So...How bad did I screw up?

[jnick]

So I attempted to do my first detail on my parents SUV last weekend. First, I gotta say, it was quite the experience! I never realized how much work detailing really is. At 20yrs old, I can now understand why detailing costs what it costs!



Anywho, the vehicle was a 2001 Santa Fe - sandstone in color. It has never been detailed since they bought it new in 2001. The only thing it's ever seen was those automated car washes (yikes!).



Here's what I did:



1: Washed the car with Megs GC wash - Dried with Microfiber

2: Clayed the entire car with the mothers clay kit

3: Applied one coat of Megs Deep Crystal Polish (by hand)

4: Applied one coat of Mothers carnauba wax (by hand)



I didn't realize until after I waxed that normally, people apply 2-5 coats of polish and 2-3 coats of wax.



My question is, what should I do?



Should I apply a few coats of polish on top of the single coat of wax, and then re-wax it? Should I wash the car first, then re-polish and wax? Should I just add a few more coats of wax until the spring of next year?



The other issue is that living in NY, the winters can be harsh. I really want to add adequate protection for the car during this winter season.



The car does look great though. It's never been so shiny before! The only problem is, now you can REALLY see all of the dings and scratches .



Any suggestions on what I should do is more than welcome!



Thank you!

 

[SShine]

polishing after waxing is wrong.

 

[jesselyons2002]

Im 21 and already spend almost 2 grands on detail stuff.

 

[Bert]

So I attempted to do my first detail on my parents SUV last weekend. First, I gotta say, it was quite the experience! I never realized how much work detailing really is. At 20yrs old, I can now understand why detailing costs what it costs!



Anywho, the vehicle was a 2001 Santa Fe - sandstone in color. It has never been detailed since they bought it new in 2001. The only thing it's ever seen was those automated car washes (yikes!).



Here's what I did:



1: Washed the car with Megs GC wash - Dried with Microfiber

2: Clayed the entire car with the mothers clay kit

3: Applied one coat of Megs Deep Crystal Polish (by hand)

4: Applied one coat of Mothers carnauba wax (by hand)



I didn't realize until after I waxed that normally, people apply 2-5 coats of polish and 2-3 coats of wax.



My question is, what should I do?



Should I apply a few coats of polish on top of the single coat of wax, and then re-wax it? Should I wash the car first, then re-polish and wax? Should I just add a few more coats of wax until the spring of next year?



The other issue is that living in NY, the winters can be harsh. I really want to add adequate protection for the car during this winter season.



The car does look great though. It's never been so shiny before! The only problem is, now you can REALLY see all of the dings and scratches .



Any suggestions on what I should do is more than welcome!



Thank you!

Since you used Megs Deep Crystal Polish by hand I assume you do not own a rotary or a dual action polisher. If my assumption is correct, removing scratches by hand is very very difficult and if the scratches are deep, you may not be able to correct them, only improve their appearance.



When you say people apply 2-3 coats of polish, I would assume they are not using the same polish each time. In other words, the first time they are using a compound with a cutting pad on their rotary or dual action polisher to remove swirl marks, light scratches, etc.. After that step, they use a finishing polish with a finish pad on their dual action polisher or rotary to give the paint a nice finish. I am guess Megs Deep Crystl Polish is a finish polish, I don't know to be honest.



If we are only talking a few scratches and you want to continue by hand, I would try Meg's Scratch X and work on each scratch individually then follow with another application of Megs Deep Crystl Polish . If scratches are all over the car, your parents may need to just learn to accept the scratches or (even better) buy you a Ultimate Detailing Machine (UDM)!!!! A UDM with a cutting pad and a compound may be able to correct the scratches if not, it will make the scratches much less noticable.



Regardless, the polishing will remove your old coat of Mothers carnauba wax and you will need to apply another coat.

 

[BigJimZ28]

1.) you don't apply coats of polish, you polish a few time to remove defects

2.) it is hard if not impossible to remove defect by hand polishing

3.)Megs Deep Crystal Polish is a glaze and does not remove defects it hides them

So in a few weeks or after it rains it will be gone and your paint will look like it did before

 

[stiffdogg06]

Anyways, That carnauba won't last a NY winter no matter how many times you apply it IMO.



