New car thoughts...

H

Hey Moe!

New member
I succumbed to Ford's employee discount program, and today I traded my 2002 Focus ZTS on a new Focus ZX4 ST. It is a small step down from the old SVT Focus. It suits me well, because I love to drive, but I drive 20K miles a year, and have to keep a handle on expenses.



A relative put me on to Griot's Garage products while I owned the last Focus. I have used their products for a while now, and I own a PC. I do understand the basics of cleaning, polishing, waxing, and swirl/scratch removal.



I do have a good supply of Griot's products, though I would be open to suggestions, particularly in the area of tire dressing. That is the one area where I would like to upgrade.



I am planning to polish, and wax in the next few days. If anyone out there has any suggestions, I would love to hear them.



Thanks in advance from a new member who is looking forward to contributing to this forum!!!



Gotta go--Barrett-Jackson is on the TV! Someday!!
 
Welcome to Autopia! One of the things you need to make sure you do, even with a new car is to clay. So wash, clay, wash, polish, wax. Everyone has their own favorite brands, but I will leave it to you and read through the threads here to get a feel of what different people like for different colors. Oh, that's another thing, what color is your new focus?
 
The color is Liquid Gray (dark gray).



I have clay, though it is the least experienced part of my "arsenal."



I have noticed a lot of mentions of clay, and am curious why it is apparently such an importnat item.



Thanks,



Mike
 
First of all, welcome to Autopia! You've stumbled across the best resource for keeping your new car looking better than new!





Clay is important, because it's a nonabrasive way to remove embedded contaminants from the paint. It really 'deep cleans' the paint so you're left with a squeaky clean, product free surface, ready for polish and wax.



On a new car, it's important since most cars are shipped by train. The rails produce rail dust(similar to brake dust) that sticks to your car's paint. The prep they do at the dealer doesn't remove it, either.



Follow others in what combos work well on metallics and which ones don't.



IMHO, on your color I'd go with a good sealant like Zaino, Poorboy's EX-P, Klasse, Wolfgang, 4* UPP, etc...



And most of these systems have their own specialized precleaner/polish, so just pick a brand line and dive right in. Any of those mentioned won't disappoint. :)



You may also want to purchase a PC Random Orbital Polisher. You may not need it now, since your car is just a baby, but when those swirls pop up, you'll want one.





Hope this helps!
 
Welcome to Autopia. :welcome



I regularly use Eagle One's Wet Tire shine. It leaves a glossy finish on the tires. 303 leaves more of a matte finish. Wolfgangs Vinyl and Rubber protectant leaves a matte finish as well, but I feel it's not as easy to work with like 303. Wolfgangs seemed to run on me a little.

Depends on what look you're going for. Also, good tire cleaning is necessary. I use EF HI Cleaner for cleaning. About to retire my Oxo tire brush and break in the new Meguiar's tire brush I have on deck. :)



Which Griot's products have you been using ? If you let us know, we'll be able to understand where you're coming from a little better.

I love Griot's short handle boar's hair brush. I've been using it only on my rims since I bought my car in '02. Really soft and effective. I aim to wash my

rims every week, so there's not too much build up. Great product though IMO.
 
Hey, Moe- Welcome to Autopia!



One of the upgrades I made from Griot's stuff was also tire dressing. I like Zainos stuff, maybe Z-16 IIRC. While I usually clean the tires with EFHI like SK2003TypeS does, Griot's Rubber Cleaner works OK if I scrub with a brush and use it more than once.



There are a scad of products in the polish/wax/sealant area that are, IMO, a lot better than Griot's offerings.



Since you're trying to keep things sensible budget-wise, finding alternatives to Griot's stuff should be rewarding in a number of ways.



You'll get a scad of product line recommendations, and I use a lot of stuff from different sources, but you might check out the stuff from 1Z.



Oh, and when you run out of Griot's clay, check out the stuff at the Autopia store. Their gray and green Sonus brand clay beats Griot's hands down IMO.
 
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