Treatment for protection of brand new car parked outside?

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peterp

New member
I just ordered a 2012 Audi Q5 with Moonlight Blue Metallic paint and I'd like to do some sealing on "day one" to protect the finish. Unfortunately, the car will be parked outside at all times, so my primary concern is to protect the paint from UV. I'd also like to protect the wheels so they don't get pitted from brake dust over time. I would like for it to shine also of course, but protection is more important than shine since it will be parked outside. This is my first new car -- I always get certified pre-owned for the longer warranty, so my questions are specifically about care for brand new paint.



My plan, which I would like critiqued, is to just clay it and apply 2 layers of Collonite 845 and, for the wheels, to clay and apply Rejex. I already have both these products. I know Collonite is not the best for shine, but seems to be one of the protection favorites. For the wheels only, I have found Rejex to work very well -- Rejex doesn't have that great of a shine (not a concern for me for wheels) but I have found that it protects wheels from brake dust better than Zaino and any other sealants I've tried. My questions are:



1. Do I need to let the paint cure for a couple months before applying a sealant -- the car is being ordered rather than from in stock, so it will be relatively fresh from the factory and presumably the paint won't have cured for long



2. Is there anything else I should do besides clay the paint before adding a sealant? My thought is that the new paint might already have some sealant applied at the factory and that clay would clean any imperfections without removing whatever was done at the factory.



3. Is Collonite 845 really good at UV filtering? I see a lot of comments about it standing up to UV well, but I don't know if that is the same as protecting from UV. I really want it to block UV rays with a sunscreen-like PF factor like (I think) Zaino does since it will be parked outside.
 
No need to wait for paint to be cured. A new vehicle is all set to go definitely by the time its shipped. I would look into a three step decontamination wash, like Finish Kare's or Valugard's ABC or at least do an Iron X wash. You'd be surprised how contaminated brand new vehicles. This will "exfoliate" the paint whereas clay only removes the surface deep stuff. You could still clay too.



I think Collinite is at least half decent regarding UV protection, but I'd research the newest LSPs and their UV blocking claims. Optimum's products come to mind. I would want the latest and greatest in UV protection since this car will be outside all of the time. I don't place much stock in sunscreen-like UV ranking scales, heck they even say the ones for sunscreen don't have all that much merit to them, I'd personally just choose the latest technology in LSPs for a vehicle in these conditions because I am only assuming they will provide the best protection to date.
 
Bill D said:
No need to wait for paint to be cured. A new vehicle is all set to go definitely by the time its shipped. I would look into a three step decontamination wash, like Finish Kare's or Valugard's ABC or at least do an Iron X wash. You'd be surprised how contaminated brand new vehicles. This will "exfoliate" the paint whereas clay only removes the surface deep stuff. You could still clay too.



I think Collinite is at least half decent regarding UV protection, but I'd research the newest LSPs and their UV blocking claims. Optimum's products come to mind. I would want the latest and greatest in UV protection since this car will be outside all of the time. I don't place much stock in sunscreen-like UV ranking scales, heck they even say the ones for sunscreen don't have all that much merit to them, I'd personally just choose the latest technology in LSPs for a vehicle in these conditions because I am only assuming they will provide the best protection to date.
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Thanks -- I wasn't familiar with any of these cleaners like Iron X. I will definitely look into them to use before clay.



I don't know much about UV ratings in detailing products, but I know the difference sunscreen makes with my skin (night and day -- I burn easily despite being somewhat dark skinned), so I'm hoping I can find that same type of PF-factor effect in a polish.
 
peterp said:
.. My thought is that the new paint might already have some sealant applied at the factory and that clay would clean any imperfections without removing whatever was done at the factory...
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Nope, it'll be "bare" paint.



.. Is Collonite 845 really good at UV filtering? I see a lot of comments about it standing up to UV well, but I don't know if that is the same as protecting from UV. I really want it to block UV rays with a sunscreen-like PF factor like (I think) Zaino does since it will be parked outside.
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I myself wouldn't be all *that* concerned about the UV as auto paint (especially Audi clear) is mighty tough stuff. I'd be more concerned with not letting it get etched by bird bombs or marred up by improper washing, both of which might lead to abrasive polishing, which would thin the clear. I'd be all about keeping the factory clearcoat as thick and undamaged as possible.



