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17 minutes ago, TheWolf said:

Awesome results!

Thanks Dan! 

On 11/3/2017 at 8:25 PM, mc2hill said:

Nice car Nikhil!  But you will have to let us Americans know what kind of car this is!  (Skoda maybe?)  That does not look a brand we get in over here.

Thank you Michael! its a 2017 Skoda Octavia vRS 230. 

On 11/3/2017 at 11:31 PM, avimore said:

Turned out great, nice work!

Yep, Skoda Octavia I believe @mc2hill

 

Thanks Ed! 

On 11/5/2017 at 5:20 AM, ZMAN024 said:

Nice work Nikhil !  

Thanks Oz! 

On 11/5/2017 at 7:02 AM, LSX Maestro said:

Very interesting paint color, I like it alot! Kind of like the color GT350/Rs get.  

Ya I really like the colour, its similar to Audi's Nardo Grey. Thanks James! 

Hi Guys, 

Took me a while to get around to doing this but posting some pics for you. Unfortunately, I was not able to take pictures during the process, I don't have a closed garage and the lighting was very poor where I detailed the car. Not exactly poor, but definitely not sufficient. I need to invest in some lights as I kept coming across product residue at various stages. 

All in all, I am extremely happy with the results, I definitely made some mistakes, thankfully nothing major. But for my very first detail it was a fantastic experience and I got a sense of how I can be better next time around. Since the detail I have done a waterless wash as well, it's way too dusty here. 

Enough talking, onto the pics. Below is delivery day condition, car had been sitting in a dusty lot. Despite its condition the pain was in really good condition. No swirls or scratches. Obviously it was difficult to inspect it in this condition but I was willing to risk it as I didn't want the dealer to wash it. 

Delivery miles.. actually odd read 6kms when I picked it up. 

Let me know what you guys think!! 

Cheers,

Nikhil 

Hey.. check out my thread, might help you with the correct sequence. There are some other threads that I came across too regarding the correct sequence, will try to share those with you later. Good luck! 

http://www.adamsforums.com/topic/33752-new-car-plan-of-action-newbie/

Go with an inspection checklist printed out on a piece of paper or on your phone. Follow the checklist completely before you drive off the lot. Don't become distracted by the "let me walk you through all the features" thing that they may do. Checklist first, features after.

Enjoy your new ride!

Hi Jen, thanks! I will make it a point to follow this sequence, just have to contain my excitement at delivery. 

Nikhil, Jen above has a great recommendation, she is ver knowledgeable, do a thurogh inspection and makes sure the remove the shipping vinyl for you so you can see every inch of that car. Good Luck and enjoy your new car.

 

 

 

Thanks, Joe! 

Wow, you've been very thorough.

 

As a dealer, it is likely that the car has already been built and sat for a long enough period of time that the paint is 100% cured.  60-90 days is all it would need at most.  Cars put in show rooms will be washed with commercial soap and likely given a cheap wax anyways so I think Adam's Strip wash will be 100% safe for you. 

 

Your purchased list looks good.  I wouldn't worry too much about Glazes and even Wax for a daily car unless you want to shine her up, which there's nothing wrong with, just know that it's not necessary.  And I'd probably switch the order to #5 Wax and lastly #6 Glaze.  Glaze is a very short term color enhancer.  It offers probably zero "protection" that wax can.  It helps to give your paint a deep luster though, as well as being amazing on glass.  

 

Your order is great though, strip washing is going to be 100% safe for you.  Again it's not like you're cleaning your car with acid.  It's just a bit more aggressive to take off previous coatings of wax, or soap that commercial washing may have left on it. Your clay is for taking off everything else.  And then seal it up with LPS and maintain it after washes with H2O G&G.  

 

I would look at some Waterless Wash for a way to wipe it down when it's not bad enough to require a bucket wash.  

 

Also as for washing, I'm assuming you already have 2 buckets/grit guards/soft wash pads? If not, you may want those because washing with a single bucket/no grit guard and an older wash pad is a sure way to swirl and mar up your car that you painstakingly detailed.  

Thanks, James! Actually the forum has been very thorough   and it hasn't hurt me to keep in touch wth detailing forums here and there. Plus I have done the basics on my Dad's car couple of times. 

