Long term care for driveway-parked superblack top

[FlagonFly]

What are the best ways you've found to protect the Z's top from sun and weather damage long term? At least for the time being my Z will be driveway parked, and on most weekdays will sit in an exposed lot with little shade. I'm in the southeast and summers get hot and humid and the sun is scorching. It really shows the dust also of course so I want to focus on treating it now while it's in good shape and hopefully need to put less effort into maintaining it over time.

I'm reading about ceramic coating, etc, but haven't much bothered to care for a vehicle's exterior before so have a lot to learn about the tried and true products vs shams or worthless shortcuts, as well as any particulars that are best for these superblack Z tops. It's one of my favorite parts of the visuals of the car and I want to keep it deep and shiny! Also I hear the body paint is relatively thin, so I may want to do a "track pack PPF" or similar treatment and appreciate any advice on particulars there.

 

[speedjuno]

PPF & ceramic coat, would be my guess. I've ceramic coated my vette & caddie; but, I personally wouldn't bother to do it again because they're garage-kept, and I like to wax, myself.

 

[TexasZee]

This is the biggest pain point on this car in terms of care imo. I am dealing with the same thing. No garage, parked outside. I looked into covers and found they do more damage than help with micro scratches. I was quoted $2400 for PPF on all piano blank areas of the car, but only got 1 quote.

 

[alutwon]

I bought this cover for my z when I'm home since I don't have access to a garage either. it's soft material inside and since I'm in Florida I fear UV damage https://a.co/d/62Uvbwk
if you do go for a cover try to keep it clean and waxed

 

[Bumflik]

Sun Kills all things over time. Even the interior. I started to cover mine with covercraft's high end cover. I have a carbon fiber Wing so I had to do it. Lucky to find private indoor garage rental now so im out of the elements and safeguarded from theft vandalism potential, however I still cover.

 

[FlagonFly]

This is the biggest pain point on this car in terms of care imo. I am dealing with the same thing. No garage, parked outside. I looked into covers and found they do more damage than help with micro scratches. I was quoted $2400 for PPF on all piano blank areas of the car, but only got 1 quote.

Holy smokes, I thought it would be some bux but that’s a lot. Yeah my issue with covers is I’m not going to put it on at my work parking lot and that’s where it’ll get a lot of the most direct sun no matter if I garage it at home or not. I’m hoping for some kind of middle ground that takes some work every so many months but isn’t that pricey

 

[Bumflik]

Why I have an orbital buffer. Scratches are inevitable and I dont have a show car. After a year of ownership I have had a few little meteorites(road rock chip) bird shit here and there. Why I wanted boulder Grey. So i buff and wax using the various pads and maderna or meguiars, mothers, for scratches. And of course touch up paint. We do what we can. Im more concerned with corrosion of suspension and frame due to me living in rust belt USA. So she is in hibernation til spring or a salt free snow free road.

 

[Lvckv99]

waxing and polishing from time to time

 

[FlagonFly]

Anyone used a ceramic spray sealant, such as Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Spray Coating or Griot’s Garage 3-in-1 Ceramic Wax on the superblack top?

TIL not all microfiber cloths are created equal

 

[ill-legal?]

I'm painfully ocd when it comes to my car so I did a full front end (bumper, front fenders, hood, mirrors, headlights) + the a-pillar, roof, and hatch all the way to the spoiler with STEK PPF. $2900. I'd have done the front end regardless, but I did the roof/hatch because I didn't want to deal with Nissan's black paint...I'm not even a full year into owning the car but it was well worth it imo.

I used Griot's 3-in-1 Ceramic Spray on the rest of the car. It's easy to apply, you might want to apply every 6 mos or so if the car won't be garaged. In the past I've used and gotten great results from GTechniq "Halo" on PPF and vinyl.

Griot's PFM is my favorite drying towel (I have yet to find anything else as effective) and their dual weave PFM for glass is great as well. Big Griot's fan in general when it comes to detailing products, their stuff is solid.

 

[Tranzor Z]

Sun Kills all things over time. Even the interior. I started to cover mine with covercraft's high end cover. I have a carbon fiber Wing so I had to do it. Lucky to find private indoor garage rental now so im out of the elements and safeguarded from theft vandalism potential, however I still cover.

