"Newer" Car. Now What?

[New2011]

My wife and I just purchased a 2011 Traverse with 7K miles (See pics). It was driven by the owner of the dealership (demo car) between April 2011 and October 2011 (paperwork confirms this) and then placed in the back lot until two weeks ago because they "forgot it was back there". Not sure if I believe that, but it's irrelevant.

 

We like to keep our cars for 10+ years at a time and I want to make sure that this car looks as good in 10 years as it does now.

 

Since it's not "Factory New" and I doubt the dealership maintained to properly, as I see what residue under the Chevy emblem, what do I need to do to clean it up and maintain it now to give me a good start for the next 10 years?

 

Any product recommendations would be beneficial too as I'm not sure where to start or what I need to maintain it.

 

Thanks

Edited September 23, 2012 by New2011
Updated Photo

[egott_91]

Welcome!

 

First area to address is whether or not the paint needs any correction. In other words, are there scratches, swirls, etc. in the paint that need to be removed? If so, they you will want to get a PC or a Flex and the pads plus polishes to take care of those.

 

After that has been taken care of, it is time to protect the paint from the elements. Here you will want a sealant and/or wax. A sealant will last longer than a wax. It is probably better to use both. Remember, sealant will go on BEFORE the wax. You will want to apply the sealant to BARE paint, which means, no wax or any other product over it. Therefore, you will apply the sealant RIGHT after you finish with the fine machine polish.

 

Next is wheels and tires. For this, you'll want quick sealant to protect the wheels and SVRT to protect the tires. Also, the SVRT can be used on the plastic at the bottom of the vehicle to keep it nice.

 

For maintenance, you will want to get the car shampoo, a couple of buckets with grit guards, and a couple of wash mitts.

 

Finally, I will direct you to the detailing videos to take a look at:

 

Instructional Detailing Videos

[DTrem13]

If you're looking for what products to start overall. I'd start with this:

 

Adam's Basic Wash & Wax Kit

 

It gives you the essentials for a good car wash and wax. Make sure you buy a second bucket and grit guard as well in order to perform a "2 Bucket Car Wash." Make sure you watch all the videos too!

 

As for the residue, try using some All Purpose Cleaner (Adam's All-Purpose Cleaner) on the area. And wiping down with a microfiber towel (Adam's Single Soft Microfiber Towel .)

 

If that doesn't work. Try using a clay bar (Adam's Detailing Clay Bar & Detail Spray Combo) to remove the residue. Hopefully if the All Purpose Cleaning doesn't take care of it, this will.

 

Happy detailing! Make sure you post some pics!

[New2011]

Thank you for the information and I'm still trying to grasp the concepts of what and when.

 

I started on the Videos but there is so much information available it's tough to determine where to start. Polish, Wax, Clay bar....etc. Do I polish before I wax. Do I even need to polish? I REALLY appreciate all the information but sometimes too much just makes it confusing?

 

There is nothing major wrong with the car paint, there are the typical swirl marks from the dealership washes and such, but nothing major. I'm not looking for a perfect, showroom stage finish as this is the family travel car and it's driven daily and will be driven plenty. As much as I would love to spend hours and hours detailing, the wife and kids require more attention. I'm just looking for some products and steps to help clean it, maintain it and keep that "new" look and feel to it.

 

When you wrote, "sealant to BARE paint" to me that means remove the dirt and clear coat but that can't be what you are referring too.... is it?

[egott_91]

If you not looking to remove swirls, start with clay bar, the quick sealant, then wax. If you want to remove swirls then it goes clay, polish, seal, wax.

 

Bare paint means no protection (waxes or sealants). To remove the protection wash with dawn soap or add 3 oz of all purpose cleaner to your wash bucket with the car shampoo.

[New2011]

So then the only basic difference is the Polish (which removes the swirls)?

 

If I don't want to get rid of swirls, I need the following;

 

1. Basic Wash-Wax Kit

2. Clay Bar Detailing Kit

 

If I do want to get rid of swirls, I need the following;

 

1. Detailing Kit

[New2011]

What about water spots? Is there anything that I can use to remove water spots off the paint?

[egott_91]

Polishing should remove etched water spots. If you plan on doing polishing, I would highly recommend a machine, in your case, probably the PC. Removing swirls or water spots by hand is almost an impossible feet unless they are extremely, extremely light.

[MikeMk6]

If you see white under the emblem it's probably built up wax, as someone said earlier you can use all purpose cleaner. My input would be using a q tip with some all purpose cleaner on it for the areas the microfiber cant reach.

