FX VETTE

I'll try to sum this up quickly. Car color is 50th AE Red. Went to a car show 4 hours away, paint was flawless at the show. Got stuck in 2 hail storms on the long drive back. When I made it home, the Vette looked like I live on a dirt road and never wash my car, totally messed with my OCD. I was going to take it to a local car show the next day, but didn't have much time to prepare.

I normally always hand wash my car, but due to the time I had left, I made a stupid decision to go through a touchless car wash to get the filth and grime off quickly and easily. So I get in the garage and finish wiping the paint down with detail spray, still a faint coat of grime on there. I apply 1 coat of Zaino 2 show car polish with ZFX (flash cure accelerator) added. Came out nic, but I wanted a deeper shine. Waited a bit, then applied one more coat of the Zaino 2 w/ZFX, let it haze for 30 min. When I go to wipe of the wax haze I see nearly all of my wax application strokes when I look at it with florescent light at a certain angle. Now the strokes are faint and you can only see them at a certain angle, but I know that they are there.

Could this be because the touchless wash put on a wax that doesn't play well with Zaino? Why else would I see this 'ghosting' or whatever it is called?

My plan of attack is to use original Dawn and strip off all the wash with a hand wash this weekend, claybar, then apply a couple coats of Z-2. I would greatly appreciate any ideas that explain this phenomenon and tips on how to correct it. I do have a DA polisher but really don't want to bust that out again unless completely necessary.

FYRARMS

Did you remove the remaining grime, or apply the Zaino over it? You may have just kind of smeared the grime around and sealed over it, which may be what you are seeing now.

Quote:

Could this be because the touchless wash put on a wax that doesn't play well with Zaino?

That is very possible. Spray wash soaps are very harsh, and are not pH-neutral by any means. Most contain an amount of acid. If the touchless wash bay didn't partially strip your paint protection, it definitely may have added some type of wax to the finish. Or both!

That is exactly what I would do. Just take off whatever the spray booth put on and start fresh. I totally get that you only used the booth in a pinch. Been there. I do use spray booths in the winter on my daily, out of necessity.

FYRARMS

Why the hell is my font so big? LOL

FX VETTE

Thanks a bunch FYRARMS, much appreciated! Your opinion is always highly respected.

FYRARMS

Any time, sir. I'm just an amateur picky-pants car owner with OCD, but I help where I can! I would have freaked out if that happened to me, too. LOL

Keep us posted on how everything turns out!

FX VETTE

Will do. Just one more question since I have your attention. I been buying Rag Co Eagle Edgeless 500 MF towels to use with detail spray for years, they work great for that IMO. However, since I just returned from a car show all of my good 100% cotton towels were already dirty due to the preparation before the show. So I ended up using some of my MF towels to remove the wax. Was that a big no-no, or does it matter whether you use 100% cotton or good MF towels to remove wax?

mdb917

It does not matter of the two which you use for wax removal. It's a personal choice. I actually lean towards MF for almost everything detailing related. I do keep the MF separated by what I use them for. Way back when before great MFs were available we all used cotton towels and before that...well never mind. I remember cutting borders off of perfectly good cotton towels because I was afraid they were too harsh.

FYRARMS

You are fine! All I use on my paint is MF. Actually, MF is all I use everywhere on the car. I use different naps and thicknesses and styles for different purposes, but they are all MF. For wax removal, I use short-nap MF towels around 300-350gsm.

charley95

I have a pay and spray around the corner from my house. I always wash there but ALWAYS bucket wash when I get home. I have never seen a pressure washer fully remove all dirt off the finish. It's especially noticeable in the winter time. If it dries before bucket washing you can see the film of dirt on it.

FYRARMS

Same here. My daily is pearl white and hides dirt pretty well. But, after using the pay and spray, I can see a film of dirt still on the car. I hate giving the paint the "finger wipe test", because I know it is still dirty. In midwest winters, I have accepted that I will have to just get by with the spray and pray, and will wipe it down with waterless wash or detail spray when it isn't below zero. LOL

charley95

And our winters are terrible here in our God forsaken state. A few more years I'm out of here and going south.

FX VETTE

Just to follow-up: I gave the car a good bath with original Dawn and gave it a few coats of Zaino 2 w/ZFX, followed by Z-CS sealant & Z-6. It came out looking better that I can ever remember. If it wasn't rainy & cloudy today (everyday) I would take some pics to post, the weather has been really terrible this year.

Anyway, the wax application marks are long gone now. I'm not sure if it was the crappy drive-thru brushless car wash products that contributed or perhaps some grime mixed in that the crappy car wash missed. All I can say as I hope I don't have to resort to that again as it stressed me out.

Thanks to all that replied and offered advice.

Alwyn678

[QUOTE=AE Guy;1599605637]Just to follow-up: I gave the car a good bath with original Dawn and gave it a few coats of Zaino 2 w/ZFX, followed by Z-CS.


What are ZFX, Z-CS & Z-6?

FX VETTE

[QUOTE=Alwyn678;1599609565]https://www.zainostore.com/

Zaino 2 is Show Car Polish & ZFX is a Flash Cure Accelerator that you mix with it so you can put on multiple coats with little down time. Zaino CS is a self curing transparent sealer and Z-6 is a gloss enhancer (similar to a detail spray).