I guess it all comes down to checking the date of manufacture and as long as it's been a sufficiently long time I am ready to go with strip wash. I definitely want her to shine a lot so gonna go ahead with the wax and glaze. Thanks for the tip on the sequence, I have seen mixed views about this on the forum so I guess I will do a coin toss on the day of but will surely keep your advice in mind. 

And that would be a double yes for two buckets/grit guards/wash pads! There is no other way 

Oh I forgot to mention in my list that I picked up a gallon of Rinseless Wash. Planning to dilute it to Waterless for quick spot cleaning and of course rinseless wash method when required. 

I think your order is dead on. Strip wash the car, clay, polish if needed and then seal, glaze and wax in that order. The buttery wax is the shortest lasting wax adams has so maybe picking up some Americana wax might not be a bad idea. Start with your sealant, this allows the sealant to bind to the “naked” paint and gives us the best protrction. Follow that with the glaze to add shine and finish with a wax to lock everything in and add even more shine. I would say that wax is necessary for a daily driver though, you want to give as much protection as you can. It will degrade after as it is being driven daily but to want to have as much protection as you can. I prefer to add the glaze after sealant and before the wax to “lock in” the level of shine you get from the sealant and glaze, rather than after the waxing stage. The other option to look into is a ceramic coating. These usually last 1-2 years and require no wax, glaze or sealant and provides superior water beading as well as ease in cleaning

Thanks, Wyatt. Americana wax is surely in my wishlist. For now I just wanted to start with the basics and work my way up. 

I wasn't feeling too confident with ceramic coating right now, however seems fairly doable. My next purchase is probably going to include some ceramic coatings. 

I agree with the above. However, from my experience, both americana and buttery wax gives the car a lot more shine than brilliant glaze. Ive tried different combinations (glaze first, wax first, black car, light car, etc..) and I get a lot more shine with wax than glaze. I also prefer wax first and glaze last, but theres no wrong way. 

Thanks! That makes 2 out of 3 people recommending wax first then glaze. I might just go this route. 

I would personally wait a month before you seal it, also make sure you tell your dealer not to wax or polish the car because I don’t think you’ll be interested in the custom racing stripes they like to apply free of charge.

 

 

Hi Joe,

Got it. Thanks! 

Part of me has decided to tell the dealer to give me a dirty car, however, it's India and just in case something comes up after I take delivery the dealer will run away from his responsibilities. I have 2 weeks to go, let's see. 

Hi Everbody,

I am expecting my new car to arrive in about 2 weeks. So far I have planned the following based on my research on Adam's Forums  :

1. Strip Wash 

2. Clay

3. Polish

4. Seal

5. Glaze

6. Wax

However, I am confused if it's ok to strip wash a new car. I understand that it all depends on the condition of the car rather than blindly following the above list, but I am a total newbie and I read on a thread here to check the manufacturing date to get an idea of how old the paint is, but what a recent paint job means and how a strip wash may or may not affect it is not understood by me. I read about time required for a fresh paint to cure but again haven't been able to understand it fully. Can someone shed some light on this topic for me? In case I cannot go ahead with Strip Wash then would it be ok to do a regular wash with Adam's shampoo followed by the remaining steps listed above? 

My car colour is similar to Nardo Grey (Audi), I have attached a pic for reference. This is not my car, it was sitting on the dealer lot. I am planning on requesting the dealer to not wash the car or remove the vinyl but a bit apprehensive about it as this is India and in case something unusual is found once I take it home then they will definitely not be interested in listening to me. Or I could ask them to remove the vinyls in front of me, we can inspect the car and if all ok then I can take it home dirty. 

Also, I would appreciate any input on the steps I have listed above, is the sequence ok? 

Products I have bought are as follows (All Adam's  ):

1. Car Shampoo

2. Strip Wash

3. Revive Hand Polish 

4. LPS

5. Wheel Cleaner

6. H2O G&G

7. All Purpose Cleaner

8. Buttery Wax

9. VRT

10. Detail Spray

11. Clay Bar

12. Picked up other still like applicators and microfibre towels but not listing them out

Thank you everybody. 

Nice stable! 

Welcome

Thank you! 

Welcome to the forum Nikhil!  I have to admit, I had to look that car up.  Very nice!    

Thanks! I am really looking forward to, that engine is suppose to be glorious! 

Welcome to the forum Nikhil  .  Don't be afraid to ask your questions.  The group is happy to help anyone find the shine!

