfect-It for Dark and Light Colored Cars - just never used them.

I think I will be happy with Zaino after I get more used to the process. I have very good lighting in my garage, so that was definitely a factor in my freaking out during the Zaino process.

 

Just an update, I now have a couple of Z5 coats on, and it is starting to come around.

I did the S2K today - it's SOOO much easier ! I was able to get in 2 coats of Z5 and 1 coat of Z2 (using ZFX) with Z6 applications in between in about 2.5 hours. It looks incredible!