New car. Need product suggestions and advice.

[superhero6]

Hello to everyone.

I just bought a 2004 Mazda 6s Sport Wagon in Glacier Silver Metallic with a grey leather interior. I havent always been the best in the past about keeping my cars up :o. Since this one is brand new I want to keep it looking as good as or better than new for as long as I have it. My In-laws who always use to make fun of my dirty cars got me some car care products as gifts so I thought I would use those to start with.

I have the Mr Clean Auto- Wash, Some NXT liquid, and NXT Protectant.

I have done some searching and reading and would like some suggestions.

Does anyone think the Mr. Clean soap is ok? I know from searching that I will still need to dry the car by hand I was going t pick up a MF towel.

Should I Clay Bar the Car since its new?

Should I use something on the car before the NXT? If so what would you recomend?

Do I need something after the NXT?

I have also learned from the Mazda boards that the stock Brake Pads create a lot of dust. Is their an easy product to help keep it from sticking or should I use the NXT?



Is the NXT protectant any good? and what should I use to clean and treat the leather with?



Thanks in advance.



:D

[Silver_04]

NXT is a good product although I use Zaino on my silver car. NXT does give my dad`s red Mach 1 a crazy shine though. Seems to last too.



I go ahead and clay bar my new cars as soon as I buy them because who knows what`s on them from the dealer. My new truck had a ton of stuff already stuck to the paint and it was only 1 month old with 3 miles on the clock when I bought it. And from my old automotive paint days I still think you should wait a month or two before putting wax on a car.



As far as leather care goes, I do not like the Meguiars stuff; neither the wipes or the two step stuff in the bottles. They are just too darn greasy IMO. Lexol or again in my case, Zaino`s leather in a bottle.



Nice car BTW.

[hirosh]

1. Mr. Clean Soap - i haven`t used it so i wouldn`t know how well it cleans. if anything, make sure whatever you do, you aren`t creating scratches. use a good microfiber (MF) waffle weave (WW) towel for drying. if do use the bucket method for washing, a good soap (NXT car wash comes to mind) and a good wash mitt are highly suggested, along with learning how to properly wash you car.



2. yes, you should clay. like silver_04 said, you don`t know what`s on the paint from the dealer.



3. since your car is new, you shouldn`t have any swirls unless it was caused by the dealer. if you don`t have any swirls, you can just use the NXT. or you could try a mild polish like Meg`s #9 SMR 2.0.



4. i don`t think you`ll need anything after the NXT. well, maybe another coat of NXT just to be sure you`ve covered all of the car. it is recommended to wait at least 12 hours between coats, if not at least 1 hour.



5. for your wheels, you should give them a good cleaning and then you can apply NXT to them. or you could always wash the car every week and make sure the brake dust isn`t allowed to build up. but with the NXT on, it`ll provide some sort of protection.



6. NXT Protectant is okay, smells nice, i use it on my tires and seems to look good for about 2-3 weeks, granted there isn`t any rain.



7. for you leather seats, i`d also recommend lexol.



and well since this is a new car you want to keep nice, click on the `learn` button at the top and read the articles there. it has some really good articles about taking good care of your car`s look. and you might want to consider getting a PC as this make polishing the car easier.



good luck and happy detailing! :wavey

[superhero6]

;) Thanks for the advice :wavey I will be Washing/Detailing the car this weekend and trying my hand at doing it right. I will post some before and after pictures for the Autopian`s to critque and give me some pointers.

[Aurora]

Welcome aboard:wavey



Nice car;) You got a very forgiving color there plus it`s dark enough to give some nice reflections:nixweiss why did I get black?

You`re off to good start. YES the wheels get black quick. I use Quick & Easy Wash in a spray bottle with great results. Here`s a neat write-up on that product http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32078