TR6speed

Well you have the basic beginnings, but you will need more to properly care for you new car. Lets start with your 2 bucket wash. That is fine for teh painted surface, but you will need a third buck for doing the wheels and tires. Never use the same bucket and wash pad that was used on the wheels and tires for the body. Next, you say that you will wash it on Sunday and use the waterless wash during the week. That is ago as long as the car has not been in the rain or heavy dirt is on it. the waterless wash is really designed to remove light dirt and dust. Washing the car will not be the only thing you will need to do to maintain the shine. I suggest that you order Adams Clay. All new cars need to be clayed before you try and put any wax on them. The finish of a new car is usually contaminated with what is known as rail dust and other contaminates that will affect the shine. If the car has been on the dealers lot for more then a few weeks I will bet it is full of swirls. So you may want to get Swirl and Haze Remover, either Revive polish if doing everything by hand or the Fine Machine Polish if doing it with a PC or Flex polisher. Brilliant Glaze and the Americana to finish it off. I know this sound like a lot, but if you really want to take care of it, these are the essentials.

They are the green heavy duty Scotch Brite.

Yes, if this is a daily driver, I would follow the Fine Machine Polish with the Super Sealant. Wait 12-24 hours after and then wipe it down again with a microfiber towel and a little detail spray. The sealant has a tendency to haze up a little within the first 12-24 hours after you have removed it. Finish it with a coat of Brilliant Glaze and finally a coat of Americana.

Everything that was already said, except I would like to add, that the car is a 2011 and you just bought it a few months ago. That means it has been sitting on the dealers lot for over a year. After you wash it and clay it, do a real close look with a light at the surface. I would be extremely surprised if it is not full of swirls. Dealers have the lot guys go around wiping down the cars and they normally do it with the same cloth on all the cars. So you may need to have a bottle of Swirl and Haze Remover ready. If they are not real bad start with the polish first and see if that removes them, if not then hit with the Swirl and Haze Remover.

Straight rain will not strip wax unless we are taking rain after rain after rain, but it sounds like you keep it protected. I am betting it has something to do with the tree and sap or some other substance that was released from the tree in the rain.

Wow, what else can I say, but Wow.

I had a '85 now an '01 and I know what you mean. For tall of the dull aluminum pieces I use a Scotch Bright. It takes some time but it will make then look a lot nicer. On the suspension, you can do the same, except it is much more finely machined and once you see a shine coming to it ust Adams Metal Polish. That is what I have done to all of the suspension on my C5. Here is a shot of my alternator: Some of the suspension;

This is her daily driver, so she convinced me I need to spend a little time on it and leave my Vette alone for once. We (she) has had it a little over two year. It is garaged at home and she has a parking space in a large parking garage at work, so that does help keep it from a lot of the elements, but we use it on the weekend and trips as the Vette is a toy and does a lot of shows, so it stays in the garage most of the time. I decide she probably had a point so I went to work. Here are the results. After a bath, I clayed it then Fine Machine Polish. Next a coat of Brilliant Glazed finished up with a coat of Americana. Cleaned all the leather with Adams Leather cleaner followed up with Adams Leather Conditioner, Makes it smell like a new car again. I keep the engine wiped down after each wash so I never gets to bad. Wiped it down and hit a few spots with a 50/50 mix of All Purpose Cleaner and then In& out Spray

Did you clay bar the car? Based on what you said I think not. After to strip the wax and rewash it, do the plastic bag test. That is get a plastic bag, like a sandwich bag. Put your hand in it and lightly run it over the painted surface. If you fill little bumps or roughness, it needs to be clayed. To obtain the best shine the paint needs to be smooth and corrected for swirls, haze and scratches. All of the above will defuse the light the hit the painted surface and reduce the shine. If the car needs to be clayed and paint corrected it really does not matter how much wax you put on, you won't have the results you want.

I have one that sounds like the one you are talking about. I will remove mine (very easy) brush it good and then you can spray it with a good quality black paint.

I use a soft toothbrush a little detail spray and a microfiber towel.

All of the Adams products are great. One think to remember white will shine, but you are never going to get that deep wet look that you get in the darker colors.

Well that is a nice thought, but if they are never clean, I don't think I would go with Waterless Wash. It is nor designed for dirty cars, only light dust and dirt. You may do more harm than good.

It would seem that if you just sprayed paint from a rattle can directly on to the tailgate, clay bar and then either revive polish or the fine machine polish. If that does not work that try the Swirl and Haze Remover followed by to polish. Normally unless you really prepared the area for the paint and that would be sanding, priming and applying the paint and have it baked, it most likely can be removed.

Not much, went to church and came home and watch the rain fall, tree limbs snap and in a small lull drained the pool down, just so it can fill back up. Looks like Debby willbe around for a few more days.

Well that is one sure way of telling that it needs some attention. I can normally tell when the pop just is not there as much any more. I never let mine get to the No Water Bead state. Of course I also strip it a couple of time a year and start all over and it is not a daily driver.

Take your time and it should make that black paint pop off the car.

Even though it is in the garage, it will have dust on it tomorrow, so make sure you get that off completely before you touch it with the buffer. I suggest that a complete wipe down with WW or DS in the morning just prior to starting the next step.

First off on your daily driver, you said you are not blown away with the results. Did you watch the videos on the Adams site on how to do a machine polish and wax? Did you clay the car prior to the detail? If not that is one thing that you should have done. Also on a daily driver that has not had true paint correction done before will take some time to get it perfect. After it is washed and clayed you need to go around the entire car with a bright light to look for swirls and small scratches so you know what needs to be done. Once you start, work a small area, such as maybe no more the 1/4 t0 1/2 the hood. Work that area until it has removed all the swirl, haze and any scratches. A first time detail takes time to get it right. One final thing, white paint will never have that pop and deep wet look that you can get with a dark color. Now for the two other cars. If you know they were recently painted, but not sure how long ago, I might hold off on any polishing or waxing. Once you are ready to do a detailing on them, again do the baggy test to see if the paint needs to be clayed. Even though they are repaints, there is most likely some over spray that will need to be removed. Again before you do anything like this make sure the paint has at least 6-9 months on ti since it was painted. As for the products the Sealent is fine to use, but not really needed on the weekend warriors. After the cars are washed, clayed (if needed) you should do the Swirl & Haze Remover (again if needed). Next polished the paint, now you can either apply the sealant, or as I do I apply a coat of the Brilliant Glaze followed by a coat of the Americana. The Americana is designed for those cars that do not see the daily elements.

It is not designed to be used on a dirty car or to be used when the car needs a real shampoo bath. For example, I have a 2001 Corvette that is not a daily driver, but it does get out on different occasions. As long as I did not drive in the rain or on dirt roads (which won't happen) through standing water I will use the Waterless Wash after the car has cooled down. I will usually follow it up with detail spray.

I live in Florida, so I always wash mine early in the morning (I'm retired) while my drive in in the shade. As soon as I have completed the wash and that includes a sheet rinse, I pull it into the garage. I only mist the area I am drying, so I carry the bottle of detail spray around the car with me.

I have always used the blue plush towels for detail spray not my blue waffle towels. Those I use for the waterless wash.

I need to place an order and was wondering which towels to order. Should I get the double soft or the single soft. My car is not a daily driver ans is usually covered in the garage. I do the Brilliant Glaze followed by the Americana treatment.

Here is my 2001 Corvette LS1 engine.

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