New car care advice and tips needed

[ride92]

last Saturday I bought a 2016 Meteor grey (dark grey) Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring. The car had less then 100 miles on when we picked it up. Now maybe it has 400 miles so very new. I`ve never bought a brand new car so I`m a having a bit of analysis paralysis when it comes to how to properly maintain the finish.
I have a bit of knowledge concerning car care and own both a DA and a rotary machine. Since I`ve only driven used cars my product line up is bit limited. Mostly Mequiars stuff, 303, varies waxes, that sort of thing.

So im looking for some insight on what to do to a brand new car? I am going to get a clear paint protection film for the front end and I`ve been looking at optimum gloss-coat. Do I do the gloss coat before or after the clear film is installed How hard is the gloss coat to apply. There are very very light swirl marks in some areas from the damned dirty washing the dealer gave the car, will gloss coat hide that slightly or should I plan on using a light swirl remover with a polishing pad on the DA? I don`t want to make the finish worse by doing much. What are some other products that would be a good bases to build upon?

The car also has "leather seating surfaces" but I`m not sure what parts of the seat are leatherette and which part is actually cow. Most people seem to think the whole seat is coated. Is 303 good to use on the seats? What other products for the seats?

I plan on spraying the carpets with some scotch guard for auto interiors, good idea or bad idea?

Like I said me car is brand new and I just want to protect my baby but my head is spinning with the choices. Please help and teach me!

[JSFM35X]

Congrats on the new car. Perfect is the enemy of good. Do something to protect your finish. I`d forget the rotary as it can inflict damage and use your ,da. As far as brands there are many good ones and as your skills evolve you will move up the product food chain as most of us here have.

My advice would be skip waxes as they don`t last. Traditional sealants last longer and are just as easy to apply. I like black fire wet diamonds sealant or colonite 845iw for better than decent durability and superb looks. Plus if you make a mistake they are easy to fix.

Do you know how to stop the paint with an Apc or dawn to see what the condition of the paint is? For polish I would say since its new you hopefully only need a finish Polish. If you can get to a detail weekend that would jump start your knowledge base. Hands on learning is much easier than Internet learning when your so new at this.

Not sure where your located but Poorboys has one in June. Search this forum and you can sign up. It`s actually where I got hooked. Thanks Steve pockets and Ron lol

[pwaug]

Congrats on the CX5--been looking at them myself but haven`t decided yet.

Don`t forget to clay and chemically decontaminate before polishing.

Gloss Coat will not hide the swirls--if you`re going to use Gloss Coat then polish with Optimum Hyper Polish to remove the swirls to avoid any bonding issues.

Optimum Protectant Plus (aka Leather Protectant) is great for coated leather and vinyl so it makes it easy to do the entire interior with one product. Been using it since day one on the interior of my 07 Passat and the leather still looks like new. Most important is to keep the leather clean. Optimum also has a fabric protectant.

[Don]

https://www.youtube.com/user/Junkman2000
Congrats on the new car. Perfect is the enemy of good. Do something to protect your finish. I`d forget the rotary as it can inflict damage and use your ,da. As far as brands there are many good ones and as your skills evolve you will move up the product food chain as most of us here have.

My advice would be skip waxes as they don`t last. Traditional sealants last longer and are just as easy to apply. I like black fire wet diamonds sealant or colonite 845iw for better than decent durability and superb looks. Plus if you make a mistake they are easy to fix.

Do you know how to stop the paint with an Apc or dawn to see what the condition of the paint is? For polish I would say since its new you hopefully only need a finish Polish. If you can get to a detail weekend that would jump start your knowledge base. Hands on learning is much easier than Internet learning when your so new at this.

Not sure where your located but Poorboys has one in June. Search this forum and you can sign up. It`s actually where I got hooked. Thanks Steve pockets and Ron lol


I agree about the rotary 99.99% of the time a rotary should not be brought near a new car`s paint. As stated, there are dozens of good products and product lines out there either OTC or available on the internet, I personally use Meguiar`s OTC stuff because it`s inexpensive and readily available. You do need to evaluate the paint, although I feel that a good car wash soap is milder than an All-Purpose-Cleaner or DAWN and cleans painted surfaces just as well for the purpose of paint inspection.

I also agree that a sealant is the better choice over waxes for durability, but some say there is a difference in appearance between waxes and sealants, so the choice is yours. There are literally hundreds of hours of video on the internet regarding detailing and while many of them are tutorials on what NOT TO DO, there are just as many with tips and tricks that will help you, you`ll learn to tell which is which really quick. A site that even helped me, a 20+ year hobbyist re-learn the basics and some new stuff (to me) is on YouTube, just type in Junkman2000 (I tried to post a link, but had a few problems). He has several hours of videos that cover everything from washing the car to wet sanding scratches out of a Ferrari, give it a look.

[ride92]

I have no intent of using the rotary on the new car. That machine was bought and used mainly to correct the haul of badly neglected boat. I`ve used it on my wifes old car a few times when the paint was fading pretty bad. I`ll be sticking to the DA i got from harbor freight for now. I know it`s not a flex or anything but I think it`s good enough for the weekend warrior. I have Meguairs #83 DACP and Meguairs #9 swirl remover 2.0 in the garage right now. I`m thinking that the #9 with the blue HF polishing pad should be enough to remove any swirls. Is it really recommended to Clay and do a decontamination spray on a brand new car? I can maybe understand clay but decontamination, there can`t be much on the car after 300-400 mi.

