New Black 03 330ci First Cleanup Help

[aaron77]

Hi,



I just took delivery of an 03 330ci, Black, and am going to do a 1st cleanup this weekend.

Any suggestions or tips on how to get paint protected from the start?

I also had the clearbra installed, can I wax over it?

After reading posts, my plan is thorough cleaning with P21s bodywork shampoo, dry with mf towel, Meguiars #5 New Car Glaze, Meguiars #20 Poly Sealant X2, then either P21s or Souveran. Any tips or suggestions? Also should I wax wheels and windows?

Thanks

Jack

[Preachers Sheets]

Wash

Clay if needed

Wash again if clay was used

Polish if you see swirls

Seal with wax or polymer

[adjulian]

Completely agree with joed1228; you may save yourself a step and while you are washing you can also be claying the car at the same time. Did the dealer `prep` your car? If they did, check the paint very carefully for swirls, etc. - if you have them you will want to take care of those before you use a sealant. I have never used a glaze only a sealant and a wax topper. Treat the `clear bra` just as you would any other painted surface on the car, just watch out for getting wax in the edges. Use a sealant on your wheels as well, it will make for cleaning in the future much easier. I just got rid of my 330i - the wheels and the brake dust were a pain until I sealed them up and then I could just use a separate wash mitt and shampoo to clean them. Good luck!

[thevolvoguy]

I would go ahead and clay the car anyway. Dealers and transporters dont exactly treat the car well, most of them sit out on top of a truck through all parts of the country, so you never know what the fresh, un protected paint is exposed to.



I would use #7 over #5 mainly becasue #7 (Show Car Glaze) makes black look so deep, I have used many other more expensive products and #7 is still my fav. glaze.



#20 is decent, but if it were me I would probably use only Souveran or P21S/S100. Just because I dont like using toppers.



Waxing the wheels wont hurt, if you go this route, dont use a carnauba, but use the #20 instead. I wouldnt wax the windows, you never know how thats going to turn out. I have found a few products that work well on windows, but just use a good non-amonia based glass cleaner. BMW puts a film on their glass that makes the water sheet off, so waxing wouldnt do you much good anyway.



Hope this helps. Nice choice in cars too!! :bigups

[johnson]

Wash

Clay if needed

Wash again if clay was used

Polish if you see swirls

Glaze

Seal with wax or polymer

[imported_nowaterno]

I`ve had better luck using plastic cleaners and polishes ( Novus, 3M ) on the clear bra rather than paint products. For some reason, Griot`s machine polish 3 fogged the clear bra, but it came out with Novus.