ilogikal1

Well if it's not your car then the wipes will do.

There is one quick, easy fix.... Buy a new car. They come with new headlights.

Erm... results from my test;

Fine. I mean if you're going to sulk like a little bitch... I'll start with the C5/Mohs side. Which, for those of you who know me well enough by now, means that either the wipes were exceptionally good or exceptionally bad. If you're thinking that, you would be correct. If you're not, you probably should. The car has for the most part been parked on a south facing driveway since application, meaning that given the summer we've had they've seen a lot of direct sunlight in the last 4 months. That said, it's "only" been four months since application. As a reminder, C5 is on the left & Mohs on the right as you look at it. Up close, there's still a definitive line showing that one or both coatings are still very present; Excusing the raindrops, up close there doesn't appear to be a huge difference between the two. In person, there also isn't a huge difference but there is evidence that one is stronger than the other - one side is noticeably clearer than the other which is starting to look a little (a very little!) bit "soft focussy" (rather than hazy). As can be seen here; Mohs in the top picture, C5 in the bottom. Okay so here it looks like C5 is the one struggling around the projector housing whilst Mohs looks fine. In person this is actually the other way around. C5, in person, looks stronger whilst Mohs is the one in soft focus. It's noticeable but only side-by-side and very difficult to pick up on camera. As you can clearly (not) see here; Meanwhile, over on the other side... Just to remind you, there was a section at the top that was polished, a portion of which was coated with Mohs and a section that was left unprotected entirely. This is the edge where the wipe met the completely unprotected section, demonstrating that the wipe coating is still present; Due to lighting issues, I couldn't get a reasonable shot of the Mohs section, but in person it's evidently present and similar to the other headlight. I've also failed to get a (good) picture of the comparison between the wiped headlight and the unprotected section other than the above. However, given the following shots I'm sure you don't need that direct comparison... For reference, no discernible difference between the unprotected, unpolished section and the wiped areas. Also very little difference between the polished, unprotected section and a the wiped areas. So... er, yeah. Four months. Just to remind you, C5 is "designed" for wheels (i.e. paint), Mohs is designed for bodywork (i.e. paint) and the wipes are designed specifically for headlights. My summary - the wipes do nothing more than apply a self-levelling coating that evens out the existing hazing giving the appearance that it's "fixed" it temporarily. Very temporarily! Essentially, it's the headlight coating equivalent to a glaze; quick, easy, short-term non-solution that simply masks the problem rather than fixes anything. So if you want to tidy up your headlights, polish them and protect them with a wheel coating!

Just for that I’m now going to post the results after my dinner tomorrow.

Apologies chaps, I got distracted refurbishing my window motor after it packed up a couple of days ago. I will have the results written up with pictures tomorrow.

In short, no. Pinstripes/accents have been around considerably longer than the 370Z Nismo. Even Nismo have used it long before the 370Z.

Stripped my foam lance down today to swap out the gauze for a clean one. Think it's safe to say that it needed it! In other news, there will be the final results on the durability of the headlight protection coming very soon.

I think I misread your original post. If you’ve done nothing differently on the roof than the rest of the car, and assuming the roof is painted rather than wrapped or some other finish then it now sounds more like it’s just the colour showing the dirt more. Black shows every little imperfection whereas white hides a hell of a lot. The rain we’ve had recently has been quite sandy (at least the rain I’ve had has been!), in which case the black roof would show it much more than the white. Nothing you can do about that other than washing the car again... or painting the roof, but washing seems a much simpler solution!

Firstly, put the SRP in the bin where it belongs. How long as it being since you last cleaned it? What wax did you use on it? Sounds like it needs a proper clean - parking under a tree, it's likely to have sap and all sorts embedded in the paint. So (a good!) tar remover, clay, then if you're not polishing a paint cleaner and then seal.

Especially as he's not even chosen a particularly good looking Z for his illustration...

Bit of a boutique brand that one. I also heard from a mate of a friend that has another friend that it's just re-branded Flash under all that fancy packaging.

Complete gimmick.

Poorboys Black Hole (or white diamond, it doesn’t matter), Auto Finesse Ultra Glaze or AM Details Glaze are all exceptionally good. Not that I’ve tried many detailing products of course...

You really need to try Persil non-bio mate; just drop a liquid tab into a bucket of 40degree water. Stick to the liquid tabs though, the powder can be a little chalky. Top tip; for really stubborn dirt add a drop of Vanish too.

AutoBrite products are average at best (and that's often being generous), IMO. Usually moderately priced for what they do but there's too much focus on making it a pretty colour or a pleasant smell rather than making it work. The Hell Shine range is a little better, but still not the best available. I still don't agree with their business methods either so would never buy anything direct from them again! To be honest, there's much better products available.

Could they? Yes. Would they? That'll depend on the bodyshop; some will, some won't. Best off asking the bodyshop directly.

But, again, stick windows with no tint are close to the limit already. These are absolutely over the limit and illegal. OP, the dealer misinformed you, simple as that.

Polished by hand or machine? Did you washed yourself when it came back? What shampoo were you using, as it could be that? Sounds like there's an oily film on the surface, so I'd suggest claying an affected area and washing again to see if that sorts it. A deep cleanse would probably help (clay, tar & glue and then a good paint cleaner or another bash with the 3m you've got to finish it off) depending on how much time/effort you're willing to spend on it.

Got any pictures? Tar and glue remover or fallout remover should kill off any waxes. Clay (cloth or bar) and/or polish will certainly get rid of anything lingering on the surface though. [awaits the inevitable Fairy Liquid non-sense]

Stock windows are pretty near the limit anyway, so yes they are most certainly illegal. Also if you got a policeman to test them, they'd make you remove them there and then.

Insurance underwriter; "Hmmm, there's a direct correlation between the number of claims from people who crash into their garages and the number of people keeping their cars in a garages... yep, that's a high risk right there, load the premium!! "...oh and the car is stored in a separate building out of view of anyone? Thieves can take their time to break into the car then. Yep, load it up again!! "...hang on a second, if the car is in the garage, the thieves know which house the keys are in. Yep, high risk, we'll stick that loading on top too!!" All genuine excuses reasons insurance companies have given for garages increasing premiums.

Can we have a pedant section for all of Dan's posts, please....

No, should be okay to go straight over FK. The only benefit is to ensure coverage really, if you're sure you got it everywhere first time I wouldn't bother with multiple coats personally.

Wetcoat works best when it's sprayed on (from the bottle as it's at the optimum dilution then) and then washed off with the pressure washer - it's the impact form the rinsing that activates it, by the way. I've found there to be no discernable difference if it's sprayed onto a wet or dry car though. I wouldn't go the extent of drying a panel before applying Wetcoat, nor would I go to the trouble of rinsing it first either.