Can someone recomend a real hardcore process to remove surface scratchs & swirls? I want to try zani-o, however, don't know what to order and can't just order the whole line of products!

Also I have had bird **** on my car, I always remove it as soon as I find it. Yet it leaves like a ghost on the paint where it was, and I have washed some for as long as a year and all other processes don't get rid of them!

I would like to change to a real good setup and stick with it. I don't mind doing this type of maintenance once a month, or twice. I am not lazy - just looking for something stronger what I've been using.

Elaborated version:

For the past week I was doing a wilwood BBK in my garage for a friend, so subsequently I lost my spot while he waited for a part to come in that sadly didn't come with the kit.

A week of SAP and assorted other tree crap has made it's way into the car. I had it professionaly washed (which I never do) and most of it was removed and the surface is pretty smooth. What wasn't removed I had my friend clay out as a favor!

SO surface is smooth. With a black car I am always dealing with swirl marks. Also there are a lot of scratchs for a car that is 6 years old, most of them are my fault I'd say too. (Damnit!)

I use the absorber to dry the car (which helps with swirls after washing), meguires purple soap solution that I love, Sonus polish, mothers 3 step (cleaner, polish, wax), turtle wax's ICE, Klasse paint cleaner, P21s wax, and I have tried a bunch of others.

Of course these were mostly trials, I don't use all the products at once.

 

some deep water stains though. Mine's ocean blue and looks great at 3'+ distance but the hood and roof have some small issues I need to ressolve as well. All the swirl/scratches are gone, just a little staining to go.

Maybe it needs some oils/other nourishment in my case to settle them down. Interested in what you find out. This color reminds me of my Santorin blue avant which was hard to keep as well... my silver S4 is much much easier to detail/keep.

 

Porter Cable 7424 Polishing kit
Menzerna IP - Intensive polish
Menzerna 1066 FF - Final Finish
Menzerna FMJ - Polymer Sealant

Take it from someone who has black paint.....WORTH IT...I haven't been this relieved about my finish since I bought the car

 

On black cars I have always had amazing results with Zymol products. I would suggest this process: wash, clay, wash, Zymol HD, Zymol Carbon.

Swirls in the paint tend to be caused by a few common offenders: using a circular motion while doing any of the above process (always apply and buff across the longest axis of the body panel), never use old or worn out applicators or rags, and finally using an electric buffer greatly increases the likelihood of you laying down mad swirls, especially in the hands of the unskilled, so practice, practice, practice before you try it on your pride and joy.

If you have a hard time finding quality detailing supplies try searching the interwebs. I found www.goodspeedmotoring.com to have the best prices. Also if you want to go the Porter Cable route stop by some of the more reputable detailing shops in your area and go in and talk to them, see what they are using and more importantly where they purchase their supplies. If you bring a few wide mouth glass bottles (Snapple or StarBucks work well) they might be willing to sell you a small sample of their stuff for a few bucks so you can try it out.

 

I'm using the Zymol Glasur as well...great product

 

but don't want to order a whole bunch of stuff... you can do this.

zaino ZFX polish
zaino Z-CS clear seal polymer wax
zaino Z6 QD spray
zaino Z7 car wash

Wash it with dawn to remove all the other waxes you've tried. Have someone clay it again if it needs to, polish it with the ZFX (works best if you have a porter cable). Then use the clear seal. CS is easy... you just spritz a spray on the paint and smear it around evenly then move to the next spot. No buffing off. I can do the entire car in about 16 sprays.

 

as far as final coats go, I've had tons of success with Mother's Carnuba Cleaner / Wax. It's super cheap -- < $6 and easy to do without streaking. I've also used zaino products with similar and mildly better results, only a significant increase in cost and time.