New paint, product recommendations/tips

J

JustA5.0

New member
Newbie to proper detailing here :o

I picked up my freshly painted 1987 Mustang from the bodyshop, and am looking to purchase an array of product to maintain the finish. I will be storing the car in a month for the winter, and need a wax/sealant that will last over this time.



Normally, I take my car to the coin car wash, rinse, soap (gun setting, not brush), rinse, wax, final rinse (low-pressure), and chamois dry the car. I'm wondering if it would still be fine to take the car and rinse, soap, rinse, dry it, before applying my own wax & sealant to the car? It seems a lot of people on here like to hand wash their vehicles with a quality car shampoo. However, where I'm renting from does not have a good water hose setup (simple garden hose, with a few nozzle settings). It's much easier for me to go to the car wash, but if it's considered a big no-no for proper detailing I will have to figure something out for a home setup.



After wash and dry, I'm considering using, Klasse AIO followed up with Klasse SG (I think this should last the 6 months or so, while the car is stored. Considering that the car won't be outside in the sun/elements.)

Now is this enough for storage, or should I top the KSG with a Carnuaba such as P21S Paste? I will be applying these by hand, would I use a terry foam applicator (blue) for the AIO, and a foam wax applicator (yellow) for the SG and possible P21S?



I would like to detail the interior and wheels/tires equally as well, and am considering the following products.

Interior

Optimum Protectant Plus (seems to be good for cleaning vinyl, leather, plastic and adding UV protection to them)

Exterior

Plexus Plastic Cleaner for my tinted windows, tailights and headlights.

303 Aerospace Protectant for the rubber and plastic, moldings and trim. Possibly as well for the engine compartment after degreasing it.

P21S Wheel Cleaner for the rims.

Stoner More Shine Less Time as my tire dressing (I've heard this doesn't sling).



What do you think of these product choices?



P.S. The color of the paint is a dark metallic gray, if you do not recommened Klasse and P21S for dark colors please give me a good alternative.
 
Thanks :up , these products seemed to have all good, no negative feedback in the search and how-to sections of the sight.

The paint flowed really good over the car. However, I did scuff one of the side skirts with a vaccum house :grrr the other day. I would say it's medium scratching, thru a layer of clearcoat but not into the paint. Would this bottle of TW Scratch & Swirl remover kicking around my place blend it in just fine? Or would you recommend another scratch remover?
 
don't seal/wax it!



just put it away for the winter and the paint will have a lot of time to cure(get harder)



spend the winter on here learning how to take care of your paint and

in the spring polish out your scratches and protect it when you pull it out of storage
 
BigJimZ28 said:
don't seal/wax it!



just put it away for the winter and the paint will have a lot of time to cure(get harder)



spend the winter on here learning how to take care of your paint and

in the spring polish out your scratches and protect it when you pull it out of storage
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I agree. Let the new paint cure. Also, for washing, try ONR. One bucket of warm water will allow you to wash the paint. Use another for the wheels. I ususally do wheels and wheel wells first to minimize splashing onto the paint. ONR works well year around and leaves enough of a protecting layer to hel
 
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cole said:
I agree. Let the new paint cure. Also, for washing, try ONR. One bucket of warm water will allow you to wash the paint. Use another for the wheels. I ususally do wheels and wheel wells first to minimize splashing onto the paint. ONR works well year around and leaves enough of a protecting layer to hel
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Will it be detrimental to let the paint 'cure' non-sealed in temperatures around the freezing mark through the winter (indoors mind you)?

Do you use a microfiber or a sheepskin wash mitt with the Optimum No Rinse?



What are peoples thoughts on going to the coin car wash for rinse and soap?
 
JustA5.0 said:
'

Will it be detrimental to let the paint 'cure' non-sealed in temperatures around the freezing mark through the winter (indoors mind you)?
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No, I've done it many times. But note that the curing will take longer in cold temps. I've been surprised by how long paint can take to outgas, and that was *baked* paint too.



Oh, and Welcome to Autopia!
 
I personally don't recommend coin places to wash cars but thats me. I couldn't tell if you were saying the place you live only had a garden hose set up because if they do, thats totally fine. Also, use quality microfiber on your car and not terry cloth. It's much finer and you have a lot less chance of swirling your paint up.
 
if you don't touch the car (no wax, no wash, no QD) it will not hurt anything





if you do wash it the paint is still very soft and easy to dammage

if you wax there is a chance the paint will always be soft(as in if you look at it wrong it will swirl)



just put the car away and spend some time on here to learn how to take care of the car with out causing any(well as little as possible) damage
 
never gone said:
I personally don't recommend coin places to wash cars but thats me. I couldn't tell if you were saying the place you live only had a garden hose set up because if they do, thats totally fine. Also, use quality microfiber on your car and not terry cloth. It's much finer and you have a lot less chance of swirling your paint up.
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Yes, I'm starting to think the garden hose would be better for a newer paint as it doesn't have near the pressue of the coin wash guns. However, it is in the backyard and barely reaches the driveway. I could probably persuade the owners into getting a better hose setup for the spring, but it won't be an option for the present.