[goheels]

Whatever you decide to do, whether it be polish (to remove swirls) or just protecting the paint (sealant/wax), make sure to at least clay the vehicle. You certainly don't want to grind decontaminants in the paint, creating further damage, during any of these processes.

 

Once you have a good foundation to work with via claying, it is really up to you how you want to proceed given your time/budget constraints.

[New2011]

Thanks for all the information.

 

I'm first going to use a clay bar on the paint and get anything off there that shouldn't be.

I think I'm going to purchase the Adam's Essentials Detail Kit and then wash, clay bar, polish, revive and wax.

 

When it comes to the water spots under the emblem I'll try the all purpose cleaner and and see if that helps.

 

One Question: How do I remove any products from the paint (it came from the dealer and I'm not sure if there is anything on it) before I being to polish, revitalize and wax? I read someone that I just add dish soap to the water and wash the car but I'm not sure.

Edited October 2, 2012 by New2011

[mc2hill]

One Question: How do I remove any products from the paint (it came from the dealer and I'm not sure if there is anything on it) before I being to polish, revitalize and wax? I read someone that I just add dish soap to the water and wash the car but I'm not sure.

 

You can try a wash with Dawn (the blue one) or add 2-3 oz. of APC to your Adam's Wash Shampoo bucket.

[New2011]

Is there a method to determine when there isn't any product left on the paint or do I just assume (I know, I know) that it's off?

[gencoupe3dot8]

Usually with no wax/sealant you don't get any beading... don't be surprised if more swirls or scratches appear after stripping (dawn or APC)... many dealers use products like glazes that will "hide" swirls and some light scratches, holograms, etc...

[New2011]

Thank you.

[gencoupe3dot8]

Magnum,

Basic plan would be as follows:

1) Two bucket wash, with APC/Dawn stripping to remove all dealer applied products, watch the video on this because bad washing technigues will cause you problems later (you will induce your own swirls when you wash the car)

2) Dry with Adams Great white (or electric leaf blower if you have one, or Masterblaster if you have one of those lying around)

3) Baggie test (for contaminants)

4) Now you clay (if baggie test fails), claying can be used to remove sap, bugs, etc (although you may chose to use other special purpose products). Use plenty of lubricant (DS) to reduce marring when claying

5) You now have a clean car... you need to decide if you want to correct, or cover the swirls...

5a) Insert polishing here... but you should consider a polisher (rather than hand polishing, especially if you have too many swirls or scratches).

6) You need to decide if you are going to use a sealant or wax, or both. If you use a sealant it must be applied on a clean car, no oil from polishing, no wax, no glaze, so you will need to apply sealant first. Sealant and waxes both protect the paint, with sealants typically lasting longer than waxes.

7) If you seal and want to wax over, you can do that, you can also apply BG over sealant as well. Adams provides you with QS or MSS for sealants.

8) If you don't want to use sealants, I would recommend BG then Americana. BG will help cover some swirls, as it has some filling properties.

 

Hope this helps....

Edited October 2, 2012 by gencoupe3dot8

[Doug123]

+1 on the sealants. They last longest, great for a daily driver. After you wash and dry the car, and then do the 'hand in the baggie' test, don't be surprised if it feels a lot like coarse sandpaper. This is entirely normal, and those bumps can be removed by claying the car. (I would really be surprised if it was smooth, since it was living outside for a while).

[New2011]

If I decided to go with a Sealant first and then a wax (since this will be used on a car driven daily) can I use the sealant again after I wax?

 

Watching the video at Sealant shows that he sprays it right on the car and mentioned to spray it before long drives? Is it ok to spray it on top of the wax?

 

Questions

1. Now that you mention it, is it better to wax or seal or both?

2. How often should I be doing it?

3. How often should I wash the car?

[gencoupe3dot8]

Ok, sealant should be on bare paint but you can use QS to ho repel bugs on drives. Choice as to wax or seal depends on whether you intend to spend 8 or so hours a week on protecting the paint. I go for sealants (or coatings) for cars that see road time. How often to wash depends on how dirty the car is.

I learned the hard way to 2 bucket wash over WW.

[New2011]

I would rather not spend 8 hours a week as I don't have 1/4 of that time free.

 

What constitutions as "How dirty" before I should wash it. 90% of the time it's just dust and it looks dirty against the red paint but it's just dusty. Should I put it through the entire wash cycle for just dust? If I just do a typical wash using the proper method how often do I need to strip, polish and wax?