20% tint all around

[TripleTransAm]

Well, except for the windshield, of course. After studying LML's MM as seen in his prom pictures (the pictures are online... would that make it an E-prom? :coolman: )... and then just recently seeing Robotek911's blue bomb in another thread, I walked into the tint place last Saturday and took the plunge.

20% all around. (they called it LLumar Charcoal).

I love it. I can't stop looking at this car. The only other car I've ever owned that was tinted was (is) my '98 Honda Civic, and at the time I thought it was pretty dark (it was already tinted when I bought it used in 2000). But after seeing my MM's outcome, I think the Honda was about 35%, no more. I never tinted my T/As because I felt I was already driving a cop magnet, so I didn't need the hassles (it worked... I've never gotten a ticket of any kind, knock on e-wood).

Here's one shot of the car as it looked a few nights ago (dirty, but that's life).

[Bigdogjim]

Steve it does look sharp! Nice work. Give it a whole different look.

[Marauder57]

Man that looks sweet....looks so slick looks like it is moving sitting still....are you using Zaino on that....you got some wax job on that baby...

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by Marauder57
are you using Zaino on that....you got some wax job on that baby...


Oh man, there's a sticky subject! :D

Yes, I'm using Zaino. Will I keep using Zaino? I doubt it. Now that I've had a chance to wash both my '98 WS6 and my 1987 GTA after washing my Zaino'ed MM, I have to admit I think I have the Zaino all figured out.

Zaino strongly suggests using the gloss enhancer after every wash. Considering I've been waxing black cars since 1993 (when I bought my GTA), I know the feeling of a good 'wax' and the gloss enhancer does deliver that silky smooth feeling. But immediately after the wash, I doubt there's anything left on the paint. I'm sure that the polish itself may still be present, but no protective 'wax' coat. This is why I feel if the gloss enhancer is not used, Zaino will fall short of other commercial products like Mothers or Meguiars in terms of longevity. Also, their soap is extremely weak... another way of 'prolonging' the polish lifetime?

Why do I feel this is the case? I have a technique I use to dry the car, using the water's surface tension to 'pull' itself off the car. I trickle the water onto the surfaces such that large puddles form and 'blob' off the car, leaving no water drops behind, which minimizes the amount of touching the paint when drying. With the MM, I have a really hard time doing this. There are tons of little beads left behind... perhaps it will get better when I lay down a bazillion layers of polish, but jeez what a drag that would be!

Now, compare with the Mother's 3 step I have on my GTA and WS6. Both cars have not been waxed since early spring 2002. However, following the same philosophy prescribed by Zaino, I always use the instant detailer after every wash. Voila. Consistent 'blobbing' after every wash, and I think I have to devote some 10 seconds to soaking up the remaining half-dozen droplets I left behind on the cars. Now that's longevity.

Considering my GTA doesn't see rain and hence is not washed nearly as often, I think I'll clay the car and start using Zaino on it, and switch the MM to Mothers. Looks to me like the Mothers is easier to maintain when done right.

Of course, I'll need to keep at the MM with the Zaino in order to really get a feel for what multiple coats will do. Until then, I'll just state that the above is my preliminary opinion and nothing but. For showcar quality shine, Zaino is great. For durability, maybe not...

Here's some shots of the 1 year-old wax job (with many washes under its belt):
http://firebird.freeservers.com/87gta/DSCF0589a.jpg
http://firebird.freeservers.com/87gta/DSCF0595a.jpg
http://firebird.freeservers.com/87gta/DSCF0598a.jpg

[TripleTransAm]

BTW, thanks for the nice words, yes it does change the look of the car completely. It really raises the excitement level I get just by looking at it. I don't regret it one bit...

[ghost]

:bows:

ALL HAIL THE KEEPER OF THE SHINE!!!

You rule, TTA. Your cars look awesome! Black is the most difficult color too. Mine's the easiest.

[ADDED: I can't get away with that much tint here in VA, but if I could I would. Amazingly sinister appearance you have there. ;)]

Eric

[TripleTransAm]

I always thought white would be difficult to keep in good shape as well. I'd be most worried about fading and sun damage (and yellowing!) so to me, white has always held the same sort of feeling of terror when it comes to paint care. But, never having owned one, what the hell do I know? :D

Hard to believe that 10 years ago, I'd wash my GTA with a BRUSH! Thanks to dad and granddad for their 'wonderful' car detailing tips! LOL!

In 1994 and 1995 I threw myself head over heels into detailing that car and was eventually sucked into the car show scene in 1996. By 1997 I had actually racked up quite a few trophies, which was very rewarding for me since I would always drive to every event (as far south as Boston, as far west as beyond Toronto, but never too far to the east for some reason). And I felt proud to beat a few trailered cars knowing that come Monday morning, my GTA would be right there in daily commute traffic (provided it did not rain that day, of course). I eventually tired of the car show scene in late 1997 after getting fed up with the egos... some folks don't realize that IT'S JUST A CAR! It can be a fun hobby, but still... IT'S JUST A CAR.

