Newb needs help with a new car

[foldx3]

Would you use polish on a 6 week old car? I haven`t yet, and not too sure that I want to, as the paint is pretty much perfect. (It needs claying, but just for a little overspray).

I was gonna pick up some NTX wax today, but would like to know which one you guys reccommend, the tech wax (liquid i`m guessing), spray wax (???), or paste. The car is black, and looks great cause the paint is new, but I`d like to keep it looking that way.

Can NTX be layered? Is it a Last Step Product, or should I put something on top of it? How far away from the plastic trim should I stay to keep from getting stains on the trim?

Is there a wheel sealant that I can pick up OTC? I`m ordering PB`s next week, but working on the car tomorrow.

How do you apply your 303 to bumpers/trim/dash?

Thanks guys (and gals),

Nate

[GregCavi]

First off Welcome!! :dcrules

Being a new car you will definatly want to clay the car. You will also want to do a little polishing on the car even though it is fairly new. Im not sure what you have so I will suggest to you meguiars color x as it can be found locally. After the colorx you can put down nxt like you said. I would get the paste becasue I think it is the same price as the liquid and you can get way more applications from the paste IMHO. NXT can be layered but sinse it has cleaners in it you wouldnt gain much from more than 2-3 coats IMO. Doing 2-3 coats does insure even coverage though so I would reccomend that. If you are afraid of staining trim then tape the trim off with painters tape. You will want to get right up to the trim of the car so all the paint is protected. If you happen to get some on the trim you can get it off by doing this. http://www.detailcity.com/showthread.php?t=12255&highlight=trim+restoration , make sure to use light pressure with the above method. I dont know of any wheel sealant you can buy locally but if you clean your wheels with an apc and then some car wash shampoo ( separate mitt and bucket from car ) then you can use nxt to seal your wheels for the time being. Its not that durable but it will last you for a while. for 303 and like products I use MF applicators for the interiors, tire swipes for tires and then for exterior trim I use foam paint brushes. They work great and are very cheap at hardware stores.

Greg

[Focusedonsound]

Welcome to DC,

Would I polish a 6 week old car? You bet. I would polish a 1 day old car (Unless we are talking about a car that was just re-painted at a body shop?)

If your going to be clay baring Its a good idea to follow up with a polish you will remove any light marring that you may have caused, as well as any imperfections that may have been left behind.

I beleive that NXT can be layerd but if your going to be placing an order from Poorboys I would recomend either EX or EX-P and as a topper I would use Nattys.

I always like a paste wax over a liquid or spray. I don`t know if there is any difference!

Black is a very difficult color to keep up with! I personally own a black car as well and trust me when I tell you its a never ending battle. While your placing your order from Poorboys also look into Spray & Wipe ..once you start using it you will wonder how you ever lived with out it!

Wheel sealant. I don`t beleive that there is an OTC that is readily available! If your going to be picking up The PB`s you can probably get away with throwing a quick coat of whatever wax you have on hand for some decent protection!

90 % of detailing is all out the process we use! The products we use just allow us to do these processes that much easier and better! I highly recomend reading the Stickied threads that are in the GENERAL DETAILING forum! You will find quite a bit of information in there.

and Please by all means ask all of the questions you want. You don`t have to worry about people here flaming you for asking a question that has already been asked. If anything we will tell you what you should be searching for!

Congrats on your new ride!

[PhaRO]

As above mentioned getting some Spray and Wipe. When I get home from a day of detailing, I wipe down 2 of my vehicles with it. Only take a few minutes. With black it almost becomes a part time job. You have to stay on top of anything that gets on the paint, especially the top surfaces. I clean 6 or so Black vehicles weekly and have since they were new. Despite weekly cleaning, crap has gotten on the top surfaces and ate into the paint. I`ve seen bird crap pit and crack a black truck inside a day. I was shocked it happened as the owner was having me clean it sometimes twice a week and it was never without wax.

[tubafeak]

I`ve heard that for an OTC wheel sealant collinite insulator wax is good.

[foldx3]

Yet another total n00b question:

My car is a Explorer XLS with all the textured (very slightly) plastic trim and bumpers. If I get quick detailer (I bought Meg`s, and Mother`s came with the clay kit) on the plastic, will it come right off and not leave a residue? I will be putting 303 on the trim after the wash/clay/cleaner/NXT treatment. I would like to use the QD between weekly washes, but with all that plastic (roof racks too) I don`t want to screw those up too badly.

Thanks again!

[GregCavi]

I dont think its a problem if you get a qd on your trim. If it doesn stain then try my trim restoration regimen.

Greg

[foldx3]

Thanks Greg, and all the rest of you!

I`ll post pics tomorrow.

Nate

[foldx3]

My first attempt is done. Took about 4.5 hours. Dang, it`s a big car! Here`s the steps I followed, and please let me know if I missed something, or did something in the wrong order.

Sprayed wheels/tires with A2Z
Rinsed
Washed wheel wells/wheels with Meg`s and wheel and tire only mitt
Complete rinse
Washed top to bottom with Meg`s
Rinsed (w/ mr. clean auto dry left over from before DC)
Clayed horizontal surfaces and front/rear quarter panels with Mother`s clay and showtime QD
Wax (by hand) with NXT (taping off all that plastic is a pain!)
Let each section sit for about 15 minutes before wipe down/buff
303 on all exterior plastic, applied with a sponge and wiped off with MF
No touch foam on tires, then wiped down with terry cloth towel

How`d I do?
http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/1632/dscf00187kw.th.jpg (http://img184.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf00187kw.jpg)

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/5360/dscf00197ri.th.jpg (http://img150.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf00197ri.jpg)

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/8092/dscf00218yy.th.jpg (http://img150.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf00218yy.jpg)

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/7272/dscf00227iy.th.jpg (http://img150.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf00227iy.jpg) :bigscream

[harvey]

If you are going to polish a new car use a very light polish. Polishing is over done as is claying. Paint is thin and all of this clay and polish just eats it up. Polish once or twice a year. Clay once a year. Wax every 4 to 8 weeks depending upon the wax you use. Wash once week, twice a month at worst. There is nut and then there is nutter.