I wasn't going to wash the car with a terry towel, but don't know the pros/cons between a sheepsking mitt or microfiber? The only application I was going to use a terry foam applicator for was the AIO, but I did read it can be applied with a microfiber applicator.



BigJimZ28 said:
if you don't touch the car (no wax, no wash, no QD) it will not hurt anything



if you do wash it the paint is still very soft and easy to dammage

if you wax there is a chance the paint will always be soft(as in if you look at it wrong it will swirl)



just put the car away and spend some time on here to learn how to take care of the car with out causing any(well as little as possible) damage
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There is pollen dust (or w/e tree dust) that collects in my driveway. Somewhat noticeable if you wash weekly, and quite thick (think of writing 'wash me' in it) if you leave a car bi-weekly or longer. I'd be very hesitant not to wash the car before storage in 4 weeks, as it already has quite a bit of dust from the bodyshop, and is now getting this tree dust mixed in. The bodyshop advised me not to wash the car for at least two weeks, so it'll definately be waiting until October. However, if you think all this collected dust would be better, than washing in 4 weeks time, I'll have to suck it in and live with the car being dirty.
 
JustA5.0- Yeah, wash it before you store it.



MF and sheepskin should both be soft enough in and of themselves, but MF can sometimes retain dirt and that dirt can cause marring.



I dunno about that "don't wash it", painters usually wash (after sanding/polishing/whatever) shortly after painting anyhow. I often think they say that so you don't wash off the fillers from the glaze they used...gee, that might let you see the sort of job they *really* did ;)



I'd do what *I* always do...wash it and apply a fresh-repaint-safe glaze.
 
Accumulator said:
JustA5.0- Yeah, wash it before you store it.



MF and sheepskin should both be soft enough in and of themselves, but MF can sometimes retain dirt and that dirt can cause marring.



I dunno about that "don't wash it", painters usually wash (after sanding/polishing/whatever) shortly after painting anyhow. I often think they say that so you don't wash off the fillers from the glaze they used...gee, that might let you see the sort of job they *really* did ;)



I'd do what *I* always do...wash it and apply a fresh-repaint-safe glaze.
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Sheepskin Mitt it is for me than.

What product would you recommend as a safe glaze? Meg's #80 Speed Glaze? Or a combination of that and something else? Also, once the car is stored I will not be able to reapply this glaze with ease (I realize #80 only lasts a short time for protection purposes). It's just a small 20x10, but there was very little dust on the car after 6 months of storage last year. Do you think the one application prior to storage will be fine, until I can seal/wax it next spring?
 
#80 has a bit of cut to it, and on some rare occasions it had more cut than the fresh paint (still hardening) could take. Plus, I don't like to use abrasives if I can help it. I'd generally rather wait until the paint is finished curing/etc. and then correct it *once* if necessary.



I do like #80, but for this one I prefer their "pure"/nonabrasive polishes, namely #3/#5/#7/#81/Deep Crystal step #2 Polish. Of those, my personal fave is #5, a product I really like (well, for *this*).



In an indoor environment, I'd fully expect it to be adequate protection for this application. This is something I have done numerous times and it's never caused any problems.
 
Accumulator said:
I do like #80, but for this one I prefer their "pure"/nonabrasive polishes, namely #3/#5/#7/#81/Deep Crystal step #2 Polish. Of those, my personal fave is #5, a product I really like (well, for *this*).
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I was not able to find #5 in a few stores today. I did find the Deep Crystal polish though, and read it's specfically for darker colors (would a dark gray count, or does this simply mean 'for black paint'?). What do you prefer about the #5, over the Deep Crystal? If they give almost similar results, I will grab the DC, and forego any possible 'customs' delays ordering #5 from the states.
 
JustA5.0- Don't worry about the "dark colors" bit, the DC#2 would be fine on *white* IMO.



I just like #5...been using it since the mid-'70s and I've yet to find a more user-friendly glaze. Seems to leave a little more "stuff" behind than the DC#2 and it's easier to use. #3 is almost as easy and #81 isn't bad. #7 has a bit of a learning curve (been using that since forever too) so I usually don't recommend it even though it's commonly available.



Go ahead and get the DC#2, but buff it off before it dries completely. 3M's Imperial Hand Glaze is anothe option, as is the Glaze from Mother's (forget the exact name... "Sealer and Glaze" or words to that effect...it's the middle step of *their* 3-step to, as per the Meguiar's DC system).



Wonder if your local autobody/paint supply place would have #5 on the shelf. That's how I bought it in pre-internet days.
 
I will try a few more places over the weekend for #5, but it's not even listed in the products section of the Meg's Canadian website :confused:

Perhaps, we don't have enough of a market for Meg's full range of car care products.



Edit: Thank you for all the help and tips, cheers...
 
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