If you plan on taking care of your car for a while. I suggest possibly looking into getting a Porter Cable 7424. It will a better job at removing defects than hand polishing. I also suggest maybe going to a local NAPA, autozone, or pep boys and pick up some of their Meguiars polishes. That is if you don't want to order online.

 

[Brian_Brice]

What did this have to do with the thread?

:har: :har: :har: :har: :har: :har: :har: :har:





I really like chicken wings, except when the skin gets stuck between my teeth.



:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol



Hope this helps the thread starter

 

[BlueLibby04]

You did not mess up at all.



Ive never applied more than one coat of polish unless Im trying to remove defects which is not what youre trying to do with megs DC. One coat of wax is fine. Some people apply 2 coats(I do), but you cannot actually layer a wax(many people will argue this). I apply two coats to get a uniform coverage and look.

 

[jnick]

Since you used Megs Deep Crystal Polish by hand I assume you do not own a rotary or a dual action polisher. If my assumption is correct, removing scratches by hand is very very difficult and if the scratches are deep, you may not be able to correct them, only improve their appearance.



When you say people apply 2-3 coats of polish, I would assume they are not using the same polish each time. In other words, the first time they are using a compound with a cutting pad on their rotary or dual action polisher to remove swirl marks, light scratches, etc.. After that step, they use a finishing polish with a finish pad on their dual action polisher or rotary to give the paint a nice finish. I am guess Megs Deep Crystl Polish is a finish polish, I don't know to be honest.



If we are only talking a few scratches and you want to continue by hand, I would try Meg's Scratch X and work on each scratch individually then follow with another application of Megs Deep Crystl Polish . If scratches are all over the car, your parents may need to just learn to accept the scratches or (even better) buy you a Ultimate Detailing Machine (UDM)!!!! A UDM with a cutting pad and a compound may be able to correct the scratches if not, it will make the scratches much less noticeable.



Regardless, the polishing will remove your old coat of Mothers carnauba wax and you will need to apply another coat.

Yes, I do not own a porter cable/udm, though I am looking into one for the beginning of next year.



So when I read that "unknown1" applied 4 coats of polish - it doesn't mean that they applied 4 coats of the same polish for a "better" finish? What about waxes? Is it safe/the norm to apply more than one coat of the same wax?



Also, believe it or not, my parents don't really mind the scratches. I was just wondering if it would be possible to take them out myself. I guess it was more of a self-goal type of thing . I'll post pics up though so you guys can judge. Some aren't that deep, but others...man they're brutal!

1.) you don't apply coats of polish, you polish a few time to remove defects

2.) it is hard if not impossible to remove defect by hand polishing

3.)Megs Deep Crystal Polish is a glaze and does not remove defects it hides them

So in a few weeks or after it rains it will be gone and your paint will look like it did before

When you say you polish a few times...are you stating that I would only apply polish on the said defect and not the entire car? Or are you agreeing with the above poster, that you may polish more then once, but each time it's a different polish (for a different effect).



In regards to Megs DCP...I'd assume what you're saying is that it's the cheap stuff? What polish would you recommend that will last longer than a "few weeks"? Or do all polishes only last a few weeks?

Anyways, That carnauba won't last a NY winter no matter how many times you apply it IMO.



If you plan on taking care of your car for a while. I suggest possibly looking into getting a Porter Cable 7424. It will a better job at removing defects than hand polishing. I also suggest maybe going to a local NAPA, autozone, or pep boys and pick up some of their Meguiars polishes. That is if you don't want to order online.

Hmm...If carnauba wax won't last...what will?



As stated earlier, I'm definitely looking into some sort of machine polisher. I'd pick up more of Megs polishes in a heart beat, however according to the poster above you, they won't last very long. Do you have any suggestions on which are decent polishes that last longer than a "few weeks"? I don't mind ordering online one bit. So I'm open to the more foreign polishes/waxes/products which aren't featured in autozone, etc.



Thanks for the information :usa

 

[jnick]

You did not mess up at all.

Well now, that's nice to hear!

