Best Approach for First Time Detailing . . .

J

janderson

New member
I am not new to the forum, and I am not new to detailing, but I am new to the wonderful world of brand spaking new cars. What should my approach be with this car? It has no swirl marks, no scratches, and no dings (joy joy!).



I was going to clay the car this saturday, shampoo it, and then AIOx3. If I have the time on Saturday, I will put SGx2. I am about to take the 303 test, and switch from my usual McGuires tire gel.



Any thing that I am leaving out?



Best regards.
 
I'm still debating between Klasse/P21S past wax and Zaino myself...I've got a brand new black car, but my father tried to be helpful and waxed it once already! Now it has tons of swirls :sosad



Anyone have anything to swing me in either direction? So far I'm leaning towards the Klasse combo because of the superior swirl coverage. The only thing that is stopping me is that I believe Zaino has superior shine.



I will probably have to clean the surface like crazy to undo what my father did. I guess I'll have to see. The situation kinda stinks.
 
Do a "work in" of AIO, use a little more water than usual to dampen your sponge (after washing really well). Do a lower panel first and look at your microfiber applicator (having a light colored one definately helps) Does stuff come off, as in does it look dirty? That should help you decide whether or not to continue the AIO. AIO will add a buttery smooth goodness that is hard to pass up. Even on a car that is new and "appears" to not need it.





Justin

That sucks, chances are the swirls didn't come from the wax application (foam doesn't scratch), but either from him washing it incorrectly or removing it with your typical dirty or not so plush shop rag. Invest in some good towels, some of the least scratchiest being microfiber.



Most appearce differences between Klasse and Zaino are subjective. Some people prefer a Klasse shine on black over Zaino, while others prefer the Zaino shine. From the pictures Zaino seems to be a bright (if black can be bright) glisteny shine.



Either way you're going to have to deal with your swirl situation. Why? because as soon as you get your car so shiny you'll just be looking at the swirls and thinking, now I have to strip and rewax. Might as well nip it in the bud now before putting in the effort that you're going to put in anyways.



Happy detailing :up
 
I also think the swirls came from him not using a QD. To remove dust that settled on the car in the garage, I think he wiped them off.



What do you think I should do about the swirls?
 
I am a big believer in cleaning the paint even on a new car. See this recent thread about what I did on the new Subie.



http://www.autopia-carport.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=9749



On my XKR, I doubled up -- PPCL plus AIO x 2.



How clean could your new paint be? For an import, it goes -- Factory, truck, train, boat, sit at port, train, truck, sit at dealer lot with a couple of sit around and waits for trucks trains and boats thrown in for good measure. I can see a whole lotta stuff getting on the paint in those places.
 
I agree with your comments. I think that my detailing will begin with a good claying. The only problem is that I have "mis" clayed in the past. I seem to get these funky streaks on the car when claying with the QD that comes with the Mother's kit.



I plan on washing the car first, then claying the car. From there I was going to use AIO but GuessMyName said that I really would not need to. The car does not have any swirl marks, so I want to keep it that way for as long as possible.



Do you have any thoughts?



Best regards.
 
Maryland:



Here's what I would do.



Wash car; don't dry

Mix up new bucket of wash and use that as your clay lube

Rinse and dry

AIO x 2

KSG x whatever



The only times that I have gotten clay streaks were when:



I tried to reclay a small area that didn't have enough lube on it; and



I clayed in the sun on the dark XKR; I got streaks on the "hottest" part of the hood. PPCL took the streaks right out. I was using one of the dedicated lubes that day -- using wash water might have cooled the surface enough to prevent the streaking.



Never used the Mother's clay, though. Zymol, Zaino and Pinnacle experience.
 
So, you think that I should use the AIO? I am quite used to using AIO on the black Bimmr, plus the paint was almost 14 years old. So you think that the AIO will really do wonders for the paint?



Let me know what you think.



Best regards.
 
Maryland,



I had the same problem with claying. No matter how much QD I used for lubing, I had streaks.



So, I purchased the clay holder from Griot's along with their clay. you attach the velcro clay holder to the PC orbital, and pop the clay into the recessed hole in the holder.



I ran the PC at their recommended speed of 3 with QD sprayed on the pad/clay and on the surface, and did NOT apply any additional pressure. Both my vehicles came out spotless/smooth as glass, with no clay streaks and a really nasty looking piece of clay. I'm hooked on this process now.
 
wow, the first guy to post using clay by machine.



they should make it like a push pop or chapstick and then just dial it in.:xyxthumbs
 
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