New 2012 Sorento SX Black

[nvous23]

Newbie here, Me and the woman picked up a 2012 Sorento SX in Black. Unfortunately I was not able to prevent the dealership from doing any prep but the paint does not have any flaws at all from what I have seen. I live in Phoenix so protection is a pretty big concern. Can I get a plan of action in order to make this black vehicle look great and protect it from the desert sun? I was thinking about starting with washing it with Dawn to remove anything that the dealer may have applied and then claying and then using opti-seal? Thank you all for your assistance.

[Brad B]

Welcome!



That sounds like a plan. I assume that the paint has no defects so that no polishing is needed prior to the Opti?

[nvous23]

Welcome!



That sounds like a plan. I assume that the paint has no defects so that no polishing is needed prior to the Opti?



Correct, I am going to take a closer look tonight to inspect for swirls or marring and go from there.

[dschribs]

I thought Arizona was like Florida...white cars only!!!!!



if you need a very light polishing, you could use something like Clearkote Vanilla Moose or Meg`s 205 on a finishing pad. That should do the trick.




Correct, I am going to take a closer look tonight to inspect for swirls or marring and go from there.



Don`t take TOO close a look - you can ALWAYS find something on black.

[nvous23]

I thought Arizona was like Florida...white cars only!!!!!



if you need a very light polishing, you could use something like Clearkote Vanilla Moose or Meg`s 205 on a finishing pad. That should do the trick.







Don`t take TOO close a look - you can ALWAYS find something on black.



I wanted white, I really did but all I could find was Silver, or Black. Was kind of bored of all the silver cars I see around so went with the black. Assuming I will not need to polish I was thinking about going with this shopping List:



http://dl.dropbox.com/u/105329/shoppinglist.PNG



Let me know what products you would swap out for others.



I was going to Dawn Wash > Clay > Opti-Seal > Wax



What about anything in between the Seal and Wax, like Glaze`s or anything or is that just overkill?



Thank you all for your assistance.

[Scottwax]

No need to dawn wash, get in the habit of using a proper car wash soap. Clay, light polish, opti-seal and good to go.



BTW, you get the V6? I drove one after my first Maxima was totaled and was really surprised at how quick it was.



I would also seriously consider using ONR to wash your black vehicle since they are so hard to dry on 110 days with 5% humidity and not have the water start spotting. Washing a section at a time with ONR eliminates that problem.

[nvous23]

No need to dawn wash, get in the habit of using a proper car wash soap. Clay, light polish, opti-seal and good to go.



BTW, you get the V6? I drove one after my first Maxima was totaled and was really surprised at how quick it was.



I would also seriously consider using ONR to wash your black vehicle since they are so hard to dry on 110 days with 5% humidity and not have the water start spotting. Washing a section at a time with ONR eliminates that problem.



Yeah, all SX`s are V6. It`s also AWD. I am pretty impressed with the vehicle so far. Sure its a Kia, but Kia is 10x better than what they were even 5 years ago. Lots of value for the money.

[wascallyrabbit]

clay > wash > opti seal > then maintain with onr sounds a winning combo.

[lostdaytomorrow]

Great vehicle choice, and I hope it lasts you a very long time. I would read up all around the forums to know how to prep your brand new vehicle, and everything else is well documented. Go with wash, clay, decontamination, seal er up and you`re good to go. Be sure to protect the plastic and rubber and inside plastic panels as well.

[imported_01GreyStangGT]

I bought a 2012 Kia Sorento EX V6 last week in Java brown. It`s a neat color. sometimes brown, some angles gold. Dealer swirled 2 of the doors and the hood so I used Meguiar`s Swirl-X on my G110 and followed up with Meguiar`s Ultimate Wax. Definitely clay bar it. The hood on mine had a fair amount of rail dust. I agree that Kia`s are a good deal for the money.

[Darkstar752]

Looks good, don`t know if I would use wax though. Opti-seal should hold up just fine, and I feel like the combo of black + 110 degree temps will make really short work of your wax.

[nvous23]

Great vehicle choice, and I hope it lasts you a very long time. I would read up all around the forums to know how to prep your brand new vehicle, and everything else is well documented. Go with wash, clay, decontamination, seal er up and you`re good to go. Be sure to protect the plastic and rubber and inside plastic panels as well.



Thank you for the compliments. What products do you suggest for decontamination and protecting the plastic inside and out?

[nvous23]

Looks good, don`t know if I would use wax though. Opti-seal should hold up just fine, and I feel like the combo of black + 110 degree temps will make really short work of your wax. Well with summer winding down here soon I figured the wax couldn`t hurt and it will start lasting longer in the fall/winter

[pwaug]

Well with summer winding down here soon I figured the wax couldn`t hurt and it will start lasting longer in the fall/winter If I`m not mistaken you won`t be able to add any addtional coats of OptiSeal if you add a coat of wax without stripping off the wax first.

[nvous23]

If I`m not mistaken you won`t be able to add any addtional coats of OptiSeal if you add a coat of wax without stripping off the wax first.



My thinking was Opti-seal then Wax then every 4 weeks re-wax say twice then strip everything and start over?



Seal -> Wax -> <4 Weeks> -> Wax -> <4 Weeks> <Strip and start over>