Advanced Cleaning Guide

Introduction

Pictures And Full Article Coming Soon

For the two bucket bufties out there here is my guide to using Zaino (and a few other select products) to get your grotty E30 looking smart. Obviously you may replace these products with any similar products that do the same job.

Note: The word polish is one of my new pet hates, please be aware the word polish is technically refering to an abrasive product (when I say technically I mean according to the Oxford English Dictionary's definition!), but depending on the company whose product you are looking at it can also refer to a protectant, please bare that in mind.

It used to only be american companies that called protectants polishes but now european companies trying to break into the larger US market are marketing their protecatnts as polishes and referring to the polishes as cutting compunds, its a mine field of terms so investigate the product first and its usage before you purchase. Zaino polishes are paint protectants and are not abbrasive.

Optional products and Essential products are indicated. Optional stages of the process are linked to other sections in the article. Some products also appear as recomended. There is also a quick reference section at the end of the article.

Products Required

• Bucket 1 (Essential!)
• Grit Gaurd (recomended if your only using one bucket)
• Hose/powerhose/Clean water source. (One of is Essential!)
• Lambs wool wash mit (Essential!)
• Zaino Shampoo (or similar shampoo, Essential)
• Zaino aio AND/OR ZFX (aio recomended, one of Essential)
• Zaino show car polish
• Drying Towel
• 2 x Polish applicators
• 100% cotton terry cloth or other for buffing.

Products Optional

• Bucket 2 (Optional)
• Meguirs Bug and Tar Remover
• Zaino clay bar
• Zaino CS (optional)
• Porter Cable/Orbital Buffer and accersories
• Varios buffers applicators and cloths
• Power hose, snowfoam lance and snow foam

If you want clean wheels you will also need:

• Meguirs Wheel Cleener - for regular wheels (do not use on proper polished surfaces)
• Meguirs/AutoGlym/Autosol metal polish (for you chromy deviants and proper polishing)
• Poorboys wheel sealent (not essential but two coats of thisand your next wash will be a piece of cake)

Methodical Process, Order and Tips

Process	Basic Wash	Wash and Protect	Intensive clean and protect	Advanced
Snow Foam	N/A	N/A	N/A	X
Rinse	X	X	X	X
Snow Foam	N/A	N/A	N/A	X
Wash	X	X	X	X
Rinse	X	X	X	X
Dry	X	X	X	X
Clay	N/A	N/A	X	X
Porter Cable/Orbital	N/A	N/A	N/A	X
Panel Wipe	N/A	N/A	X	X
Z-aio/ZFX	X	X	X	X
Buff	X	X	X	X
Panel Wipe	N/A	X	X	X
Zaino Show Car Polish	N/A	X	X	X
Buff	N/A	X	X	X
Zaino CS	N/A	X	X	X

Heres where things get difficult and a little 'thinky'. Always follow the instructions on the products you use but here is a short guide.

Washing

Follow the basic car cleaning atricle, but bare in mind that usign two buckets and or a grit gaurd eliminates the chances of dragging particles you have just cleaned off the car through your paint or clear coat. Simply fill one bucket with your normal wash and another with clean water and a grit gaurd. Wash the vehicle as normal except when you reach for more suds first rinse the mitt in the clean water first or dunk it in the clean water and scrub against the grit gaurs at the bottom of the bucket to release the grit, try not to disturb the water too much though as you want the grit to fall below the gaurd and make it more difficult for it to get back onto the wash mitt.

Snow Foam

Not absolutly necessary but it is a life saver if you intend to spend allday outside cleaning

Using a power washer, lance attachment and correct fluid you can cover the car in foam which encapsulates the dirt and runs off the car after a rinse, it also stops you rinsing or hosing dirt over the paint that may create scratches in the paint. It is also possible to clean your car quickley withought actually touching the car. Simply Foam, Rinse, Foam and then Rinse allowing the foam to sit on the vehicle for at least 15 minutes. I find this is excellant for removing traffic grime after a long journey and saves the dirt 'bedding in' until the next proper wash, it is also safe to do over wax and sealents (fluid dependant), and if you've layered the protectants up properly a couple of snow foam washes will not strip off the protectants completely and still provide protection.

You need a foaming lance the detergent suction tube supplied on some power washers will not flow enough to apply thick foam.

Fill the foam lance bottle and adjust the lance nozzle to suit the desired flow as per manufacturers instructions, apply the foam from the top down and leave to saok, then rinse.