So I have about 2-3 dozen trophies to show for those carefree days when I had time to do the three step Mothers polish/wax every second weekend (I was dating a psycho b*tch that would spend all weekend sulking... what else was I to do???). I've done 1 or 2 non-competitive show-and-shines in the past 3-4 years, just for fun... but that's as far as it'll get. I won't get sucked into it beyond the point of having fun and meeting people who like to talk about cars. That's what this hobby should be all about, in my humble opinion.

[MMM2003]

That is a very nice look! I have been concerned about driving at night with that much tint.
What is your experience? Any noticable, negative, difference?
Rearview mirror still auto adjust?

Thanks for your input.

[Marauder57]

TTA

The TA looks really nice.....I was considering the Zaino (almost type drano)...looks really good....but I drive my car everyday rain or shine (mostly rain lately) and I am more concerned with the cars protection than the best show shine possible....my biggest problem is I really don't have the time or mostly location to do the wash and wax myself (live in an apartment) but we are in the process of building a house and you can bet that I will be washing an waxing my baby in there.....garage of course...

But for now the local detailing place actually uses Mcguires (SP) for the wax jobs....and the detailing manage has taken a partuclar liking to my MM (only one he has seen) and wants to keep it looking slick....so I think I will stick with that for now....

But I must say you have the skills to have all black cars....the attention to detail with the water beading....well it borders on obsessive...but aren't we all with our MM's? :D

[Fourth Horseman]

Nice look! Wish I could get away with that level of tint here, but it won't fly.

I'm a Mother's wax user. The three step process leaves my car looking really good and the protection seems to last. That's what I'm looking for in a wax system.

[CRUZTAKER]

Not in the Buckeye :cry:

[LincMercLover]

Knew you'd like it. I always say it looks like night time in the day light. :up:

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by MMM2003
I have been concerned about driving at night with that much tint.
What is your experience? Any noticable, negative, difference?
Rearview mirror still auto adjust?


Honestly, I was worried about the same thing. If I was 18 years old and wanted the Bad Ass (tm) look, I wouldn't have cared... in fact, damn the 20%, give me 10% or give me death! Limo tint all around!

But being a responsible father type, yes I was very worried about night-time visibility. Thus far, I have had no situations where the tint caused visibility problems. BUT, and this is a huge but (not unlike my own :D ), I have been in urban driving situations. Mostly highways, lit suburbs, etc... I imagine it would be a little difficult to see out if I was stuck out in some rural 2 lane blacktop with no lighting. So I can't bring myself to recommend it to everyone just yet... especially since there are so many factors like one's own vision, etc.

I have noticed that interior temperatures remain cooler than without a tint, if the car is outside during a sunny day. As it is, it shares a garage spot with the WS6, depending on which one is clean at the time. (the GTA gets exclusive rights on the other garage spot).

As for the rearview mirror, I honestly haven't noticed any change. It's operation was already very transparent to me without the tint, I imagine that with the tint, it might work less but the overall amount of light striking my eyes will still remain manageable. Again, the jury is out until I really make the effort to see if there's any impact in operation.

Tinting is a tough call for me... that's why I agonized over the choice for so long. 35% seemed to be just right... not too dark, not too light... especially the Centaur polarized type, which kept the interior cool and minimized snooping from outsiders. But then at the last minute, the little devil in me came out and told me to go for the gold, and I ended up with 20% non polarized. *shrug* talk about impulse choices.

[TripleTransAm]

Mothers and Meguiars both rank highest in my own personal opinion list of car care products. I almost get the impression Meguiars *slightly* outperforms Mothers on an "instant shine" basis, but I have no experimental results on whether it does the same regarding longevity. In my local F-body club, it's pretty much a split down the middle with regards to Mothers and Meguiars.

Again, I'll reserve my judgment about Zaino until I've put on a bazillion of coats as everyone on the 'net seems to recommend. At that point, I'll have a better picture of how long that will last, compared with one good day-long session of Mothers.

One definite positive thing about Zaino... application in the sun. Definitely a positive aspect for someone who's reached maximum capacity of garage space.

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by Marauder57

But I must say you have the skills to have all black cars....the attention to detail with the water beading....well it borders on obsessive...but aren't we all with our MM's? :D


Obsessive... perhaps. Lazy? Definitely.

Used to take me 1.5 hours to wash and dry the car... 1/2 hour to wash it, 1 hour to go around and dry up the car. We're talking many many many swipes of the drying cloth/chamois. And each time you swipe the paint, you're invariably adding swirls or tiny scrathes.

So now I still spend 1/2 hour to wash the car, but don't leave any water beads on the car. I run the sheets of water off the car with a trickle and the retreating "water front" brings along any remaining beads, leaving behind a dry surface that does not require any drying. If I wait until I'm done washing, I can get the whole car dried in a 1/2 hour. If I intersperse the drying routine with the wash routine, I can get a whole car washed and dried in 45 minutes to an hour. The trick is not to run the trickle of water off the car too fast, that'll leave beads on the surface... nice and easy does it, gliding the water sheet off the car.

