I'm not going too crazy with the detailing until I move next month and get my garage, but I'm still want the stang to look good until then, so last weekend I did a quick once over. Wash - clay - 3M SMR - 3M Imper. Hand Glaze - NXT. I wanted to finish off w/ a couple of coats of Megs #26 but ran out of daylight. It's been a few days and we had rain today but this weekend I wanted to finish the job. Can the NXT be layered? Being a polymer, would be beneficial to add another coat before adding the carnuba? Also, I read the microfiber article on autopia and it warns against cheaper imported towels. My wife bought a bunch of 16" x 16" towels at a dollar store. I didn't think they would be good enough for applying / buffing being that cheap, but they are of decent thickness. They're also a 70 / 30 blend which the article says is good. It also appears they are a standard terry weave. Any thoughts? I'd hate to put all that work into the paint only to scratch the paint with cheap towels. Open to any suggestions, thanks. Ken
The NXT can be layered. It wouldn't hurt anyting to add another layer. As far as the microfibers. I will try them out on a small section to see if you are getting any swirls or fine scratches. Your best bet is get some fluorescent lighting or a halogen and put it next to the car. That will make it so you can see swirls and scratches very easily. You should be alright with the 70/30. I use at least an 80/20 myself. Like I said, try them out on a small section first.
Thanks Justin, I'll try those towels on her truck first . Hey, I was doing some searching and I read a post where someone said that they saw no difference in adding P21S over NXT (his was black also.) Shouldn't a carnuba over a polymer really enhance the depth / shine? Do you think it was just his results or is it an NXT thing? Don't want to spend another Saturday waxing and buffing for no results. Ken
NXT can be layered, but I have also read that it has *mild* cleaning abilities, so it may remove just a touch of the previous layer. Not an issue, I still layer it just to ensure full coverage. I have not tried a carnuaba over NXT, but I did use a pure 'nuba over Zaino and it was absolutely amazing how deep and wet my yellow was.
Yes a carnuba over a sealant should make it deeper looking. I haven't really used NXT that much. It could just be the NXT. You could try a different sealant. I know that NXT doesn't hold up like other sealants.
As for the towels, there's always the CD test-if you have any sitting around to use to burn stuff, just rub the towels on a new one and see if they scratch it. Layering and topping are different- layering is just reapplying the same product multiple times. And really it doesn't do much, except get any spots you missed the first time. I do two coats/layers of GC on my stang. Topping is using two different products-like using a coat of NXT and then putting on a coat of GC (gold class)-I used to do that then foudn the reformulated GC was just as good. But it can work with two products that have different strong points...
This is interesting, I never have thought to do this. Did you put on 3 coats of Zaino and then the carnuba? You could actually see a difference between the Zaino and the Zaino+carnuba? May have to try this next spring when I do the stang again. Thanks for the tip.
The CD test is not full proff either and to make it a fair test (somewhat) you have to apply the same pressure you would on the clearcoat. If you sit there and scub the crap out of it even the finest mf towels will scratch.
I did 2 coats of Z5 pro with the ZFX accelerator, then put a coat of Mother's pure carnuaba over it. I noticed a difference with the mother's, definately made it deeper and warmer. Zaino, to me, gives a very reflective look, but it does not make it look deep and wet. It all depends on your opinion and also your idea of the words shine, depth, and gloss (everyone's differs). tomorrow I can take some pics and post them up.
Zaino is a sealant. Sealants do give a clear reflective look. I always do a sealant with a carnuba or just use a sealant with carnuba in it. I think the look with a sealant topped with a carnuba is just awesome. You get the best of both worlds.
Photos Here's 2 coats of Z5 with Mother's Carnuaba. This was done on Labor day, so these pics don't do it all the justice. also bad lighting for yellow.
Look really good! I know what you're talking about, trying to get good pics with yellow. I can never get a picture that shows how awesome the paint looks. I've actually got my paint now where you can see your reflection it it. That is pretty hard with yellow!
Ain't that the truth. Yellow always looks much better in person than in pictures. Any time that you can get your reflection in it, you should feel proud of your work.
