I'm fairly new to detailing. I started, more seriously, last year when I got my new vette. I clayed then polished, followed by multiple coats of Zaino. Now I want to try to improve the shine more and had a couple of questions. I have read many post from here and Autopia and still am a little confused. If I start with a moderate polish and finish with a finer polish, does following up with a glaze offer any benifits before I start to apply a sealant?

 

A glaze can sometimes add something in the way of gloss, wetness, and/or depth to the final finish, but most sealant do not properly bond to a glaze (because they're usually heavy in oils/fillers). If you feel like you need to use a glaze, I would recommend a carnauba wax on top.

 

Thanks for the advice.

 

now alot of times you can get some additional gloss (which mimics wetness) by jeweling the paint. This comes from using a light finishing polish and a no abrasive pad to really amp up the surface. You can then use the sealant of your choice, and remember Z8 by Zaino adds some addtl gloss too.

As offered by Zane above, glazes are commonly used under waxes only as they give sealants a hard time curing to service properly. Two new glazes from Poorboys are sealant compatible however and add some gloss.

 

Since you are using Zaino I would stay away from a Glaze.

What you need to do is follow up your Zaino with some Z8 or for the ultimate shine CS/Z8.

 

I bought some Menerza Micro polish from you last year. I assume that would work for the light finishing polish you mentioned. I also had bought the Menerza Finishing Glaze last year. I'm I correct in thinking that should be used for a daily driver that I didn't want to polish to fill in fine scratches?

 

Glaze:
There are two types of Glazes; wax/oil based and polymer-based, an oil / wax based glaze can only be used under a carnauba wax, as a polymer sealant will not bond.

A glaze is purely an aesthetic product that contains a very, very light abrasive (Kaolin) to lightly burnish the surface. A glaze provides gloss but very little protection; it's often referred to as Show Glaze because glazes tend to create a "wet-look" (jetting) shine they have come to be used by enthusiasts to maximize shine and gloss on concourse show cars, historic and exotic vehicles.

They are also used on a ‘thin’ clear coat (bear in mind that a clear coat has a thickness of 1.5 – 2.0 Mils, removing more that 0.3 mil (0.0003") of clear coat will cause premature paint film failure) if the clear coat thickness has been reduced by this amount apply a glaze as opposed to using an abrasive polish; risking further clear coat reduction

They are formulated with micro-fine abrasives (Kaolin clay) that will burnish the paint (but will not remove surface imperfections) it’s comparative abrasion scale (CAS= 0.75/10) along with an emulsion of polymers or solvent oils as the carrier system, the Carnauba wax and Kaolin `fills in' small paint surface scratches, abrasions and swirl marks, without removing them.

There filling abilities usually dissipate in a matter of days before the surface abrasions become visible again, washing the paint film surface will accelerate this process, using a Carnauba wax as an LSP will help the durability of the glaze somewhat by ‘sealing it.

 

you are correct on both points. While I prefer Nano polish (106FF) for jeweling (finishing work) the micro will work to but takes a little longer on the harder Vette finish.