A clay, polish, and surface prep is always recommended. You want the paint to be as perfect and as bare as possible. Maybe look into the Revive Hand Polish as opposed to the more serious polishes. This one is minimally abrasive, and is said to work as a paint cleaner.
Reason for that is, if there are any contaminants or imperfections, they will be sealed under the coating. The surface prep is for getting the clay lube/polishing oils/anything else that might be on there off to create the naked paint for the Ceramic Spray Coating to bond to.
But also, all of this is up to your discretion, considering your car is new and clay and polish are abrasive, you may not want to polish your car so early. On my vehicle (about 1 year old when I coated) , I skipped the polishing step simply because I didn't have the resources at the time. So my steps were as follows:
Strip Wash thoroughly
Spray Iron Remover and rinse
Clay with DS and rinse
Dry
Surface prep wipe down with Microfiber towel (important)
Coat with CSC
Wait cure time (Important)
Ceramic Boost (optional, adds sacrificial layer to coating and boosts gloss and hydrophobics)
I have had great results so far - Hydrophobics are unbelievable, and gloss is crazy - I don't know how, but it really makes paint look great!
I think I would have used the Revive Hand Polish right before my surface prep if I could go back. That would give my paint even more extra pop, but I'm happy with my results.
Ok, i think i will do the Ceramic Spray Coating, sounds like something i can handle. Do you recommend i clay the car before applying the ceramic spray? My car is pretty smooth now.
cdcruizer05 got a reaction from Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin in Bought New Car...how should i be protecting it?