Perhaps you *should* look into OptiCoat.
 
peterp said:
I don't know much about UV ratings in detailing products, but I know the difference sunscreen makes with my skin (night and day -- I burn easily despite being somewhat dark skinned), so I'm hoping I can find that same type of PF-factor effect in a polish.
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Sunscreen definitely does make a difference on skin, it's just the scale they use that is likely questionable. My understanding is it's difficult to rank UV blockage on skin and quantify it and that some of higher number UV blockage ratings are really suspect.I've always read higher than a SPF of 30-45 is probably overkill and its effectiveness can't be definitively proven so best stick with that max. All of this coming from a guy who hates sunscreen and lives in Florida. :o



High SPF Sunscreens: Are they Better?





I've never seen actual UV ratings for detailing products and I'd be extremely skeptical of them. Very involved to test and definitively rate them. Lots of room for over hype, in an industry with plenty of it already.
 
Accumulator said:
Nope, it'll be "bare" paint.



I myself wouldn't be all *that* concerned about the UV as auto paint (especially Audi clear) is mighty tough stuff. I'd be more concerned with not letting it get etched by bird bombs or marred up by improper washing, both of which might lead to abrasive polishing, which would thin the clear. I'd be all about keeping the factory clearcoat as thick and undamaged as possible.



Perhaps you *should* look into OptiCoat.
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Thanks -- this preserving the clear is a good point. The X5 it's replacing was out in the same environment as the Q5 will be and there are a number of small stains baked into the clear.



I will definitely look into the OptiCoat a bit more. One concern I have from what I've just skimmed reading on it is that it seems to apply something like Z-CS. Z-CS was/is easy enough to apply, but I really never got the hang of getting it completely streak free -- it does clean up with Z-6 after, but the fact that I needed to do that indicates my technique is somewhat lacking. Opti-Coat is more permanent, so I'd need to make sure I do it right. Also it sounds like once you've done Opti-Coat, other polishes won't stick well so you are essentially done (which is convenient, but not sure how it will look after a year or three).
 
The best UV protection is Car Cover. If you are going to keep the car more than few years and want the outside trim, molding, paint, rubber to look as good as new keep the car out of the sun by a cover. But still do your regular cleaning and preserving.
 
If you're going to go with an Optimum product, might just want to go with Opti-Seal instead of opti-Coat. Can't get much easier to apply and they say it protects and looks extremely well on any paint.
 
Bill D said:
Sunscreen definitely does make a difference on skin, it's just the scale they use that is likely questionable. My understanding is it's difficult to rank UV blockage on skin and quantify it and that some of higher number UV blockage ratings are really suspect.I've always read higher than a SPF of 30-45 is probably overkill and its effectiveness can't be definitively proven so best stick with that max. All of this coming from a guy who hates sunscreen and lives in Florida. :o



High SPF Sunscreens: Are they Better?





I've never seen actual UV ratings for detailing products and I'd be extremely skeptical of them. Very involved to test and definitively rate them. Lots of room for over hype, in an industry with plenty of it already.
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It's too bad they don't have some type of ratings for car products, even if the ratings aren't perfect. I concur with the article, I haven't seen that much difference between even SPF15 and 50, but either of those against no sunscreen is a pretty huge difference.



I live in NJ now, but grew up in Florida and hated sunscreen. I had a serious skin cancer issue a few years ago. It was very deep and required a lot of cutting to remove, but fortunately localized to one area. I still don't like sunscreen, but I'm a lot less casual about sunscreen than I was before that incident.
 
If it was "me", I'd wash, decontaminate, polish and use opti coat.



On a side note, I'd cancel blue and get silver or white. In NJ, parked outside - that blue will look dirty very fast and swirl pretty easy. I know that you didn't ask me for advice on color, but I just had to warn you.



Also, make sure that the stealership does ZERO prep work on your car. After all, you are paying for a swirl free paint not a butchered up one.



