[Nuff]

I've been searching for some detailing products for my car, mostly for some product to fix up all the little scratches in the boot/hatch area, since the plastic is very soft and easy to scratch.

During this searches I've made a list of online stores in australia and overseas stores which ship to australia, I taught I'll share it with every one.

Australian shops:
Aurora One - Zaino Bros products.
WaxIt.com.au - They have Zaino, Poorboys World, Pinnacle, Wolfgang, Klasse, P21s and more. They are based in Brisbane.
www.eclipsedetailing.com.au - Zaino, Pinnacle, P21s, Klasse, Menzeran, QEW and others.
www.waxwizard.com.au - Meguiars, Mothers, 3M, Carlack 68, P21s, Pinnacle, Plexus, Swissol, Zymol and others. Based in Sydney.

Overseas stores which ship to Australia:
autopia-carcare.com - Expensive shipping to australia since shipping is by UPS.
www.exceldetail.com - Cheap and good foam pads for RO buffers (Portercable), Poorboys World, very cheap microfiber towels. Any fees not used for shipping will be returned through Paypal.
autogeek.net - Big range of products, great to buy in bulk.
www.pakshak.com

Few people were talking about importing a Porter Cable RO buffer from USA to detail their cars, I think it was KY350. Well there are alternatives in Australia, I got myself a Hitachi FSV13Y, it's 270W. The PC is more powerful then the Hitachi, but it's good enough for me. Also there's a new orbital buffer sold by Meguiar's Australia. It's GMC SA515, it's a lot more powerful then mine, it is 515W so it'll not bog down if you are trying to remove some deeper scratches. It's sold for $50 by them, but you can get one from bunnings for $24. I had a look at few of them and they seemed ok, but some didn't have the hook and loop pad perfectly straight. So before you get it, take a good look at it.

 

[AntonioB]

Thats great Nuff

Ive been hooked on Zaino ever since my brother in law did my black 993 S with the stuff

I buy from Eclipse, but compared to US prices, he's got a 400% markup. Would love to find somewhere with a better price

 

[Nuff]

 
[/quote]

If you have black car try Pinnacle Souveran Paste Wax, from the photos I've seen on autopia.net (the forum about anything to do with detailing). It gives a very deep wet look, the car will look like it's dripping wet. It's also great on red.

Myself I use Mothers Sealer and Glaze topped with Meguier's #16 Paste Wax, it's not the easiest to use, but I really like the look. It looks very deep and wet on silver which I've and that look is impossible to achieve on silver. Some like it very reflective and that's what Zaino is good for. By the way, I've 2 cans of it since it has been just discontinued. It's not the easiest wax to work with, but I get great results and it lasted 2 and half months on my car. I think it'll last me a life time.

Right now I'm searching for a fix to the scratches which I've all over the interior plastic in my car. I think I'll get some Poorboy's Trim Restorer and Poorboys Natural Look, see how they work out. They are cheap from WaxIt and they got some good reviews on Autopia, hopefully they'll work well on 350z interior. I've tried Mother's Back to Black and it didn't hide them too well, it works wonders on the faded black plastic near mirrors and wipers, but it's not much use on the interior.

 

[zuffy]

I've pinned this topic as it keeps coming up.

Just add any web site you have and i'll clean it all up when we're done.

Thnx for the input mate, about time we got a big list posted.

:clap:

 

[Nuff]

Thanks Zuffy, here's a Melbourne online store concoursecarcare.com.au - Lexol, P21s and few other products.

 

[Nuff]

I should have mentioned that the place to be when it comes to detailing is http://autopia.org

Also here's a list of acronyms to ease the confusion http://www.autopia.org/display.php?file=ac...s.htm&s=&menu=8

 

[zuffy]

For the cheapest Zaino money can buy try http://www.cazcomp.com/ !

He's in Singapore and delivers very quickly, he's also much cheaper than anything in Australia.

 

[ky350]

[/quote]

Nuff - yes I considered a PC for my other car as the Z is in good condition (except for the unavoidable craters in the front bar). However, since backing by car gently against a car park brick wall, which resulted in two scratches on the rear bar that removed the paint, I have decided not to get too picky with this car, as it is 14yo. So trying to improve the minor issues will just get expensive and will yield no return on investment.
Also, I hate spending all weekend detailing and only do it one a year.

