Sorry. But, I can't find any definitive answer to this in my search. My "beautiful" red coupe had been maintained w/ CG since birth (1 yr ago). The male half of this home decided we should take it to a detailer for "depth". My coupe now has wax on it. I don't know how much depth we got, but it certainly has swirls on the hood. If I Dawn, clay bar, and CG, do you think I can make this nightmare go away? Otherwise, it may be the significant other.

 

lamrnd03... ouch! unfortunately, i don't think that CGing will hide the swirls. from what i've read, zaino (or other compounds i'm forgetting) does a better job at concealing and filling in swirls and spider webs. dawn would get rid of that wax though, i'm sure. good luck.

<font color=purple>.g35girl.</font color=purple>

 

If the swirls are really bad, try stripping everything off the car, clay it, then use 3M swirl mark remover for dark or light color cars (I guess red would fall in between). I found this product to be super useful. Use a foam applicator to apply. The surface must be extremely cool and it must be done in the shade. I think Pep Boys and the big auto supply shops carry it now. It will leave the surface completely smooth ready for wax. If you were to follow up with CG or Zaino, you may want to wash the car again with Dawn to strip the swirl mark remover. I would probably test a small area first to make sure the swirls don't reappear after washing.
Most "professional" detail shops use wheels because it's faster, which means they make more money. I would never put a wheel to a new car. On older vehicles, they can work wonders to heavily damaged paint, but I would use a foam pad not a lambs wool. Foam pads tend to create less swirls and move less paint around.

 

if they are minor swirls, about 3-5 coats of zaino's z5 will hide. but first you have to get that wax off. so do the dawn wash, etc, as stated by others.

but this is why i do not allow anyone to touch the paint of my cars other than myself. the last thing you want is someone to use a towel that has been dropped on gravel/concrete/etc and then rub it all over your paint!

hey, how has your red paint held up? any signs of fading?

 

With repeated coats of CG it still looked great. The detailer my husband used to go to with our other cars said, "Nice wheels. Paint doesn't have much depth though." Needed this great wax he had. I'm mad at myself. I had spent enough time researching on this line when we first got the car, and I still let my husband screw it up. I've had a couple of people suggest the Zaino product. I'll have to check it out. I imagine I can only get it online.
Michele

 

online at zainobros.com is how i get it, very quick delivery since they seem to have multiple warehouses around the country. zaino on laser red may be the prettiest combo i've ever seen. if you go to the zaino webpage, you'll see some customer pics there including one of a red g35 coupe.

1 coat of z2 or z5 is nice, but for me, i found that around 4 is the magic number, thats when it just explodes in looks. after that, additional coats don't seem to add very much. i usually leave it at 5 coats (every 6 months).

fyi, recently they reformulated zaino (z5 is now in a white bottle instead of a black one, different color, smell, z2 is new color as well). This new stuff comes off easier than anything i have ever used, much easier than before. i took a coat off last night and it was just wipe and it was gone (in most areas), was pretty surprised by the ease of the new stuff. still haven't tried the new z2 though.

 

Make him do the work when you get the Zaino and let set the sofa for him!!!!

respect yourself and everyone else..

 

If you want to see what the Zaino will look like, check out my pics. The last one (reflection on trunk lid) was taken right after a Zaino application. The quality of the scan isn't great, but the reflection will really show you how it works! The other pics were taken April 03 when I first got the car and used Pinnacle Souvreign paste. I found that Zaino provides a great shine and lasts longer!

2003 6MT Black Coupe, Premium Pkg. w/ Aero
20% tint all around, Aluminum Pedals

 

When I called him, he said to give him a chance and let him look at it. As far as I was concerned, he had already had his chance. I told him I wouldn't let him touch my car again. Do think it's safe to let him try to fix this mess? He's supposed to be reputable. However, he made the fatal mistake of using foam pads and a machine on the car. As far as the orbital, I fear that we will make a bigger mess than we already have. If I understand you correctly, we should put on the 3M first because you don't think the Z5 will take care of it?
Thanks

 

It's actually not a problem w/ using a machine and foam pads, but rather a problem w/ his technique somewhere in the detailing process. I've detailed hundreds of new cars and never had a problem w/ swirls because of careful attention to "details"...........after all that's what detailing is about.

If he couldn't get it right the first time, then it's too bad for him because something like this shouldn't happen at all............whether it's a new or used car.

To take those swirls off, you could either have "fillers" applied to the car.........generally called swirl / scratch removers, but this is temporary though. Permanent swirl removal will take the usage of machine polish, multi-pad usage, and multi-stage chemical usage..........not to mention proper technique.

The problem w/ temporary coverage / filling is that after a few washes the fillers will be removed and you will have to apply new coats everytime to hide the imperfections. Paint is a porous chemical so when micro scratches / swirls appear, the fillers can only fill up those scratches, but will adhere only temporarily since the paint is already cured and adhered to the body of the car.

Certified Window Tint & Detailing Specialist
3M / VentureShield Paint Protection Film Dealer
Madico Window Film Dealer
syu@machiii.net
2003 AT Sedan / 2004 6MT Coupe