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Polishing/Cleaning for a Brand New Car?


LSX Maestro

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Going to have my 2018 ZL1 delivered next month and I'm going to bring her straight home.  I toyed with the ideas of Ceramic Coatings and buying a whole bunch of CarPro products and stuff like that but I realized...my cars don't and won't see any kind of abuse and nothing that a Ceramic Coating could do for them that a LPS + H2O Combo couldn't handle, at least in my experience.  

 

So seems all the rage on other forums for brand new cars is to just do a very light polish with some sort of finishing polish, a majority of people use CarPro Essence which is an extremely fine finishing polish that just levels the clear coat out, cleans the pores and gets it smooth and shiny in preparation for a Ceramic Coat.  Does Adam's offer something similar? Would using Adam's Finishing Polish or even Revive Hand Polish give the same result? The car won't be touched by anybody before I do, so zero swirls or blemishes should be on the paint.  In case you're wondering how I'm going to keep it untouched, I happen to own the dealership. :D 

 

Thanks. 

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Hi James. You could take either route with excellent results.  If you have absolutely no paint correction necessary, the Revive Hand Polish will prep the paint sufficiently for LPS and H2O G&G.  If the paint isn't flawless, you'll probably want to take the time for a once over with Finishing Polish.  Unless you pick it up directly from the factory on the day it's made, prior to either polishing step, you'll want to decon and clay the paint to remove any fall out or rail dust, etc.  You can use the wheel cleaner diluted 1:1 as your decon agent. 

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Yeah I'm hoping I don't have to deal with any rail dust, it's marked as a sold vehicle so it does have shipping priority and shouldn't sit in a yard for too long.  I will analyze once it gets here but looks like a Revive/Finishing polish will be all I need depending.  All the dealers/bodyshops/service centers etc. I'm part of are in Metro Detroit area.  PM me if you ever need anything and I'll be glad to help. 

 

I instated a qualified detailing crew at our Cadillac store because we do boat loads of black cars there and I was tired of watching them be rubbed down with rags deserving of the garbage can.  That's in the works at the rest of them hopefully.  When we get Vettes in or other top level vehicles I ask the customer and see but usually I'll have them skip the free wash.  Very few people that work at dealerships in my experience are "car people", and inside of the car people class even fewer are "Detailers" or at least detail minded.  They don't understand things like swirling, contamination, protection and the damage you can do with improper habits.  And it would be way too expensive and time consuming to employ people who did, as much as I would like to.  

 

If you ever take your car to the dealer, it's usually fairly easy to get them to skip it (The damn porters are lazy anyway!) just ask them to not wash it and they should be happy to oblige (I'm sure most of you already do this).   

Edited by LSX Maestro
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2 hours ago, LSX Maestro said:

Yeah I'm hoping I don't have to deal with any rail dust, it's marked as a sold vehicle so it does have shipping priority and shouldn't sit in a yard for too long.  I will analyze once it gets here but looks like a Revive/Finishing polish will be all I need depending.  All the dealers/bodyshops/service centers etc. I'm part of are in Metro Detroit area.  PM me if you ever need anything and I'll be glad to help. 

 

I instated a qualified detailing crew at our Cadillac store because we do boat loads of black cars there and I was tired of watching them be rubbed down with rags deserving of the garbage can.  That's in the works at the rest of them hopefully.  When we get Vettes in or other top level vehicles I ask the customer and see but usually I'll have them skip the free wash.  Very few people that work at dealerships in my experience are "car people", and inside of the car people class even fewer are "Detailers" or at least detail minded.  They don't understand things like swirling, contamination, protection and the damage you can do with improper habits.  And it would be way too expensive and time consuming to employ people who did, as much as I would like to.  

 

If you ever take your car to the dealer, it's usually fairly easy to get them to skip it (The damn porters are lazy anyway!) just ask them to not wash it and they should be happy to oblige (I'm sure most of you already do this).   

Did you read on Camaro6 that some of the ZL1s shipping west may have been damaged in transit?  Granted that is not any going your way...but sad regarding that happening.  I regret not having my new 2018 Hot Wheels 2ss M6 Vert ordered with direct private enclosed carrier instead of the standard shipping via rail car (it's TPW is 3/12)...oh well, I know how to detail and take care of it when it comes in.  My plans will be to ceramic coat it (being a vert it is easier to do...lol).  As for polishes, would think that Adams new one step polish (after a wash/clay is done) is exactly what would be great for a new car to even out the clear coat and get ready for a nice LPS and H20 G&G.

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7 hours ago, LSX Maestro said:

Yeah I'm hoping I don't have to deal with any rail dust, it's marked as a sold vehicle so it does have shipping priority and shouldn't sit in a yard for too long.  I will analyze once it gets here but looks like a Revive/Finishing polish will be all I need depending.  All the dealers/bodyshops/service centers etc. I'm part of are in Metro Detroit area.  PM me if you ever need anything and I'll be glad to help. 

 

I instated a qualified detailing crew at our Cadillac store because we do boat loads of black cars there and I was tired of watching them be rubbed down with rags deserving of the garbage can.  That's in the works at the rest of them hopefully.  When we get Vettes in or other top level vehicles I ask the customer and see but usually I'll have them skip the free wash.  Very few people that work at dealerships in my experience are "car people", and inside of the car people class even fewer are "Detailers" or at least detail minded.  They don't understand things like swirling, contamination, protection and the damage you can do with improper habits.  And it would be way too expensive and time consuming to employ people who did, as much as I would like to.  

 

If you ever take your car to the dealer, it's usually fairly easy to get them to skip it (The damn porters are lazy anyway!) just ask them to not wash it and they should be happy to oblige (I'm sure most of you already do this).   

