Chazmo

OK, Matrix... fair enough.

The spots where I used the cotton ball with baby oil on it look OK to me. I did it in about six places. One was a door edge, several others were either around the wheel wells or very close to the undercarriage on that corrugated-style paint area (I don't know what you'd call it); it'd be impossible to tell. Only one spot was actually exposed, and I can't see any swirls. Quite possibly, if I did do any scratching, the Z-5 might've filled it in.

Again... SORRY.

majdave79

In the past, I have always used a whiff of mineral spirits on a cotton cloth. Any problem with this, other than the need to re-wax the area?

Dave

amartin

Depending on the cotton balls you use, I "believe" the bleach they use to make them "WHITEEEE" causes them to 'stiffen'.

Now, you'll probably never notice this on lighter cars, dark red and black will certainly show fine scratches. Sadly, I know this first hand :-(

Z-1 also removes bugs very well... I just use an applicator pad to remove them. Soaking the car or laying a hot wet towel on the bug-guts area can help loosen it.

Also, CERTAIN 100% cotton towels scratch also-- Sal Zaino recommended a specific brand which didn't scratch (although u need to remove sitching from the edges I believe).

I'm certainly no expert on cotton, I can only tell you what I've observed (done).

-- Aaron

StwoK

Have you tried using a pump spray bottle filled with water with a little car wash soap?? Just mist the solution over the bugs and allow to set for awhile to soften the buggers up.

I've been using Meguair's Final Inspection for about a year now. Just mist it on, wait a few minutes and then use a quality Microfiber towel to wipe off. I have also used Final Inspection to remove bugs and small amounts of fresh road tar.

gpiazza

Has anyone tried WD40 on tar? I've never tried it, but I understand it works. Just re-wax that area.

Comments?

--Greg

Chazmo

Cool tips, guys. Great. As far as the car wash goes, I saw that my Dawn treatment (first thing you do for Zaino) didn't remove the tar. I didn't try the Z-7 (Zaino wash) at that time. As Aaron suggests, Z-1 might do the trick (but I didn't get any of that since I'm using ZFX).

So, I'm getting a few vibes here:

1. Avoid bleached cotton; only use washed/dried cotton towels or microfiber.

2. There are several ways to get bug guts and tar off the car. I probably wouldn't use WD-40 on my finish (not sure if there's a danger with this, but not comfortable with the idea), but these other ideas sound OK.

Tnx!

cdelena

Most petroleum products (the oil, mineral sprits, WD40, etc.) will remove wax although I do not know what affect it has on a Zaino finish.. so I only use Z1 to remove tar and rubber. My car is a mess with both every time I get back from a track trip so I just redo the whole body with Z1/2.

amartin

Actually WD-40 is completely safe to use (in my experience), and it works VERY well.

HOWEVER-- it will leave a oily-mist over the car, so apply it to a rag instead of spraying directly on the car.

You'll need to wash the area with soap after to remove the oily goop.

-- Aaron

Chazmo

Great! Thanks for the input, Aaron, guys!

Chemically speaking, WD-40 was designed originally to be a water repellent, as I recall. It's lubrication properties are what made it a household name tho... Nothing better on metal-metal contact surfaces in the house.

I wonder who figured out that it'd remove road tar? Some brave soul, no doubt

gpiazza

Sounds good to me.
Thanks