Ok, I just got my car painted. I want to know what I can do to keep it looking nice for as long as possible. My biggest fear, is that sections of the car are going to fade before others. On the factory paint, the plastic bumper covers faded long before the rest of the car. Now in addition to having it part plastic, part metal, the hood is fiberglass. Is there any specific type of wax that protects the paint from the sun's harmful UV rays? I was considering ordering some Zaino, but it's a bit pricey, a hassle to order, and it seems awfully complicated to apply. Thanks for any info...

[This message has been edited by Yellow Camaro (edited May 10, 2001).]

 

First of all, if you drive it everyday, forget about having a perfect lower valence. Rock chips and sandblasting will start on day 1.

Now as long as you are in that mindset, just keep it clean all the time and most paint problems will never appear because air pollution, bird crap, scratchy dust and dirt will all not have enough time to reap the damage they are capable of.
Also, don't park near sprinklers, dry the car after rain and don't wash in direct sun to prevent (etched) waterspots. And most sprinklers spray iron-heavy groundwater or effluent (also known as sewage) which can stain lighter colored cars (especially white).

Zaino does offer good UV protection, and it's actually less complicated to apply than traditional wax or polishes. Once you've done it, you'll see what I mean. And I don't know what you mean by being a hassle to order. I call up GlossBoss, tell the polite/friendly lady what I want, tell her my name and credit info, and 4 days later it's on my doorstep. No harder than ordering from anybody else... And it's only pricey the first time. It lasts so long and uses so little you're gonna spend the same no matter what you use.

If you got quality paint and take care of it, your biggest fear should be your smallest. Your biggest fears are gonna end up being parking lots, people leaning on the car with jeans (rivets, belt buckles).

 

So true. I saw a lady scratch my 67 when she leaned in to look at my interior...and her baby started kicking at my door panel.

I saw my friend's streetrod chrome scratched when a man let his child climb onto the bumper so he could get a better look at the engine.

Fresh paint is a magnet for shopping carts.

Pine pitch and tree sap are horrible.

Jealous people with eggs, keys, etc.

My personal pet peeve, the worst of the worst, is door dings from careless people in parking lots. I have a HUGE one in my door that was there when I bought it. It's coming out soon, hopefully.

 

Lucky for me I work at a supermarket! Myself and all the other sports car driving employees park to one corner of the lot as far away as possible from where the shoppers and even other employees park. There's like 5 or 6 spaces lined up front to back along the the very edge of the lot, in such a manner that nobody can actually park next to you. In looks cool because these spots are almost always occupied by some combination of my car, a 70-something Stingray, a '99 Vette, a '98 Mustang GT, and a 95 Firebird. I don't know or talk to the owners very well, but we all obviously have the same shopping cart paranoia.

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'87 SC 305 "Chrome Yellow"
ASCD Turbo hood
AR rims
Flowmaster cat-back
Alpine deck to 4 Polks
'81 Z-28 "Dodge Viper GTS pearl blue"
H.O. 350, TH-400 w/ B&M megashifter
Harwood LS1 hood
Z-racing rims
True Dual

 

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Some moron door dinged me one day at fry's, so I kicked a big a$$ dent in his door . And as for birds, jeez I think i have sharpshooter birds that wait until I wash my car. I swear they are aiming right for the firebird badge on the headlight.

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1983 Firebird
TH700R4 Auto
Small Block 400
LG4 ECM, Intake, Carb, Distributor, etc.
Soon to be non-computer.
Clarion Head Unit 45X4
2 Pioneer 400W 12" Subs
Third Gen Performance
"A four cylinder is half an engine."

 

HEHE...I did the same thing once a few years ago to someones' car....same damn situation! Ding me, payback is a mother!

And I have had that happen as well, wash car, dry it, walk inside for beer #6 and WTF? Bird crap on my roof....SOB, time to wash again

BTW...NICE CAR QwkTrp!


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-=ICON Motorsports=-
JACKED up like a MOTHER!
Yeah they 10's but I keep em' real clean

 

Uh...Qwktrip...could you please highlight this wonder dent?...cause thats one sweet car and i spent alot of time looking at the photos and cant really find it...maybe im just blinde..but i wouldnt mind at all if my paint was that nice...if you really want to see a dent ill show you what happens when you tweek off a kid from another school then park infront of your g/fs place when the idiot is in town