Claying

Claying a car removes small contaminents on the paint, its also usefull to do before undertaking a more advanced wash, try it you'll be surprised at the crud thatcomes offin the clay and after the panels will feel as smooth as glass.

Keep the panel your working on moist but not drenched with a quick detailer or a small amount of shampoo added to waterin a misting spray bottle, 1/3 of a bar of clay should do a whole E30 even a touring, break off the 1/3 you need and put the rest in a zip lock bag to protect from drying out and getting dirty.

Work the clay in your hands until its malable and then 'mould' a flat edge onto the clay. Wipe the moist panel down with the flat edge of the clay covering every inch. When you have finished the panel or the clay becomes dirty and contaminated fold it over and reveal fresh clay. If you drop the clay immediatly discard it and break off a new piece it will have collected too much dirt on the floor to be of any use.

You only need to clay the car 2/3 times a year tops, unless you are undertaking a special detail for any reason.

Porter Cable or Random Orbitals

Too much to go into here, another article coming soon. BAsically it is a machine that aids polishing (proper abbrasive polishing). By removing layers of paint or clear coat finely and in a controlled manner it is possible to remove swirls, spider trails and other paint faults to provide a perfect finish to your car.

Panel Wipe

Wiping the panel down with a quick detailer (or just a spray misting bottle with a little wash and alot of water in) and clean cloth helps remove small particles that have landed or been blown onto the panel since you last buffed or washed it.

Z-aio / ZFX

If you don't have Zaino these stages can be replaced with a paint protectant or wax following manufacturers guide lines

Z-aio is Zainos new one step paint cleaner, clenser and protectant. If you are short of time just apply this onto a clean vehicle to add a protecting barrier on top of the paint. It can be used in the sun or shade and itself contains UVB and UVA filters to protect your paint from the sun. One ounce will do a whole E30 even a touring, rub it in well to one panel at a time and then leave for at least 15 minutes before buffing off. If you want to go one step further you can use Zaino CS (orclear seal), simply one or two spritz' onto one panel at a time then rub it in will help seal the Z-aio and provide extra paint protection. CS does not need to be buffed off.

ZFX is Zaino's quick curing system for the polishes, Zaino do two polishes, one for cars with clear coat one withought. It is nigh on impossible to apply more than one layer of Zaino polish in a 24hour period withough aio but layering up the polishes is what gives the paint the appearence of a mile deep shine.

ZFX helps the polish bond and cure faster than it would normally and acts as a catalyst. With ZFX the polish can be layered onto itself and with or withought it can be layered on top of Z-aio but the polish can only be layered up after it has propely set therefore you have a few choices to layer up:

• Z-aio - Zaino polish
• Z-aio - ZFX'd Zaino polish + Multiple ZFX'd Zaino polish applications
• ZFX'd Zaino polish + Multiple ZFX'd Zaino polish applications

You can unfortunatly only add one layer of non ZFX treated polish in any 24 hour period so unless you can hide your car away in a garage for 24hours or want to go through the rigmorole of panel wipes and polishing every day for a few days I would suggest using Z-aio which in my opinion is very good in itself, or using ZFX which although good is very expensive. Also in my opinion no visual advantage is gained using more than 3 layers of polish. My Personal recomendation is; Z-aio then polish or for the proper mile deep shine Z-aio then 3 layers of ZFX'd Polish.

Zaino CS

Zainos clear sealant that doesn't need buffing off, I personally cannot see or find any advantage to using it on top of the polish/protectants apart from its water clearingability which reduces water spots after a shower but I still do use it regardless of weather! However on glass especially freshly cleaned glass it does make the glass very clean and smooth and helps water run off and does not give it enough time to dry to water spots. Simply spritz once or twiceonto each panel (bonnet might need 3/4) rub in with a 100% cotton towel and leave, again it does not need to be buffed off. If you apply too much it will streak but this will soon dry on warm day to a perfectly clear finish. Cooler days will take longer for it to dry.

Q & A

Why Don't I use a Sponge?

Have you seen how much dirt and grit they trap? Do you want to drag that all over your paint work? Would you drag sandpaper over it to clean it? Enough said I think.

What is the Two Bucket Bufty Method?

Officially (~round these parts!) if you use two buckets you are a "Two Bucket Bufty", however its actually a very good idea. See the washing section above.

Originally posted on www.gevans.info

--March109 17:03, 22 July 2008 (UTC)--