Ive never applied more than one coat of polish unless Im trying to remove defects which is not what youre trying to do with megs DC. One coat of wax is fine. Some people apply 2 coats(I do), but you cannot actually layer a wax(many people will argue this). I apply two coats to get a uniform coverage and look.

Again, that is good to hear! However, being the poster above stated that the one coat of wax won't last a NY winter...do you have any suggestions? Or is it just a matter of waxing the car multiple times over the winter?



I'd definitely prefer to apply something now that would last the entire winter, or at least three months, but if I have to apply a product every month or so, I'll do it.

 

[Ern]

Collinite 845 should get you through winter. 2 coats and good prep work.

 

[Bert]

So when I read that "unknown1" applied 4 coats of polish - it doesn't mean that they applied 4 coats of the same polish for a "better" finish? What about waxes? Is it safe/the norm to apply more than one coat of the same wax?

I think you may be confusing what polish does when you say "coats of polish".



A polish (or compound) is not something you put on your car/truck to protect it like you would a wax or a sealant. In the most basic terms, a polish is something with abrasives in it that you apply on your paint with a polishing pad or some other type of applicator to work the abrasives in the polish over the paint to remove a tiny amount of the clear coat (or paint if it doesn't have clear coat). By removing this tiny amount of clear coat, you are "leveling out" the surface. Once you are finished, you wipe the polish off.



Take this analogy. Let's say you have a piece of wood that you were going to build something with and the wood has a small nik or scratch in it. If you took a piece of aggresive sand paper and rubbed it over that nik, eventually you would remove enough wood surrounding the nik or scratch that the nik or scratch would disappear. That is the same thing as when you are polishing with a compound. I compound has aggressive enough abrasives in it to remove swirl marks or light scratches. Now going back to the wood analogy. After using that aggressive sand paper to remove the nik or scratch, the surface of that wood is probably a little rough and does not look nice. Now you would grab a very fine piece of sand paper to go over that same area to "pretty things up a bit". A finishing polish is similar to the fine piece of sand paper, it cleans up the surface of the car and gives it a nice shine.



So keep in mind, you are not applying coats of polish. You are applying a polish, working it into the paint, and removing it once it has done its job. What you can apply coats of is a sealant. A sealant is a synthetic wax. Whether you can apply coats of a carnauba wax can be argued. Both sealants and carnauba waxes are referred to as a Last Step Product or LSP for short. I recommend you just keep on reading posts on this thread for more information.

 

[Bert]

Collinite 845 should get you through winter. 2 coats and good prep work.

When Ern is telling saying good prep work, he means to do the following:



1) Wash the car thoroughly (twice if needed) to remove all dirt and loose contaminants

2) Clay very thoroughly to remove all contaminants that are stuck to the surface that washing was not able to remove.

3) (This step is optional) Use a paint cleanser to deep clean in the pores of the clear coat or paint if it does not have a clear coat.

4) Polish the paint.



The better job you do on those above steps, the better job your wax or sealant will adhere and bond to the surface and thereby provide you will better protection and a better shine.

 

[jnick]

I think you may be confusing what polish does when you say "coats of polish".



A polish (or compound) is not something you put on your car/truck to protect it like you would a wax or a sealant. In the most basic terms, a polish is something with abrasives in it that you apply on your paint with a polishing pad or some other type of applicator to work the abrasives in the polish over the paint to remove a tiny amount of the clear coat (or paint if it doesn't have clear coat). By removing this tiny amount of clear coat, you are "leveling out" the surface. Once you are finished, you wipe the polish off.



Take this analogy. Let's say you have a piece of wood that you were going to build something with and the wood has a small nik or scratch in it. If you took a piece of aggresive sand paper and rubbed it over that nik, eventually you would remove enough wood surrounding the nik or scratch that the nik or scratch would disappear. That is the same thing as when you are polishing with a compound. I compound has aggressive enough abrasives in it to remove swirl marks or light scratches. Now going back to the wood analogy. After using that aggressive sand paper to remove the nik or scratch, the surface of that wood is probably a little rough and does not look nice. Now you would grab a very fine piece of sand paper to go over that same area to "pretty things up a bit". A finishing polish is similar to the fine piece of sand paper, it cleans up the surface of the car and gives it a nice shine.



