Augustus

Indeed, good advice. Especially about the no rinse. A lot of folks like those no-rinse products. If you want tons of info about these products, I would recommend you take a peek over on DetaliersDomain, or DetailingBliss forums. So much info there your head will spin.

In a car like the 370Z, it's almost pointless to take it through an automated car wash. In one with brushes, well, you're killing your paint. Might even hurt your rims, since it's so easy to curb them in the Z. Just don't do it. And I doubt a brushless wash will really do a very good job on a 370Z. Z's are just so low & small compared to most 'normal' cars, I don't think the sprayers are going to be that effective. Too high or too far away. Especially with something as beautiful as a black Z, do it by hand. Your paint will thank you.

I've personally bought a bunch of Adam's and Zaino products this spring. While not cheap, I am exceedingly pleased with the performance of both "systems". Adam's stuff in particular is really nice & easy to use, and they're a forum sponsor so you can get 10% off by using the "ZCAR" discount. It's still not cheap, but it does seem to be nice stuff. If you're just getting started with car care, a good place to start could be Adam's basic wash & wax kit (Adam's Basic Wash & Wax Kit). This will give you the basic tools needed to do a simple but very good wash & wax job on your car. If you find that you like Adam's products, it's a perfect starting point.

I'd like to make a few points on what Purist said...

1) Regarding the Absorber. Yeah, they are fantastic for removing water. I've got three of them that I have used from time to time over the years. But you've got to be mindful about using them. Absorber's have zero nap, meaning any dirt you pick up is immediately going to be able to scratch your paint. And while you're drying a freshly-washed car so there shouldn't be any dirt, it's easy to miss a spot and start dragging dirt. Great for getting rid of water, but I'm leery of scratching possibilities. I've recently found that waffle-weave cotton towels work almost as well as an Absorber as far as holding water, but with less risk of scratching. Of course, everything can and will scratch to some degree. Just with a black car, you're going to see every imperfection & microscratch in that paint, so you need to be vigilant about your drying techniques. To each his own on this, there are many different ways to dry a car, none absolutely superior to the others.

2) No, you don't need an orbital buffer to buff out scratches. Especially for someone just starting out, it's overkill. Your money would be better spent on good towels and cleaning products. But if you want to keep your car's paint in a state of near show-car perfection, you're eventually going to want one. An OB makes life a hell of a lot faster and easier to remove those fine scratches. What takes 20 minutes of polishing by hand can be done in 1 minute with an OB.

It is virtually impossible to wreck your car's paint with an orbital buffer. Note than an OB is distinctly different from a rotary buffer. An OB moves the pad in many random directions at once, greatly reducing heat & friction. So unless you're doing something stupid (like, using sandpaper instead of a pad or falling asleep while working on one spot), you're not going to harm your paint. A rotary buffer, OTOH, is just rotating the pad in place, which will heat up and can easily cause damage. Using a rotary buffer should probably be left to experts, but anyone can use an orbital.

Rotary: http://www.detailersdomain.com/Flex-...her_p_492.html

Orbital: http://www.detailersdomain.com/Porte...ndle_p_58.html

They look sort of the same, but they're subtly different tools.

Good luck with whatever you choose. And welcome to the addiction of trying to keep your car detailed.