What people don't understand is all carbon needs to be sent to a body shop to be clear coated. Then it will last a long time. I don't think anyone does it though.

 

[BigBlue]

I've had times when my car had to sit out in the open. You really only have one choice. Buy a high end cover. I bought like the second best cover from covercraft. I had it for 10+ years and it still worked like a champ. When people speak of micro swirls in the paint or whatever that is nothing compared to just leaving it out. Is it a pain to take it off and on, Yes. When and if you finally get a place to park it inside you'll thank yourself for protecting it. Once inside, than you to can worrying about micro swirls.

 

[takemorepills]

UV is the main problem.

Keeping the paint buffed and polished is not going to help at all, that is merely keeping the surface looking good, the UV is breaking down the paint constantly. The heat is not the biggest issue for the car...

PPF that is specifically designated for UV blocking is probably your best bet. Same for your windows, get tint that is specifically rated for UV blocking. I have an Olight flashlight that has a real UV LED in it, real UV LED doesn't look very purple like most "UV flashlight", a true UV LED looks somewhat light, slightly purple color. I also have some UV test cards that can detect UV by causing special ink to appear when exposed to UV light. When I got UV tint installed on my new Titan, I took my flashlight and test card to check the UV film before the shop installed it, and I confirmed that the tint did block all UV. Other tints don't block UV. I was very careful about getting UV tint because we road trip a lot, and with my previous vehicles with regular 20% tint, we were still getting sunburned on one side of our neck and arm. I know several people who developed skin cancer from being on the road all the time.

If you decide to pay big $ for PPF, ask them to let you test it first with a real UV LED light and test card.

This is the light I have:
https://a.co/d/94judr8

A UV test card:
https://a.co/d/2zWDIkJ

BTW, you can use those to confirm if your glasses are actually UV blocking, I highly suggest always wearing UV blocking sunglasses when out in the sun. My friend's dad recently died in his early 60's from eye cancer, he was always out in the AZ sun and it caught up to him.

I'm not a fan of liquid coatings that block UV, you can't be certain if the coating is properly applied or when it begins to wear off. Just like sunscreen, you need to constantly be reapplying it. There's a lot of marketing involved to push ceramic coating, I'm not sure if it's truly effective, but with a PPF film, you know it's physically there

 

[FlagonFly]

UV is the main problem.

Keeping the paint buffed and polished is not going to help at all, that is merely keeping the surface looking good, the UV is breaking down the paint constantly. The heat is not the biggest issue for the car...

PPF that is specifically designated for UV blocking is probably your best bet. Same for your windows, get tint that is specifically rated for UV blocking. I have an Olight flashlight that has a real UV LED in it, real UV LED doesn't look very purple like most "UV flashlight", a true UV LED looks somewhat light, slightly purple color. I also have some UV test cards that can detect UV by causing special ink to appear when exposed to UV light. When I got UV tint installed on my new Titan, I took my flashlight and test card to check the UV film before the shop installed it, and I confirmed that the tint did block all UV. Other tints don't block UV. I was very careful about getting UV tint because we road trip a lot, and with my previous vehicles with regular 20% tint, we were still getting sunburned on one side of our neck and arm. I know several people who developed skin cancer from being on the road all the time.

If you decide to pay big $ for PPF, ask them to let you test it first with a real UV LED light and test card.

This is the light I have:
https://a.co/d/94judr8

A UV test card:
https://a.co/d/2zWDIkJ

BTW, you can use those to confirm if your glasses are actually UV blocking, I highly suggest always wearing UV blocking sunglasses when out in the sun. My friend's dad recently died in his early 60's from eye cancer, he was always out in the AZ sun and it caught up to him.

I'm not a fan of liquid coatings that block UV, you can't be certain if the coating is properly applied or when it begins to wear off. Just like sunscreen, you need to constantly be reapplying it. There's a lot of marketing involved to push ceramic coating, I'm not sure if it's truly effective, but with a PPF film, you know it's physically there

Great advice, thx. I am probably doing the PPV at least on the roof when I can fit it into the budget!

 

[thesilverbullet]

clean the garage out and park in garage or install cheap metal carport