New and need some help

[eagle]

I just found this this forum and finding alot of great info already.



I have a silver 2004 Kia. Yeah I know but its better than the truck payment I had. :) I have had the car for less than 6 months.



I have only been able to take minimal care of the car until now. But it doesn`t look like the paint is in bad shape.



This is what I plan on doing.



1) I plan on doing is giving it a good wash with dawn to try and stripe everything off.



2) Check the condition of the paint by placing my hand in a sandwhich bag and run it across the paint just to check it to be sure.



3) I will probably, 99% chance claybar the car to get whatever the dawn couldn`t get(unless recomended otherwise.)



4) Then I will wax the car initially with McGuires Deep Crystal Polish and Carnuba Wax. The main point is to protect the cars paint right now.



5) Reserch into better products and decide what to start using.



I have been looking through some of the old posts and have noticed that some people are using KlearKote Vanilla Moose Wax Hand Glaze and Poor Boys EX Sealant



Are you guys talking about the Vanilla Moose Wax Hand Glaze specifically or the regular Moose Wax. And for those using the PoorBoys are you using the EX Sealant or the EX-P Sealant. You guys use as many acronyms as the computer industry does. :p



Also are there any other combinations you would recomend for a silver car. I know its not black but there has got to be something I can do to make it stand out.

[imported_Yosemite Dan]

Don`t be ashamed of Kia, heck they got a great warranty and I would take a Sorrento over any other SUV in it`s price range.



Any wax the dealer prepped with is long gone so I wouldn`t advise using Dawn if you don`t have too. Dawn was not meant for cars or they would have marketed toward that a long time ago. The way I see that stuff cut thru grease on my dishes, there`s no way I`m using it on paint. Claying is a must and if the paint is in great condition then a light polish is as far as I would go. I use the Klasse twins on my silver car and a couple of layers of SG makes my car "pop" quite nicely. AIO is a great cleaner and a light polish and easy to use and the durability of SG makes it well worth it although SG can be tricky to use.



Good choice of silver on a daily driver, while it may not shine like black the ease of maintenance more than makes up for it and it hides alot of marring like no other color. I hear alot people regret getting black but never silver. A silver car that is prepped correctly can look dynamite. Just use proper washing techniques and your Kia will be the best looking one on the block.

[eagle]

Also is there a difference between the different brands of car washes out there.

[Anthony O.]

Dan is correct in saying to leave out the DAWN. Great on dishes bad on cars.



I also agree with Dan that you need to clay the car, you can do this right after you wash the car but just before you dry it.



Being silver you can most likely do all the work by hand. Poorboys has a great system out, SSR 2.5 can be used by hand and then follow that by SSR1 and then seal it with your choice of wax or sealant.



AIO (Klasse All In One) is a nice product but may darken the silver too much. Wolfgang (WG) looks very nice on silvers as does a combo of VM (Vanilla Moose) topped with S100 or Trade Secret.



Happy Detailing,

Anthony

[eagle]

Please excuse my ignorance. But why is dawn bad for your car. I don`t plan on using it all the time but it seems to be the only thing that gets of the water spots. Regular washing doesn`t do that.

[Anthony O.]

Originally posted by eagle

Please excuse my ignorance. But why is dawn bad for your car. I don`t plan on using it all the time but it seems to be the only thing that gets of the water spots. Regular washing doesn`t do that.



Dawn is designed to cut grease, to strip away oils. You are seeking to "prep" the cars finish and there are much better and safer ways to do this.



you can give your car an "acid" wash with professional products that remove any industrial contamination. You can also clay your paint which will remove any wax or contaminates you have on your paint.



Using a paint cleaner will also prep the paint.



If you are using Dawn to remove water spots then what will you use to remove them after you have polished and waxed? With so many other choices out there to prep your paint Dawn is the least of them.



Anthony

[Accumulator]

eagle- You`re not really gonna *hurt* anything on an `04 with a one-time Dawn wash, but don`t make a habit out of it either.



Get a good car shampoo for your normal washing, and don`t try to save pennies here, cheap stuff lacks sufficient lubricity (you`ll get wash-induced marring).



All of Anthony`s recommendations are good. The Vanilla Moose (VM) is a very easy to use product that works well as is AIO. Some sealants (like 4-Star UPP) and some waxes (like 3M Showcar Paste) can *really* make silver look great.



Don`t feel like you need to apologize for your silver Kia. I think you`ll get it looking just great.

[Mr Monk]

WELCOME PHOENIX !!!



Say Eagle, send us some pics when you`re done.

Nice to have you aboard. :p

[eagle]

Got done washing, claying and applying a coat of polish on my car today. I would give it at least one coat of wax but I am too tired to do it :lol



Anyway I could definatly tell a difference in the surface after I striped everything off by washing it.



After that I used a clay bar. And it looked pretty good after that. Not great byt had some shine to it and the surface felt smoother.



After that I went over it once with a polish. And it feels even smother still.



I`ll end up waxing it tomorrow. But it looks alot better than before. But I am going to reserve judgement on the this deep crystal stuff until I have a couple coats of waxes on. It was the best the store had. :mad:



Oh yeah. How much of the lubricant are you supposed to use when you use the claybar.

[slov98]

you can use as much lubricant as needed, going through a whole bottle is not unheard of

[JasonD]

Hey Eagle, welcome to the board! I would suggest you begin by downloading and reading the Guide To Detailing by David Bynon. It will certainly get you started on the right foot. You can download it directly from my signature, just click on it and save it to your desktop.

[imported_eggroll]

You can use a more concentrated soap solution as lube for claying. I just mix some up in a bucket and put it on with a mitt after washing. I use deep crystal for my tires, it is too thin for my taste, you can get NXT or gold class wash at walmart, or autozone.

[eagle]

You use Deep Crystal Polish and Wax on your tires?



I think I missed something here. I didn`t know you could polish and wax your tires.



Would it be a good idea to put on a second coat of polish before I wax the car. Or is that not really going to do anything for it and just be a waste of time. I do plan on several coats of the wax before its done. And how long should I wait between waxes.

[jeff5614]

eagle,

I think eggroll is referring to shampoos not polishes.

[freedre]

Originally posted by eagle



Would it be a good idea to put on a second coat of polish before I wax the car. Or is that not really going to do anything for it and just be a waste of time. I do plan on several coats of the wax before its done. And how long should I wait between waxes.



Hi Eagle, welcome to Autopia.



I am new myself, so take what I have to say with a grain of salt.



Download the detailing guide mentioned by JDookie - it will answer all your questions.



Polish and wax/sealers are different products and processes. You wouldn`t actually put on "another coat of polish" but you would instead "polish the paint one more time". The guide will explain the differences.



Anyway, if the paint is shiny enough for you, apply the wax or sealant. If you want more shine, polish it again.



All the best and good luck.