acdii Report post Posted June 8, 2013 The Z is in the house. 2 day delivery as promised. In this box is everything you need for the Ultimate Show car finish except the clay bars. Since I already have the Z clay bars, no need for 2 more. I gave it some thought, so far one bar has cleaned the old Fusion twice, the BD once, the F150 once, the Flex, the Grand Marquis, and now the new Fusion, and it still has plenty of life left in it. I cant say the same for the ones you get in the clay bar kits at the auto store. First step, wash the car. Now this step can be done with either regular car wash soap, or with Dawn. Here is a tip for you to decide. If the car is new like mine and has not had anything applied to the paint, use the dawn to wash it, this will get everything squeaky clean for the next step. If you have previously waxed the car, use regular car wash soap, you will need the Dawn in a spray bottle for the next step instead. For a new car, once its washed and dried, now its time to clean the paint. Get your clay bar, and I use Meguiars Detail spray, but you can use any detail spray, including Z6 as the lube. Lightly spray a small section, you do not need a lot, or you will saturate the clay and make it useless. Now you will notice the clay is tacky, this is good as the pressure will make the bar stick to your fingers and you be less likely to drop it. Hold the bar with four fingers and use the whole finger to apply pressure to the paint and rub it in circles, straight lines, what ever you are comfortable with. You will notice a slight noise accompanied by friction that you can feel. Keep the area wet enough to keep the clay from sticking, but not too wet. The area I sprayed above covered from the window to 2/3rd toward the front and to the middle of the hood. One bottle of Meguiars detail spray will do at least 2 cars this way. Once satisfied you cleaned it well, wipe it down with a towel of your choice, make sure you have plenty on hand, you will need them. I prefer Cotton Terry towels over Microfiber, but as long as the Microfibers is of high quality and made for cars, it will work, I have one and used it, but the cotton towel I found to cause fewer streaks. Move on to the next section and repeat. Here is an example of what clay bar can do to your paint. The first pic is of what I think is paint stick, it would not wash off and I couldnt scratch it off with my fingernail. I sprayed some Detail spray and rubbed it with the clay bar until it was gone.(second pic) Now you can do it all at one time, or complete an area, like a hood or fender and then apply the first coat. I do it this way so I can see my results long before I am done. In either case, the next step is to apply either AIO, or the Z5 with ZFX. Never apply Z2 or Z5 as the first coat without using ZFX as it will not bond to the paint and will be wasted(trust me been there, done that, have to start over on the Flex). You do not need a lot, if you use more than 1/4 ounce, you used too much. The amount shown will do half the hood, or half the roof, or an entire door or trunk lid, or bumper cover. First spray the pad with Z6 if you have it, or dampen it lightly with water, apply about a dime size of AIO and apply it to an area rubbing it in firmly as it has cleaners in it to and will bond better. When done, if you see it, you applied too much. What you should see is an extremely light haze when looking at it from an angle. Let it dry then wipe it down with a clean towel, and enjoy the shine. Here is the roof with just one application of AIO. I started around 8 washing cleaning and polishing so tomorrow I will apply the next 2 coats of Z5 and 2 of Z2 with a final coat of Z-CS, and will post results. 4 mokee, gkinla, fusionTX and 1 other reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
