New Car Detail?

J

jamesp

New member
i am about to purchase a new car. should i do any type of polishing or sealing now? or is there a wait period for new vehicles? the paint will be silver metalic.
 
Tell the dealership not to wash or put any wax on it to start...no need to wait the cars paint is ready to go....on new cars i I like to do the following


wash
clay
polish
seal
wax

There should not be any swrils to remove, if there are then use that process after the clay.

What products do you have on hand right now, or are you going to be buying some new stuff the the ride?
 
For a new car I'd say you have what you need. I was polishing and sealing my new car the day after I bought it. Considering your car likely has a build date that was more than a few months ago, I'd say that the paint has had more than enough time to properly cure. No worries at all.
 
The VM and the SSR1 are going to do about the same thing....buy a clay kit at your local auto parts store or online at one of the sponsors.....It will help to cut the crud off the car....followup with either of the two above and head for the paste wax.....you could lay down a sealant before the paste wax but that's a personal preference...

Using the PC I would use a polishing pad for the VM or SSR and the paste / sealant or both by hand
 
We just picked up an 05 Tacoma and I couldn't believe how much fallout was on the paint. It was crazy bad. You really should clay because if it stays on the paint, it'll only get worse over time and harder to remove. I washed, clayed, used PwC, and then P21S. I was going to seal with EX-P but I had some pad issues so I just skipped it. The above steps are the way to go. Good luck.
 
I did a 530i BMW white in color that had raildust all over the bumpers that was about two years old....you could see that areas that the specks of metal had gone into the painted areas.


Clay on a new car is a must for me to get the paint ready for the polish and what ever else you do.
 
Beemerboy said:
I did a 530i BMW white in color that had raildust all over the bumpers that was about two years old....you could see that areas that the specks of metal had gone into the painted areas.


Clay on a new car is a must for me to get the paint ready for the polish and what ever else you do.
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Exactly. And yet dealers just put them out there and polish that metallic dust right in. One dealer has contacted me to remove the dust on silver and white--cause you can see it. It's still there on the other ones.

Clay is now becoming something on most automotive shelves. I picked up the Mothers package for $30 CAD (about $15-$20USD), with a clay bar, quick detail, and wax, probably enough of everything for 2 applications. I'm guessing that Megs is just as good. I don't recommend the foam spray+foam pad system.
 
You'll have to look up the details because I can't remember them all, but there are really only two clay products out there. One is 'elastic' and the other is 'plastic'. Mothers and Meguiar's are good examples of the different kinds. It is a patent thing, so unless another company comes along and invents a new type of clay (like Diamondite Speed Clay, for example) we are going to basically buying the same clay from the same company with just different labels on it. It makes me laugh sometimes to hear people rave about one clay and then condem another one. If they only knew that the only difference was the label on the box... lol
 
I didn't know that J. I heard the same about Ketchup.
My clay comes from a big chemical company with a detailing wing. They make the QD, but I just assumed they bought the clay elsewhere. I never knew where. They are about the size of a large bar of soap. The purple one is more abrasive for light cars, and the grey one less abrasive for dark cars. I don't have much to compare it with since they've always worked perfectly (except in removing cured overspray).
 
I don't want to hi-jack or anything but the aggressiveness of clay shouldn't depend on what color the car is. I mean yeah, a mild clay on dark cars will have less marring, but if a car needs aggressive clay, it needs aggressive clay, no matter what the color is. Same with mild. You wouldn't/shouldn't use an aggressive clay on a white car if it has minimal contanimation...
 
Jngrbrdman said:
You'll have to look up the details because I can't remember them all, but there are really only two clay products out there. One is 'elastic' and the other is 'plastic'. Mothers and Meguiar's are good examples of the different kinds. It is a patent thing, so unless another company comes along and invents a new type of clay (like Diamondite Speed Clay, for example) we are going to basically buying the same clay from the same company with just different labels on it. It makes me laugh sometimes to hear people rave about one clay and then condem another one. If they only knew that the only difference was the label on the box... lol
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:punk: Well said.
 
budman3 said:
I don't want to hi-jack or anything but the aggressiveness of clay shouldn't depend on what color the car is. I mean yeah, a mild clay on dark cars will have less marring, but if a car needs aggressive clay, it needs aggressive clay, no matter what the color is. Same with mild. You wouldn't/shouldn't use an aggressive clay on a white car if it has minimal contanimation...
Click to expand...

Fair enough. I've used the purple clay on rocker skins on dark cars, and I've only used it on one white car. I tend to use the less agressive bar all the time (4 bars to 1 usually). These guidelines are just what's on the package.
 
Hey Guys -

I am picking up my new '05 Acura TL w/ Navigation (Satin Silver Metallic w/ Black Leather) tomorrow --- can you tell I am excited?

Anyways, I have been reading forums for quite some time now and have a decent group of clients, but I am still confused about some things...

1) What exactly is the cure time for a new car (regarding paint). I have heard/read conflicting reports w/ regards to how long you should wait before waxing/polishing/etc -- Does it vary by manufacturer or am I safe to say if the car is 1 month old, 2 months old, etc it's okay to start protecting the paint...

2) What is the proper way to seal a car? I have a PC 7336 but from what I have seen it's better to seal by hand. Is this true? And how should I apply (on/off straight lines) or circular motion?

3) Let me know what you guys think about this process---I'm definitely open to suggestions if anyone has experience w/ this color on Acura's.

Wash (Meg's NXT Wash)

Clay

Polish (Any good recommendations here - any good over the counter products?) - I usually use a PwC when working on a clients car (for time restraints and the low price I usually charge)

Seal (Klasse AIO)

Wax (I got a great deal on Meg's #26 - Mirror Glaze - Hi Tech Yellow Wax) -- should I apply this by hand or can you even apply w/ the PC since it isn't liquid?)


Hopefully this isn't hijacking this thread, but I felt it was pretty much the same questions (with a little more detail to the thread) as the title indicates...

As Always --- Thank You All for your expertise and help!!! Once I get the process down and the products I'll post some pic's...
 
Me Again -- Just figured I would shoot this back up to the front of the threads to see if anyone has any advice for me on this post...

Of course, it figures, the day I go to pick up the car it's raining --- hasn't rained here in about 5 weeks and now it's pouring...

Thanks Again!
 
Your process looks good. As for the polish, it depends on if the dealer washed the car for you, or you have any swirls already or any marring from the clay. I used PwC on my new truck and it was fine. You can use SSR1 if you feel like you need it, but there is no reason to use an abrasive polish on a new paint job with minimal flaws.
 
The paint looks great. I picked it up this evening. I specifically asked the dealer not to polish or wax the car. He was surprised that I said that, but obliged.

I later found out that they did put sealant on the car, but that was it (other than washing, of course). As beautiful as the car is...being a detailer, the first thing I noticed was the glass (on the windows) were a little streaky...That is the sign of a true detailer...kind of sad if you really think about it...beautiful car and I find the flaw as minor as it was...

Anyways...I am planning on going w/ the above mentioned process. Again, I'll try to post some pic's, but probably won't get to really work on the car until Saturday.

Thanks for your post budman3 -- do you think I should skip the polish stage altogether? I am still somewhat of a newbie at all this (mostly the polish/sealant stages) so bear with me a little. I want to keep the paint looking like new (or better) as long as I can.
 
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