CL55NYC

Having tried practically every type of solution for cleaning, waxing, removing brake dust etc...I have come across some pretty cool things I use which other CL55 owners may like.

First of all, DO NOT USE Chamious on your car...leaves swirl marks. Use Microfiber towels - they ae truly amazing.

There are different towels for waxing, washing, dusting etc. so check to see which towel you need before you go and buy some.

I also just got this spray wax (with carnubq) by a company called 4-Star Proucts out of Florida. I have to say, I am really impressed by it. After you wash and dry your car, use this and you should be able to finish your car in under 30 min - with an amazing glass shine.

I bought the same company's glass cleaner which is great as well.

For wheels - I use P21S Wheel Cleaner - in my opinion the best out there. Works really well and allows you to get ALL the grime out of the rims pretty quickly.

If anyone wants the link to the store I got the stuff at, let me know and I will post. I am not affiliated with the company at all.

I have used Meguirs, Platinum, Pinnacle, zymol etc. So far the stuff I am using now seems to have the best results.

Happy Cleaning!

awiner

Try Zaino !

CL55NYC

Which product(s)?

awiner

I use their whole system. ZFX, Z2, Z6. Works great.

AndrewEclipse

Which Micro-fiber towel do you use? I purchased one from Kragen that just spread the water around, even after wringing it out. I want a really good quality micro-fiber towel that actually dries well. If you can tell me where you got yours, id really appreciate it.

Oh and Adam, I'm going to be ordering those Zaino Products online and give them a try. About the ZFX.....what is that?? I read that is an accelerator that allows you to polish your car multiple times. Is that right? How does it work? I have a black car and I want to make sure that I dont ruin it with swirl marks. Thanks.

awiner

ZFX takes the place of Z1 (You need one or the other). ZFX accelerates the curing time of the polish (Z2) and allows up to 3 coats to be applied a in a 24 hour period vs 1 coat while using just Z1. ZFX is the way to go.

awiner

Here is the effects of a good Zaino polish as shown on my Maranello.

awiner

Here is the Zaino shine on my CL... Look at the reflection in the hood and doors:

AndrewEclipse

Very Nice. I didn't know you had a Maranello...VERY nice. As far as the polishing, it looks great. I can't wait to get mine. Do you order online or from a store? Also, do you use a microfiber towel as well to dry?

awiner

I always order straight from Zaino thenselves. You can't order online, you must print out the orderform and mail it to them. Zaino ships UPS as soon as they get your order as well. I do not use microfiber towels, however on black that is most definetly the way to go.

I would recommend grabbing some clay as well and doing a quick clay of your car. The best way to get a great Zaino shine is to start with a good base. Claying will ensure that the base is perfect for preperation.

Im sure AlBoston can give you some tips on what to use with a black car as his black cars look awesome.

BlackC230Coupe

How about some more pics of the 550.

awiner

BlackC230Coupe

OMG! That car is gorgeous! Very nice color too.

Thanks for the pic.

CL55NYC

I bought my Microfiber towels from PremiumAutoCare.com

Good prices and good selection. Call the guy up there and he will guide you on which towels you should use - depending on what you are using them for on the car.

I am going to try the Zaino as well. I would suggest the Spray Wax from PremiumAutoCare. Amazing stuff - non abrasive and takes about 20 min to do the whole car.

I will post pictures as soon as it stops raining here in NYC.

Kar don

ehh, there are better towels than those. I suggest microfibertech and neatitems.

Crankin

NYC, what is the brand and name of the spray wax you got from 4 star? I checked and they have quite a few brands.
Thanks

Kar don

spray wax isn't that great.... I can put on P21S paste wax or any other easy to use paste wax in the same amount of time. Don't expect much protection or longevity from a spray wax, on a black car it would be lucky to survive a week in the hot sun. I say buy some quick detailer spray and paste wax of your choice. I have found Blitz to be the most durable.

