Help detailing my brand new white car

A

aguy1222

New member
I recently bought a brand new 2015 white kia optima and I need some suggestions. I plan on washing, claying, glazing, and either apply sealant 2x, or a sealant followed by a wax. Im planning on using chemical guy ez crème glaze or the white light, followed by the klasse high gloss sealant. What would you guys recommend for durability and a nice gloss look. Thank you
 
Welcome to the Forum, Congrats on a really nice car !

Are you working the paint correction, etc., with a machine, and if yes, which machine, backing plate size, how many pads of which brand and color, and how much experience in years do you have with the machine ?

Are you sure you want to use a Glaze and if so what is its purpose in your process ?

How much durability in months, years, etc., are you wanting to get ?

How much time do you have or want to spend on maintaining the finished look ?
Good Luck !
Dan F
 
I don't have a machine, everything will be by hand via microfiber pads. My budget is roughtly $50, durability preferably in months. I thought I was not necessary to polish the car as it is new and I cant find any swirls, scratches or much imperfections. I figured a glaze would be the way to go as it will fill in and provide a nice gloss. As far as time a couple hours. I want the finish look to be nice and glossy, but I also want the sealant, wax, glaze to last a good while.
 
Wash, Clay, light polish, 2+ Coats of Klasse SG. Ronkh is right, Klasse doesn't play well with many glazes. It's best base is Klasse AIO which is why you'll generally see them referred to as the "Klasse twins" here.

I know you say that you don't want to polish but realistically the clay step may leave some marring that you'll want to level out. But that said, if there's no defects then there's nothing for the glaze to "fill" as you refer to either.
 
NO need to polish if there are no visible imperfections. It IS however a good idea to clay before applying an LSP to remove contaminants that washing just doesn't get. As for an LSP, I'm having a Duragloss phase and suggest 601/105....601/111. Then if you're really ambitious or winter is coming, top with a true wax like collinite 476s.
 
Clay is an abrasive, so you will need to polish afterwards. Another reason to polish is to get the paint as glossy as possible before sealing it. Using a glaze underneath a sealant is like water and oil. Need to do an IPA wipe or a strong wash before applying a sealant. In your shoes I'd order an inexpensive coating like the Duragloss version.Superior protection and much longer durability.
 
My 2 cents who own`s 2 white cars..

Wash
Iron X
Clay
polish
wax / seal

Prepping is the most important part in getting a white car to shine.
 
aguy1222 said:
I don't have a machine, everything will be by hand via microfiber pads. My budget is roughtly $50, durability preferably in months. I thought I was not necessary to polish the car as it is new and I cant find any swirls, scratches or much imperfections. I figured a glaze would be the way to go as it will fill in and provide a nice gloss. As far as time a couple hours. I want the finish look to be nice and glossy, but I also want the sealant, wax, glaze to last a good while.
Click to expand...

What's your location?
Maybe sometime here would be generous enough to show you some tips and let you use a polisher.
 
On a limited budget, you can't go wrong with Duragloss and Collinite, especially on a white car. DG501, mixed with 601 never ceases to impress me with its ability to brighten white paint. Top it with some DG 105 or 111, or any of the Collinites (476,915,885,845) and you're set for many months.
Here's my wife's DD with it's pre-winter prep of DG 501/601 and Colli 845 still holding up strong in mid-February:

Bill
 
Thomas Dekany said:
Clay is an abrasive, so you will need to polish afterwards. Another reason to polish is to get the paint as glossy as possible before sealing it. Using a glaze underneath a sealant is like water and oil. Need to do an IPA wipe or a strong wash before applying a sealant. In your shoes I'd order an inexpensive coating like the Duragloss version.Superior protection and much longer durability.
Click to expand...

I disagree. I've clayed many times and have not caused any swirls or marring that required polishing. Clay slides over the surface on a layer of lube and pulls contaminants into it so it is not abrasive. If you need to polish just because you clay, I'd suggest you use a different clay lube. 2-4 oz of ONR to a quart of distilled water works well.
 
Thank you all for your tips and advice, I greatly appreciate it. Im a bit confused as to whether or not a polish is needed or not based on the replies I am receiving. I thought claying a car wasn't abrasive? If I were to polish the car would I be using a light polish and not something to aggressive?
 
A, welcome aboard! Most will typically do a polishing phase as part of the overall routine. I really can't see any downside apart from the time it takes. A lighting polishing step will be fine.

Enjoy the new car!
 
aguy1222- Welcome to Autopia!

I'd do a chemical decontamination to preclude "rust-blooms" which look awful on white. Doing it chemically is better than claying. I prefer the ValuGard ABC system, which is approved/recommended by all the major automakers but there are other products on the market these days.

(Nothing wrong with claying, but just because many of us can do it without marring the paint that doesn't mean everybody can. And claying doesn't truly eradicate ferrous contamination the way a chemical decontamination can.)

No need to polish unless the clearcoat is marred up, and doing it by hand would be a *MAJOR*, and very difficult, undertaking. Shouldn't be necessary on a new white car anyhow unless you're extremely particular.

I'd go over it with a good All-In-One product and then use FinishKare's FK1000P. Lasts for many months, cleans easily, and looks great on white. Nothing wrong with Klasse Sealant Glaze (I use/like/recommend it), but it really only comes into its own with four or more layers and that's a big job compared with one/two coats of the FinishKare (which will last as long as many coats of KSG).
 
I was hoping in using a sealant because I keep hearing that they are more durable and last much longer than a wax. So my new plan would be to wash, clay, light polish, sealant and a wax to make it pop. Everything will be done by hand because I cannot afford a polish machine right now.
 
A, nothing wrong with that strategy. Personally, I'd do 2X on the sealant and skip the "wax".

Harbor Freight has a real cheap polisher that many have purchased. Buy it for yourself for your birthday ;)
 
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