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Wax for Silver 350z?


BigPoch

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Hi All,

 

New to the detailing game, so need some advice on wax & clay bar. I have a silver 350z and looking for a glossy finish that last couple months? Any products you guys recommend? Also, should i claybar the car before a wax?

 

Thanks,

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Ideally, you should clay first as it'll add a little gloss itself and also give the best surface for any LSP to bond to however, on a Z in particular, you can inflict marring with clay (either bar or cloth/mitt) so unless you're planning on polishing or using a glaze I wouldn't bother, personally.

 

A wax isn't going to add a huge amount of gloss in itself - again, you'll want to polish to get the best gloss and then I'd recommend a coating like Gyeon CanCoat over a wax for maximum glossiness. That said FK1000P; whilst not strictly a wax, it will last a couple of months and being a sealant of sorts it'll add some gloss too. Plus is costs next to nothing for a lifetime supply, is easy to use and has a picture of a shark on the tin. What's not to like?!

 

And just to tie it into the first sentence, I wouldn't use FK with a glaze (the solvents in FK will remove the fillers from the glaze so it's just wasting product). If you choose to clay and then glaze rather than polish, I'd recommend Poorboys Black Hole/White Diamond (it actually doesn't matter which) followed by Poorboys Natty's Blue for cheap but fantastic results, or Auto Finesse Ultra Glaze followed by Auto Finesse Desire for not-at-all-cheap but fantastic results.

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I remember when i first discovered a clay bar, by the time i washed, rinsed, used the clay bar, washed the lube off and rinsed again......I ran out of daylight and couldn't polish/wax.

Had to wash and rinse again the next day before preparation for waxing etc :lol:

 

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Ideally, you should clay first as it'll add a little gloss itself and also give the best surface for any LSP to bond to however, on a Z in particular, you can inflict marring with clay (either bar or cloth/mitt) so unless you're planning on polishing or using a glaze I wouldn't bother, personally.

 

A wax isn't going to add a huge amount of gloss in itself - again, you'll want to polish to get the best gloss and then I'd recommend a coating like Gyeon CanCoat over a wax for maximum glossiness. That said FK1000P; whilst not strictly a wax, it will last a couple of months and being a sealant of sorts it'll add some gloss too. Plus is costs next to nothing for a lifetime supply, is easy to use and has a picture of a shark on the tin. What's not to like?!

 

And just to tie it into the first sentence, I wouldn't use FK with a glaze (the solvents in FK will remove the fillers from the glaze so it's just wasting product). If you choose to clay and then glaze rather than polish, I'd recommend Poorboys Black Hole/White Diamond (it actually doesn't matter which) followed by Poorboys Natty's Blue for cheap but fantastic results, or Auto Finesse Ultra Glaze followed by Auto Finesse Desire for not-at-all-cheap but fantastic results.

 

Thanks for your help. In order to polish don't i need a variable speed polisher? I've heard that ideally glazing should be done after a polish to even out imperfections for the wax, if i don't polish the car is it any use to glaze?

 

I think i'm inclined to use your recommendation of "clay and then glaze rather than polish - and then wax for protection" however got any cheaper but valuable recommendations for a wax? :D Auto Finesse Desire is damn expensive!

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Poorboys Natty's paste wax. :thumbs: Cheaper than cheap thing and twice as good... or something. Very cheap and one one of my all time favourite waxes - here.

 

Glaze is full of fillers, so there only reason you'd glaze after polishing would be to get a deeper, wetter finish. It doesn't add a great deal after polishing.

 

Glazing instead of polishing, however, adds the same depth & wet finish with but also fills minor swirls giving the impression of a polished surface for a short time (until the glaze wears off). You'll always get more from a glaze if you're not polishing than you would after polishing.

 

Polishing is best achieved with a machine polisher, but with the soft paint on the Z it's not essential to get a reasonably good finish - you'll never get as good a finish by hand, but with the right equipment and technique you can get a fair level of correction done. And you will always get a better finish polishing by hand than you would not polishing at all.

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Here's what I accomplished late last year in well under 2 hours: http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/111917-quick-polish-wax-of-the-z/

 

This year it'll get a thorough wash, de-tar, clay with Bilt Hamber, machine polish with a DAS6 & chosen polish at the time, then waxed. I personally like a glaze for a quickie if you don't have time to apply a wax, wait for it to cure depending on how hot or cold the weather is, then removing it, which can be hard work if you're new to detailing as you've said, & aren't sure if the wax you've chosen to use can be hard to remove, because some like Megs #16 can leave you tired.

 

It's a minefield out there when it comes to detailing products. If you read & believe all the hype on DW then you'll have no money left, everything is the next best thing till something else comes out. Set yourself a budget as a beginner & stick with it. Plenty of products out there to start you off that'll give you good visual results.

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I used to use Dodo Supernatural hybrid on my R34, looked very glossy, I prefer sealants to waxes on silver, easier to get the flake to pop and give a different clarity, its not as easy to get Silver to look stunning

 

IMG_3408_Wall_zpsccd55fa0.jpg

 

Also liked the look of Zaino z2 on my old Evo 6 for the same reasons

 

P1020252.jpg

 

P1020231.jpg

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I used to use Dodo Supernatural hybrid on my R34, looked very glossy, I prefer sealants to waxes on silver, easier to get the flake to pop and give a different clarity, its not as easy to get Silver to look stunning

 

IMG_3408_Wall_zpsccd55fa0.jpg

 

Also liked the look of Zaino z2 on my old Evo 6 for the same reasons

 

P1020252.jpg

 

P1020231.jpg

 

That GTR is freaking sweet!

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If I may just endorse illogical comments.

 

I took his advice for polishing my gunmetal Zed Roadster and even though it's hand polished, it looks great.

 

I clay barred the Zed with Bilt Hamber clay bar.

 

Then Poorboys White Diamond Glaze, followed by Natty Blue polish.

 

I also use the Poorboys EX - P sealant, and after each wash the QD detail spray.

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