Enjoy your new ride. I love Q5s
 
sfds said:
The best UV protection is Car Cover. If you are going to keep the car more than few years and want the outside trim, molding, paint, rubber to look as good as new keep the car out of the sun by a cover. But still do your regular cleaning and preserving.
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Car covers do protect from the sun, but I've had a bad experience with them. I used to have a 1974 Porsche Carrera (actually it was an "S" that was converted to a Carrera - I wish it was a real Carrera) that I kept under cover in Florida. I found that over time the trapped moisture and the heat caused problems where the red paint in some areas became pink. It was a quality cover that was supposed to breathe correctly, but it didn't in my case. Some of it went away after I had the cover off for a while, but it was necessary to paint a few areas. I suspect if you're diligent about taking off the cover when there is any chance of rain, then maybe there aren't any issues, but it's pretty tough to do when you travel for example. Based on that experience, I no longer use a car cover under any circumstances (not even the garage -- old wounds heal slowly). Besides that, the Q5 will be my wife's car and she definitely wouldn't want to remove and install the cover each time she uses it.
 
If you ever reconsider a car cover in the future for another vehicle, you'll find the fabric technology has changed substantially. I'd really be surprised if any car's color is susceptible to change with today's covers. Even the custom made ones can be a pain to keep down in high winds though; I always had to use a bungee cord looped underneath the car through the loop holes on either side.
 
tdekany said:
If it was "me", I'd wash, decontaminate, polish and use opti coat.



On a side note, I'd cancel blue and get silver or white. In NJ, parked outside - that blue will look dirty very fast and swirl pretty easy. I know that you didn't ask me for advice on color, but I just had to warn you.



Also, make sure that the stealership does ZERO prep work on your car. After all, you are paying for a swirl free paint not a butchered up one.



Enjoy your new ride. I love Q5s
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I hear you on the blue -- the current car it's replacing is blue, but I just don't like the white, black, or silver and there are very few color options on the 2012 Q5's. I test drove a Monsoon Grey (I think that was the name), but just didn't like it compared to the blue. Life would be easier if I chose white or silver because they could probably find one in stock rather than special ordering it, which will take something like 8-10 weeks, but I really like the blue.



I'll talk to them about bypassing the prep. Detailing is just a hobby for me for my own cars, I have a PC and have been doing it for many years, but I'm not sure I could do a better job of polishing than their guy. I have no idea what they do in prep -- do they normally polish it with products that cut?
 
Imagine what it was like having two black cars and living in NJ :o



FWIW, I got a very specific blue as my daily driver because it is exactly my favorite color. I'm super Autopian any way, so the color didn't bother me.



Once you get a color you really like, I think you find it more of a pleasure to take care of ,because once it cleans up, you feel all good about it again right away. In terms of paint correction, cutting or compounding is really only going to be needed if the paint has been neglected. Good polishing as needed will always ensure a great look at the end of the detailing process.



All the best with your new Q! :xyxthumbs:
 
Car cover is not for everyone. I live in the SF valley Los Angeles dry and hot in the summer. For me it is the best protection for my cars. Change them every few years when they get old. Better than the tree shades (bird droppings etc.).
 
peterp- There's no saying *what* they might do to it if you let them prep it. But it's pretty likely that they'll at least mar it up doing a [crappy] wash. I can probably count on one hand the number of undamaged new cars I've seen, and I'm talking about high-end dealerships too.
 
A dealership, doesn't matter if it's Daihatsu or Mercedes-Benz, just doesn't operate on a "baby a brand new car" mentality. Unfortunately,they don't have the time, are uneducated about, and/or simply don't care about whether or not they create marring or other damage in the paint. Too much of a "fast food" mentality in their prep departments. Besides, there's no feeling like when you prep your very own brand new car yourself. It's part of that "new car high" that many of us Autopians pretty much never recovered from years to decades later. :o :D
 
Congrats on selecting a Q5. They are wonderful cars and I was shopping for one quite recently until I ended up going a different route fir now. On my wish list is a S-Line. Someday.



You certainly seem to have quite a bit of experience with different products so I am sure you will do a good job with whatever you choose. Personally, I use Zaino products and use All-In-One for my cars that see the most abuse. Midwest summer and winter are brutal and Z has performed well with infrequent tune ups, maybe twice yearly.



As you know, prep is everything and I have flayed and polished every newcar I have owned. But even more crucial is choosing the right products and routine for weekly maintenance. Washing is where you will do the most damage, more so than the environment, so be sure you have a good regimen. Again, I like Z6, Z7 and Z8 as part of my routine. Get quality mitts, towels and drying towels.



Having had several Audis, I find their paint extremely durable and my current S4 , now pushing six years old, has never had a water spot even from sprinklers or summer showers.



Enjoy your Q5!
 
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