Laziness is the mother of invention, after all.

[jgc61sr2002]

TripleTA - Your MM looks great. The 20% was a bit too dark for me so I went with the 35%. I also have Llumar, which is my understanding one of the best on the market.:coolman:

[golfnut]

TTA -

I went with the 20% as well. I really like it. Its not legal here in Texas, but oh well. I havnt had any problems seeing out any of the windows, and I have been in all types of driving conditions. Like you said though, it will depend alot on each persons vision limitations. Your cars look great. I am going to have to try that tip with the water. I just spent 2 hours waxing yesterday. I tried that wax that is black and has the wax stick with it. Sorry, the name escapes me right now. Thus far its the easiest to apply and remove that I have used. It did a good job hiding the swirls and scratches.

[Marauder57]

jgc

llumar is some good stuff...got it on my MM. But I have the reflective on my Blue....I need to get some dang pictures up....

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by golfnut
I tried that wax that is black and has the wax stick with it.


I think Turtle Wax makes it... I bought the 'kit' (bottle of wax plus wax crayon/lipstick) but only for the crayon... this was to address a few stone chips and scratches on my GTA, and a few scrapes on my WS6's front bumper from one occasion where I ended up off the track during a road racing session up at a nice road course around here (just *kissed* the retaining fence... thanks to GM for putting good brakes and ABS on that car!).

I think the crayon works great, but for wax I stuck with the Mothers stuff.

As for the tint... coming home a few nights ago, I did notice a big difference in visibility when driving down dark streets at 3 am (stag party for co-worker). A few times I looked to the right or left as I was easing through the neighborhood and was surprised to see only shadows, no details. A bit disconcerting at first, but since I'm not the type to drive anywhere near fast through residential areas or other dimly lit areas to begin with, it shouldn't affect me. If ever visibility does become an issue, you can bet I'm rolling the windows down, rather than taking a chance!

[TripleTransAm]

We briefly touched on Zaino earlier in this thread... I washed my MM yesterday evening. Some bird poop had ended up on the driver's C pillar, sometime between noon and 3 pm while I was attending the local Swedish community's MidSummer picnic/sing-fest (my wife is Swedish). I began washing the car at 7 pm, and the car had been out of the sun since about 6 pm or so.

The bird dropping had already etched the clearcoat. Now, I know about our weak paint and all, but isn't this Zaino stuff supposed to be the end-all to paint protection? (albeit self-claimed...)

So, as I mentioned before, maybe I need to slap on a bazillion layers of the stuff in order to get the full protection or longevity. Fair enough, we have some really nice weather over the next 4-5 days, and I've locked up the MM in the garage as I commute with the WS6 (the GTA's A/C is dead)... I am intending on going through AT LEAST a half-dozen layers of the Z2 in that time frame.

If this type of paint damage EVER happens again, it's ball-game-over for Zaino. I've had bird droppings on my GTA for 1 week without any noticeable damage, probably thanks to the Mothers products. This type of damage from barely a few hours' worth of contact is unacceptable.

[RCSignals]

I've had good luck with Meguire's products resisting the effects of bird droppings as well

[b4z]

Triple T/A,

I have used the Mother's 3 step on my bright blue IROC since '93
after it was repainted by GM during a recall.

It is excellent.

The sealer/glaze really makes the metallics in the paint pop.

It also seems to last 3-4 months.

Highly recommended.

[TripleTransAm]

I'm currently processing some of the pics I took this afternoon, with the intent on eventually uploading some of them into the Gallery. I'll post this small one here as a better representation of what the 20% tint all around looks like. It was a rare occasion indeed... my MM all shined up and no rain in sight... and that deserved a photo shoot, to be sure! :D

The more I look at this car, the more overwhelmed I get by its looks. It's got bold musclecar elements, understated graphics, classic styling, and delivers the goods mechanically-speaking. What a work of art! A true automotive masterpiece... and it's a shame more people don't know about it.

Anyways, here's the pic, the rest should be up in the Gallery sometime this weekend.

[LincMercLover]

Hey, that's my car! :lol:

No, I can tell it's not mine, my rims NEVER line up like that! How the hell'd you manage that?

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by LincMercLover

No, I can tell it's not mine, my rims NEVER line up like that! How the hell'd you manage that?


Successive well-controlled burnouts? :D

Honestly, I have no freaking idea! Just one of those random occurences... funny that it happened on the first shot with this car, whereas the same issue of lining up the rims has ALWAYS p'ed me off when taking shots of my other cars (mostly the center cap text (WS6) or the flaming poultry (GTA)).

Again, thanks for being part of the inspiration for this appearance mod (tint) - it's taken my visual enjoyment of the car to a new level.

edit: did you mean line them up such that the spokes are oriented in the same places, or do you mean the driver's and passenger's rims lining up one behind the other in the shot?

[LincMercLover]

The first one.