 

Decontamination should still be a priority. Even though it’s not sitting in the yard, it’s still traveling by rail...thus rail dust. 

 

Our new car prep service includes a light polish to level the paint as you said. We do use Essence, but Fine Polish will achieve a similar look. Essence just has a gloss enhancer for some extra pop. 

 

So new car prep looks something like this:

- wash

- iron decon 

- clay

- light polish 

- steps of protection (sealant/coatings)

 

Congrats on the new ride. Do yourself a favor and don’t cut any corners on the new ride prep. It’ll make life easier down the road. If you were closer, I’d be willing to help you out. The best we can do from here is share knowledge. 

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Appreciate the input so far. I agree, no cutting corners with a brand new car. 

 

So I'm thinking for iron decon, Wheel Cleaner 1:1, mist it over the car and follow up with clay/DS?  


I will just use Essence if it won't negatively re-act with the Adam's stuff, not that it should.  I already have some Essence at the Cadillac store.  

 

And Shane, if you were closer I'd definitely be in for a business partnership.  Lots of our customers want their cars Ceramic Coated/PPF/Paint Corrections etc. and it's not easy to find people that I'd trust to do quality work and then employ them full time for maybe 2-3 cars a week until the name gets out there.  But a partnership with an existing company would be great.  We would both make mad money.  It could even be added as a package into the initial cost of the car for detailed packages and therefore added to the finance/payments, that's in addition to walk in customers.  

Edited by LSX Maestro
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1 hour ago, LSX Maestro said:

Appreciate the input so far. I agree, no cutting corners with a brand new car. 

 

So I'm thinking for iron decon, Wheel Cleaner 1:1, mist it over the car and follow up with clay/DS?  


I will just use Essence if it won't negatively re-act with the Adam's stuff, not that it should.  I already have some Essence at the Cadillac store.  

 

And Shane, if you were closer I'd definitely be in for a business partnership.  Lots of our customers want their cars Ceramic Coated/PPF/Paint Corrections etc. and it's not easy to find people that I'd trust to do quality work and then employ them full time for maybe 2-3 cars a week until the name gets out there.  But a partnership with an existing company would be great.  We would both make mad money.  It could even be added as a package into the initial cost of the car for detailed packages and therefore added to the finance/payments, that's in addition to walk in customers.  

 

I wish we were closer.  A partnership like that would be mututally beneficial, and businesses exist to make money.  We certainly don't gouge clients, but price is often a sticking point and deal breaker.  Being able to let clients get what they want built into their payments would make things so much easier.  There's also a huge educational component that goes along that people are sometimes more inclined to listen to dealers about protection than the very businesses that specialize in it.  It's not uncommon to get "the dealer told me XYZ is the best." Usually that product is Simoniz around here, who certainly isn't a leader in ceramic coatings by any detailers that I've spoken with.  To flip a dealership into offering a premium product would allow it to be offered a price that's fair for the client/installer/dealership.  Unfortunately, so many people see partnerships as an invasion on money they could potentially make. 

 

Your process sounds correct for your car.  Although, the new WC can be used straight up.  Since your car is new, you'll be fine with it cut in half to save on product consumption.  Essence is a great product and we have used it successfully with Adam's Polishes Ceramic Coatings.  I'll see if I can find a photo of the jeep we did just that on so you can see how it looks.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions, I'll be happy to answer them.

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44 minutes ago, Lance99 said:

Just wondering... what's the going rate on a ZL1? 

Is there a crazy markup like GT350R's?

Nope.  Not at all.  Most dealers are selling them right around sticker while incentives, rebates, and other "goodies" are getting them in the low 60s range.  I've seen some guys on the Camaro6 forum walking out with $59k-$62k.  I will go through the deal on mine when it gets here, I'm probably going to finance it.  I know people are leasing them for $700-$800.   Keeping the $60k-$70k in the market is better than writing a check for the sake of writing a check.  I'll probably put $10k down from the sale of my previous ZL1.  I've found that if I keep enough cash, put enough down and go aggressive on the financing (Shorter term, max of 3-4 years) then I can move out of them in a 1-2 years and upgrade to the latest thing while I keep my losses minimal.  

 

I shouldn't say that no dealers aren't adding ADM's because I know that some are...but they're sitting on them because people know they can get them cheaper from elsewhere.  A dealer in Florida I believe had like 6 ZL1 1LE's for $3k-$5k over sticker.  Didn't sell one of them and now they're 6+ month old stock and the dealer is dumping them for less than he could of while the "just out" hype was around.  

Edited by LSX Maestro
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3 hours ago, LSX Maestro said:

Nope.  Not at all.  Most dealers are selling them right around sticker while incentives, rebates, and other "goodies" are getting them in the low 60s range.  I've seen some guys on the Camaro6 forum walking out with $59k-$62k.  I will go through the deal on mine when it gets here, I'm probably going to finance it.  I know people are leasing them for $700-$800.   Keeping the $60k-$70k in the market is better than writing a check for the sake of writing a check.  I'll probably put $10k down from the sale of my previous ZL1.  I've found that if I keep enough cash, put enough down and go aggressive on the financing (Shorter term, max of 3-4 years) then I can move out of them in a 1-2 years and upgrade to the latest thing while I keep my losses minimal.  

 

I shouldn't say that no dealers aren't adding ADM's because I know that some are...but they're sitting on them because people know they can get them cheaper from elsewhere.  A dealer in Florida I believe had like 6 ZL1 1LE's for $3k-$5k over sticker.  Didn't sell one of them and now they're 6+ month old stock and the dealer is dumping them for less than he could of while the "just out" hype was around.  

 

Good to know... Thanks for the info!  Hopefully I can come across some $$$ and join the club.

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