Extremely Soft Clear Coat

[Pro-Techt]

What is everyone doing to deal with the super soft clearcoats on Z8? Solid black scratches even when you touch it with a micro fiber towel. Is owning one of these cars a never ending battle of paint polishing? My wash regiment is meticulous (high levels of OCD) and all my cars remain scratch/marr free, but this black Z8 makes me want to jump off a bridge!

[macfly]

Welcome to the joys of black Z8 ownership, everyone with your color has the same challange with their clear coat. I think a full tear down and respray with a much tougher paint & clear coat may end up being the will best long term cure

There is a guy here in LA who has a fantastic car cleaning/protecting service that might know of someone doing that work on your coast. Check this thread, and scroll down to post #14.

[Bend]

Andrew,
It sounds like you might one day have the Topaz done by Randy. Please let me know how it turns out. It will probably be stunning, eh?
I'm still debating chroming the Alpina wheels.
Ted

[macfly]

I will certainly take it to Randy once it arrives. The first thing I plan to do is send one of my sets of OEM wheels out to get chromed at another of Marty's great hook ups. When I'm swapping the rims over I'll put in the low dust brake pads from Dave Zeckhausen. Once that's done I'll take the whole package over to Randy, and then the serious photography will begin. My first project will be shooting the car in an all black studio with linear highlights to explore the most sensuous part of the car's curves.

[Norcal]

My black '01 28k mi car has plenty of patina! It had developed road chips and lots of minor surface scratches and some serious water spots that had etched the clearcoat. I took it to the new local BMW certified collision center where they had it for a couple of days. I think they used a multiple step high speed polishing process. It came back like a perfect mirror! and it's not wax, it's the clearcoat. Of course, all the minor chips are still there. After 7 years, she needed it. I'll probably do it again in a few years, then perhaps a respray a few years after that.

[thegunguy]

Welcome to BMW paint. They're all soft.

I'm having my entire front (doors forward) end re-done in a few weeks.

[sunnslo]

Has anyone had any long term experience with the Zaino System?

[Gammaman]

I tried the Zaino on my X5. It's fairly complex to use, and although it does last longer than wax, I've concluded that I'm a carnauba kind of guy, so I've gone back to conventional polish and wax for all of my vehicles. I'm presently doing Griot's #3 and #4 polish on the Z so I can get macfly those pictures I promised him a while back!

[macfly]

I tried it too, and also found it a bit too involved to use, I have a second little plastic case of it sitting wasting away in my garage!

[thegunguy]

I guess I'm in the minority. I love Zaino, and I've found it requires much less "elbow grease" to apply and remove. It's amazing how little product you use compared to traditional methods, and it really lasts. Like wheels, I think most of will have individual tastes on products like these. Whatever your preference, getting your hands on "the girl" is a great way to bond.

I don't know if you'd consider it "long-term", but I've used Zaino for about three years on the Jet Black, and I'm pleased with the results.

PS - Zaino's tire product is a gem. I don't like the "wet" look. Rather, I like my wheels to have a slight sheen with a clean/new appearance. Zaino's tire product fits my taste here perfectly, and like the polish/sealer it really lasts.