When to polish/wax new paint?

5

5.4 Shelby

New member
Hi guys,



NOOB here. I own a PC 7424 and have used it 20 or so times. I use Griot's Garage pads, polishes and Best of Show wax. I have been using my 9 year old truck with 99k miles on it as a practicing board to learn how to use it. It now has a pretty nice finish for an old truck.



Last year, I ordered a new Ford Mustang. It will finally be coming in within the next 2-3 weeks.



So, my question for you is: When is it safe to clay, polish or wax brand new paint? I have always understood that baked on factory paint can be done right away. However, I don't want to just assume that on my new baby. I thought I would ask the experts.



TIA



Kevin
 
For factory paint, you can clay, polish and wax the day you take delivery.



For respray paint, you need to wait for 3 months for wax. You can clay and polish immediately (if baked) or after two days (if air dry).



I hope that helps.
 
5.4 Shelby- Welcome to Autopia!



What sixty7mustang22 said. Your new car has factory-baked paint (assuming it wasn't damaged and repainted before you got it) and can be waxed/polished right away.



While I use a decontamination system ("ABC" from Automotive International - Valugard Product Line ) on all my new vehicles, most people consider that too much of a PIA and just clay them. I strongly encourage you to do either (or both :D ) of those processes to remove any contamination (especially ferrous contamination, i.e., "rail dust") before it causes potentially permanent problems. Not the biggest issue in the world on dark colors, but on light/medium colors it can be a real problem.



Griot's clay (at least when used with SpeedShine) is a bit mild for this, but it's a lot better than nothing.
 
Thanks for the welcome and the tips, everybody.



Are there clays that are more aggressive (and safe)? I use the griots prior to any polish/wax job. It seems to leave my paint clean.



I don't think my car will be traveling by rail car. I live about 6 hours from Detroit and I think it will be trucked to dealer. I suspect it will still have significant contamination and plan to clay anyway.



btw, the car is white.
 
5.4 Shelby- OK, the close proximity sounds good. OTOH, white is one of those colors where you *really* don't want the rust-blooms (because they show so readily).



It's too bad that "ABC" is only available in gallons :( IMO it'd be the thing to use but who wants to have all the extra product sitting around?!?



Some more aggressive clays can mar the paint, and the one I like best (more effective than Griot's but still perfectly safe) got pulled off the market over patent issues. So I'm at a bit of a loss regarding recommendations...



I hate to recommend a product I haven't tried, but *AS I UNDERSTAND IT* (based on reports from people I respect), the ClayMagic Blue clay is a bit more effective than the Griot's (which seems to be indistinguishable from Mother's BTW, at least they seem exactly the same to me) while still being safe. Might be worth the few bucks if ClayMagic is available OTC in your area.



The Griot's/SpeedShine is just *so* mild..I did some side-by-side comaros with clays that turned me off the Griot's/Mother's stuff after years of using it (I remember the 1st generation of it, green in color, from the early '90s).



I suppose the sensible thing is to just use your Griot's clay and keep a sharp eye peeled. If you see any rust blooms you need to deal with them fairly aggressively (just reclaying probably won't solve the problem permanently) and you have to do that *promptly*. Once such problems gain a toehold, it's an incredible PIA to solve them. Voice of experience...this exact issue plagued me for years.



Not trying to make you all paranoid, but forewarned is forearmed and I'd hate for you to have problems with your new car. Another member is going through what seems to be this type of problem on a new white BMW (the thread is titled something like "stains on paint") and if you can avoid such troubles so much the better.
 
All I know is... you are going to flat out enjoy that GT500!:bounce



You are going to be like this at the end of every day...:work:



:grinno:



If the car is white, what color are the stripes? (Assuming it has them.)



And just remember, ride her hard every once in a while and she will love you more.:D
 
Accumulator, I'll look for the clay magic. Should I still use speed shine or do you recommend another lube? You won't MAKE me paranoid about the paint. I already am. That is why I am here in the first place. Thanks for the advice.



sixty, It is the white/blue combo. I thought about going with a gray color and have a subtle look. I thought it over and over. I finally decided white/blue as it was the classic '65 Shelby color (only color avail in 65 for those that don't know). I'll treat her nice most of the time with the occasional hard ride. Once I get her shining, I'll put up some pics.



I'll prob be posting a message bout Vinyl (Boo) stripe care eventually.
 
5.4 Shelby said:
..Should I still use speed shine [with Clay Magic] or do you recommend another lube? You won't MAKE me paranoid about the paint. I already am. .
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Heh heh, a little pananoia can be a good thing in these cases :D



I'd use the ClayMagic lube, which you might even prefer over SpeedShine for use with the Griot's Clay. I picked up a bunch of it a while back (closout sale) and I like it..it's my second favorite lube overall and I could see why somebody would think it's better than my #1 (Glyde, which is a very soapy product, requiring a lot of rinsing/etc.).





Oh, and that does sound like a good color combo :xyxthumbs I like the traditional aspect of it.
 
Accumulator said:
Heh heh, a little pananoia can be a good thing in these cases :D



I'd use the ClayMagic lube, which you might even prefer over SpeedShine for use with the Griot's Clay. I picked up a bunch of it a while back (closout sale) and I like it..it's my second favorite lube overall and I could see why somebody would think it's better than my #1 (Glyde, which is a very soapy product, requiring a lot of rinsing/etc.).





Oh, and that does sound like a good color combo :xyxthumbs I like the traditional aspect of it.
Click to expand...

I'm going to go shopping tonight to see if I can find it.



I found out today, the car is being produced. I don't know when it started. I takes about 36 hours to finish. So, it should be done tonight or tomorrow.:bounce
 
5.4 Shelby said:
sixty, It is the white/blue combo. I thought about going with a gray color and have a subtle look. I thought it over and over. I finally decided white/blue as it was the classic '65 Shelby color (only color avail in 65 for those that don't know). I'll treat her nice most of the time with the occasional hard ride. Once I get her shining, I'll put up some pics.
Click to expand...

Beautiful. All I see around here are the red w/white stripes. It looks awesome, but it seems everyone has it. The white/blue combo not only represents the original, but it seems to be a little different also. Nice choice.
 
I got it Friday. I have not had the PC to it yet. I have been obsessively detailing it to clean it up. I had them do nothing to it to prep it.



SO I have been taking the q-tips to it. Actually I have a favorite new detailing tool (next to my 7424):



Griot's Garage 1-800-345-5789 - Car Care



The black handled, double ended ones are great for detailing engines.





I plan to do a gentle polish the week of labor day with a few coats of wax.



Shelby2.jpg
 
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