I was washing my truck and had to stop in the middle. Water spots developed. They were both on the surface and etched into the clear coat. Meguiar's Ultimate Compound has removed them as well as cleaning up an number of other imperfections.

Now I would like to apply Zaino's show car polish (Z2). Would you suggest re-washing the truck with Dawn before applying the polish?

I purchased some distilled water to avoid using the very hard city water.

 

Re-wash with any good car wash soap is all you need. No need to use Dawn.

 

Thanks for the response.

I did leave out the fact that the truck has been in the garage since it was originally washed. I guess my question was really in two parts.

1. Does it need to be washed with Dawn for the polish to stick?

2. Does it need to be washed at all for the polish to stick? The truck is very clean looking. There is nothing on it that a California duster wouldn't remove. My question was targeted more at the chemical bonding of the Zaino polish to a surface that has been buffed out with the Ultimate Compound.

I hope that better explains my questions.

 

Polish does not "stick".. It merely is a product that is held by its application pad and worked into the paint to correct flaws. Wax is what you use on your clear coat for protection against swirling and minor UV rays. So the polish will cooperate with your ultimate compound job basically because they are both doing the same thing, Zaino is just the better product.

 

It's looking good. I finished all but one panel with the compound and decided that I wanted to see the final product. Put the Zaino Show Car Polish on the hood and buffed it off. Wow! Looks just like I wanted.

 

A few thoughts..

You need to clean off the Megs Ultimate Compound (or any compound/polish) so you have a perfectly clean paint surface before applying any paint sealant or wax Last Step Product (LSP) product.

I follow Megs UC with Megs Ultimate Polish before applying a LSP. Megs Ultimate Polish reduces the matte finish of Ultimate Compound, refines the finish and adds even more clarity and gloss.

Dawn (original blue) is alkaline and is used to to remove any existing wax/sealant that may be on the paint. Dawn is not needed if you have used a compound, At that point any prior LSP is probably removed.

Cleaning off compound/polish can be done many ways. Some folks use VOLATILE mineral spirits, some use Isopropyl Alcohol/water mix (IPA) or you could rewash. I personally like Menzerna Top Inspection.

There are quite a few different LSP's on the market (and new entries arriving every day). Zaino Z-2 has excellent hydrophobic properties and is a tried and true classic paint sealant for durability and bright shine.

To protect the Z-2 application it is recommended to use Zaino Z-7 Show Car Wash. Other car wash products may deteriorate the Z-2 application. With Z-2 I would avoid any auto "wash and wax" all-in-one products.

Now let's see some pics of your finished work!