Hello everyone and can I get some input.

H

Hd172

New member
Hi everyone Im new to the idea of doing a proper detailing job on my cars. I have always washed my own cars but never really new a proper way. I just bought a new Tesla Model S that I tool delivery from the factory about 2 weeks ago. I really want this car to look good for a long time.

So I need help on how I should take care of the paint. I have washed the car once using the two bucket method, chemical guys wash, foam gun and an absorber. The car is a dark steel metallic grey. I would like to get a DA and a kit and any necessary product to get the job done right. I'm also going to buy a one of the MF towels sets of 42. I have never used a DA so a forgiving one would be nice and Im not sure what polishes to get based on best case or worst case scenario of the paint after washing off the wax coating on it right now. There are so many different products and kits available that my head is spinning. What kit has the best product, equipment and amount of products that I will need? Should I pick and choose different stuff and skip a kit? I'm definitely interested in a sealer too.
 
Oh and here is a picture of the car.
 

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Welcome to AF! This kit would cover you on compounding, polishing and has one of the best sealants to protect your paint and look great. Plus it comes with the Mike Phillips tutorial dvd. PC is definitely forgiving. You did good buying the microfiber kit. Can never have too many. Awesome car btw.

Blackfire Porter Cable Swirl Remover Kit
 
Thanks for the quick updates. Ive been looking at responses on the forums and it seems that after learning on the PC people want to upgrade to a Flex or Rupes. I think Im leaning toward the Rupes. From the two recommendations anything specifically different in how wolfgang works vs Blackfire? Also do I need a different wash and clay bar for the prep?
 
I would say you want at least 4 cutting pads and 4 finishing pads but you can never have too many pads so stock up more if you can. I like to change pads often but you can clean them on the fly to extended the working time of them either with a towel or pad brush. You will want to wipe the car down with CarPro eraser, Gtechniq panel wipe or ISP after polishing but if you wash the car after that before putting a sealant then make sure your shampoo doesn't have any wax or gloss enhancers in it. As for the Blackfire vs Wolfgang I will let someone else chime in on that since I haven't used any Wolfgang products before. Jsmooth is the Tesla expert so he might be able to direct you to what works best and what else you might need for the car.
 
Ok I ordered the Wolfgang kit with the Rupes DA, 42+ mr towels, Wolfgang clay, and car pro eraser. Anything else you guys think I need?
 
You mentioned an absorber. If you mean "the Absorber" I would suggest you use it for something else. I have one and don't use it for my car anymore. I can say with experience that it will induce scratching. Get yourself one or two good waffle weave microfiber towels instead.
 
Jsmooth would know best, but I believe that teslas are notorious for very thin paint. I would do a very thorough evaluation of the paint for defects before jumping right to a compound. If there is a member near you with a paint thickness meter it would be worth your time to get it checked out.

The rupes is a very nice machine, but will have a bit of a learning curve on panels that are not flat. Mark your backing plate and watch carefully to ensure the rotation doesn't stall on curved panels.
 
I definitely won't be using the absorber anymore. I got the big pack of mf towels.

I'll try and find out about the thickness and Ill make sure I do my homework before using the DA.

I'll probably have some more questions once I get everything and make a plan on getting it all done. Will the CG maxi suds be fine for washing before the clay?
 
When you say pack of 42 mfs that makes me worry. Got a link on what mfs? If there's one key thing people look over its my quality. Using Costco or cheap thin ones with low GSM will actually leave swirls in the paint... Thus negating all that hard work.
 
Hi! Awesome car! I've worked on 364 to date :) If you would like I'd happily walk you through it. The big thing with MS paint is that is on the soft side and marring occurs easily.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsEa4eHNgbA
Here's a link to a video of one I did same color as yours. I really believe you should use some sort of a long term coating as protection as I've seen the paint get damaged very quickly by things like bird dropping, and even pollen etching. If you want to PM me I'll shoot you my # and with a 10 min conversation I'm sure I could get you pointed in the right direction!
 
Well I spent the last two days cleaning polishing and sealing. I really enjoyed using the rupes and I think I'm going to stick with the Wolfgang line of sealants for now. I was amazed after cleaning and seeing some scratches from the factory. There was only two areas that had scratches and I went very lightly until they were just about gone. I'm very pleased how everything turned out. My one mistake was on the side bottoms of the car plastics. I thought I taped enough but in a couple of sections I got some polish just past the tape line. Any suggestions on cleaning the polish off the plastics?
After trying to clean the windows there still is some ghosting of the factory film and water spots as the glass dries. It's not to bad but I ordered the pinnacle glass cleaner,polish, and sealer kit.
Now that I'm covered for a little bit im curious about maintaining the car from here. Like what about water spots or bird droppings on the car after sealing. Will the sealant hold up or will I have to clean and reapply? I'd also like to go to a waterless wash system. Living here in California I need to not waste so much water. I'll take some pictures later today.
Thanks everyone for your help.
 
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