So keep in mind, you are not applying coats of polish. You are applying a polish, working it into the paint, and removing it once it has done its job. What you can apply coats of is a sealant. A sealant is a synthetic wax. Whether you can apply coats of a carnauba wax can be argued. Both sealants and carnauba waxes are referred to as a Last Step Product or LSP for short. I recommend you just keep on reading posts on this thread for more information.

Woah, thats an awesome explanation for a noob like me! Thanks! I'm just curious though, could polishing ever remove paint or the clear coat in it's entirety. I mean, if it's similar to sanding a piece of wood...when you sand wood, you're removing layers of wood. Therefore, if you have a car for say 5 years and continually detail it and polish it quarterly, wouldn't you eventually be doing more harm then good?



Also, thanks for the clarification about the prep work .



Now, let's say I want to have at the SUV again, but this time with all intentions of fixing imperfections with a PC or UDM. Would I need to do anything to remove the coat of wax I applied? Or would a wash and clay be enough?



Speaking of which, being I just clayed the ENTIRE car, would I need clay it again everytime I apply polish and wax? Or should I only clay, say, twice a year, even if I plan to polish quarterly (if not more?)?



Thank you again, buddy. You've been a big help!

 

[Bert]

Woah, thats an awesome explanation for a noob like me! Thanks! I'm just curious though, could polishing ever remove paint or the clear coat in it's entirety. I mean, if it's similar to sanding a piece of wood...when you sand wood, you're removing layers of wood. Therefore, if you have a car for say 5 years and continually detail it and polish it quarterly, wouldn't you eventually be doing more harm then good?

When using a dual action polisher like the Ultimate Detailing Machine (UDM) or the Porter Cable 7424 (PC) you would REALLY have to try hard to remove enough clear coat to cause problems. Those two machines do not have the ability to really do much damage what is the good news about them. The bad news about those is they simply cannot correct paint near as fast and effective as a rotary which CAN remove enough clear coat to damage your paint. If you plan to buy a machine as a noob, I would recommend the UDM, it is more powerful than the PC (and thereby can correct better) but it is not powerful enough to do much damage.



Also, if you are planning to polish quarterly, you REALLY enjoy polishing. There are some on here who polish twice a year. Most seem to try to limit it to once a year. Three weeks ago, I polished my car for the first time with my UDM. I only used a light cutting pad (Orange 5 inch Lake Country CCS Pad) with a rather mild compound (Optimum's Compound) and I was able to greatly improve my light scratches/deep swirl marks but not remove them due to my car having such hard clearcoat. I also cleaned up that compounding using a finishing pad (White 5 inch Lake Country CCS Pad) and a finishing polish (Optimum Poli-Seal). Because I have some swirling left over and I hope to improve the scratch marks even more, next spring I will be moving up to a medium cutting pad (Yellow 5 inch Lake Country CCS Pad) and a more aggressive compound (Optimum HyperCompound) to try to complete the job completely. Had I removed the swirls completely and made the scratch much less noticable, next spring I would skip polishing and only wash/Clay/All-In-One/2 coats of Sealant.

Also, thanks for the clarification about the prep work .

Many of the more experienced Autopians will swear that your prep work is far more important than the wax/sealant you use.

Now, let's say I want to have at the SUV again, but this time with all intentions of fixing imperfections with a PC or UDM. Would I need to do anything to remove the coat of wax I applied? Or would a wash and clay be enough?

Most on here will say no but I guess I am anal. Before polishing, I like to remove the old wax/sealant. Three weeks ago when I polished my car, here was my technique:



1) Friday wash car with double strength wash solution to remove any loose dirt and contamination.



2) Wash car again with double strength wash solution to ensure I had removed any loose dirt and contamination and clay areas I had just washed using the soapy solution as my lubricant.



3) Use Paint Cleanser to remove my old Meguiars #20 Sealant and to deep clean the pores of the clear coat



4) Wash car again and apply touch up paint to chipped areas and then put car in the garage and call it a night and let the touch up paint dry over night.



5) Saturday morning, wash car, use my UDM with the Orange LC CCS Pad with Optimum Compound. Because it was a cloudy day and I did not have appropriate lighting, I could not see the swirl marks I was leaving behind. However, the swirl marks were greatly improved.