Thanks! After reading all the message I am definitely going to start a new thread

From one relative newbie to another, welcome to the forum.

Don't be bashful with regards to your questions, even if they were answered in a previous post. The only silly question, is the one left un-asked.

 

Would like to see pic's of your new car as well as around your town. As someone who has never been to a diff country I find seeing and learning about differing cultures interesting.

Thanks a ton! What a relief to hear this. Will surely be posting pics, car ETA is approx. 2 weeks. 

Welcome to the forums!  Agree only the unasked questions are the silly ones.  I find for dusty conditions that the ceramic coat is great, as it allows you to do a quick rinse/wash with less chance of scratching.  Plus it helps protect better than just wax when a "dust storm" comes by.

Thank you! Yes, I have been reading up about ceramic coating, haven't included that in my order though. Just thought of strip wash, clay, polish, seal, glaze and wax based on my whatever I found here on Adam's Forums. 

Welcome Nikhil!

Thank you! 

Hi, welcome.  I have spent time in cars in India from New Delhi and also in Pune and Mumbai.  You are a brave soul for bringing a 2017 into that mix!  Something that I learned being driven around there that the US people on this forum will find interesting (I hope I get this right - please correct me if it is misleading!).  There is no concept of liability insurance.  Everyone has to have insurance but your insurance is for you (what we call comprehensive here).  So WHEN (not IF based on my driving experiences there) you get in a little fender bender - your insurance is for your damage, the other driver for his or her vehicle.  I asked about pedestrians and got a blank stare...

 

Intersections in India are like rivers of flotsam and jetsam.  The smaller pieces float to the front while you wait to proceed.  trucks in the back, then cars, then tuk tuks, then motorcycles, then scooters then bicycles.   It's like every intersection in an artery having a coronary!  I loved seeing all the scooters so much when I visited about ten years ago that I got a Vespa here at home.  Bajaj there, Vespa here - kind of...

Hi, Thank you! 

It's quite interesting that you brought this up, the general understanding of insurance remains to be what you said, that is, my insurance just covers me and my car. However, I know that there is certain coverage included for any passengers in your car as well.

But I think things have changed now and 3rd party coverage is now included in what is known as Comprehensive coverage in India. Your post prompted me to call and enquire and the response I got was same as what you have written, but I did some online research and found out that in case of 3rd party damage then any damage/loss to a person or property is covered to a certain limit. 

I will surely be looking into this a lot more. In most cases people just settle for cash or the at fault party apologises profusely until apology is accepted. Insurance is definitely not the go to option in most cases for the not at fault party. 

Welcome to the forum! 

Nikhil

Welcome, Nikhil! With Adam's, we'll likely see the shine off that new car halfway around the globe!

Thanks guys! Feeling great with all the warm welcomes here. 

Looking forward to sharing my detailing journey with all of you. 

Hi Joe, I would check the build date of the vehicle either on the door jamb or under the hood, but most likely it was manufactured at least a few months ago, then transported around the country, so it should be fine to seal and wax as Ryan stated. Most factory vehicles are 'baked' as well so that the clear coat cures more quickly.

 

If it was a new paint job from a body shop, they will typically tell you to wait 60-90 days before applying any type of sealant or wax to the fresh paint to allow it to fully cure first.

Hi Dan,

In case the vehicle was manufactured let's say within a month ago is still advisable to seal and wax? 

Hi Dan,

Thank you for a warm welcome. 

I have already gone through tons of content on the forum. I almost feel bad about posting my questions, lot of newbie threads out there so I just have to keep searching for whatever I have in mind. 

Car pictures will most definitely be shared once it arrives! 

Looking forward to being a part of the community.

- Nikhil 

Greetings Everyone,

Although I am not new to Adam's products but definitely new to the Forum. Just ordered a bunch of stuff yesterday, the shipping was amazingly expensive but I bit the bullet and just went for it. 

I have a new car coming in, 2017 Skoda Octavia vRS 230 (MKIII) and just couldn't bear the thought of washing/detailing it with substandard products. It's been approx. 6 years since I bought a car so obviously it's a bit of a special moment. 

I am more or less a newbie in terms of experience, it's challenging to take time out with the kind of work culture we have in India add to that the conditions are extremely dusty so a car practically needs a rinse or wash everyday! So I could never make a regular feature when I bought the products first time around.

Anyway, I am determined to do justice to my new car. 

Cheers,

Nikhil