I absolutely love my base coupe, and have been putting some mad miles on it, (having a 40 miles drive to and from school each day helps), and am getting used to the attention this car gets, (despite the high number of Crossfires in Oakland County MI, I still have to answer a number of questions when ever I park it.) There are a couple of things that are starting to tick me off a bit. Mainly the paint, I hand wash the car about twice a week, and have had it a little over a month, and waxed it 3 times. I have noticed that the paint is extremely streaky, mainly it looks like it has been dried with 2000 grit sandpaper, when the light hits it. Also the paint doesn't seem to want to hold a wax well, and seems to wear off relatively quickly. The paint just seems really thin compared to the paint I had before on my dakota.

What kinda of wax does everyone use? I use Megiuers Gold Class? Any suggestions.

Dave

 

I use Zaino Bros. and I've been happy with the showroom luster that it gives.

 

Not to sound rude but I take it you are using a car wash soap and not waxing when the paint is warm or in direct sunlight. I suggest using quality a clay bar to clean the paint then wax. I use the same wax you do on the wifes vehicle and I have nothing but good results. IF you have fine scratches then after you clay bar use a quality hand polish before waxing.

 

There are a lot of posts about swirls on black Crossfires in the Detail Shop forum. Most of us Zaino users are very happy with their products for reducing the fine swirl marks on black paint. I only used 2 coats of Z5 and I had a significant reduction of visible swirls. I'm sure a couple more coats of Z5 and a top coat of Z2 would make a remarkable difference.

 

I use Meguiars Gold Class and I think it looks great on my black xfire. I like following up with some Eagle One Wet detail spray for enhanced gloss. I'm not sure why yours looks the way it does. But like the above post said, theres a ton of posts on this in the Detail forum. Make sure your not using the wrong towels, or that the sponge that comes with the Gold Class sometimes gets grit in it that can cause light scratches.

 

Yea, towels make a big difference. I use bath towels for both washing and drying the car and I always run them through the washing machine afterwards to get rid of any grit they may have picked up.

 

Thanks for the quick replies, I will have to give it a shot with a clay bar, I may have been putting the wax on too thin, too bad, 99% chance of snow wednesday and the rest of the weekend.. well I guess I'll just kick the rents out of the garage for a day or two, so I can do some work on it.


Dave