6) Use my UDM with the White LC CCS Pad with Optimum Poli-Seal. My paint was so hard that it probably did not need the Poli-Seal to clean up with. However, Poli-Seal is a unique polish in that it can act as your All-In-One also. Therefore I was able to skip my Jeff's Werkstatt Prime Strong as my All-In-One and go straight to my sealant (Jeff's Werkstatt Acrylic Jett)



7) Apply a coat of Jeff's Werkstatt Acrylic Jett. Put car and garage and call it a night and allow the AJ to cure over night.



8) Sunday morning, wash car, apply another coat of JW AJ.

Speaking of which, being I just clayed the ENTIRE car, would I need clay it again everytime I apply polish and wax? Or should I only clay, say, twice a year, even if I plan to polish quarterly (if not more?)?

I would always clay before polishing. Getting the contaminants off the surface of the paint will make polishing easier and more effective. I mentioned polishing a car quarterly may be a little over kill; claying a car quarterly is recommended. Many on here clay monthly or more. I personally go with quarterly.



Now, being that you just clayed the car, do you need to clay it again before polishing? Kinda depends on how soon you polish it. I would use a simple test. After washing the car, run your hand over the surface of the car, particularily the horizontal surfaces (hood, roof, rear). If you feel tiny bumps, that means new contaminants have bonded to the surface and should be removed with clay.

Thank you again, buddy. You've been a big help!

No problem and you are very welcome. Again, I cannot stress reading more on this site. When I joined the site in July (I didn't even know what a clay bar was then) I would read about an hour a day. You can look at my posts and see I asked numerous questions when I was not able to find a specific answer to a question I had by doing a search on the site. When you are reading on here, focus on the threads in the DETAILING AND FINISH CAR section of the site. It was the most informative section for me.

 

[jnick]

When using a dual action polisher like the Ultimate Detailing Machine (UDM) or the Porter Cable 7424 (PC) you would REALLY have to try hard to remove enough clear coat to cause problems. Those two machines do not have the ability to really do much damage what is the good news about them. The bad news about those is they simply cannot correct paint near as fast and effective as a rotary which CAN remove enough clear coat to damage your paint. If you plan to buy a machine as a noob, I would recommend the UDM, it is more powerful than the PC (and thereby can correct better) but it is not powerful enough to do much damage.

Ahh, I see. I'll definitely look into the UDM for future corrective work! I'm just curious...have you used both the UDM and PC? Or just the UDM...?

Also, if you are planning to polish quarterly, you REALLY enjoy polishing. There are some on here who polish twice a year. Most seem to try to limit it to once a year. Three weeks ago, I polished my car for the first time with my UDM. I only used a light cutting pad (Orange 5 inch Lake Country CCS Pad) with a rather mild compound (Optimum's Compound) and I was able to greatly improve my light scratches/deep swirl marks but not remove them due to my car having such hard clearcoat. I also cleaned up that compounding using a finishing pad (White 5 inch Lake Country CCS Pad) and a finishing polish (Optimum Poli-Seal). Because I have some swirling left over and I hope to improve the scratch marks even more, next spring I will be moving up to a medium cutting pad (Yellow 5 inch Lake Country CCS Pad) and a more aggressive compound (Optimum HyperCompound) to try to complete the job completely. Had I removed the swirls completely and made the scratch much less noticable, next spring I would skip polishing and only wash/Clay/All-In-One/2 coats of Sealant.

Now when you use the UDM again next spring...are you going to use a paint cleaner or something equivalent to remove the polish/wax/sealant that you just

Most on here will say no but I guess I am anal. Before polishing, I like to remove the old wax/sealant. Three weeks ago when I polished my car, here was my technique:



4) Wash car again and apply touch up paint to chipped areas and then put car in the garage and call it a night and let the touch up paint dry over night.

When you apply the touch up paint, do you also do some sort of clear coat to protect the touched up area?

I would always clay before polishing. Getting the contaminants off the surface of the paint will make polishing easier and more effective. I mentioned polishing a car quarterly may be a little over kill; claying a car quarterly is recommended. Many on here clay monthly or more. I personally go with quarterly.

