Gone to the Dark Side

[Captain A]

Originally Posted by sammy

on taking care of your black car. i will share what i try to operate on .is 1 every time one touches a black car it scratches it period . first invest in a doz micro fiber towels . 2 invest in a leaf bower to dry your car . stock up on detail spray it can be used in.between washings with a micro fiber towel to spoof her up .. i also bought a medium pressure washer to do the precleaning when washing.i use a 21 bucket method with screens that go down 2/3 of the way in the bucket to let the dirt settle in the bottom and not stay suspended in the water . 1 bucket is loaded with a good car wash soap and micro fiber towels .the second bucket is rinse water for the wash towels.. i blow off what suface dirt with the pressure washer . then top to bottom wash the car .i split the car in 5ths . then i rinse . .then i rinse again and spray a light mist of detail spray on that rinse water and blow dry . once a month i wax the car with meguires classic wax . i never press hard and use only a sponge applicator pad . i wait at least 20 min before wiping off .when i take off the wax i use my porter cable buffer to take off the wax on 3 with a micro fiber pad . i never press just let the weight of the machine do the work . once every 3 months i go over the whole car with the porter cable with machine glaze . then i use 3m ultra fina to polish her up before waxing . this has worked well for me for over 8 years . hope this help some anyway

I would like to see pictures of your car. Sounds like you have put alot of thought into it. I think I am going to try the leaf blower. Why did you use Meguires wax vs a synthetic?

[Z Factor]

Originally Posted by QB93Z

Last week I bought a Black 1990 ZR-1.
Having never owned a Black car before, I will need to learn how to keep it shiney and new looking.

Jim

Congratulations
It is impossible to keep them clean, but they can be easier to maintain if you use a polymer like Zaino, do spot cleaning with the detail spray, then use a California duster to get the surface dust off.
Of course other products such as what Adam's sells will also do the trick.

Originally Posted by QB93Z

Borla exhaust with no Cats.

Borla is not bad by any means, but the B&B's will knock your socks.
Either way you will be having a great time with it.

[Pete]

Originally Posted by Z Factor

Borla is not bad by any means, but the B&B's will knock your socks.
Either way you will be having a great time with it.

Jim,with the Borla you are leaving about 20 hp on the table.

That 368 with cams needs to breath.

Pete

[94Admiral]

Originally Posted by LGAFF

Did I mention you were a b@stard?

I'm not so sure all of the comments were "nice"....some sound just plain old jealous!!!!!

[Paul Workman]

Originally Posted by Captain A

Why did you use Meguires wax vs a synthetic?

Fair question...ESPECIALLY when it comes to BLACK.

Originally Posted by sammy

on taking care of your black car. i will share what i try to operate on .is 1 every time one touches a black car it scratches it period .

This is the #1 reason I switched to polymer coating!

Originally Posted by sammy

"...then i rinse again and spray a light mist of detail spray on that rinse water and blow dry . once a month i wax the car with meguires classic wax . i never press hard and use only a sponge applicator pad . i wait at least 20 min before wiping off .when i take off the wax i use my porter cable buffer to take off the wax on 3 with a micro fiber pad . i never press just let the weight of the machine do the work . once every 3 months i go over the whole car with the porter cable with machine glaze . then i use 3m ultra fina to polish her up before waxing . this has worked well for me for over 8 years . hope this help some anyway

That pretty well sums up the #2 reason I quit waxing and went to polymers...(Zaino, actually).





I like um shiny, but don't like ta be a rubbin 'em alla time...waxes work, but minimal maintenance led me to polymer.

P.

[sammy]

i ended up using those products after attending a sat meguires class 6 years ago . mike phillips taught the class.and suggested those products to me as well as the procedures i use . he is now working for the auto geek people . he is a great guy who has almost 30 worth of detailing and development experience of waxes and polishes. my black car still looks like new and is void of orange peel since color sanding it . there are a lot of great products out there that may be better than what i am using ,but i have stayed with what mike suggested 5 years ago since it seems to work so well and doesn't cost an arm and a leg . the key mike always said was to set up a way you want to do it and follow it religiously . which is what i have tried to do .hope in some small way it has helped

[sammy]

there are videos on u tube of the black car. just type in bradszr1 and click on my favorites button to see

[BlackWidow#2]

Originally Posted by QB93Z

Thank you for all of the nice comments. I feel very lucky to be in the right place at the right time to be able to own this great ZR-1. Now if it ever stops raining, I will get some pictures.

Jim

Good luck with the new car. Being in the right place at the right time is very fortunate. Congrats! Rain should stop soon, ours has stopped!
George

[GrayZ]

Jim ... Not that I know anything bout, compounds and such, but....
I do have a black car, never another, but, i do have one now...
'My' secret is in the mail,

[mike100]

I think this 3M product works well for dark colors and hand application. walmart had it for awhile, but they discontinued it- wish I would have bought every bottle they had for $7.97 on the blowout shelf.


http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3..._a_Car_Finish/