However, thanks for the useful links. I'll know where to go if I cannot find a product at my local.

 

[AntonioB]

Thanks Zuff ill check them out :clap:

Re what to use on black, ever since using a synthetic wax ive never touched a carbnauba again. The synthetic goes on so easily, i dont have to spend 30mins taping up all my rubbers bcoz of stains and there isnt all this white chalky residue everywhere. Plus i prefer the rich clear reflection u get from Zaino rather than the KY lubed up look of carbnaubas

Ive been using the Z2Pro on the SLK, and id drink the stuff if i could. The feel of the paint is unbelievable, it almost feels like silk

 

[zuffy]

yeh.... the look and feel directly after applying Zaino is breathtaking!

I've found it the easiest product to apply. Completely painless and foolproof (if you can read instructions).

The hard hart is preping the surface. Clay bar is hard work....you always find more dirt. Kind of like renovating a house.

I did want to try a Meguiars liquid wax. Anyone ever try that?

 

[Nuff]

Zuffy, which Meguiars liquid was did you want to use? NXT or Gold Class? Gold Class is very hard to work with and the results are not very good, it also lasts only 2 weeks. NXT is ok, it fills swirls better then other wax but it tires to do to many things in one product and because of that doesn't last more then 8weeks, very often it lasts around 4 week mark.

Mother's reflection is supposed to last about 2 months+, be easy to use have a great look and be cheap as well. If you want something with very high shine like Zaino (and be cheap) you can try new line from Mother's called FX, but it's not out in australia yet. You can get it from autogeek.net.

Also Poorboy's EX-P supposed to be quiet easy to use, not as easy as Reflections, but it's still in the easy category. It should last 3 months+ and have very clear reflections and have a lot of gloss. It's one of the big favourite on autopia and it's only AU$20. I'm going to get it and see how I like it. Most of all it's faster to apply then Zaino since there's no mixing involved and waiting for long periods of time. Also the best part is all Poorboy's products can be used in the sun.


It makes me wonder if you guys have ever clayed and polished the cars before applying other waxes? If you read the autopia you'll know that 90% of the look is in preparing the paint and that's exactly what clay and polish does. The other 10% is what ever wax or sealant you choose to use on top.

Also you would be crazy to get Zaino clay. All the clay in the world is produced by one company since they hold patents on it. The cheapest clay I've found is Four Star Ultimate Detailing Clay, it's around AU$24 of exceldetail website and since they only charge you the real shipping cost, it works out very cheap. It's also 200g instead of 100g that you get with Zaino.

 

[AntonioB]

oh i wouldnt say all clays are the same

Clay magic stuff is far better at removing tar spots etc than the meguairs one

I use the Zaino clay become it came with the kit, otherwise the best clay imo is the Clay magic's blue clay bar

 

[Nuff]

I should correct myself, it's not all the same. They come in verity of aggresivnes etc. The factory that produces it can alter and colour it anyway you like it.

I remember that the Zaino clay was the same as Mother's clay and it was the same as Autopia's online store generic brand. All of them came in the same wrapper, they had the same serial number, same colour and same weight. The autopia one was the cheapest, but it was all the same stuff. It's a pitty they discontinued it in favour of they own branded Sonus clay.

You can also get 2 different types of clay from Meguiars, one is mild and another one is aggresive. The aggresive will remove a fair bit of your clear coat.

 

[Perth 350z]

Received the following e-mail from eclipse detailing last night that some may be interested in. Obviously as the forums are only a couple of days old there isn't much subject matter but at least there's a local forum on detailing we can call on now!.


Hi all, My apologies if you have already received this.

As valued customers of Eclipse Detailing Supplies, we thought we'd let you all be among the first to know about a new website we are involved with. (in conjunction with Dave from www.waxit.com.au <http://www.waxit.com.au> and others)

It's called Detail Paradise, and can be found here (www.detailparadise.com.au <http://www.detailparadise.com.au>)

Our aim with this website is to create a community of/for detailing enthusiasts, from the average home dabbler to the professional detailer.

