Advice on brand new mustang...Please

L

largecarz

New member
Hi Everyone,I have been "lurking" for some time here,and,I have learned very much,from reading all the helpfull posts,and replies.My first post,and I really need your help.I bought a brand new 2004 mustang gt premium coupe,and I pick it up Saturday morning.It has the 40th anniv. package,meaning crimson red paint,with gold "tape" stripes,and color keyed gold wheels(clearcoated?).It also has the "parchment"(tan) leather interior.I really want to get this right the very first time.From reading other posts,my plan was to dawn wash,clay,Klasse AIO 1x,and 3x sg.(over 3 days)The car will be garage kept,and is pretty much the nicest car I ever owned,so will not be driven daily,or in adverse weather.My questions are:

1. When I clay the car,do I avoid claying the tape stripes?

2.The car is new,it had 11 miles on it when I test drove it.Should I use a polish?(I have a pc,and griots orange pads)

3.I intend to AIO by PC,and then SG,WOWO,sound ok?

4.On the wheels,they are alloy,painted gold to match the stripes on the car.Should I try to AIO,and SG these also?

On the interior,I have read on these forums that some leathers have a kind of coating on them,from the factory.I do not now if this interior has this,and doubt that the salesman does either(I will ask him,but dont know if he knows)I intended to buy griots leather cleaner and conditioner,is this a good idea?Also,is there some type of "scotchguard" like treatment to use on the carpet,and is this a good idea?

I belive thats all my questions,sorry for the long post.Please give me any suggestions that have worked well for you.My payments are steep,pretty much does away with my"disposable" income,but it was love at first sight,and I had to have this car!Please help me make,and keep ,it nice!Thank You!
 
1. When I clay the car,do I avoid claying the tape stripes?

I would avoid them, but it probably wont hurt anything



2.The car is new,it had 11 miles on it when I test drove it.Should I use a polish?(I have a pc,and griots orange pads)

If it has swirls, you should polish it



3.I intend to AIO by PC,and then SG,WOWO,sound ok?

yes



4.On the wheels,they are alloy,painted gold to match the stripes on the car.Should I try to AIO,and SG these also?

yes



5 On the interior,I have read on these forums that some leathers have a kind of coating on them,from the factory.I do not now if this interior has this,and doubt that the salesman does either(I will ask him,but dont know if he knows)I intended to buy griots leather cleaner and conditioner,is this a good idea?



The leather is coated, I would use 303



6 Also,is there some type of "scotchguard" like treatment to use on the carpet,and is this a good idea?

yes, I used scotchguard brand stuff in the blue can on the carpets and in the trunk



.My payments are steep,pretty much does away with my"disposable" income,but it was love at first sight,and I had to have this car!

Really? I hope you did not pay too much. Your GT should have been under 19.5K + ttl



did you get a 5spd or an auto??



I have pics of my mustang in the sig, you will like your new GT



check out www.stangnet.com forum
 
I have an 03 GT Convert. Premium package w/ leather etc. When you bring it home pull it into the garage and inspect the surface w/ halogen lights if you have them. Gas station lights at night reveal swirls/cobbwebbs pretty good too. There is no sense putting AIO and SG on if you have swirls. You may have very little if any. I recommend attacking the swirls with a swirl remover. Use one with no fillers because AIO will remove it. If swirls are not an issue w/ you then wash (don't use dawn), clay, wash, and proceed with your AIO and SG.



You should not have to use an orange pad on your finish. I doubt it is that bad. Your owners manual will tell you your seats have a protective layer and only dealer approved products is recommended. I checked w/ the dealer and they couldn't tell me any products nor did they carry any. So I use a good quality leather cleaner and conditioner. There are alot out there to choose from. Hope this helps
 
All I did with both my previous '02 GT and current '03 Cobra was a Dawn wash, clay and ZAino. I was lucky that they did not have swirling or other issues.
 
Instead of washing with dawn pick up a car shampoo as they're much more gentle on your paint and contain "lubricants" to help avoid any marring. Something like Meg's GC, NXT or Eagle One Wet if you prefer to buy locally. If you're gonna buy online then there's Griots, 1Z, Sonus, etc.
 
I think the point of using Dawn, is before a major detail, not as a regular practice. Dawn will take a lot of contaminants off the paint that regular car wash soaps won't.



-Keith
 
Before a major detail on one of our cars, I'll do both, wash with Dawn and then clay, but its been a couple of years since we've had a new car.



-Keith
 
Washing with Dawn is different from claying. Claying pulls stuff out of the paint which is something that washing (with Dawn or with regular car shampoo) won't do. Much as we like to disparage Dawn-washes, as on one-time thing on a new car it shouldn't cause any trouble, though as mentioned, car shampoo will probably have better lubricity. Not all *that* much difference between Dawn and the A in ABC or the first step in other decontamination systems; it's just a stronger-than-normal wash to clean who knows what off the new car. I myself like to use ABC (or maybe FinishKare's system) on new cars, but that's a different approach...



Largecarz- Welcome to Autopia. If it *does* have marring, the Griot's orange pads just might be too mild to really/completely remove it. Try them and see (note to others: Griot's orange are *not* comparable to CMA orange, very, very different). You probably will find a little marring, hopefully it won't be too bad.
 
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