proper paint care

I never use a hose on the body, only a bucket with dish soap. Dish soap doesn't take the wax off. Hand dry. And never in the hot sun. Then a good wax. If your out on the road carry Maguiar's Quik Detailer Mist. For dust carry a good car duster, you can get those at any car shop. Now for a trick. If your going on a trip and want to keep those bugs from sticking to nose (just the nose). Spray with PAM. The cooking spray...90% of the bugs will slide right off the car.

Terry,

Uh, why do you think dish soap does NOT take off the wax? Zaino tells you to use dish soap to start the Zaino system, because it WILL remove all the wax and give you a fresh base to work with. Car wash sold at auto houses is designed to save the wax, dish soap is designed to take it all off. For paint finish care, many folks use (I have my order in and am watching for the mailman) the products sold by Zaino. Type 'Zaino' on a web search. Just my 2 cents.

Larry

From what I've been told by a very good paint guy. Normal Dish soap doesn't take all the wax off and it's very mild. My cars still bead up after washing. If the wax is silicone based (which is bad for paint) it won't come off unless you use someting else, he recommemds "LOC" an Amway product. I've had very good results.

So, Pantera's can stand a little water with a sponge and bucket, that's great! Is the idea of not using a wand or pressurized sprayer to prevent water from being forced into undrainable recesses? Do you guys ever use a hose without the nozzle for rinsing to save time? Thanks again, this is a very fascinating topic for a guy (no Pantera yet)who uses a couple of tokens at a car wash now and then.

I've wondered how these people own their cars 15 years and it's never seen a hose... If you take your car out of town on a trip, you have to do something to get the bugs off, and I somehow inevitably get mud or something splashed up behind the rear wheels.

Living in the center of a moderate-sized city means that I have no garden hose, so for as long as I've owned my car it has been the self-service car wash for me! I'd prefer a nice, gentle garden hose but that isn't a possibility. So far I have no damage, no rust, so I think I should stop being so afraid to wash the darn thing. It's a CAR, and car's get washed with water... After washing, I dry well and then make a point of hitting the highway for 10-15 minutes to make sure to blow any water out of and crooks or crannies. So far so good.

I recently applied Zaino's to both my GT5-S and daily driver, and would recommend it wholeheartedly. I'd read good reviews of it, but the results are even better than I'd hoped. I used to use Meguir's and this is a zillion times better. You won't be disappointed with the finish, either on a Pantera or any other car.

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Charlie McCall
1972 DeTomaso Pantera #3847 (for sale)
1985 DeTomaso Pantera GT5-S #9375
"Raising Pantera Awareness across Europe"
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/gt5s_1985

I agree w/Charlie. I don't hesitate to WASH my car with WATER (egads! I used both "W" words!). It is a time consuming affair to dry it afterwards using a chamois, but the results are worth it. I also go around the car with an air hose & blow out any water that gets trapped in the window trim & body seams. So far, so good! Besides, is there a more enjoyable thing to do on a sunny Saturday afternoon than caressing the curves of your little beauty? I mean the car, jeez! (OK, maybe there is ONE thing more enjoyable)

This is the first I have heard of ziano. For those who have used it, how come it is only in a polish form and not a wax? Doesn't a good wax after the polish protect the paint better? I have found Meguiars show car glaze polish to be great, followed by carnuba. I have tried numerous polishes and most seem to dull the paint more than make it shine (you will see what is really working if you polish under florescent lights with garage door shut).

In CA it is easy to go almost for ever without washing with a hose. My neighbors just shake their head when they see me under the car, shining up the suspension and waxing the underside of my car (it is bottom bellied satin black, and needs wax too).

Ziano website: http://www.zainobros.com/index.shtml

We are talking about cars here aren't we? I wash mine with a hose all of the time including the polished transmission. I spray it with aluminum wheel cleaner let it sit 5 minutes and hose it off. I believe the key is in the drying off afterwards. I recently have been hooked on a California Water Blade for fast drying followed by some super soft bath towels and compressed air to blow the water out of tight spaces. In preparation for the shows, I too take off all 4 wheels and detail the suspension and clean the undercarriage. I typically buff the car using Griott's Garage Best of Show Wax and a lot of their other cleaners and products. http://www.griotsgarage.com I must be doing something right, I just came home with the Best Pantera award at the 9th annual Silver Springs Mustang & Ford roundup for the 2nd year in a row since I finished the restoration.

Gary
#06984

Gary (aka fordgt)- Do you use a power buffer when you polish your car? I've been doing it the old fashioned way - by hand - & have had some good results(came home with 2 best in class last year!). I have been tempted to speed up the process with a power buffer, but I'm a little leary (sp?) of burning the paint. Just curious what other people prefer. I've heard others extolling the virtues of the "water blade", I may have to go pick one up now!
Paul (aka Stosh)

I Wash my cars with dove for dishes, it gets um squeaky clean and and leaves the cars smelling April fresh.

Stosh, I bought the Porter Cable kit out of the the Griot's Garage and use it frequently to apply the polish and wax. I remove it the old fashioned way. I have not had any problems with swirl marks or burning.

Gary

FWIW - I use the Porter Cable and Griot's microfiber bonnet to remove the Griot's Best of show and Carnuba. Seems to be ok.