For the home detailer, it's purpose is to create a place where you can find new product information, detailing techniques and tricks, ask the more experienced/professional detailer members how to solve particular problems, and to find a detailer in your area for the problems you can't or couldn't be bothered fixing yourself .

We have included a "Professional Detailer Yellowpages" that is free to those in the business to register with so that you can more easily find a pro who is local and who has the services and products you require for the job.

A Gallery is also in place for you to upload your images so you can show off to the other members and visitors all your hard work making your car the beauty it is today.

Articles on Detailing will be regularly posted for your reading pleasure, and product review and comments when your looking for something new to try on your car.

At the moment because this site is only new there are limited members, posts and articles. We hope over the next couple of weeks/months that, with your help we can create a thriving detailing enthusiast community for us all to enjoy.

Thanks for your time and I look forward to seeing you on Detailing Paradise.

Greg
-+-----------------------------------------------+-
Eclipse Detailing Supplies
www.eclipsedetailing.com.au <http://www.eclipsedetailing.com.au>
-+-----------------------------------------------+-

 

[Nuff]

Thanks for the link, hopefully it'll grow fast. There was always one problem with autopia and that's lack of the aussie section.

 

[frosty]

Who knows what the professional detailers use?

When I bought my car, it had been done, and the spruiker said that it would be the best $600-odd i ever spent.

Well, I gotta say, in over two years, no amount of polishing with some of the fancy stuff ever made it look any better than the original finish.

They said that i'd never need to wax - so far, seems they're pretty right!

Also, what's the stuff they put on the leather - same applies!

FRIZZLE

(Harry - where are you?)

 

[Domino]

i was speaking to the gliptone distributor a couple nights ago and he told me the Z has a sort of flexible clear coat on the leather for protection

He said alot of the US cars were going this way, incl. the non nappa leather BMWs/Mercs/Audis, to remedy buyer's concerns over wearing leather and maintenance

so basically no leather conditioner will actually penetrate the hide

i find it hard to believe personally, since ive used conditioner and thought i noticed a difference, but he'd know more than me

 

[scathing]

I'm a complete n00b when it comes to cleaning cars (every one of my past vehicles has had the "drift pig" look).

I've been using Meguiar's stuff recently, but with quite a few bottles of stuff running out I'm due for buying a whole bunch of stuff again.


I'm not after something that's going to take me half a day of constant work to do, and if that means I won't get a show car shine than so be it. I want something relatively easy that will still make the car look nice.

So far all I really do to the car is wash it with shampoo, chamois dry...think about polishing and then say bugger it, and use some Quick Wax. The results, for the short amount of time it lasts, are good enough.

Write me a shopping list (with what they're good for) people!

 

[Domino]

a few of the meguairs products are good, just there are other off the shelf polishes/waxes that give better results

*soap - meguairs soft wash gel. I wait till Kmart has 15-20% off auto and buy the big 4odd L bottle. Lasts me a full year and i wash up to 5 cars at home a fortnight. You basically get 11 smaller bottles for 4x the cost

*wheels - megauirs non-acidic wheel cleaner. Use very little, or do what i do, water it down into 2 other bottles - 1 part meguairs : 2 parts water. Lasts a good 6 months

*interior - Autoglym Interior Shampoo. Best interior cleaner ive used. Spray a little on he doors and wipe with a wet chamois and itll remove all the stains. Can also use it on the headlining to remove dirt marks, but ull need a bristled brush

*leather - Zaino's Z9 and Z10. If not, Autoglym has a good cleaner, but their conditioner is a little greasy. Gliptone is a great conditioner, if u can find it

*polish/wax - Autoglym super resin polish and their wax finisher if u cbf with the Zaino process

*tyres - Yuk-off. Comes in a spray, isnt silicone based so wont fly up on the body when u drive off

hope thats helps dude

 

[scathing]

Thanks for the info, dude.

I am not going to ask why you've got dirt marks the headlining of your car. ;-)

Unless you've got a gymnast as a passenger, I don't think the Z's cabin is going to let you get dirt on your head lining.