And is it ok to do the gloss coat before the clear bra or is it just going to be a waste as they will strip the front of any sealants or protectants before install? Just trying to figure out what order to do things in. Correct, Gloss coat, clear bra, or Clear bra, correct, gloss coat, or Correct, Clearbra, then gloss coat?

I apperciate the info on the optimum protectant plus. I already have a bottle of 303 and Meguiars Low sheen Interior protectant. Would either of those be suitable for the seats and the rest of the interior? Just trying to not go out and buy every product under the sun if i already have some that will work.

Side note: i really wish more quality detailing products were available in local stores. O`reilley, Advance, autozone, seem to be almost the same store with same product mix. Online ordering it is I guess.

[Don]

I have Meguairs #83 DACP and Meguairs #9 swirl remover 2.0 in the garage right now. I`m thinking that the #9 with the blue HF polishing pad should be enough to remove any swirls. Is it really recommended to Clay and do a decontamination spray on a brand new car? I can maybe understand clay but decontamination, there can`t be much on the car after 300-400 mi.

And is it ok to do the gloss coat before the clear bra or is it just going to be a waste as they will strip the front of any sealants or protectants before install? Just trying to figure out what order to do things in. Correct, Gloss coat, clear bra, or Clear bra, correct, gloss coat, or Correct, Clearbra, then gloss coat?



I definitely would clay, as for the spray on decontamination? I don`t know how vital that is, but then, I`ve never done it and my results always turn out fine.

With the clear bra, I would guess that you`d want the paint clean and "wax free" for the best adhesion of the bra, so personally I would wait until it`s installed before putting a coating over it. So I would go: correct, clear bra and finally gloss coat.

[pwaug]

The HF DA is just fine, but I wouldn`t touch the paint on a new car with HF pads and backing plate--IMO they are junk and every HF backing plate I`ve seen had a wooble to it. Get a quality 5" backing plate and some quality 5.5" pads. Check out the B&S pads and plates--top notch, recessed Velcro for added safety and very durable.

Can`t speak to the Megs Interior Protectant, but to me 303 attracts dust and dirt--dirt will kill your leather.

Why risk going through all the work you plan to have the Gloss Coat fail because of oils left behind by incompatable products that interfer with bonding.

[MiVor]

Okay to clean, clay and LSP (I prefer polymer sealant over carnuba) but you shouldn`t need or want to polish a new car! Consider using 303 Fabric Guard on the carpets and I wouldn`t use 303 (Aerospace Protectant) on the seats unless you`re sure those portions are vinyl. Use a leather conditioner (Megs has one) for the leather.

[pwaug]

OP stated it had dealer induced swirl marks and he is thinking of applying Optimum Gloss Coat--need to remove those swirls and need a pristine finish before applying the coating.

[Accumulator]

ride92- The M09 won`t remove any marring, though it may conceal it for a while.

IMO new vehicles should be decontaminated with ValuGard`s "ABC" system, in fact many manufacturers instruct their dealerships to do it (not that many actually do IMO). That system is specifically made for this and is approved by Mazda (developd in conjunction with the auto makers). I`d do that instead of claying.

Then correct it as needed (if it`s been washes, it`ll need it) and then do the GlossCoat. Or use something like FK1000P that`ll last many months.


Oh, and IMO most auto interiors don`t need *anything* except to be kept clean. Maybe use some Interior Quick Detailer product now and then. But that`s all I do and I keep my vehicles for a long, long time with no issues.
But polish tech has come a *LONG* way since the days of M83 and M09, so use something better.

[ride92]

So if the M09 won`t actually take out the swirl marks would M205 be suitable? I can usually find that at places near by. I picked up the mequiars 5" backing plate today for the DA so that should be much better then the original one.

Should I try to get the dealer to remove the swirl marks or will they most likely just make it worse?

[MiVor]

OP stated it had dealer induced swirl marks and he is thinking of applying Optimum Gloss Coat--need to remove those swirls and need a pristine finish before applying the coating.

Just think it`s best to wait when it`s new factory paint.

[ride92]

Just think it`s best to wait when it`s new factory paint.
That`s the reason I want to protect the car, because it is new. It doesn`t make much sense to wait until it`s worse then do the double amount of work to correct and then seal.

[MiVor]

That`s the reason I want to protect the car, because it is new. It doesn`t make much sense to wait until it`s worse then do the double amount of work to correct and then seal.
I could be wrong but the point I was making is that factory paint needs time to better cure before you go at it with abrasives....Just like you don`t race a factory engine until after the break-in period.

[pwaug]

It has been discussed here many times--factory paint is fully cured by the time you get the car--especially a CX5 that I believe is manufactured in Japan. Most would recommend a clay, decontamination, light polishing and then seal or coating as new car prep. The paint in most cases has picked up contamination during shipping and if the dealer has touched the car you can bet it has some swirls.