New CX-7

[cx7-dad]

Hello everyone,



Glad to have found this forum. I am a longtime participant in several other non-car related forums, so I know the drill about using search & looking at FAQ before asking questions that have already been answered many times over. I have been doing that on here the past couple of days, but thought I'd go ahead & post my situation & see what others think.



I bought my daughter a new 2010 Mazda CX-7 in "Stormy Blue Mica" last week. Got a great deal 'cause last years model & lots of mfg incentives & had 600 miles on it already. Looking it over the finish looks good, but the roof & hood paint, while shiny, seems a bit flatter than the sides & don't quite have the deep gloss the sides too - I'm sure a result of sitting on the dealer lot next to the freeway for nearly a full year in both E. Texas 100 degree sun & E. Texas winter sleet. No car wash swirls or anything that I can see.



In any case, I'm ready this week to give it first wash/detail. The dealer prep did some kind of quick detail the day I bought it but I have no idea what products might have been used.



I purchased today at WallyWorld:

Mequiars "Deep Crystal" Car Wash

Mother's Clay Bar kit

Mequiars NXT Tech Wax 2.0



I notice when the car is in the garage under incandescent light, if i lay my head real close parallel with the roof of the car I can see something on the paint job that at first look to me like water spots, but when I wipe at them with a damp cloth they don't come out. These spots could also described as having the appearance of a very thin layer of puddled wax? This is not visible outside in sunlight - only inside under the incandescent garage light.



I have felt along the hood & top & can't really say I feel a lot of grittiness, so I am really on-the-fence about whether to use the Clay Bar kit (I've never clay'd a car before) If I do use the Clay Bar - should the old wax or whatever they may have put on it be stripped off with Dawn or something first? Or should I go ahead & just wash/wax & see how it looks before deciding whether to "clay" it?



I'd like to keep this car looking really good for my daughter & teach her how to take care of it as well. Thanks in advance for any advice/opinions/suggestions on the products and/or how I should proceed.

 

[BigAl3]

:welcome



chances are since it's been sitting for quite some time, there is water spotting and contaminants on the finish. a thorough wash and clay would be a start, then polishing would be ideal before sealing the paint with your choice of wax/sealant. if you don't already own a DA (i've said this many times), i highly recommend one and you don't need to fear damaging the paint as it also has a quick learning curve as well (you can teach your daughter to use it too). it's one item that is worth every single penny and trust me, you'll wonder why you didn't get one alot sooner!



wash



clay



ultimate compound and/or swirlx (all these can be used by hand and DA)

(ultimate polish just came out but have yet to see it available OTC anywhere)



wax or sealant of your choice



here's an informative site to check out...

Paint Care & Detailing - The Enthusiasts guide to detailing

 

[cx7-dad]

:welcome



chances are since it's been sitting for quite some time, there is water spotting and contaminants on the finish. a thorough wash and clay would be a start, then polishing would be ideal before sealing the paint with your choice of wax/sealant. if you don't already own a DA (i've said this many times), i highly recommend one and you don't need to fear damaging the paint as it also has a quick learning curve as well (you can teach your daughter to use it too). it's one item that is worth every single penny and trust me, you'll wonder why you didn't get one alot sooner!



wash



clay



ultimate compound and/or swirlx (all these can be used by hand and DA)

(ultimate polish just came out but have yet to see it available OTC anywhere)



wax or sealant of your choice



here's an informative site to check out...

Paint Care & Detailing - The Enthusiasts guide to detailing

Thanks for your welcome & advice Al



Do you recommend I do the "thorough wash" with the Mequiars wash product or use something stronger (like Dawn) the first timeto strip off any old product?



(I did look at a DA polisher but was a little nervous about that on a new car finish. Also didn't see any strictly "polish" product on WallyWorld shelves, but I may look around at a few other places today.)

 

[BigAl3]

Thanks for your welcome & advice Al



Do you recommend I do the "thorough wash" with the Mequiars wash product or use something stronger (like Dawn) the first timeto strip off any old product?



(I did look at a DA polisher but was a little nervous about that on a new car finish. Also didn't see any strictly "polish" product on WallyWorld shelves, but I may look around at a few other places today.)

you could use dawn, but i wouldn't use it regularly. at walmart they have the ultimate compound and you can find swirlx (as well as ultimate compound) at pepboys, autozone, o'reilly's. seriously, pick up a DA (don't be nervous) it will do all the work for you, it's safe and will bring the full potential out of the paint. your hands can only do so much and machine polishing will out perform it everytime and give you more consistent results. you'll thank me later...

the ultimate polish just came out and if you could wait (have yet to see it in stores yet), i would opt for this over swirlx...

 

[cx7-dad]

Washed today with Mequiars Wash, dried, then put it in the garage & clayed it a few hour later. Glad I did it, 'cause I could feel the grit coming off, particularly the roof and some on the hood. Didn't notice anything when I did the sides ... prob didn't need to do them. Clay took away some of the aforementioned spots on the roof, but not all. (they were hard to see in the first place, but what's left is harder to see now) Looking good so far.



Going to go look for a DA polisher tomorrow & some polish. We don't have Pep Boys here, it's kind of a smallish city, but there's Wal-Mart, Autozone, Advance, O'Reillys, Target, etc



Anybody know what's the diff in the "Mequiars Ultimate Compound" & the new "Meguiars Ultimate Polish" that Al suggested in the previous post? Or recommendations on any other OTC polishes for dark blue paint with some metallic in it? (Mazda "Stormy Blue Mica")

 

[BigAl3]

Washed today with Mequiars Wash, dried, then put it in the garage & clayed it a few hour later. Glad I did it, 'cause I could feel the grit coming off, particularly the roof and some on the hood. Didn't notice anything when I did the sides ... prob didn't need to do them. Clay took away some of the aforementioned spots on the roof, but not all. (they were hard to see in the first place, but what's left is harder to see now) Looking good so far.



Going to go look for a DA polisher tomorrow & some polish. We don't have Pep Boys here, it's kind of a smallish city, but there's Wal-Mart, Autozone, Advance, O'Reillys, Target, etc



Anybody know what's the diff in the "Mequiars Ultimate Compound" & the new "Meguiars Ultimate Polish" that Al suggested in the previous post? Or recommendations on any other OTC polishes for dark blue paint with some metallic in it? (Mazda "Stormy Blue Mica")

the ultimate compound is for more neglected/swirled finishes and the ultimate polish is for lighter scratches/swirls. they go hand in hand and are sorta like twins (one is aggressive while the other is less aggressive), like M105/M205 but in the consumer range. if you interested in a DA, PM and i could help you out...

 

[TornadoRed]

Until you get a DA and want to get something OTC to do by hand, the Meg's or Mothers cleaner wax will remove the water spots.