Newbie needs ADVICE on proper care of New Car

B

Brettdb11

New member
Hello Everyone,



I have never owned a car worth waxing and feel overwhelmed with all the info on this site! I just purchased a graphite ex v6 sedan (just graduated from college=feels good to spoil myself a little) and my concerns are properly caring for this vehicle.



I have always kept my cars detailed on the inside and feel comfortable with washing my car.



1. What do you want to do to a new car to protect the paint?



2. What are the best products to use on a graphite pearl paint?



3. How often do you need to polish, wax, use clay bars and whaterver else (sorry a total newbie, I want to learn how to do it myself)? How do you properly do the above procedures?



4. How hard is it to learn to use a Porter Cable? Should I start out using my hands? (I can practice on my girlfriends ride :)



Thanks for all the help, I am going to continue to lurk on the site to gather information.

Thanks,

Brett
 
For the complete answers to your questions, use the LEARN section of this site. But now that you asked:



1) Wash, clay and then apply a sealant (I'm a Zaino user, but the real secret is the prep and then using a quality product. If you do use Zaino, the site, www.zainostore.com has all the info as to how to clean and use their products. If you have finish problems, use the LEARN and SEARCH tools.



2) Again, I like Zaino's Z-2 or Z-5 with ZFX.



3) A complete detail is usually necessary only a couple of times a year unless your car gets really dirty or the surface gets marred or damaged. Wash frequently with a quality car wash and then use a detailing spray. Most of us clean up our cars weekly, whether they need it or not.



4) A PC is not hard to learn to use, but learn to use it on something other than your car. An old clunker, a hood in a junk yard, etc.



Again, go to the LEARN section of this site for the complete answers. And research the products. I'm a Zaino user; but "every cat has his own rat", so educate yourself before committing to a product line. While the cost is not neglible, the effort invested can be extensive and time consuming.
 
Agreed w/above: Learn section has a lot to offer.



As for your new car - congratulations!



Luckily, unless the dealer mangled it during prep, you won't have a lot to do to it.



I'd start with a good claying, and then follow it up with a good sealant. Klasse, Zaino, Carnuba Wax, etc., are all good. Synthetic sealants (Klasse, Zaino) will last longer than the Carnubas, but may have a 'sterile' look to them. Carnubas typically give a 'deeper' appearance to the paint, but don't last as long.



You should only need to polish if you notice problems with the paint (swirls, cobwebbing, minor scratches). If you keep up with gentle washing (again, check the LEARN section), polishing may not be necessary until after a year or more.



Good luck, and enjoy your new car!
 
Brettdb11- Welcome to Autopia!



Work on washing/drying carefully so you don't mar the finish.



Clay the car, it's time well spent.



Look into the 1Z product line- very user friendly.



Get some good Microfiber towels.



You can do your car with a PC, no problems. No real learning curve at all. It's that simple, really.
 
Instead of throwing out product suggestions, I'd like to see you spend some quality time learn HOW to detail properly. Once you've learned what skill level it takes, then feel free to bust out the platinum card and max the mutha out.



I cannot recommend highly enough the Autopia Guide to Detailing. It's now free and and fantastic educational resource. D/L it here:



http://autopia-carcare.com/freeguide.html
 
all good suggestions. the 'learn' button is a good place to start. check out the 'detailing how to series' for some good articles on washing, claying, polishing, and waxing. also, be sure to buy quality MF towels and washing mitt.



1. for a new car, you will want to:

first wash it with a quality car wash shampoo, a quality washing mitt, and use the two bucket method.

second, clay it. mother's clay is a good one to use as it is readily available and easy to work with. there are other ones out there too.

third, polish, although this depends on whether you got the dealer option installed swirls. best way to check is out under the sun. look at where the sun reflects off your paint and see if you can see any swirls or not. if you can't see any, you can use a mild polish here.

fourth, seal or wax it. you can either go with a sealant like zaino, the klasse twins, poorboy's ex or ex-p, wolfgang, blackfire, etc etc. or you can use a caranuba wax like s100, ps21, natty's paste wax, meguiar's #16 pro wax, etc etc.



there's a lot of good, different products to meet your needs and buget, so it's hard for me to make any specific suggestions.



2. what kind of look are you looking for? a wet look? shiney look? very good reflectivity? it might be helpful to search the 'click & brag' section for your color car, which sounds like it's a type of grey.



3. how often? it depends on how often you want to. washing can range from every couple days to once a week to once a month. *I* like to wash at least once a week. claying doesn't need to be done as often. it is a good thing to do when you first detail your car because it might have some surface contaminents. to check this, do the baggie test, which is putting your hand in a zip-loc bag and running your hand over the surface. if it doesn't feel smooth, you got surface contaminents and you would want to clay. polishing also doesn't need to be done as much, and is usually done when you can see swirls. then again, there is a range of polishes from very harsh stuff to very mild stuff, so you could use a very mild polish everytime you wax, if you wanted to. sealing/waxing, again more often than polishng and claying, although not as much as washing. just whenever you feel your wax/sealant is running out on you, ie it doesn't bead as well or doesn't feel as slick etc etc.

mainly though, it is up to you and how often you want to be keeping your car nice. like if you have a lot of time on your hands or you really want your car to look new all the time, then you'll be putting in a lot of time. but if you're the opposite, it won't be as long.



4. a PC is not that hard to learn. click on the 'learn' button for a good article on the PC, it should be on the main page.



sorry for the long reply, but i've been through what you're going through now (new car, wanting to keep it looking new, etc etc)

good luck and have fun! :wavey
 
Thanks for all the comments!!!!!!!!!!!





I am going to use the Learn function to gain more knowledge and will have more specific questions in the future. Thanks for getting me in the right direction.



Brett
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top