I got my red Z almost two weeks ago. It's used, but with only 5000k on the clock, barely driven.
Having taken it to LA and back last weekend it picked up a layer of dust and insect guts so I decided to give it a wash. This is the first car I've had that I REALLY wanted to take care of the paint so I did some reading. From various posts on the forum I learned of the two-bucket method, and got a sense that Meguiars' stuff was pretty good, so I went out and grabbed a load of products. Here's what I got:
I tried to follow the best procedure possible:
1) Rinsed with hose.
2) Two bucket method to suds up the whole car using one of those microfiber towels (it says drying towel on the pack but I was told it'll do the same job).
3) Thorough rinse.
4) Dry with chamois cloth using Quik Detail spray as I go.
5) I WAS going to wax but drying was where I ran into problems. It's so f**king streaky. And the swirls that were already there now stand out more. I think maybe it's either the chamois or the detail spray, but all I know is my car looks worse now that before I started...
Please gimme some tips peeps. I'm really worried about this. I really don't want to wear out the red paint, which I hear is really soft. I just want to get it looking real nice. I want to get out most of the swirls (without using anything too abrasive) and get a good shiny wax coat on it.
Which of the stuff in the pic above should I throw out and replace? What, if anything, am I doing wrong, and will ordering a bunch of Adams cleaners/cloths solve all my issues? Anyone recommend a specific kit? (Nothing over $150, if possible).