I guess it makes sense. I'd assume that if you polished without claying you risk the chance of marring the paint..?





Thank you again for all of your help!

 

[Bert]

I'm just curious...have you used both the UDM and PC? Or just the UDM...?

I have only used the UDM. If you take a look around the site, those more experienced Autopians will say that while the UDM is more powerful, it vibrates less and makes less noise and still weighs approx the same as the PC. Therefore, I decided to purchase a UDM. Someday I will probably buy a rotary, I just want to get more experience with my UDM and keep reading more about rotary usage on this site before taking that plunge.

Now when you use the UDM again next spring...are you going to use a paint cleaner or something equivalent to remove the polish/wax/sealant that you just

Yes I will. Many on this site will say I am being anal and I probably am. However, I just like knowing that the surface is pristinely clean before I start polishing.

When you apply the touch up paint, do you also do some sort of clear coat to protect the touched up area?

I never have before. I believe touch up paint is made so that you don't have to use clear coat, would you get better results if you did? Probably but the spots I was touching up were so small (smaller than the size of a pin head) it would be really difficult to put only enough touch up paint in the chip to allow enough room for a layer of clear coat. The last time I used the touch up paint (three weeks ago) even though I was using a tooth pick to apply the touch up paint, I got so much touchup paint in the chips that it left a small bump. After letting the touch up paint dry, I leveled off these bumps to some degree by polishing the car with Optimum Compound the next day.



They are not very noticable now and look much better than before I used the touch up paint. If I wanted to completely level them off, I would need to wet sand the area. I don't know enough about wet sanding to venture to that area so I will just be happy with what I have. Also, wet sanding will mar the paint and require fairly heavy compounding afterwards and I don't know if a UDM is powerful enough to clean up after wet sanding. A rotary could do it, but I don't think my UDM could so I will stick with what I have. Like I said, they are barely noticable unless you are standing right over each touched up chip so I don't lose alot of sleep over it.

I guess it makes sense. I'd assume that if you polished without claying you risk the chance of marring the paint..?

Possible. If there is something stuck on the surface, the pad on my UDM would probably remove it. Unfortunately, it would be stuck between the rapidly moving pad and my painted surface and could mar the paint.

Thank you again for all of your help!

Welcome.

 

[Accellora]

Take this analogy. Let's say you have a piece of wood that you were going to build something with and the wood has a small nik or scratch in it. If you took a piece of aggresive sand paper and rubbed it over that nik, eventually you would remove enough wood surrounding the nik or scratch that the nik or scratch would disappear. That is the same thing as when you are polishing with a compound. I compound has aggressive enough abrasives in it to remove swirl marks or light scratches. Now going back to the wood analogy. After using that aggressive sand paper to remove the nik or scratch, the surface of that wood is probably a little rough and does not look nice. Now you would grab a very fine piece of sand paper to go over that same area to "pretty things up a bit". A finishing polish is similar to the fine piece of sand paper, it cleans up the surface of the car and gives it a nice shine.



So keep in mind, you are not applying coats of polish. You are applying a polish, working it into the paint, and removing it once it has done its job. What you can apply coats of is a sealant. A sealant is a synthetic wax. Whether you can apply coats of a carnauba wax can be argued. Both sealants and carnauba waxes are referred to as a Last Step Product or LSP for short. I recommend you just keep on reading posts on this thread for more information.

So something like the P21s Paintwork cleanser is "leveling out" the clear coat? I have a brand new car 2 months old - so far just washed it with P21s shampoo. What should I do with a new car. Should I use this or another polish or just add a sealant and wax?

 

[Bert]

So something like the P21s Paintwork cleanser is "leveling out" the clear coat? I have a brand new car 2 months old - so far just washed it with P21s shampoo. What should I do with a new car. Should I use this or another polish or just add a sealant and wax?

The vast majority of cleansers will not have abrasives in them and will not remove any clear coat. However, many cleansers do have chemical polishes along with the cleanser in them so along with giving your paint a deep clean, it will also provide a nice finish on your paint.



