First Cleanup of New Car Looking for Recommendation

[jacob9]

I picked up a new car a little over 2 weeks ago, Ford Fusion in Platinum White Paint. The car was manufactured in January and sat outside at the dealership for 9 months. I have been using the resources here, and besides the lack of ability to work at home (condo), I started the process to clean it up.

1. Washed
2. Iron-X entire vehicle (couldn`t believe how much purple was showing up on this new car)
3. Re-washed
4. Clay Bar: Paint still did not feel smooth, so the paint was clayed. Overall the contamination was not too bad.

I am at this step now. Working with poor lighting, I am having trouble finding imperfections in this pearl finish. My original plan was to:

1. Poorboys SSR-1 using meguiars yellow pad (6 inch DA polishing disc) using PC 7424.
2. Klasse AIO using griot`s red pad
3. Poorboys EX-P using griot`s red pad.

My concern is that the SSR-1 with that pad will do more harm than good, and wanted to verify. I have used the older Megs 8006 yellow pads in the past, but did not know then that the products I was using contained fillers. I appreciate any opinions. I also plan to evaluate paint better today and see if I can just go straight to Klasse.

[Migue]

Since it`ll be a daily, and eventually swirls and damage will (re)appear, personally I would just hit it with an All-In-One or a single Polishing Stage and keep it sealed with a quick spray wax product after each wash as booster until you start noticing more defects and feel like going all out with compounding and maybe even coating it down the road. Being pearl paint, defects may be harder to notice and you`ll have more of a challenge spotting and correcting them and on the positive side, it`ll look good with just a simple AIO Job due to blemishes being barely noticeable.

That`s just my opinion though, I`m more of a clear coat preservation kind of person especially on a new car like that, I wouldn`t want to compound and go aggressive right away.

[Accumulator]

jacob9- Welcome to Autopia!

FWIW, I *really* like the GG Red Waxing Pad, but *not* for KAIO. For that I like a firmer pad with larger pores, just seems to work better than something really soft and "tight" like the GG Red (or LC Black). Any Polishing Pad that doesn`t have any cut in-and-of itself should work fine.

Are you working indoors or out? IMO that`s the big factor with regard to doing correction/inspection, at least on that color (which I think looks great on your car).

[jacob9]

I will be working in our garage space (not supposed to, but I`m going to go out there at night). The car is in the garage now, and I have been trying an LED light to look at the paint, but have not seen anything. In regards to pads, do you have any specific recommendations? I don`t need to apply Klasse using the 7424, but if it will do a better job or make it slightly easier, I would prefer using it.

[RaysWay]

I don`t need to apply Klasse using the 7424, but if it will do a better job or make it slightly easier, I would prefer using it.

I would do it by machine. You`ll be able to spread it our super thin easier than by hand. Don`t forget to swap out microfiber towels frequently while removing the dried residue. A fresh towel will work better than one caked with residue.

[BudgetPlan1]

Just picked up a new daily driver that will likely spend 7-8 months a year sitting outside, driven only on rainy days and throughout the winter here In NE Ohio. Paint was in good condition, a swirl or two here and there.

Wash
Iron-x
Wash/nanoskin fine clay mitt
WG Finishing Glaze w/white LC flat pad
2 coats Kamikaze Miyabi
1 coat Kamikaze ISM
Top w/ Kamikaze Overcoat
Gyeon Q2 Rim for wheels
Gyeon Q2 Trim for plastic
Tuf Shine for tires

Maybe overkill for a little 2016 Civic coupe but this car will not be receiving attention very often going forward. We`ll see how it all holds up...


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[Accumulator]

I will be working in our garage space (not supposed to, but I`m going to go out there at night). The car is in the garage now, and I have been trying an LED light to look at the paint, but have not seen anything...

Maybe you shouldn`t knock yourself out looking for problems you don`t know you have Don`t fall victim to the Curse of Autopia where every vehicle has to be utterly perfect (and that`s usually "perfect" by somebody else`s standards.)

In regards to pads, do you have any specific recommendations? I don`t need to apply Klasse using the 7424, but if it will do a better job or make it slightly easier, I would prefer using it.

Eh, I haven`t bought any pads for so long that I don`t know what to recommend..sorry.

I generally do the KAIO by machine unless I`m doing a small area. Don`t overwork the KAIO, you want to buff it off before it completely flashes/dries.

[jacob9]

Thanks for the help, KAIO went on easily. The pearl white looks great, but you don`t get the satisfaction like working on black because it doesn`t look too bad when dirty either. I did the inside windows, all door jams, and some trim pieces with Klasse. I am waiting to get a tool for the rear window to get all the way in the corner, but my frustration with the rear is that it seems to stay clean for only a few days then starts getting a fog pattern. I`m hoping this takes care of the offgassing or whatever is happening. Next time I wash I will work on putting additional coats on, but I wanted to start by getting something. Prior to this, the paint actually felt sticky to touch after the Iron-X and clay.

[Migue]

Very true Jacob, light colors are very "thankless" and you have to go the extra mile to get the satisfaction you get from working on a dark vehicle. I have a silver vehicle and after a 19hr. job on the exterior, I still want to do more to it and the next thing will be to give it a very light polish then coat it and see if that takes it to the next level.

Took me that long due to defects being tough to spot in the silver paint, I spent just as much inspecting/checking under lights than I did polishing.

[Accumulator]

Very true Jacob, light colors are very "thankless" and you have to go the extra mile to get the satisfaction you get from working on a dark vehicle. I have a silver vehicle and after a 19hr. job on the exterior, I still want to do more to it and the next thing will be to give it a very light polish then coat it and see if that takes it to the next level...

Heh heh...you crazy Autopians But seriously, with a little burnishing and the right LSP silver can be literally blinding in sunlight, and IMO that`s kinda cool. Problem is that the burnishing only matters until something becomes imperfect again and then you`ve lost that (tiny bit of) clear forever.

Guess these days I get my satisfaction from my undercarriage/engine compartment work.

Took me that long due to defects being tough to spot in the silver paint, I spent just as much inspecting/checking under lights than I did polishing.

Absolutely *not* an exaggeration in my experience. Which does sometimes make me question the whole point of Autopian Perfection..but hey, whatever floats the boat.