CL55NYC, here are black cars I did with zaino (after a complete prep)


Black CL55 AMG with 2x Zaino Z5


now this is the glassy look i love....

CL55NYC

The Spray Wax I bought from them is the 4-90 Spray Wax Plus with Carnuba.

So far the results I have had with it are great. It takes me 15 min to do the whole car - if there is a faster solution with the same results, please let me know.

As well, I never leave my cars sitting out in the sun to bake for extended hours. So maybe that is why I have had such good results.

As for better places to buy Microfiber towels...explain the difference to me between 100% microfiber towels and others? Microfibertech does offer an elite towel with 220,000 microfibers per square inch which looks good but I have not used one.
I do notice that Microfibertech is cheaper - so I will give them a shot and buy some there today to try them out. Thanks for the info.

CL55NYC

AlBoston,

Cars look Great!!! I have not used Zaino yet but I am going to get some and try it out.

Dont get me wrong, Spray Wax is for a quick polish that makes the car look like a mirror. It is supposed to be sunny here today so I am going to take some pics of mine and post them.

I also dont have hours and hours to spend on detailing so that is why I found the spray wax so useful.

What do you use for the rims and tires? I use the P21S Wheel Cleaner. Seems to work really well. I also use 4Stars glass cleaner and have gotten a great shine on my windows and it is not abrasive with tinted windows which I have as well.

ElDiabloJoe

...didn't read the stickys or faqs first.

But welcome to the forum. These guys are absolute detailing MASTERS! And AlBoston's cars and expertise are unparalleled here! I'm sure he'll suggest you check out autopia.com as well, it's a forum like this one, but for detailing.

Blue Benz

If you don't mind me asking, is it because Zaino recommends 100% cotton towels instead of MF? Just curious to see what you use... 100% cotton of course, but what brand? seems like everyone uses MF these days.

Oh beautiful 550, such a nice color as well!

Kar don

Thanks joe! All my cars look terrible right now . Seems like England's weather came to new england. It has been raining for weeks!

Blue Benz:

Reason why zaino recommends cotton over MF is "due to the inconsistency in microfiber towels, some are scratch free and some will scratch the hell out of your car" Thats pretty much what sal zaino told me. I disagree with him because all the MF towels I use have NEVER scratched my car. I ONLY use MINT GREEN neatitems microfiber terry towels and Microfibertech Elite towels on my paint, nothing else.

With that said cotton can sometimes leave fine scratches (depending on the towel, if not made in USA) and sometimes leaves smears and doesn't completely remove the product in one swipe like an MF towel will, that is why I like MF on black more. Cotton is friendlier to the skin I think and works easier with zaino. The cotton towels I buy are 100% made in USA cotton towels. Royal velvet is good and charisma (i think). www.lazaino.com sells the zaino recommended towels serged and trimmed, perfect for detailing. You do pay a premium for the labor of trimming the towels though.

BlackC230Coupe

So which would MF towel do u think is the most absorbent? On mocrofibertecs website i see that they have one or 2 just for use on cars. Do u think those are better than the others not for cars? Or at least what they calim for a car or not.

I have some MF towels i got in Lowes, but they are really really not absorbent, on my black they they would leave water marks all over if u dont wipe it over with a terry towel. Although i find them good for somethings (like glass) I cant dry my whole car with them as i would like to. Right now I only use 100% terry made in the USA towels on my cars but i would like a MF one to dry my whole car with. I just wanna know if a good MF towel can really do the job, and if so which would be best with your experience with both?

Thanks

Kar don

I wouldn't ever let towels from Lowes touch my car... Here is the towel I use to dry my car. A zainoed car I can dry with just one towel (no wringing out), however sometimes it takes 2.
Waffle weave towel

BlackC230Coupe

Well u let your PC touch your cars from Lowes why not towels? j/k.

I am gonna order that towel u gave me the link for right now. Only I just wanna know one thing, why do they say its not as soft as the smaller one? Will that still be fine for a black car?