So as far as what to do with a new car,



1) Obiously wash it often. The more often you wash your car, the less time contanimation will sit on your car's paint and bond with the paint leading to oxidation which causes fading. I wash my car every weekend. You could probably get away with washing every other week but most on here recommend weekly washing. It only takes me a half hour since I now use Optimum No Rinse (ONR) so I don't mind washing every week. Will make washing in the winter a heck of a lot easier since I can do it in the garage so a hose is not needed.



2) Even though your paint is new, it likely needs to be clayed. In the two months that you have owned the car and however long it sat on the car lot, stuff probably landed on the car and has bonded to the paint. A car wash will not remove this, a detailer's clay bar will. The easiest way to tell if you car needs claying is to feel the paint. The next time you wash your car, glide you hand over the surface of the paint, particularily the horizontal surfaces ie hood, roof, trunk, etc. If your car does not need claying, the paint of a new car should feel as smooth as glass. If you feel tiny little bumps, you have contanimants bonded to your car. If you want to "amplify" your ability to feel these bumps, put your hand inside a plastic sandwich bag and then glide it over your paint. If you feel slight tugs, you have bonded contaminants on our paint.



If you need instructions on how to clay your car, go to the top of the website, and click on the "How To" section. There is an article on how to clay your car. You won't need an very abrasive clay. Shy away from clays that say Medium or High on them since they are know to mar the paint. You won't need a clay that strong. Stick with ones that say Mild, Fine or Very Fine. One good very fine clay is the Sonus Ultra Fine Clay which can be found by clicking on the "Shopping" link at the top left of this page. Or, if you want to save on shipping, buys some Blue Clay Magic from your local AutoZone. Both are good quailty low abrasive clays.



Now, here is where I am not sure what to do. I have heard that the paint on a new car needs a 3-6 months to cure and harden and that applying a sealant or wax will slow that process down even more. I have also heard that what I have just stated is bull (stuff) and that is if fine to apply sealant or wax on new paint. I honestly don't know which is true. I have never owned a new car so I have never dealt with that. Saying that, I am curious and I think I will post a thread to see what the pro's on here say.



For arguement's sake, lets say that it is just fine to put sealant or wax on new paint. Here is what I would do after washing and claying the car (again I am assuming the car could use claying).



3) Use a paint cleanser or even better, an all in one. You mentioned P21S Paint Cleanser. If you have some go ahead and use it. I have never used P21S Paint Cleanser but I have heard it is very good. If you don't have a paint cleanser, I would recommend using an All-In-One (AIO). An AIO has cleansers in it just like a paint cleanser but also has more chemical polishes and has some sealant in it. This combo does a great job of preparing your surface for the Last Step Product (LSP) whether that be a sealant or a wax. One of the most common AIO's is Klasse All-In-One. A very good product. Zaino also has an AIO that has received much praise. Right now, I am using Jeff's Werkstatt Prime Strong (JW PS) and I really, really like it. When you match it with Jeff's Werkstatt Acrylic Jett (JW AJ) they make a very very good combo and they are not that expensive.



4) After using a paint cleanser or AIO, I would top it with a sealant or a carnauba wax. I prefer sealants but it is a personal preference. As I said, I use JW AJ and love it. Meguiar's #20 and 21 are pretty good sealants which are very easy to apply and buff off. Klasse Sealant Glaze is a good sealant but is a pain in the butt to buff off. Zaino has very good sealants (though I believe they call them polishes for some reason). There are numerous other ones. I would just read on here to find out about others. If you would like to try a carnauba wax there are several of those. P21S makes a carnauba that looks nice, is super simple to apply and remove but some say it is not very durable. Poor Boys has their Natty's line of waxes. I believe there are three, Natty's White, Blue, and Red. Blue and Red generally get the most praise on here. Clearkote makes a very good wax called Moose Wax. Collinite (however you spell it) sells a wax (845 I think is what it is called) that is known for being among the most durable carnauba's made and is very popular on here.



Well, this would be my recommendation for a new car. After hitting send, I will start a thread asking about whether or not you should put sealant/wax on new paint. If you are interested, keep an eye open for it. Also, go up to the "How To" section at the top of the page. Really good info up there.

 

[Accellora]

Thanks this is really good info.